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3054398
Serjeant
Thomas Allan
Royal Scots
2nd Battalion
Japanese POW
Sgt Thomas Allan , 2nd Bn Royal Scots was wounded and captured in Hong Kong, becoming a Japanese POW . On the 29th September 1942, Thomas and 1815 other POW’s were taken aboard the Lisbon Maru bound for Shanghai. When on the 1st October, 6 miles from Tung Fusham Island off China coast. 29°57'N, 122°56'N, the USS Grouper, an American submarine, attacked believing the ship was a Japanese Military ship, the Lisbon Maru was hit and badly damaged. The Japanese crew were taken off by other ships in the convoy, leaving a machine gun party on board to guard the prisoners who were in the battened down holds. The prisoners fearing going down with the ship, forced the hatches escaping the holds, but were machine gunned by the guards. Eventually the guards were overpowered and disposed of, but many prisoners had been killed. The prisoners took to the water, some making it to a small island, many drowning in the attempt. 842 prisoners died in the sinking of the Lisbon Maru.
Sgt. Thomas Allan was one of the 974 survives who were recaptured and taken to Japanese homeland camps for the duration of the war.
After the POW’s were released Thomas was taken on board a Dutch Hospital ship heading for New Zealand and then on to Britain. Sgt Thomas Allan Royal Scots decided to stay in New Zealand maybe because of ill health he realised that he could not manage the six week sail home, staying at Auckland. A few months later he died and was buried in a war grave in Auckland.
Died
Age: 29
14th March 1946
Memorial
Prot. Soldiers Area G, Row 11, Grave 14.
AUCKLAND (WAIKUMETE) CEMETERY
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