William John Sylvester Cameron (1911 - 1942)

Born 4 Aug 1911 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Lillian Florence (Simmonds) Brown — married 1939 in Victoria, Australia

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 30 in At Sea

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sue Crerar [send private message]

Biography

William Cameron is an Anzac who served in World War Two.

William Cameron was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

William Cameron died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

William John Sylvester Cameron, child of William John Cameron and Balbina Taylor, was born on 4 August 1911 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia.^[1]

William was married to Lillian Florence Simmonds on 14 January 1939 in Lilydale, Victoria, Australia.^[2][3]

They had one child, a daughter, Wilma.^[4]

William was in the Australia, World War II Military Service Records, 1939-1945 in Royal Park, Victoria. His service number was Vx32771.

He enlisted in the Australian Army for overseas service at Warburton, Victoria on 8 June 1940. At the time he was a truck driver, living at Lilydale, Victoria with his wife Lillian. He was a Private (VX32771) and was allocated to the 2/22nd Infantry Battalion as a driver. He disembarked at Rabaul in the Territory of New Guinea from HMAT "Katoomba" on 28 March 1941.

When the Japanese invaded New Britain in January 1942 he was captured on the Lassul Bay coast and became a Prisoner of War.

The worst maritime disaster in Australian history

On 1 July 1942 the Montevideo Maru, carrying more than 1000 prisoners of the Japanese forces, most of them Australian, was sunk by an Allied submarine.

The prisoners had been captured in January 1942 by Japanese forces in Rabaul on New Britain, in the former Australian territory of New Guinea, and they were being transferred to Hainan, off southern China.

The Montevideo Maru was torpedoed off Luzon by the USS Sturgeon, unaware that it was carrying Allied prisoners. All the prisoners on board died^[5]

William was a POW on Montevideo Maru when it was sunk in WWII. Missing and presumed dead on 1 July 1942.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921"
   The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records; Reference Number: 18062
   Ancestry uk Record 61648 #1735593 (accessed 27 November 2023)
   Wm Jno Sylvester Cameron birth in Victoria, Australia, child of Wm Jno Cameron & Cameron.
2. ↑ Marriage Registration: "Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950"
   The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Marriage Records; Reference Number: 3309
   Ancestry uk Record 61649 #1331684 (accessed 27 November 2023)
   Wm Jno Cameron marriage to Liln Flor Simmons in 1939 in Victoria, Australia.
3. ↑ Wedding Report - Family Notices (1939, January 21). Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian (Vic. : 1900 - 1942), p. 4. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60457658
4. ↑ Family Notices (1945, October 9). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205641599
5. ↑ National Archives of Australia http://montevideomaru.naa.gov.au/pows-internees-list-en/index.aspx

• WW2 Australian Army Service File - National Archives of Australia: CAMERON WILLIAM JOHN : Service Number - VX32771 : Date of birth - Unknown : Place of birth - CARLTON VIC : Place of enlistment - ROYAL PARK VIC : Next of Kin - CAMERON LILIAN https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6225196 Service record

• Roll of Honour - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10295145

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2615464/william-john-cameron/

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23807845/william_john_sylvester-cameron: accessed 26 March 2024), memorial page for Private William John Sylvester “Bill” Cameron (4 Aug 1911–1 Jul 1942), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23807845, citing Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial, Kokopo, Kokopo District, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea; Maintained by Shane König von Castlemaine (contributor 49774181).

• Virtual War Memorial Australia: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/622348

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