Was he a POW ??

liverpool annie · Sep 14, 2008

This young man is one of my family ... but I don't understand .... I thought he was at Land Headquarters and I assumed still in Australia but he's buried in Indonesia .... ! Could anybody tell me anything about what he was doing ?

Annie

Name: HOWARTH, MILNER OSWALD
Initials: M O
Nationality: Australian
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Australian Headquarters
Unit Text: A.I.F. Adv. L. H.Q.
Age: 19
Date of Death: 04/05/1945
Service No: NX201264
Additional information: Son of Milner and Caroline Howarth, of Chatswood, New South Wales. Australia.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 30. B. 2.
Cemetery: AMBON WAR CEMETERY

Kyt · Sep 14, 2008

He was not a POW

Name HOWARTH, MILNER OSWALD
Service Australian Army
Service Number NX201264
Date of Birth 13 May 1925
Place of Birth SYDNEY, NSW
Date of Enlistment 27 May 1943
Locality on Enlistment ST IVES, NSW
Place of Enlistment PADDINGTON, NSW
Next of Kin HOWARTH, MILNER
Date of Death 4 May 1945
Rank Private
Posting on Death ADV LHQ
WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display
Prisoner of War No
Roll of Honour ST IVES NSW

Though his files have not been digitised his burial at Ambon could be explainedby the fact that there were a number of advanced units of the Land Headquarters, like signals units, based on Morotai Island from early 1945. The island is just north of Ambon, and had been cleared by the Americans in 1944. And Ambon is where all the casualties on the surrounding islands were collected.

liverpool annie · Sep 14, 2008

Kyt said: ↑

He was not a POW

Name HOWARTH, MILNER OSWALD
Service Australian Army
Service Number NX201264
Date of Birth 13 May 1925
Place of Birth SYDNEY, NSW
Date of Enlistment 27 May 1943
Locality on Enlistment ST IVES, NSW
Place of Enlistment PADDINGTON, NSW
Next of Kin HOWARTH, MILNER
Date of Death 4 May 1945
Rank Private
Posting on Death ADV LHQ
WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display
Prisoner of War No
Roll of Honour ST IVES NSW

Though his files have not been digitised his burial at Ambon could be explainedby the fact that there were a number of advanced units of the Land Headquarters, like signals units, based on Morotai Island from early 1945. The island is just north of Ambon, and had been cleared by the Americans in 1944. And Ambon is where all the casualties on the surrounding islands were collected.
Click to expand...

I'm lucky enough to have his service papers K ... but they don't mention Indonesia ! and I was just going through some papers and notes and saw Ambon - it hadn't "struck " me before !! ..... and it made me wonder what he was doing there !

According to CWGC

The town of Ambon, situated on Laitimor Peninsula on the southern shore of Ambon Bay, was severely damaged during the war, first by the Japanese who bombed it heavily in January 1942 and later by the Allied forces who attacked it in 1943 and 1944. The War Cemetery was constructed on the site of a former camp for Australian, British and Dutch prisoners of war, some of whom had been transferred from Java in 1943, and many of those buried in it died in captivity. Other burials were of Australian soldiers who died during the Japanese invasion on Ambon and Timor. Soon after the war the remains of prisoners of war from Haruku and other camps on the island were also removed to Ambon and in 1961, at the request of the Indonesian Government, the remains of 503 graves in Makassar War Cemetery on the island of Celebes were added to the cemetery. The total number of graves in the cemetery is over 2,000. Of this total over half are Australians, of whom about 350 belonged to the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion. Most of the 800 British casualties belonged to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force; nearly all the naval dead were originally buried at Makassar. The American airmen were killed with 7 Australian airmen in July 1945; all were buried in a collective grave in Plot 28. The non-war grave is that of a seaman of the Merchant Navy, whose death was not due to war service. The cemetery is laid out in a series of terraces approached by short flights of steps on the central axis. The Ambon Memorial, which is in the form of a shelter, stands on the first terrace. It commemorates over 450 Australian soldiers and airmen who died in the region of Celebes and the Molucca Islands and have no known grave. The Cross of Sacrifice stands on the highest terrace in a wide expanse of lawn; the terrace below it contains most of the burials from Makassar. All the graves are marked with bronze plaques mounted on concrete pedestals and set in level turf. Tropical trees and shrubs are planted throughout the cemetery and around its boundaries. There are 186 Dutch burials here, 15 being unidentified, and 1 American Airman.
Click to expand...

Kyt · Sep 14, 2008

Do the papers state any sub-unit? Or what his duties were?

liverpool annie · Sep 14, 2008

Kyt said: ↑

Do the papers state any sub-unit? Or what his duties were?
Click to expand...

I'll have to read through them and see what I can see ...... it's been a while since I looked through them - and I can't remember ..... !!

spidge · Sep 15, 2008

I had not put this together previously about the American and Australian airmen.

These were the RAAF lads killed on that day:

There are 180 RAAF lads buried at Ambon War Cemetery and 155 on the Ambon Memorial.

CLOAKE, STEPHEN PATRICK Flight Sergeant 441014 21sq 27/07/1945 COOK, ALFRED Warrant Officer 419295 21sq 27/07/1945 HANSON, KENNETH JOHN Flight Lieutenant 403585 21sq 27/07/1945 HESLIN, BRENDAN MICHAEL Flight Sergeant 440787 21sq 27/07/1945 HUME, JOHN JAMES OLIVER Flying Officer 427095 21sq 27/07/1945 HUTTON, FRANK GRAINGER VINCENT Flight Sergeant 437421 23sq 27/07/1945 MAXWELL, WILLIAM JAMES Flight Sergeant 435994 21sq 27/07/1945 NICHOL, CHARLES NEVILLE Flight Sergeant 440381 21sq 27/07/1945

According to CWGC

Quote:

The town of Ambon, situated on Laitimor Peninsula on the southern shore of Ambon Bay, was severely damaged during the war, first by the Japanese who bombed it heavily in January 1942 and later by the Allied forces who attacked it in 1943 and 1944. The War Cemetery was constructed on the site of a former camp for Australian, British and Dutch prisoners of war, some of whom had been transferred from Java in 1943, and many of those buried in it died in captivity. Other burials were of Australian soldiers who died during the Japanese invasion on Ambon and Timor. Soon after the war the remains of prisoners of war from Haruku and other camps on the island were also removed to Ambon and in 1961, at the request of the Indonesian Government, the remains of 503 graves in Makassar War Cemetery on the island of Celebes were added to the cemetery. The total number of graves in the cemetery is over 2,000. Of this total over half are Australians, of whom about 350 belonged to the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion. Most of the 800 British casualties belonged to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force; nearly all the naval dead were originally buried at Makassar. The American airmen were killed with 7 Australian airmen in July 1945; all were buried in a collective grave in Plot 28. The non-war grave is that of a seaman of the Merchant Navy, whose death was not due to war service. The cemetery is laid out in a series of terraces approached by short flights of steps on the central axis. The Ambon Memorial, which is in the form of a shelter, stands on the first terrace. It commemorates over 450 Australian soldiers and airmen who died in the region of Celebes and the Molucca Islands and have no known grave. The Cross of Sacrifice stands on the highest terrace in a wide expanse of lawn; the terrace below it contains most of the burials from Makassar. All the graves are marked with bronze plaques mounted on concrete pedestals and set in level turf. Tropical trees and shrubs are planted throughout the cemetery and around its boundaries. There are 186 Dutch burials here, 15 being unidentified, and 1 American Airman.
Click to expand...

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