ROWE, John Wilfred
| Service Number: | WX5292 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Newcastle, England, 25 February 1914 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Salesman |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia, 27 March 1985, aged 71 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 27 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX5292, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Fremantle; disembarked in the Middle East on 2 Feb 1941 | |
| 22 Jul 1942: | Imprisoned Siege of Tobruk, officially reported POW 30 Sep 1942; interned Camps 29, 82 and 106 | |
| 24 Dec 1942: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, appointed Lance Corporal 4 Sep 1941, promoted to acting Corporal 24 Dec 1942; rank of Corporal confirmed 30 Mar 1942 | |
| 22 May 1945: | Promoted Sergeant, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, (acting, recorded as promotion) | |
| 4 Jul 1945: | Embarked UK; to Australia as repatriated POW; disembarked Sydney 8 Aug 1945; arrived in Western Australia 14 Aug 1945 | |
| 6 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX5292, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour John Wilfred Rowe's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
John (Jack, also known as Wilf) was the son of Jowsey and Lillie ROWE, who had arrived in Western Australia from England aboard Orama in 1925 with 11-year-old John and his younger sister Dorothy.
At least two of John's siblings died in childhood, prior to their emigration.
John spent a brief time in army hospitals soon after arriving in the Middle East, suffering from bronchitis and cattarh.
John was captured at Ruin Ridge at Alamein. He was a POW on board the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio when it was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. John was one of 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident.
He died in South Australia in 1985 at age 71. He is also memorialised at the Western Australian Garden of Remembrance in Nedlands, Wall 21 Row D, with the rank of Sergeant.
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