Alan Lindsay Malcolm (1921 - 1942)

Born 10 Jan 1921 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 21 in At Sea

Biography

Alan Malcolm was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Alan Malcolm died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

Alan was born in 1921 at Bendigo, VIC, the youngest son of Edward Johns Malcolm and Irene Lois Williams.

He was educated at Prahran Technical School and was working as a warehouse salesman at D. & W. Murray Ltd at the time he enlisted.^[1]

He enlisted in the Australian Army Militia at Royal Park, Melbourne, VIC on 26 Feb 1941 as a Gunner (V11423) in the Royal Australian Artillery Coastal Command. At the time he was single with knowledge of morse code, and was living at Prahran, VIC with his father. He had brown hair and hazel eyes.

He was transferred to "L" Force on 21 Mar 1941 and embarked on the "Zealandia" in Sydney on 18 Apr 1941 for Rabaul, New Britain in the Territory of New Guinea, disembarking there on 26 Apr 1941 as part of "Lark Force" Royal Australian Artillery, Rabaul Heavy Battery, protecting the harbour.

The battery was destroyed by Japanese bombing ahead of the invasion on 23 Jan 1942.

He was captured after the invasion at Keravat and became a Prisoner of War, initially held at Rabaul.

He was among those who were able to write a carefully scripted latter to next of kin advising that he was a POW. The letters were dropped from a Japanese plane over Port Moresby, Papua.^[2]

He died on board the "Montevideo Maru" when it was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of the Philippines on 01 Jul 1942, en route from Rabaul to Hainan where he was destined for forced labour.

He was posthumously enrolled in the 2nd AIF as VX129358.

Sources

1. ↑ Service Casualties (1945, November 10). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 19. Retrieved May 17, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12152277
2. ↑ Red Cross POW Enquiry cards - https://gallery.its.unimelb.edu.au/imu/imu.php?request=multimedia&irn=53266

• WW2 Australian Army Service File - National Archives of Australia - MALCOLM ALAN LINDSAY : Service Number - VX129358 : Date of birth - 10 Jan 1921 : Place of birth - BENDIGO VIC : Place of enlistment - ROYAL PARK : Next of Kin - MALCOLM EDWARD - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6082525

• Roll of Honour - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1684125

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2616012/malcolm,-alan-lindsay/