This is the same story that happened to a lot of men ... such a shame ! John Phillip Kennedy was almost 45 years old when he enlisted as a chaplain to the 2/40th Battalion AIF, part of the 23rd Infantry Brigade. His brigade was shipped to the Northern Territory where they marked time in Darwin awaiting their travel orders while Japan’s entry into the war became more and more certain. On 8 December 1941, the day that Japan entered the war, the men in the 2/40th, part of the 1400-strong Sparrow Force, sailed from Darwin to reinforce the small Dutch garrison in western Timor. Behind the Wire
Another member of Sparrow Force (they all have storie to tell): Prisoners of War of the Japanese 1942-1945 As an aside click on the books link in the menu - some very interesting documents in there
