By the standards of the day Francis Gilbert Harper could have been considered to be old when he joined up in October 1940. He had already been married for three years to Doris Muriel Harper (nee. Biss) and had two young daughters, Carol Joan and Lynette Merle.
Don Lewis was born to Keith Bannatyne Lewis and Doris Lewis on 1 February, 1922, in Hobart, Tasmania.