John Roy (Jack) Thorpe OAM

John Roy (Jack) Thorpe OAM

Personal Information
Date of Birth	9 Nov 1921
Place of Birth	Claremont, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 1 month
Address	Armadale, Western Australia
Military Information
Date of Enlistment	20 Dec 1940
Rank	Sergeant
Unit/Formation	105th Transport Company

War Service

On reporting to the Northam cam, he was placed in the 2nd Recruit Training Depot. After months of training he became annoyed at not being included for a draft overseas so volunteered to join a Mechanised Cavalry Unit which required him to travel to Puckapunyal in Victoria for training.

Granted pre-embarkation leave, he then boarded the SS Marnix van Sint Aldegonde as part of Convoy 12B which departed Melbourne on 18 Sep 1941, and arrived in Fremantle on 26 Sep 1941. The convoy departed on 28 Sep 1941 and after reaching the Indonesia archipelago turned west and headed for Colombo, and eventually Port Tewfik in Egypt where they arrived on 20 Oct 1941. They were then trained to Kantara where they crossed the canal and travelled by trucks across the Sinai Desert to a camp north of Gaza in Palestine.

After time in Palestine they reversed the journey to Port Tewfik and embarked on SS Orcades along with the 2nd/3rd Australian Machine Gun Battalion and during the afternoon of 1 Feb 1942 the Orcades sailed alone as Convoy JS2 for Colombo where it refueled on 8 Feb 1942. The next morning it sailed for Oosthaven where it arrived on 15 Feb 1942, the day Singapore surrendered. The next day they sailed for Tanjong Priok, arriving there on 17 Feb 1942. Two days later they disembarked and Jack spent time driving his truck and avoiding the Japanese until his unit surrendered. Jack was to spend several months in captivity on Java before being loaded onto an old ship for Singapore where they were sent to Changi POW camp.

Post War

Notes

At enlistment gave his age as 9 Nov 1918. Jack Thorpe OAM has written an account of his service experience "Bloody Lucky", Hesperian Press, 2006.