Hello All, First time poster here so hopefully I'm in the right place for this post. My 4th cousin, once removed was John Stanford LOCKETT TX4879. He joined the 2/40th Battalion of the 2nd AIF, in the 117th Heavy Battery Unit. Captured by the Japanese in Timor he was a POW before being sent to Japan in 1944. He was a casualty of the Tamahoko Maru which was sunk near Nagasaki. I'm interested if anyone could tell me details of his POW experiences, specifically if anyone knows where he was sent. I live in Thailand and have relatives who worked and died on the railway and would like to know if John was among them or was in another POW area. Many thanks in advance. Steve
Hi Steve, There seems to be a pdf file available on line at the Australian National Archives: National Archives of Australia Please try this direct link, otherwise, type John's full name into the search engine and hopefully the details will come up: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/Sea...eports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=6382247&isAv=N Good luck.
Private LOCKETT, JOHN STANFORD Service Number TX4879 Died 24/06/1944 Aged 21 A.I.F. 2/40 Bn. Australian Infantry Son of John Francis and Clarissa Elizabeth Mary Lockett, of Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia. Casualty
Thanks Bamboo (that was his service records) and Patron. Just came across a survivor's report of the sinking of the Tamahoku Maru which suggests the POWs were from Adek camp in Batavia. Survivors' Report: The sinking of the Tamahoku Maru
Hi Steve, I've always been impressed by the NAA, they seem to have the correct attitude to sharing information. There were some Australian POW records sent back to Canberra in 2012 by the Japanese government. I'm not sure exactly what is recorded upon them, but John might have one. Here is the original press release announcing the news:
A bit straying from OP but (and probably their home town have as well) I noticed Private. RILEY, MAXWELL ERNEST. Service Number TX5757 Died 08/02/1942. Aged 19. A.I.F. 2/29 Bn. Australian Infantry Son of Martin and Annie Riley, of Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia. Private. MATTHEWS, MAXMILLIAN JOSEPH. Service Number TX/5084 Died 24/06/1944. Aged 29. A.I.F. 2/40 Bn. Australian Infantry Son of Joseph Maxwell Matthews and Edith Isabel Matthews, of Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia. Lance Corporal. BARR, MALCOLM DAVID. Service Number TX5047 Died 24/06/1944. Aged 28. A.I.F. 2/40 Bn. Australian Infantry Son of Hugh and Veronica Beatrice Barr, of Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia. Private. ALLEN, LESLIE. Service Number TX3633. Died 24/06/1944. Aged 25. A.I.F. 2/40th Bn. Australian Infantry Son of Albert Alfred and Ruby May Allen; husband of Leah Eliza Allen, of Wynyard, Tasmania. Australia. Private. FORSTER, JAMES. Service Number TX5054 Died 28/09/1943. Aged 24. A.I.F. 2/40 Bn. Australian Infantry Son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Michael Forster, of Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia. Probably also on the same transport (except Forster in Kanchanaburi) which may give the OP a clue to where possibly other members of 2/40 Bn may have been. All told, a town in Tasmania lost 53 men in 2 World Ward, which seems high to me (mind you, my village lost the same number as well)
Can you research the family to discover, perhaps, any connection to 1) a J Lockett, from Mount Hicks, Tasmania (I believed served and returned as RSL Wynyard appear to have an Honours Board naming him); 2). Any link to Corporal. LOCKETT, HENRY. Service Number 3400. Died 19/07/1916. 60th Bn. Australian Infantry, A.I.F. Son of Albert Edward and Esther Lockett; husband of Eleanor Lockett, of "Berwyn," Belford Avenue, East Kew, Victoria. Native of Manchester, England. Shots in the dark, but it may lead you to other family.
Hi Kevin, Researching that as we speak. Highly likely. This being Tasmania, we are all related! John Locket had a cousin, Roy who was killed in Syria probably by the Vichy French. I am steadily working my way through a 2,400 page family tree (compiled by another relative) -- currently at page 401 No doubt I'll find the connection soon -- probably uncle and nephew.
Hi Steve, Seems the cousin Roy (Death 18/06/1941) was killed during the battle for Jezzine. In late May 1941, the 2/31st returned to Palestine to take part in the 25th Brigade's first offensive operation - the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. The 2/31st's first major engagement in eastern Lebanon was around Khirbe between 8 and 11 June. It was subsequently ordered to capture the town of Jezzine, which controlled one of the lateral routes to the coast. Jezzine fell to the 2/31st on 14 June but was heavily counter-attacked by the Vichy French on the 16th. The terrain around Jezzine was steep and rugged and the fighting exhausting; it was still in progress when the armistice was declared on 12 July. The 2/31st remained in Lebanon as part of the Allied garrison until 13 January 1942.
Hi Spidge, His date of death (18th June) would possibly indicate that he was one of the 17 killed when the French launched an air assault the next day. I suppose you'd have to find an eyewitness to be sure--he might have died of wounds from the earlier fighting. Perhaps the Battalion's diary may shed some light on the incident. The families placed In Memorium notices in the papers for several years -- for both boys at once -- but they all seemed particularly vague. John died "at sea" with no mention of it being near Japan and Roy similarly vague "in Syria". I suspect the families knew very little and didn't want to inquire. Both boys' war records are surprisingly short for a KIA -- not more than 20 pages. Other KIA relatives (especially WWI KIAs) commonly run to 50 pages or more.
If not already found, details of 2/40th Bn here 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and more info perhaps on their facebook page 2/40th battalion,Tasmania.
