BOLAND, John Albury
| Service Numbers: | QX20572, Q302606 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | General / Motor Transport Company/ies (WW2) |
| Born: | Bangalow, New South Wales, Australia, 19 July 1907 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died at sea (POW Rakuyo Maru), South China Sea, 15 September 1944, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 20, Labuan Memorial, Labuan, Malaysia. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Gordonvale War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, QX20572 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jun 1940: | Enlisted | |
| 27 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Warrant Officer Class 2, Q302606 | |
| 20 Feb 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, QX20572, General / Motor Transport Company/ies (WW2) | |
| 12 Mar 1942: | Imprisoned P.O.W. Ex-Java. | |
| 15 Sep 1944: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Maurice Kissane
John Albury Boland was born in New South Wales in 1907. His parents were Theodore and Grace Boland. Zelma Mary Jean Boland was his beloved wife. John had served in Singapore before Japan entered the war. He was sent to Java a week before Singapore Fell. He then became a POW when Java Fell. British POW Records show he was a member of Java Party 4 which arrived at Changi in Singapore on 12 Oct 1942. John was sent onwards to Burma on 14 Oct 1942. He would have been used for as a slave on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway. John subsequently died at sea after that terrible ordeal. He was in the hold of the Rakuyo Maru which sunk by a USN Submarine. Unkown to the USS Sealion, this pre-WWII Nippon Line Ocean Liner was transporting POWs in her holds when it was sunk in 1944. More than a thousand Allied POWs perished in that USN Torpedo attack on 12 Sep 1944. There were some survivors who were fished out of the water but QX20572 SGT John Boland was not one of them. Lest We Forget.
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