Gourlay-Terence-Melford

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

TX4805

Private

Terence Melford Gourlay

1920/05/05 - Born Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Home Sandfly, Kingborough, Tasmania

Occupation lorry driver in Tasmania

Australian Military Force

2/40 Infantry Battalion

Service

1941/05/05 - Enlisted

The 2/40 Infantry Battalion was the only Battalion in the Australian Imperial Force recruited almost entirely from Tasmania.

In July 1940 the 2/40th assembled at Brighton Camp, where it spent the rest of the year training.

1941/01/07 - The 2/40th left Hobart on the S.S. Zealandia for Melbourne.

1941/01/09 - Arrived Melbourne.

Then the 2/40th entrained to Bonegilla camp, which was beside Lake Hume in northern Victoria, where training continued. Although mainly men from Tasmania, some Victoria men joined the 2/40th in February.

Late March they entrained to Adelaide, then Alice Springs where the Battalion camped.

In mid April the Battalion was trucked to Darwin and was stationed there before receiving orders that they were being shipped to Timer on the 10th December, but in December some men had been given Christmas leave, so the Battalion was not up to strength for Timor.

The Japanese entered the war on the 8th December 1941 by bombing Pearl Harbour and attacking Hong Kong and Malaya.

As the Battalion had to reform in Timor with the men on December leave, it was not until mid January, the Battalion was up to strength with fresh men being added from Victoria.

The 2/40th were part of Sparrow Force when the Japanese air attacks on Timor began in late-January and increased in intensity over the next month. The 2nd Squadron, RAAF withdrew to Australia on the 19th February, leaving doubts about the role of Sparrow Force.

On the 20th February the Japanese landed troops South of Koepang, with parachute landings to the east of the island. Against immense numbers the Sparrow Force destroyed the airfield and moved inland, under fire towards Champlong. During three days of intense fighting the ‘Sparrows’ had inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese invaders especially their seasoned and crack paratroop regiments, but with food, water and ammunition running low, and the Japanese closing in on them, Lt-Col. Leggatt surrendered the column at Airkom (Irekum) on 23rd February 1942.

They were now Prisoners of War.

Japanese PoW

For the first seven months of captivity the 2/40th prisoners were interned in a camp at Usapa Besar. On the 26th July a small party of senior officers was shipped to Java, the rest of the 2/40th Battalion followed in September.

1942/09/23 - Transported oversea from Koepang, Timor in Dainichi Maru to Surabaya, Java.

1942/10/01 - Arrived Surabaya and onto Batavia.

1942/10/06 - Arrived Batavia.

PoW No. J-880

1944/06/27 - Transported from Batavia, Java with Java Party 22

1944/07/01 - Arrived Singapore

With the exception of the sick who were left at Changi, the PoWs from Java Party 22 left Singapore in five transports to Palambaru, Sumatra on the 7th, 12th and 19th of July, plus the 1st and 8th of August 1944.

The Java Party 22 working on the Sumatra Railway were:-

*Australian*	-	*123*
*American*	-	8
*British*	-	*285*
*Danish*	-	1
*Dutch*	-	*843*
*Total*	-	*1260*

The total workforce was about 5,000 Allied military personnel, mainly Dutch and English, but including a little over 200 Australians and 15 Americans. They were engaged in the building of a narrow-gauge railway across the central portion of the island of Sumatra, in what is now known as Indonesia.

The northern terminal of the railway was the city of Pekanbaru (new spelling), therefore the project became known as the Pekanbaru Rail Line or Sumatra Railway.

Map by Ron Taylor

*Camp No.*	*Name of Work Camp*	*From Pakanbaroe*
*Camp 1*	*Pakanbaroe*	*000Km*
*Camp 2*	*Tengkarand*	*004Km*
*Camp 3*	*Teratakboeloeh*	*017Km*
*Camp 4*	*Kanan*	*019Km*
*Camp 5*	*Loebeoksaki*	*023Km*
*Camp 6*	*Soengaipagar*	*036Km*
*Camp 7a*	*Lipat Kain, north bank Kampar Kiri River*	*069Km*
*Camp 7*	*Lipat Kain, south back Kampar Kiri River*	*075Km*
*Camp 8*	*Kotabaroe*	*111Km*
*Camp 14a*	*Petai*
*Camp 14*	*Tapoei*
*Camp 9*	*Logas*	*142Km*
*Camp 10*	*Loeboekambatjan*	*160Km*
*Camp 11*	*Padang Torok*	*180Km*
*Camp 12*	*Silukah*	*200Km*
*Camp 13*	*Moeara*	*220Km*

New PoW No. I-4458

The Japanese plan was to create a 138-mile connection between the town of Pekanbaru and an existing rail line which ran to the city of Padang on the Indian Ocean. Pekanbaru is located in the centre of the island at latitude 0 degrees, 39 minutes north, thus 39 nautical miles above the equator. It was a small seaport, connected via the Siak River to the Strait of Malacca. Much of the surrounding terrain was swamp, with numerous interlaced waterways, creeks and bayous. It was a terrible area on which to build rail-beds, bridges and to lay tracks. Fifteen miles or so south of the town the ground was more stable, but the mangroves were replaced by a huge, dense, towering jungle, complete with wild tigers and elephants. Compounding the prisoners' problems was the extreme equatorial heat and the rains of the spring monsoon.

The PoWs were overworked, underfed, provided with little medicine, and subjected to constant physical and mental abuse by the Japanese guards.

A hospital for Malaria, Dysentery, Pellagra, and Beri-Beri patients existed in name only. It was simply a dilapidated bamboo-framed, thatched roof barracks where the sick were placed to await their eventual death.

Several prisoners laboured at the unending task of digging the graves and burying the bodies. Most of the time the PoWs never knew the identities of those being carried over the creek and up the hill to their resting place. Only if a prisoner had five friends was he accorded a proper burial, generally at the end of the work day.

The total death toll on the Sumatra Railway was over 700.

1944/11/01 - Terence is named on the Pakanburoe PoW Roll

New PoW No. I-14600

Terence survived the Sumatra Railway and was liberated Singapore

1945/12/22 - Discharged from service

Post War

Terence met Patricia Nell in Melbourne and they married in December 1946 at St Ambrose's Church in Brunswick.

Terence was a plasterer by trade after the war and they built a house in Pascoe Vale. Victoria.

They were blessed with four Children, John, David, Dianne and Vicki.

Before retiring, Terence worked at the CSL.

Died