HARSTOFF, Douglas Percy
| Service Number: | QX22382 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 October 1941, Townsville, Qld, Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, 11 March 1920 |
| Home Town: | Winton, Winton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | McKinlay State School |
| Occupation: | Shed hand |
| Died: | Died of Illness (POW of Japan), Borneo, 5 June 1945, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave - Panel 15, Labuan Memorial, Labuan, Malaysia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Labuan Memorial, Labuan Federal Territory, Malaysia, Sandakan Prisoner of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Private, QX22382, Townsville, Qld, Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore |
We will remember
The pain has stopped,
For I am dead.
My time on earth is done.
But in a hundred years from now,
I’ll still be twenty-one.
My brief sweet life is over,
My eyes no longer see,
No summer walks,
No Christmas trees,
No pretty girls for me.
I’ve got the chop, I’ve had it,
My nightly ops are done.
Yet, in another hundred years
I’ll still be twenty-one.
Submitted 14 March 2017 by Karen Byrne
Biography contributed by John Edwards
"...QX22382 Private Douglas Percy Harstorff, 2/29th Battalion, Australian Infantry. He was one of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POW camp in north Borneo, having been transferred there from Singapore as a part of B Force. The 1494 POW's that made up B Force, were transported from Changi on 7 July 1942 on board the tramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving in Sandakan Harbour on 18 July 1942. Private Harstorff, aged 25, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 5 June 1945. He was the son of Louis James Harstorff and Eileen Margaret Harstorff, of Gilliat, Qld. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 15..." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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