Max Collingwood Reed enlisted in the 2nd AIF on 29 Jun 1940 (SX7137). Max died in Port Elliott South Australia on 24 Oct 1987 aged 68. The following biography was extradited from an RSL website:
Max enlisted for the army at age 20. He lied about his age so that he could volunteer. He was in 2/48th battalion and fought as a "Rat of Tobruk".
He ended up in a prisoner of war camp but escaped. When he was about to be caught again he assumed the identity of a Canadian airforce pilot with the name "Jack Hopin" DOB 16/12/1922 which was his fiance's actual date of birth.
The first time he was sent to the Stala XVIII-A in Klagenfurt, Austria. The second camp he was sent to under the name Jack Hopin is unknown. He was awarded the Star of Africa for his duty in the African campaign.
He returned home in July 1945 and married his wife Edna Hale one week later. He was debriefed and discharged in August at the Woodside barracks at Oakbank. He suffered severe PTSD in his life after the war and passed away in October 1987 from lung cancer leaving his wife, two daughters and son: Helen, Susan, and Ron.
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