JOHNSTON, Lineker
| Service Number: | NGX513 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 January 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | New Guinea Volunteer Rifles |
| Born: | Warragul, Victoria, Australia, 8 October 1913 |
| Home Town: | Rabaul, New Britain, Blanche Bay, Papua New Guinea |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk, Bank of New South Wales, Rabaul, Papua |
| Died: | Died at sea (Montevideo Maru), South China Sea, 1 July 1942, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated ~ Panel 30,Rabaul Memorial, Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Melbourne Cricket Club WW2 Honour Roll, Rabaul Memorial, Rabaul Montevideo Maru Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement NGX513, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NGX513 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Bonald
Rifleman Lineker Johnston enlisted on 21st January 1942, in Rabual, Papua, Guinea and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion on 23rd January 1942, (Battle of Rabaul), he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22nd June 1942, Rifleman Lineker Johnston was one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians who embarked from Rabaul aboard the unmarked Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1st July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Enquiries during and after the war determined it was impossible to positively identify all the prisoners who died at sea. Therefore these ‘war dead’ were declared “Become missing on the 1st July 1942 and for Official Purposes Presumed to be Dead, on board Montevideo Maru ”.
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