TAYLOR, Donald James
| Service Number: | VX20686 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia , 18 January 1919 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Presumed, Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 20 February 1942, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Ambon Memorial, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia Col 2 |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement VX20686 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX20686 | |
| 13 Dec 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX20686, embarked Darwin for Ambon, Indonesia | |
| 7 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Ambon, Missing, presumed dead |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of four brothers (Kenneth, John, Donald and Ian) who served in WWII, Sergeant Donald James Taylor (Service No:VX20686) initially served in the Militia as a Cadet (Service No:294981) with 6th Battalion before enlisting in the AIF on 10 June 1940 as a Private with 15th Infantry Training Battalion. Posted to 2/21st Infantry Battalion as a Corporal on 20 July 1940, he was in Darwin with his Battalion in April 1941. Sergeant Taylor embarked with his Unit from Darwin for Ambon, Indonesia on 13 December 1941 as part of Gull Force to defend the Bay of Ambon and the airfields at Laha and Liang. Following the Ambon surrender on 3 February 1941, Sergeant Taylor was reported as Missing, presumed dead - most members of the Battalion were taken prisoners by the Japanese and later massacred. On 27 March 1946 the Army officially pronounced Sergeant Taylor 'presumed dead' (NAA).
Don was born in Melbourne in 1919, fifth of six children of Alexander (Alex) McLennan Taylor (b1882 in Ballarat, Victoria) and Lily Victoria May Bond (b1887 at Dean's Marsh via Lorne, Victoria). In 1900 Alex joined the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) as a Number Taker, and in 1910 was a Shunter when he and Lily married in Ballarat, where they settled and raised their fmaily. Alex worked for VGR as a Shunter and Guard, and served as President of the Ballarat Literary and Debating Union, and the Ballarat City Branch of the Natives' Association and was a member of the Forestry League and the Educational Workers' Union. In 1919, Alex and Lily moved their family to Melbourne, where Alex was Vice President and State Secretary of the Victorian Railways' Union, Vice President of the Carlton Branch of the Labor Parth and a member of the Fitzroy Branch of the Natives' Association.
Don started work as a 'Lad Labourer', then worked in melbourne as a Messenger with the Victorian Railways Institute. In 1940 when he enlisted in the Army, Don was working in Melbourne as a Labourer.
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