Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

VX55966 Private John Hale “Jack” Shepard was the son of William and Emily Shepard and was born in Murchison on 30 July 1921. He enlisted on 16 May 1941 in Cobram, Victoria and was posted to the 2/29th Battalion. The 2/29th Infantry Battalion was formed at Bonegilla near Wodonga in October 1940. This unit was part of the 8th Division and endured very heavy fighting trying to stop the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and their advance towards Singapore in January 1942. Constantly harried from the rear and the air, the force fought its way through a succession of Japanese roadblocks but was halted by strong positions around the bridge across the Simpang Kiri River at Parit Sulong. With its ammunition exhausted, casualties mounting, and no chance of relief, the combined Australian–Indian force struck out through the jungle for Yong Peng on the morning of 22 January 1942. The force had to leave their wounded behind – about 110 Australians and 40 Indians (described by a witness as “maimed and bloodstained”). Captured by the Japanese, the prisoners were tied together at around sunset on 22 January 1942. Some were bayoneted, some shot, and very few escaped mortal wounds. Only two survived.

Jack Shepard is listed as one of those presumed killed in the “Parit Sulong Massacre”, one of the very first atrocities recorded by the Japanese against prisoners of war, 22 January 1942. Jack Shepard did not live to see his 21st birthday.

Jack has no grave and his name is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, which bears the names of over 24,000 casualties of the Commonwealth land and air forces that have no known grave. Many of these have no known date of death and are accorded within the records the date or period from when they were known to be missing or captured.