Allan joined the Australian Imperial Force in 1941. He recalled serving in New Guinea, the malaria threat and meeting the Light Horse.
Allan Francis Ward was working in a butcher's shop in Hillview, Queensland, before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in July 1941.
Allan trained at Redbank and Goondiwindi before sailing to Papua and New Guinea via Townsville and Thursday Island.
He served with 183 Australian Supply Depot Platoon and was based at Port Moresby. He helped with the supply of troops moving along the Kokoda Track. Allan recalled being strafed (low air attacks) by Japanese planes and watching American troops repairing the runway immediately after Japanese air attacks.
Allan took malaria tablets regularly to avoid contracting the debilitating disease borne by mosquitoes. He recalled how malaria affected some of the other men.
After a short spell in Australia, Allan returned to the war zone and spent the last 8 months of his service at Morotai Island in the Netherlands East Indies.
A historian from the Department of Veterans' Affairs interviewed Allan Ward in 2018.