JESPERSON, Thomas Francis
| Service Number: | NX24827 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE |
| Born: | North Sydney, NSW, Australia, September 1916 |
| Home Town: | Auburn, Auburn, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Illness arising from mistreatment as a Prisoner of Japan, Sandarkan, Borneo, 1 March 1945 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated on the Labuan Memorial |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Labuan Memorial, Labuan Federal Territory, Malaysia |
World War 2 Service
| 28 May 1941: | Enlisted Sapper, NX24827, 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX24827 | |
| 7 Dec 1941: | Involvement Sapper, NX24827, 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE, Malaya/Singapore | |
| 15 Feb 1942: | Involvement Sapper, NX24827, 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE, Prisoners of War | |
| 28 Mar 1943: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore, 'E' Force Borneo | |
| 1 Mar 1945: | Involvement Sapper, NX24827, 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE, Prisoners of War, Died on Sandakan March 1st March 1945 as prisoner of Japanese |
Help us honour Thomas Francis Jesperson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Born on 22 Sep 1916 at North Sydney, NSW, he was the son of Edward Walter and Mary Agnes Jesperson, of Auburn, NSW.
He enlisted on 29 May 1941 and after Basic Training was allocated to the 2nd/12th Field Company Royal Australian Engineers. This unit became part of the 8th Division and was assigned to the defence of Malaya / Singapore.
After the Japanese landings at Kota Bar on the NE coast of Malaya on 7 Dec 941 (the same day as Pearl Harbour) the Allied forces in the Malay Peninsula were pushed back into the island of Singapore and surrendered where they eventually on 15th February 1942. Most PoW were initially housed in the former Changi Gaol.
He was latter assigned to 'E' Force - drafts of prisoners assigned to work gangs in various locations including Japan. E Force was transported from Changi POW Camp to Sandakan Borneo
The 500 Australian and 500 British POW's who made up E Force, left Changi on 28 March 1943, on board the S.S. DeKlerk arriving at Berhala Island (adjacent to Sandakan Harbour) on 15 April 1943. The POW's were held there until 5 June, when they were taken by barge to Sandakan. The next day they were transferred to the 8 Mile Camp, which was about half a mile from the B Force compound.
Sapper Jesperson, aged 28, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 1 March 1945.
Of the POW held in these camps , only six survived, with many dying on the infamous 'Sandakan Death March'.
He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 6 and on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorail.
(Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)
Click images to start slideshow.