A number of LVRSL former members were prisoners of war. In the main, these men were members of the 2/40 Australian Infantry Battalion which was made up of mainly of Tasmanian Servicemen with some members also from Victoria.

A list of LVRSL past members, who were POW’s and/or members of the 2/40 Battalion follows below (although we acknowledge that the list is likely incomplete):

Read More ...

2/40 AUSTRALIAN INFANTRY BATTALION - TIMELINE

July 1940: The 2/40th assembled at Brighton Camp, where it spent the rest of the year training.
7 January 1941: Moved to Bonegilla Camp, near Wodonga (Victoria-New South Wales border) to join its parent brigade - the 23rd, part of the 8th Division.
End of March 1941: Left Bonegilla and arrived in Katherine between 16 April and 25 April 1941.
June and July 1941: Left Bonegilla for Noonamah, just south of Darwin.
8 to 10 December 1941: Left Darwin for Timor on the transports Zealandia and Westralia
12 December 1941: Arrived at Koepang, Dutch Timor
20 February 1942: Japanese attack on Dutch Timor began (followed Japanese airstrikes/bombing)
23 February 1942: Lacking air cover, with mounting casualties; and, faced with an ultimatum to capitulate or be subjected to an intense aerial bombardment that would likely have wiped out the battalion, Lieutenant Colonel William Leggatt was forced to surrender his command.
As a result most of the 2/40th was captured.

The 2/40th prisoners of war spent the first seven months of their captivity interned in a camp at Usapa Besar.

From Java the 2/40th prisoners were dispersed throughout Japan's conquered territory in camps throughout Southeast Asia including Java, Burma, Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Sumatra and did not return to Australia until after September 1945.

Note 1: Some 2/40 members managed to escape, however, while others who had been detached elsewhere evaded capture and took part in the guerrilla campaign that followed before being evacuated back to Australia in December 1942. These included L J Bomford TX2595 and A W Hickman TX2597.

Note 2: Captain Herman Marie De Souza was an officer in the 4th Battalion Straits Settlements Volunteer Force SSVF. The SSVF took part in the Battle of Singapore in 1942, and most of its members were captured on 15 February 1942 when their positions were overrun.

Note 3: M J Dillon TX4005 became prisoner 5107 at Stalag XVIIIA, a German POW camp located at Wolfsberg, (southern) Austria. Assumed taken prisoner by the German Army in either Greece or Crete.

SOURCES

The Australian War Memorial (AWM): https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56077 - Accessed 31 October 2022

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2%2F40th_Battalion - Accessed 31 October 2022

Army Museum of Tasmania: https://armymuseumtasmania.org.au/the-barracks/the-2 40th-battalion/ - Accessed 31 October 2022

Stalag 18A: http://www.stalag18a.org/stalag.html - Accessed 31 October 2022 and 3 November 2022

Recommended reading:

Henning, Peter, Doomed battalion : mateship and leadership in war and captivity : the Australian 2/40 Battalion 1940-45. Edition: 2 nd edition 2014. ISBN: 9780987603227 (hardback).

Article: Peter McGee 03 November 2022.