Béla Antal Mária Török
Our father was born 6th October 1914 in Szeged Hungary, his father was nemescsói Dr Béla Antal János Török, a lawyer ( later Royal Notary and Royal Government Senior Advisor) who was awarded the National Defence Cross and the Lipót Order. His mother was ittebei Katalin Mária Kiss, making him a descendant of two martyrs of Arad: Generals Ignác Török and Ernö Kiss. His schooling took place Szeged at the Piarist Gymnasium and the Klauzál Gábor Realgymnasium. In 1936, Béla completed Law at the Franz Josef University with “summa cum laude” and graduated as a Doctor in Legal Studies.
Between 1936-1937, he served as a reserve officer in the newly formed Armoured Division. Béla later received a Government Scholarship to attend the Hungarian College of Berlin, where he further studied Constitutional Law and allied subjects for years 1937-1939. In 1938, he was employed was at the Szeged courts, later being transferred to Budapest to the Royal Criminal Court, Judgement Department.
On 5th October 1940, Béla married Ilona Láng, a high school teacher from Miskolc Hungary, in Budapest. In 1941, he was transferred to the Royal Justice Ministry, where he completed various judicial and legal subjects with honours. In fact, he became the youngest person in Hungary to qualify as a judge. In 1942, Béla became a father to László (Leslie), and in 1943 to Béla (Bill).
Between 1941 to-1944, he was appointed Private Secretary to the last two Hungarian Ministers of Justice, working in the Opinion Evaluation Department.
On 6 October 1944, his 30th birthday, Béla was called up for military service. His assignment was to find accommodation for retreating troops to Bavaria. On 8th May 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally. Between June and October Béla was held in an American prison for enemy combatants at Hohenfels, east of Nuremberg Germany. Whilst in prison, his third son András (Andrew) was born on the 27th June 1945.
Between 1946-1949, he worked at UNRRA and IRO (International Relief Organisations) as Supply Officer . Béla migrated to Australia with his family, arriving in Newcastle on 9th November 1949.
Life in Australia
Between 1949-1951, Béla worked as an Administrative Officer at two migrant-camps-Greta and Scheyville- where the family had been billeted. Between 1952-1956, while working as a Cost Clerk with the Main Roads Department, he studied Accountancy. In 1957, became a member of the Society of Accountants of Australia. Between 1957-1967, Béla worked as a Public Accountant in Sydney. In 1963, he enrolled with the Barristers’ Admission Board and qualified as a Barrister in November 1966. He established a successful solicitor’s practice, later taken over by his son Bill, who continued to operate it till his own retirement. Over the years, Béla wrote many books, including his autobiography in 2012 (see Publications page), and contributed articles published in both the Australian and Hungarian newspapers. He also spoke at numerous significant Hungarian events. In 1970-1971, Béla helped in the organisation of the St. Stephen Free University Scholarship. On June 4th 1970, his English language editorial appeared in the publicity publication – ‘Remember Trianon – Justice for Hungary’.
Story of My Parents’ Lives http://torokbela.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/Story-of-my-parents-life.pdf
