WILSON, John
| Service Number: | WX17973 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Newcastle, England, United Kingdom, 23 March 1907 |
| Home Town: | Yornup, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Timber Worker (Bunnings Mill, Yornup) |
| Died: | Dysentery whilst a prisoner of the Japanese, Thailand, 25 August 1943, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Burial reference: - Plot 1. Row L. Grave 47. Personal Inscription: - "HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE OUR DARLING". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX17973 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX17973, 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Dianne Black
Parents: - Born, 1907 in Newcastle, Shropshire, to Ann and John Coutts Wilson. John and other family members including his immigrated to Western Australia prior to 1925. Jack's mother married Denzil (Denny) Simpson in 1925 and took up residence at Collie, Western Australia and finally moving to Bunbury, Western Australia.
Wife: - Olive Elsie Mills married 1937 in Wellington, Western Australia, the union producing two sons Denzil John Wilson, born 1939 and Brian Edward Wilson, born in 1940. Denzil John was named after Jack’s stepfather Denny Simpson.
John “Jack” Wilson enlisted in Claremont, Western Australia on 10th December 1941, once basic training was completed he was transferred on 16th December 1941 to the 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion, ‘E’ Platoon. Private John Wilson left for oversea service, disembarking at Singapore on 24th January 1942, 23 days later Jack was listed as missing, (PoW) after the Battle of Singapore. Now a prisoner of war of the Japanese Imperial Army, he was sent to Thailand to worked on the Burma-Thai Railway. Private John Wilson died at Brankassi Camp, Thailand as a PoW and interred in the camp's cemetery .
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