Peter Emil Uzelac Wrote:
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> Hello, My name is Peter Emil Uzelac.
>
> My father Stogan Uzelac was born at Benkovac,
> Croatia and served as a marine on the British
> built submarine named the "Nebojsa" during
> 1941-1944. He told me stories about him being a
> marine on a British built submarine during the
> war. He told me about the escape to Alexandria,
> Egypt, and how he was re deployed to South Africa
> for 6 years without any wages and no socks to wear
> on his feet. He said the worst part of his life
> ever was the 6 years that he spent in South Africa
> as a foot soldier. He complained that he was a
> Marine and did't like fighting on the ground when
> he signed up as a marine in the Royal Yugoslav
> Navy.
>
> My father added that having no women for six years
> in South Africa was the worst time in his life.
>
> After the war my father went to Naples and on 2
> May 1949 boarded a immigrant ship called SS
> Skaugum. He was passenger number 1496. (Ref':
> [immigrantship.net]).
>
> The SS Skaugam arrived at Port Melbourne on 31 May
> 1949. My father then went to Sydney for a while
> then returned to Melbourne. He then went to a NSW
> town called Bonegilla and worked on the railway
> under a compulsory two year contract under the
> Federal government of Australia. My father said
> that he had to work at the railway camp for two
> years as a means of paying for his ship fares from
> Naples to Melbourne, Australia. It was when Stojan
> was at this camp he met my mother Katerina Cebak
> nee Budz, a Ukraine woman that was married with
> two children. Her husband had died and she married
> Stojan and they eventually settled in North
> Geelong, Victoria. Here Stojan had built his own
> two homes and he had worked most of his working
> life as a carpenter on construction sites
> throughout Victoria.
>
> Katerina died in 16 September 2005 and Stojan died
> in March 2006. They were aged 85 and 86
> respectively.
>
> We ended up with 9 children in the family and at
> the time of this writing, Anna the eldest daughter
> had died of cancer aged 67 and James a twin to
> Glender died in 1995 of a drug overdose aged 33.
>
> I had got on the internet in 2007 and the stories
> that my father told me years before I looked up
> the internet match those described in
> www.wikipedia.com under the Royal Yugoslav Navy
> section. I was amazed to see his life unfold
> before my very eye's. If you like more info
> contact me via email: www.peteruzelac@bigpond.com.
>
>
> Yours Sincerely
>
> Peter Emil Uzelac
> Born: 10 June 1955
> Age: 55
> Born at Geelong Hospital's ward: Kardinia House.
>
> Also see me on www.facebook.com
>
> Living at: North Geelong.