William Thomas Jinkins (1912)

Biography

William Thomas Jinkins was born on 29th November 1912 at Moreland, Victoria, Australia. He was a son of Victor Jinkins.

On 5th July 1940, William was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service overseas during the Second World War.^[1] He was allocated to the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion, a unit of the 23rd Brigade, 8th Division.^[2]

The battalion was deployed to Ambon Island, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) in 1941 to reinforce Dutch troops and delay the advance of the Japanese Army. However, on 3rd February 1942, just days after the Japanese invaded Ambon, 'Gull Force' surrendered. Not thinking too highly of the prospects of years as a prisoner of war, he escaped with a small group of soldiers soon afterward and made their way back to Australia. As it eventuated, his summation was correct as the members of B and C Companies were massacred around Laha Airfield, and the remainder suffered the highest death rate of any Australian prisoners of war. On 28th May 1943 William was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for "the organisation and plan of escape from Ambon during February 1942".^[3][4] He was re-posted to Z Special Unit.^[5] He was discharged from the AIF as a Major on 6th January 1947.

Sources

1. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: VX44818 Major William Thomas Jinkins; accessed 21 Sep 2019
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 21 Sep 2019
3. ↑ Australian Honours: MBE; accessed 21 Sep 2019
4. ↑ Maynard, Roger. Ambon: The truth about one of the most brutal POW camps in World War II; accessed 21 Sep 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial: VX44818 Major William Thomas Jinkins; accessed 21 Sep 2019