The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX65715) Private John Townshend Glennie, 8th Supply Column AASC, AIF, Second World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Jana Johnson , the story for this day was on (NX65715) Private John Townshend Glennie, 8th Supply Column AASC, AIF, Second World War.

NX65715 Private John Townshend Glennie, 8th Supply Column AASC, AIF
DOD 15 March 1945
Photograph: P02467.790

Story delivered 16 July 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Glennie.

John Townshend Glennie was born on 25 April 1910 to George and Alice Glennie in Murwillumbah, just south of the Queensland border in New South Wales. His father was a stock inspector on the Tweed River, and his mother was a popular community and church worker whose efforts for the Red Cross during the war years earned her local acclaim. She died when John was 19 years old, leaving four other children: George, Mary, Muriel, and Dorothea.

Known as “Punch”, John Glennie attended the prestigious King’s School in Parramatta, Sydney. After leaving school he took up employment with F.W. Stuart & Co. Auctioneers in his hometown of Murwillumbah, where he was working when war broke out in 1939.

On 22 October 1940 Glennie enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force. He was taken on strength with the Australian Army Service Corps, as part of the Australian 8th Division. In February 1941 Glennie embarked for overseas service aboard the famous ocean-liner-cum-troopship, the Queen Mary, arriving in Singapore later that month.

Following Japan’s entry into the war, Japanese forces advanced quickly through the Pacific, moving towards Singapore.

From mid-January 1942 the units of the 8th Division were involved in fierce fighting against the Japanese forces on the Malayan peninsula.
On 15 February, the British forces on Singapore surrendered to the Japanese, and John Glennie was among the thousands who became prisoners of war.

The Japanese soon called for working parties to build and expand new infrastructure across their empire, and from Changi prisoner-of-war camp Glennie volunteered to join “B Force” after having been assured better food and conditions. But he soon found himself on a hellish sea journey to Borneo, crammed into a cargo hold for 11 days before arriving at Sandakan.

Though initially bearable, conditions at Sandakan deteriorated into some of the worst experienced by prisoners of the Japanese. Prisoners, including the sick, were forced at gunpoint to work on the construction of a military airstrip, and were often beaten by their captors. Illness and death ravaged the camp, and food was scarce. By January 1945 the prisoners were fending for themselves.

The completed airfield was soon destroyed by Allied aircraft bombing, and between January and March 1945 some 450 of the fittest prisoners were ordered to march west to Ranau – a distance of around 260 kilometres.

At this time Glennie was suffering from malaria, and not considered fit enough to leave with the rest. He died on 15 March 1945, as the second group was preparing to leave the camp for Ranau. He was 34 years old.

Today Private John Glennie is commemorated on the memorial at the Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private John Townshend Glennie, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Christina Zissis Editor, Military History Section