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James Langan travelled from Nanango to Brisbane to voluntarily enlist in the Navy.  However the health check showed that he was colour deficient.  Therefore he was rejected by the Navy. He returned to Nanango and resumed his job in the local sawmill. 

He was accepted by the Citizen Military Forces (Militia) where he served as a Trooper in the 2nd Light Horse Q4053. James brought his horse down from Nanango and was paid an extra 5 shillings per week to buy feed for his horse. We have a photo of him with friend from Nanango Norm Sutcliffe taken at Southport.  We believe he did 3 months training there, then 3 month training at Groveley where he celebrated his 21st birthday. His wages were 8 shillings per day, and a carton of beer cost 12 shillings.

On 22/8/41 James attended the Northern Command Reception Depot at the Exhibition Grounds in Brisbane and was allotted the regimental number QX 22921 and made a Private in the AIF. (They were not concerned about his Colour Deficiency). He was transferred to 11th Training Battalion at Redbank Camp where he commenced his military training. James was critical of the inefficient organization at Redbank where there was time wasted, lack of skill of the officers who had been placed in charge and troops were given incorrect sized boots and clothing.   

On 7/1/42 he left Redbank Camp as a member of 2nd Reinforcements of 2/26 Infantry Battalion and proceeded by rail to Eastern Command at Sydney, NSW.  He then boarded His Majesty's Transport ship  "Acquitania" on 10/1/42 which then proceeded to Freemantle in Western Australia. From there they departed Australia and sailed to Ratai Bay in the Netherlands East Indies escorted by H.M.A.S. "Canberra".

They disembarked at Batavia and transshipped to a smaller vessel and taken to Singapore.  Joined a General Base Depot at Johore in Malaya on 24/1/42. As a result of the 2/29th battalion having suffered hugh losses to the Japanese during its fighting withdrawal down the Malayan Peninsula, James was transferred from 2/26 to 2/29th Battalion.

James embarked from Singapore on 6/2/42 and disembarked at Java on 11/2/42. After the Japanese conquered Singapore, they invaded Java on 1/3/42.  James became a prisoner of war of the Japanese when the British, Dutch and Australian forces on Java surrendered on 12/3/42.

There is very little information of James' time as a POW,but we know that he was liberated from the Japanese in Thailand on 20/8/45. After a period of rehabilitation, he was repatriated back to Australia on the troop transport "Morton Bay" that left Singapore on 15/10/45 and arrived in Sydney NSW on 1/11/45 where he disembarked. The following day he travelledby rail to Recruit Reception and General Demobilisation Depot at Redbank, Qld. 

On 13/12/45 James was admitted to 102nd Army General Hospital at Ekebin, Brisbane, suffering from hookworm and remained a patient there until 7.1.46.

He was discharged from the AIF at Redbank on 11/1/1946. 

The following information is partially from listening to James recount his experiences, and pratially from a diary written by fellow POW Cecil Dawson.

After the surrender to the Japanese on 12/3/42, James was taken to Changi Prison in Singapore. Initially they were held in the former British Army barracks before moving to Changi Prison. After 3 months, the Japanese formed 12 working groups, of which James was one, selected to work on the Burma/Siam Railway Line. The prisoners were packed into steel box cattle wagons with 33 men to a wagon - standing room only. They travelled the whole length of Malaya until they reached Thailand. The trip of approximately 1500 kms was horrendous in the tropical heat with no provision for drinking water, toileting, or food. During the 5 days travel, the only stops were for refuellng and water points for the steam train. The prisoners were allowed off the train briefly, but only those with money could purchase fruit from the local Malays and Thais. 

Eventually reaching Bampong they marched through paddy fields to Kanchanaburi (west of Bangkok) to commence 3 1/2 years of slave labour to construct the railway line to Burma. Their first job was to clear trees and vegetation from a 25 metre wide surveyed corridor the the proposed railway line. The next workcamp was Kinsayok where they worked with Indian and British POW's, as well as elephants that were used to drag the felled trees to the work sites. Next they were loaded into riverboats to Hindato.  Working in pairs, the POW's were expected to drill 2 holes each day to a depth of one metre. James and Cec Dawson were partners on the drill and they made a pact to stick together with a few other Aussies. They felt this was the best way to survive if one became sick with malaria and could not work, there would always be someone to look after him and provide plenty of boiled drinking water. There was a strict Japanese rule that if a prisoner became ill, he did not receive any food rations. 

James remembered having to line up every morning for Roll Call where the prisoners had to number off in the Japanese language.  As children he taught us this numbering. Another memory is that the Korean guards were even more cruel than the Japanese guards.

Next workcamp was Krian Krai where they had to cut a shelf around a mountain for the railway line. By this time their footware and clothing had worn out, so they were issued with 2 Japanese nappies each. These were 1 metre long and 250 mm wide which they tied around their waist, then pulled up between the legs.  There was no issue for a shirt. Even at night they had no peace because their bodies became infested with bed bugs and body lice which nested in the split bamboo slats that they slept on. 

There were no medicines supplied to the POW's and tropical ulcers were rife and as the ulcers worsened, the only treatment was for the Medical Officer to cut the rotting flesh away with a sharpened spoon, while 3 men held the patient down. The final stage was amputation of the affected limb. Apparently Red Cross delivered Quinine to combat malaria, but none of it ever reached the POW's.  

It was estimated that there was one life lost for every sleeper laid on the railway. They experienced a combination of brutality, malnutrition, prolonged physical work in extreme jungle heat, malaria, beriberi, hookworm, and other parasitic diseases. Beheadings were commonplace for the slightest infringement. 

James remembered waking up one morning and there were no Japanese guards. They had deserted the camp.  Eventually the Americans arrived with the brilliant news that Japan had surrended. They gave the sick and malnourished men some much needed supplies of food and medicines.