John Motley Atherton (1895 - 1942)

Born 6 Mar 1895 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 47 in At Sea

Biography

John Atherton was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

John Atherton died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

John was born in 1895 in Rockhampton, QLD, the son of William Atherton and his wife Ealey, nee Motley.

He seems to have had musical talent, based on results in 1905.

In 1913 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Military (Senior Cadets).

John joined the AIF on 01 Sep 1914 as a Private and was assigned to 9 Bn, Infantry as No. 377. At the time he was a chemist. It appears this was by apprenticeship. He was 5ft 9 in tall, with fair complexion, brown hair and brown eyes.

He was in the first wave ashore at Gallipoli. In May 1915 he was wounded in the arm and sent to hospital, initially at Lemnos and later in Malta before returning to Cairo. He was an A/Sgt at this time. He worked in an administrative position there while he recovered.

Back in Australia, John's father was using his contacts with politicians to advance the case for his son being given a Commission, without success.

He embarked on HMAT Euripedes for England on 11 May 1916.

He was discharged from the AIF and granted a commission as a 2nd Lieut in the Royal Flying Corps on 27 Aug 1916, with instructions to report to Oxford, England for flying training.

He served in the Royal Flying Corps until 11 Nov 1918.

After the war, he stayed on in England for some time. In 1919, he had a store at Biggin Hill in England. ^[1][2]

His wife was Ivy May, nee Adams.

He was living in Rabaul as a chemist in the Administration Pharmacy Bureau when the Japanese invaded in Jan 1942, but was captured at Kokopo, about 30 km SW of Rabaul. He was interned and was on board the ill-fated "Montevideo Maru", which was torpedoed and sunk on 01 Jul 1942 off the coast of the Philippines.

Research Notes

Wife's name (Ivy May Adams) is recorded in official records, but marriage record has not been located.

Sources

1. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article53898693
2. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69713664

• Birth - Queensland BDM Birth index - John Motley Atherton; Event date: 06/03/1895; Event type: Birth registration; Registration details: 1895/C/10368; Mother: Ealey Motley; Father/parent: William Atherton

• WW1 AIF Service record - National Archives of Australia - Atherton John Motley : SERN 377 : POB Rockhampton QLD : POE Rockhampton QLD : NOK F Atherton William -

• Death on the Montevideo Maru - National Archives of Australia - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=432031&S=2

• Death Record - National Archives of Australia - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=102239&S=10

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/3173217/john-motley-atherton/

In the News

• Aug 1905 - Trinity College of Music exam results (Rockhampton) - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article53046890

• Jul 1913 - Second Lieutenant in the Senior Cadets - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19895144

• Sep 1914 - Joining Expeditionary Forces - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5332859

• Jul 1915 - Letter from Lemnos - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69398972

• Jan 1917 - mentioned in letter from England - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69408604

• Mar 1917 - Narrow escape in aircraft crash - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69413010