Scottish-born John Gilmour enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1940 in Western Australia.
Assigned to the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, John arrived in Singapore on 24 January 1942. He became a prisoner of war (POX) 3 weeks later, when Singapore fell and the British forces surrendered to the Japanese.
At first, John was held at Changi. He became ill and remained there in the hospital when his brother and others were sent to work on the Burma-Thailand railway.
Later, John was sent to Japan aboard an old tramp ship, Weills Maru, as part of an 11-ship convoy. The ship narrowly missed being hit by a torpedo on the voyage.
In Japan, John was sent to Kobe and assigned to hard labour. He witnessed the fire-bombing of the city and surrounding hills by B-29 bombers. It was a sight he described as 'fantastic' but an experience he recalled being horrific for the civilians caught in it. The prison camp at Kobe was also bombed, and the building where John lived caught fire. He felt lucky to escape.
John's eyesight deteriorated as a result of his poor diet while interned. He was prescribed a spoonful of Marmite (high in vitamin B12 like Vegemite) 3 times a day to treat his condition.
John and his fellow POWs at Kobe were not rescued until one month after Japan's surrender. He was then sent to Manila, where he boarded HMS Formidable for his return to Australia, disembarking in Sydney on 13 October 1945.
