~~SPUNNER, Richard Leslie_Australian Military Forces_AMF_Army_World War Two. (Service)~~
Parents:--- William Armitage Spunner and Eliza Caroline Spunner, of Mentone, Victoria.
Australian Army Service No:--- VX23667
Religion:--- Church of England
Trade/Calling:--- School Teacher
Martial status:--- single
Next of kin:--- Father, Mr William Armitage Spunner, 159 Pt Nepean Rd, Mentone, Victoria.
Enlisted:--- 7th June 1940 in Caulfield, Victoria
Final Rank: --- Sergeant
Final Posting:--- 2nd/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Lark Force.
Fate:--- Presumed to have died in the South China Sea, aboard the unmarked Japanese prisoner of war transport vessel, Montevideo Maru, 1st July 1942, when it was sunk by USS Sturgeon.
Burial:--- No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Commemorated:--- Panel 1, Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial
Commemorated:--- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Commemorated:--- Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial.
Details of Final Posting:---Sergeant Spunner enlisted on 7th June 1940 and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion on 23rd January 1942, (Battle of Rabaul), he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942, Sergeant Spunner was presumed to be one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians who embarked from Rabaul aboard the unmarked Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Parents:--- William Armitage Spunner and Eliza Caroline Spunner, of Mentone, Victoria.
Australian Army Service No:--- VX23667
Religion:--- Church of England
Trade/Calling:--- School Teacher
Martial status:--- single
Next of kin:--- Father, Mr William Armitage Spunner, 159 Pt Nepean Rd, Mentone, Victoria.
Enlisted:--- 7th June 1940 in Caulfield, Victoria
Final Rank: --- Sergeant
Final Posting:--- 2nd/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Lark Force.
Fate:--- Presumed to have died in the South China Sea, aboard the unmarked Japanese prisoner of war transport vessel, Montevideo Maru, 1st July 1942, when it was sunk by USS Sturgeon.
Burial:--- No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Commemorated:--- Panel 1, Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial
Commemorated:--- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Commemorated:--- Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial.
Details of Final Posting:---Sergeant Spunner enlisted on 7th June 1940 and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion on 23rd January 1942, (Battle of Rabaul), he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942, Sergeant Spunner was presumed to be one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians who embarked from Rabaul aboard the unmarked Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
~~SPUNNER, Richard Leslie_Australian Military Forces_AMF_Army_World War Two. (Service)~~
Parents:--- William Armitage Spunner and Eliza Caroline Spunner, of Mentone, Victoria.
Australian Army Service No:--- VX23667
Religion:--- Church of England
Trade/Calling:--- School Teacher
Martial status:--- single
Next of kin:--- Father, Mr William Armitage Spunner, 159 Pt Nepean Rd, Mentone, Victoria.
Enlisted:--- 7th June 1940 in Caulfield, Victoria
Final Rank: --- Sergeant
Final Posting:--- 2nd/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Lark Force.
Fate:--- Presumed to have died in the South China Sea, aboard the unmarked Japanese prisoner of war transport vessel, Montevideo Maru, 1st July 1942, when it was sunk by USS Sturgeon.
Burial:--- No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Commemorated:--- Panel 1, Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial
Commemorated:--- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Commemorated:--- Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial.
Details of Final Posting:---Sergeant Spunner enlisted on 7th June 1940 and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion on 23rd January 1942, (Battle of Rabaul), he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942, Sergeant Spunner was presumed to be one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians who embarked from Rabaul aboard the unmarked Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Parents:--- William Armitage Spunner and Eliza Caroline Spunner, of Mentone, Victoria.
Australian Army Service No:--- VX23667
Religion:--- Church of England
Trade/Calling:--- School Teacher
Martial status:--- single
Next of kin:--- Father, Mr William Armitage Spunner, 159 Pt Nepean Rd, Mentone, Victoria.
Enlisted:--- 7th June 1940 in Caulfield, Victoria
Final Rank: --- Sergeant
Final Posting:--- 2nd/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Lark Force.
Fate:--- Presumed to have died in the South China Sea, aboard the unmarked Japanese prisoner of war transport vessel, Montevideo Maru, 1st July 1942, when it was sunk by USS Sturgeon.
Burial:--- No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Commemorated:--- Panel 1, Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial
Commemorated:--- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Commemorated:--- Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial.
Details of Final Posting:---Sergeant Spunner enlisted on 7th June 1940 and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion on 23rd January 1942, (Battle of Rabaul), he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942, Sergeant Spunner was presumed to be one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians who embarked from Rabaul aboard the unmarked Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Inscription
"Known unto God" "Their glory shall not be blotted out."
Gravesite Details
Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner_"The fortune of war, has denied this known and honoured, ANZAC, burial given to his comrades in death."
Family Members
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