John ‘Jack’ Robert James (OW1937) has been added to our WWII OW Honour Roll, following revelations about his short life recently uncovered when a family member donated some of his Wesley items to us.
Jack was born in Grahamvale, near Shepparton. His family were orchardists and helped establish well-known food company SPC. His parents sent him to Wesley to enhance his prospects of getting a job with a bank, which he did in 1938.
A clerk with the National Bank in Sale, he enlisted on 12 October 1940 after prior militia service. He trained locally and got his flying badge in April 1941.
Where OWs served in WWII:
Army | 1,073 |
|---|---|
Air Force | 556 |
Navy | 184 |
Royal Air Force | 9 |
British Army | 8 |
Merchant Navy | 4 |
Royal Navy | 4 |
Malayan Volunteer Units | 2 |
Indian Army | 1 |
NZ Forces | 1 |
South African Forces | 1 |
Tonga Defence Unit | 1 |
Total: | 1,844 |
He arrived in Egypt in July of that year and joined the RAAF 450 Squadron in October. He was injured in a landing mishap in February 1942 and was reprimanded for his role in an early morning disturbance at a Cairo club in April 1942.
On 8 June 1942, flying a Kittyhawk, he was escorting fighter bombers to attack enemy positions at Bir Hakeim, Libya. He was instructed to strafe the enemy with machine gun fire and met with intense anti-aircraft fire. He was initially posted missing in action and, sadly, later presumed to have died on that mission.
He had 43 sorties before his death at just 21 years of age. His name is recorded on the Alamein Memorial, El Alamein War Cemetery. He brings the total number of recognised deaths of OWs in WWII to 152.
His name will be added to the Honour Boards in the library and the Book of Remembrance in the chapel at the St Kilda Road Campus. Lest we forget.
