Part 1: Louise & Peter – Our Dad & the PIB
Posted on: Mon 22 May 2023
Louise and Peter Jesser – * Recruiting for the Papuan Infantry Battalion began in June 1940, with the first 63 recruits consisting of current and former members of the Royal Papuan Constabulary. This connection with the Royal Papuan Constabulary means that the PIB and the Pacific Islands Regiment can claim a lineage stretching back to 19th-century Armed Native Constabulary, which helped to police the Protectorate of British New Guinea.
All members of the PIB were volunteers. When the Japanese invaded Papua in July 1942 there were 300 indigenous Papuans serving in the battalion. Louise and Peter’s father Harold Jesser was there from the beginning. We’re told that this story is one that hasn’t been told before from the PIB perspective.. From mapping the Kokoda Trail to guerrilla fighting, the men of the PIB did it all, with little more than a .303 rifle.
Main Image L to R: Peter Jesser, Harold Jesser, Louise Jesser. Images provided by Louise Jesser, Peter Jesser and Helen Meyer and used with permission
