Raymond Frederick Cairns (1922 - 1942)

Born 22 May 1922 in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 20 in At Sea

Biography

Raymond Cairns was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Raymond Cairns died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

Raymond claimed he was born in 1919 but was actually born in 1922 in North Melbourne, the son of James Cairns and Elizabeth Keys. He raised his age to avoid parental consent when enlisting.

He enlisted in the Australian Army for overseas service on 22 Jul 1940 at Royal Park, Melbourne, VIC as a Private (VX37500).

At the time he was single, a storeman and was living with his parents at North Brunswick, VIC. He had black hair and blue eyes. He was an active member of the Salvation Army band, probably at the Brunswick Citadel.

He was allocated to 2/22nd Bn and became part of the Battalion band, made up almost entirely of Salvation Army bandsmen. He was also a medical corpsman. He embarked for Rabaul in the Territory of New Guinea on 10 Apr 1941, disembarking there on 26 Apr 1941.

When the Japanese invaded in Jan 1942 he was captured on the Lassul Bay coast and became a Prisoner of War, initially held at Rabaul. 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.

Sources

• Birth, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria Online Registry. Event: births; Registration number 13891 / 1922; Family name: CAIRNS; Given name(s) Raymond Fredk; Place of event: HOTH E, VIC, Australia; Mother's name Elizth Mary KEYS; Father's Name: James Edward. https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history

• WW2 Australian Army Service File - National Archive of Australia - CAIRNS RAYMOND FREDERICK : Service Number - VX37500 : Date of birth - 22 May 1919 : Place of birth - NORTH MELBOURNE VIC : Place of enlistment - ROYAL PARK VIC : Next of Kin - CAIRNS ELIZABETH - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6139241

• Deaths On Active Service - Family Notices (1945, October 27). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved December 17, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205651272

• Roll of Honour - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1691812

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2615459/raymond-frederick-cairns/

• Virtual War Memorial Australia: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/622206

• Raymond Frederick Cairns (The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, https://www.powmemorialballarat.com.au/ : accessed 16 Mar 2024)