Forenames

John Michael AWMM

Surname

Menzies AWMM

Service number

WWII 36495 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Birth

31 Dec 1910 Births, Deaths, and Marriages

Address before enlistment

WW2 Pre 1940-1941 AWMM 13 Springfield Rd., Morningside AWMM

Next of kin

WW2 Mrs. Pearl Menzies, 1198 Dominion Rd., Mount Roskill, Auckland (wife) AWMM

Relationship status

Pre 1940-1941 AWMM Married/WWII AWMM

War

World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Armed force / branch

Army AWMM

Service number

WWII 36495 AWMM

Military service

• Coastwatcher AWMM
• 7th Field Ambulance, N.Z. Medical Corps AWMM
• B Force, 8th Brigade, New Zealand 3rd Division AWMM

Medals and Awards

• Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) AWMM
  08 Nov 1945 AWMM
  London Gazette: For exemplary conduct in coast-watching and communication duties in the Gibert Islands area in the face of the enemy, despite overwhelming odds and the knowledge that relief or escape was impossible. AWMM
• War Medal 1939-1945 AWMM
• New Zealand War Service Medal AWMM

Enlistment

WW2 1940-1941 2NZEF Nom. Roll 3, p.326 Railways Employee/Civilian 2NZEF Nom. Roll 3, p.326

Embarkation details

WW2 Private 2NZEF Nom. Roll 3, p.326 7th Field Ambulance, N.Z. Medical Corps 2NZEF Nom. Roll 3, p.326 Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Third Echelon AWMM

Capture details

WW2 POW - Zentsuji Camp, Zentsuji, Shikoku Islands, Japan AWMM
Jan 1941 AWMM

Served as a Coastwatcher on the Gilbert Islands and was taken as a Prisoner of War by Japanese forces. AWMM

Death

24 Oct 1991 Purewa Cemetery

Cemetery

Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium Meadowbank Auckland New Zealand AWMM Block X Row 66 Plot 81 AWMM

Related Serviceperson

External links

Warren, Geraldine and Pine, Madison. Our Coastwatchers. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 21 April 2020
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/coastwatchers
Further Reference

References

• Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 3 (Embarkations from 1st July, 1940 to 31st March, 1941). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
  p.326
• Gillespie, O. (1952). The Pacific. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
  p.233
• Beattie, P.J. and Pomeroy, M.J. (2016). Gallant Acts and Noble Deeds: New Zealand army honours and awards for the Second World War. Auckland, N.Z.: Fair Dinkum Publications.; P.J. Beattie and M.J. Pomeroy, 2016.
• Information kindly provided by family
• Nominal rolls - Embarkation rolls B-force 8th infantry brigade group [New Zealand Military Forces - "B" Force - Embarkation Roll]. Archives New Zealand, Wellington, AAYS 8638 AD1/1421 (R22440171)
• Personnel - Medals and decorations - Awards to Pacific Coast watchers (1942-1946), Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R21465310)
• Information on Japanese-run internment (prisoner of war) camps was kindly provided by Chris Brooks. More than 350 Japanese-run military prisoner-of-war and civilian internment and concentration camps were run throughout the "Far East" during World War II.
• Mason, W.W. (1954) Prisoners of war. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.