Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Tom Davidson enlisted 13 Aug1940, the same day as his Collie mates 'Bluey' Smith, Tom Finlay, Harry Fuhrmann, 'Toona' Simmonds, 'Bluey' Quinn, Jack Isaac.

Tom Davidson married Marjorie Jean (Marge) Rushton in 1938 at St. Brigid's  Church, Collie. Tom was employed at a miner at Collie.

As a POW at Singapore, Tom was selected to work on the Burma-Thai Railway with 'D' Force Thailand, V Battalion and were trained to Thailand a trip of 5 days.

'100 men from V Battalion were barged from Hindaine Camp to Kuii Camp and commenced work on 1 August 1943 remaining until 18 December 1943.  They were to work on the railway embankment.

The men worked in gangs of 5 men - with 4 carrying a rice bag between them supported by sticks and the 5th man would load soil from the side of the bank up 18 feet high.

The death rate from tropical illnesses especially malaria and dysentery was about 6 per day.  The men were overworked, had very little food and no medical supplies.  The doctors tried hard to keep the men alive by stopping them from working when they were clearly seriously ill, but mostly to no avail.'

Tom died of acutre enteritis at Kuii aged 33 years.  Tom was one of 17 POWs from 2/4th to die at Kuii .  The camp held about 1700 Dutch POWs who arrived before V Battalion and the Australian POWs were outnumbered.  All administration was undertaken by the Dutch and this meant V Battalion received the last choice of work parties, food, etc.  The conditions were terrible and the Japanese guards brutal.