FEEKINGS, James
| Service Number: | QX17547 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 July 1940, Kelvin Grove, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/11th Field Company / Squadron RAE |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 9 July 1916 |
| Home Town: | Eagle Junction, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Map Drawing & Estimating |
| Died: | Presumed, Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 20 February 1942, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sapper, QX17547 | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX17547, 2nd/11th Field Company / Squadron RAE, Kelvin Grove, Qld. | |
| 20 Feb 1942: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Mari Walker
Son of Walter Allen Feekings and Ellen Feekings, of Eagle Junction, Queensland, Australia
Private James Feekings enlisted at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Queensland. On 13 December 1941 he embarked for overseas service on HMAT Valenbyn, disembarking in Ambon on 17 December. Pvte Feekings served with the 2/11th Field Company which trained at Redbank, Queensland, then moved north as part of an effort to bolster Australia's defences in preparation for potential war in the Pacific. Some sections of the 2/11th Field company served in New Guinea and Borneo, on Timor and on Ambon Island in the Netherlands East Indies. On Ambon, after surrendering, over 200 men were massacred by the Japanese. The rest became prisoners of war; three quarters died before the war’s end. Pvte Feekings was listed as missing on 2 February 1942 and investigations after the war determined it was impossible to positively identify many of the remains found at Laha. Therefore these ‘war dead’ were declared “Became missing and for Official Purposes Presumed to be Dead, 20 February 1942”. Sadly Pvte Feekings has no known grave and is memorialised on the Ambon Memorial and several other memorials.
FEEKINGS. — In loving memory of our dear Son, Sapper James Feekings, 2/11 R.A.E. (Gull Force), presumed killed, La-La, Amboina, Feb. 20, 1942.
Remembered by his family.