SHAW, Mervyn David
| Service Number: | NX53747 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/30th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Helensburgh, New South Wales, Australia , 21 September 1907 |
| Home Town: | Bondi, Waverley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Storeman |
| Died: | Illness, Thailand, 29 May 1943, aged 35 years |
| Cemetery: |
Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, (Burma) |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, NX53747 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX53747, 2nd/30th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Jul 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX53747, 2nd/30th Infantry Battalion, embarked Sydney for Singapore on board Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt (HMT FF) | |
| 13 Apr 1942: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore, Reported Missing | |
| 23 Apr 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX53747, embarked Singapore with F Force for Thailand |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of four brothers (Les, Clarrie, Merv and Jack) who served in WWII, Private Mervyn David Shaw (Service No:NX53747) enlisted in the AIF on 9 July 1940, and marched out to 18th Infantry Training Battalion Walgrove NSW. Private Shaw was attached to 2/30th Infantry Battalion on 29 July 1941 when he embarked with his Unit from Sydney for Singapore on board HMT FF (Johann Van Oldenbarvelt). Reported Missing in Singapore on 13 April 1942, Private Shaw was a PoW held by the Japanese, originally at Changi where he was part of Singapore Work Parties. On 23 April 1943, Private Shaw left Singapore with F Force by train (Train 5, Truck 15) for Bam Pong in Thailand, and then marched out (330 kms) to PoW Camps for work on the Burma/Thailand Railway. Private Shaw died of cholera on 29 May 1943, and was cremated.
Merv was born in Helensburgh via Woolongong, New South Wales in 1907, fifth of eight children of Robert Thomas Shaw (b1877 at Wattle Flat, Bathurst, New South Wales) and Maude Mary Jane Ingram (b1883 in Glenn Innes, New South Wales). Robert and Maude married in 1900 in Bathurst, and lived there and in Lithgow and Helensburg via Woolongong before settling in Sydney in 1918. Robert worked as a Labourer.
Merv worked as a Boot Repairer and Shop Assistant in Sydney, and in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army, was working as a Storeman.
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