Warrant Officer Class 2 John McDonald: From Escaping Barracks to Breaking Out of Prison Camps

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Warrant Officer Class 2 John McDonald could boast an eventful and exciting military career, even by the standards of a world war—especially for someone in a support role.

Born in the final year of the First World War, John was 21 when he enlisted for the Second World War in November 1939. He signed up in Bendigo, Victoria, listing his occupation as a labourer. He was immediately taken on strength with the 2/5th Battalion and, just days later, on 6th November 1939, was transferred to Puckapunyal, a major military training facility in Victoria.

In December 1939, John was briefly evacuated to a Casualty Dressing Station (C.D.S.) due to a reaction to the cold but was discharged and returned to duty on 14th December. While stationed in Puckapunyal, he proved to be something of a troublemaker! On 5th April 1940, he disappeared from the base and was only located two days later. For being absent without leave, he was formally admonished by the Commanding Officer of the 2/5th Battalion and automatically forfeited two days’ pay—a relatively light punishment under the circumstances. This was only a few days before he was to depart overseas, did John want to see family or a girlfriend before he left? You could imagine a number of circumstances that may have convinced his commanding officer to be lenient.

Despite this early infraction, John continued his training, and on 14th April 1940, he embarked from Melbourne with the 2/5th Australian Infantry Battalion, bound for the Middle East. He disembarked in Kandara, on the Red Sea coast, a month later before transferring to Haifa, Palestine (modern-day Israel). Later that year, on 19th July 1940, he was hospitalised at Bayt Jirja (15 km northeast of Gaza) due to heat exhaustion but was discharged back to duty on 27th July. That same day, he was taken on strength by the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC). His technical skills were recognised when he was graded as a Group II Electrician on 27th September 1940, marking his transition into a specialised support role within the army.

It is often forgotten that the majority of service personnel weren’t in the infantry, they were working in the many and varied roles that are essential to keeping the combat forces in the field supplied, supported and informed, so they can fight effectively. Having been in a supporting role would have spared John from being on the front lines during Australia’s great victories at Bardia and Tobruk at the outset of 1941. Despite this, things were about to change. On 24th March 1941, he embarked for Greece as part of Australia’s involvement in the Greek Campaign during the Second World War.

Following the Battle of Pinios Gorge (17–18th April 1941) and the Battle of Thermopylae (22–24th April 1941), in which ANZAC and British forces were ultimately defeated by better-armed and numerically superior German troops, most Allied soldiers were evacuated from mainland Greece by 29th April, either to Egypt, or Crete. The war soon came to the island of Crete, and by the end of May, Allied forces were once again evacuating. However, John was not among them.

After fierce battles against Axis forces, John was reported missing in action on 3rd June 1941. By 10th October 1941, he was officially confirmed as a prisoner of war (POW) and was detained in Salonika (Thessaloniki), Greece. His time in captivity was relatively short, as by 20th October 1941, military records indicate that he had successfully escaped. It appears that at least six prisoners took part in this successful escape, including John and his comrade, fellow Victorian Private Edward Bates, also part of the AASC. The rest of the escape group are thought to be British soldiers.

The group of escaped POWs were greatly assisted in their escape from Greece by numerous patriotic Greeks. These included D.I. Karapidis of Prohoma, Salonika, who rendered assistance to John and Edward during their escape. A memo from 1947 from the Claims Section of the British Embassy, Athens states, ‘It is certain that a large number of Greeks who sheltered Australian Escapers and Evaders did not claim for compensation, holding that the assistance was given from patriotic motives, and not for monetary or other reward … Towards the end of the war, some of these persons were executed by the Nazis for being Anglophile.’

At the time, a civil war was raging in Greece, making it difficult to investigate the fate of individual Greeks who had helped John and his comrades escape—but escape they did. In what must have been quite an adventure, they left the territory of occupied Greece, crossed into neutral Turkey, and eventually re-joined Allied forces in Allied occupied Syria.

Following his escape, John returned to duty with the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) where he gained further skills through a technical training course. He continued to serve with the AASC in the Middle East, which was the site of much fighting during this period. Service Corps troops ended up on the front lines in several places, fighting as infantry in Tobruk, among other places.

The army recognised John’s effort and commitment with a Mention in Dispatches, an award that recognises brave or meritorious service. John was officially commended for ‘Gallant and distinguished services in Middle East’.

John also showed his particular knack for a combination of rebelliousness, and somehow engendering respect from his superiors. On 11th July 1942 he was found guilty of ‘Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline’ a catch-all offense used when a soldier had been found to have committed misconduct that didn’t clearly fit into a clearly specified offence. John was fined £4, quite a lot for the time. Amazingly, only six days later John was promoted to Acting Corporal, and transferred to the Australian Army Service Corps Training Company. It is hard to imagine what offense warranted this fairly severe punishment, but also wasn’t seen as an impediment to promotion, and responsibility for training his fellow soldiers! The following month his promotion to Corporal was confirmed.

On 18th December 1942, John suffered an accidental injury, sustaining a concussion and scalp lacerations. He was evacuated to a medical unit and later transferred to the 6th Australian General Hospital before being discharged and returning to his unit on 29th December 1942. The injury was deemed minor, and no court of inquiry was held.

He then returned to Australia, disembarking in Melbourne, arriving there on 25th February 1943. He served in Australia for a few months, before being deployed to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on 21st July 1943. He served in New Guinea for nine months, a tough place to be deployed. He spent part of the time was assigned to the Water Transport unit of the Royal Australian Engineers. On 27th April 1944, he embarked on the vessel Taroona from Moresby and disembarked in Townsville, Queensland, on 29th April 1944.

He was then transferred to an Australian Army Rehabilitation Unit, where he worked with those soldiers being discharged on medical grounds, preparing them for re-entry into civilian life. On 2nd January 1945, he was promoted to Sergeant. He married Dorothy on the 20th October 1945, enjoying a few months together stationed in Melbourne before being posted to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), transferring to its headquarters on 6th February 1946, in preparation for deployment to Japan as part of the occupation forces.

While stationed in Japan, he was promoted to Acting Warrant Officer Class 2 on 15th August 1946. Later that year, on 1st November 1946, he was repatriated to Australia aboard the Kanimba, disembarking in Sydney on 13th November 1946. His rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 was officially confirmed on 12th June 1947.

On 16th December 1947, he was formally discharged from military service. He was 25 years old and had spent 2,966 days in uniform, 1,584 of which were outside Australia. He was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal, Active Service Medal, and was mentioned in dispatches.

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