Trevor Lloyd-Woods

Trevor Gwyther Lloyd-Woods was born in Gnowangerup, West Australia, on 16 March 1924.His father William Lloyd-Woods and mother Helen Alma Davis (Christie) had four sons and one daughter: Kate, Trevor, Norman, Peter and James. William was a farmer with a property at Wubin.

On 25 July 1942 Trevor joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a Leading Aircraftman, Service Number 81438. He had initially applied at the age of 17 years and 11 months and was not accepted because he was too young. When he was accepted, his father applied for a three-month delay so Trevor could finish the seeding season on the farm. Trevor was the third of his family to enlist. His conduct was consistently “very good”, and he was awarded a service medal and a war medal. He was discharged in 1946 at the age of 22 years. He returned to farming.

We know from his RAAF records Trevor was 5’9” tall with fair hair and blue eyes. He had a scar over his right eyebrow. Trevor married Miriam Ann Cole after the war and they had five children: Neil, Peter, Joanne, Penny and Robert.

In 1949 he started to study marine engineering. The electoral rolls show Trevor was registered as a tractor driver between 1949 and 1954. Trevor was share-farming at Wubin, and it seems he may have supported his family by juggling tractor work with his study. William became ill in 1954, and Trevor managed the family farm while William was in hospital.

In 1972 Trevor was working at the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company, a shore-based whaling station in Albany. The station operated two steam boilers that supplied enough steam to run operation, including pulling the whale chasers out of the water. Cheynes Whaling Company had three whale chasers working nine months of the year with the aid of spotter aircraft.

Trevor worked aboard Cheynes IV, a whale chaser as the second engineer. The engineers worked shift work, watching the boilers on board and ensuring they were working continuously while they were at sea.

Cheynes IV was bought from the Union Whaling Co. in South Africa in 1970.She was not a young boat. She was built by AS Frammers in Norway and launched in 1948.She steamed at 15 knots. She was part riveted, and part welded and had an oil-fired four-cylinder steam engine. Cheynes IV had a crew of 20.

Trevor was on shift aboard Cheynes IV on 6 August 1973, watching the boilers. He was found unconscious by crew members in the boiler room. Shortly after he was discovered crew members found he had no pulse, and he was declared dead.

There was a brief inquiry, however the police made only a brief report as Trevor died of natural causes. He was buried in the Anglican section of the Allambie Park Cemetery in Albany.

Cheynes IV continued to hunt whale until 1978 when the whaling station closed. She caught the last whale out of Albany on 20 November under command of Master Axel Christiansen. She was brought ashore as a display boat when the whaling station was refurbished and made into a museum called “Whale World”.

Trevor’s wife remarried in 1975.She died in 2010 and was buried with Trevor. There is a small plaque for Allan George Smith, Miriam’s second husband.