Lieutenant Commander Leon GoldsworthyPrint Page 
Goldsworthy, was a distinguished Australian bomb and mine specialist in the Second World War and a recipient of the George Cross, the highest gallantry award for actions which are "not in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to people of British or Commonwealth nations. He was awarded the G.C. for defusing four German ground mines, three magnetic mines and one acoustic mine under harrowing circumstances over a period of ten months.
By the end of the war, Goldsworthy had achieved the rank of lieutenant commander and was Australia's most highly decorated naval officer.
The service and sacrifice of Western Australia's Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients will be remembered in perpetuity with each recipient being commemorated at highway rest stops south of Perth. Veterans Minister Joe Francis said the project, similar to Remembrance Driveway on the Federal and Hume highways between Sydney and Canberra, would see plaques honouring WA's 17 Victoria Cross and two George Cross recipients placed at rest areas on highways leading to Albany.
"The rest stops will be on Albany Highway between Perth and Albany and along South Western Highway between Pinjarra and Kirup," Mr Francis said. The plaques will be installed at rest stops in chronological order, starting with the South Western Highway (Frederick Bell VC). Each will contain a short biography of the recipient and part of their citation as gazetted. "While the Victoria Cross is awarded for extreme gallantry in the face of the enemy, the George Cross - open to service personnel and civilians - was instituted to recognise extreme bravery that did not involve contact with the enemy. The series of plaques will be called Commemoration Way, and will be rolled out between ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, 2016."
Media Statement, 20th April 2016.
Location
| Address: | Albany Highway & Tunney Hall Road, Tunney Road Rest Area , Cranbrook, 6321 |
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| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.112259 Long: 117.366658 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Military |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au/ |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 2016 |
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Commemoration Way
In honour of George Cross recipient
Lieutenant Commander Leon Goldsworthy GC DSC GM
Leonard (`Leon`) Goldsworthy was Australia`s most decorated naval officer of the Second World War. Born on 19 January 1909 in New South Wales, he later moved to South Australia and in 1930, Western Australia. He joined the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve in 1941, and later that year was posted to England to complete his officer training. After the war he returned to Perth, serving as the Overseas Vice Chairman of the Victoria and George Cross Association.
Goldsworthy died on 7 August 1994 in Perth at the age of 85
Rendering Mines Safe Section (HMS Vernon), June 1943 - September 1944 in England
"For great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty."
