SHEPHERD, William Patrick
| Service Number: | VX66586 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Wedderburn Junction, Victoria, Australia, 23 January 1916 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Illness (while a prisoner of the Japanese), Borneo, 5 June 1945, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Labuan Memorial, Panel 30, Malaysia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Bendigo Sandakan Prisoner of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, VX66586 | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX66586 | |
| 16 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore |
Help us honour William Patrick Shepherd's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
VX66586 Private William Patrick Shepherd, 2/10th Ordnance Workshop, Australian Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineers 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 Shepherd, aged 29, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 5 June 1945.
He was the son of Robert James Shepherd and Mary Francis Shepherd, of Bendigo, Vic and is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 30.
Source: AWM
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