The Soldier's Details

McAskil enlisted AIF from Menzies 17 Aug 1940 and later joined 2/4th’s ‘C’ Company 10 Platoon under Commanding Officer Lt Wilson.

The 2/4th was sent to train at Woodside, SA later in 1941.  The Battalion was located in Darwin when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, and on New Year’s Day 1942, they were hurriedly shipped first to Sydney (to pick up large numbers of reinforcements for 8th Division’s depleted Battalions fighting in Malaya) and then to Fremantle  (to pick up reinforcements for 2/4th and supplies) on their way to Singapore.

Please read about he men of 2/4th who enlisted Menzies.

McAskil was one of nearly 100 men from 2/4th who missed returning to ‘Aquitania’ before she sailed for Singapore 16 Jan 1942.  For most this, was was not their choice they had been arrested at Fremantle wharf by over-zealous MPs, imprisoned and found there was nobody around to release them in time to board their ship.  To lose about 100 well trained machine gunners did not please the AIF.

Please read about the men who were AWOL in Fremantle.

Bob joined ‘Blackforce’ in Java.  He was officially taken POW of Japan 8 March 1942 and first imprisoned at Bandeong No. 4 Camp then Bicycle Camp and finally Makasura POW Camp, Java prior to being selected by the Japanese to work in Japan with Java Party 20.

 

Below is copied from ‘Java Parties’ via Mansell Website to this Dutch information: https://www.japansekrijgsgevangenkampen.nl/NN%20Maru%2017.htm

‘The NN Maru 17 sailed on 18-5-1944 with 800 POW’s from Batavia to Singapore. The group POW consisted of 194 British, 258 Australian, 42 American, 306 Dutch. This transport was known as Java Party 20, the 20^th POW-trans­port from Java.

On 22-5-1944 the ship arrived in Singapore; the POW’s were taken to the River Valley Road Transit Camp.

NOTE. Later on these POW’s were transported to Japan on  Hozan Maru, Kokusei Maru, Hiyoki Maru and/or Miyo Maru (Japan Party 1)’

 

From the above information we know McAskil sailed with Java Party 20 from Batavia 18 May 1944 for Singapore on NN Maru 17 – he was one of 800 POWs (258 Australians). They arrived Singapore four days later on 22 May 1944 and were taken to River Valley Transport Camp. 

In Singapore the Japanese assessed every POW’s health prior to sailing to Japan.  .  McAskil was removed from the draft  ( due to ill-health).  The ship carrying this draft of men was later sunk off Nagasaki by a US submarine on 24 June 1944.

Please read about men sent to work on Sumatran Railway

Because he missed this earlier draft to Japan due to illness, McAskil later joined Java Party No. 22 at Singapore.  They were a later work party from Sumatra.  McAskil joined a number of 2/4th men with the group to sail to Sumatra and work on Pakan Baroe-Moearo Railway.

Other 2/4th in this group from Java  included WX13468 Annear, Booth WX8766 who died 15 April 1945 of beri beri, Squance WX16885 and Quinn WX9285, Magill and WX10343 Noel Banks (Banks and Harold Booth had sailed from Java to Singapore with Java Party No. 22) and were joined by  McAskil with Java Party No. 20 (Japan) at the River Valley Transit Camp – they all sailed to Sumatra on same ship.

It was whilst working on this railway McAskil died of cardiac beri beri aged 44 years at Kampoeng 106km near Kota Baroe, Sumatra.  After the war his body was taken to Djakarta War Cemetery.  (As was that of Harold Vernon Booth)

POWs were fed mostly with a diet of very minimal rations of poor grade rice which did not contain adequate quantities of most vitamins and in particular thiamine.  Cardiac beri beri commonly known as wet beri beri resulted in oedema or severe swelling.  Body moisture flowed downwards toward their feet & legs until they looked like loaves of bread – their ankles disappeared.  Sometimes necks swelled until the head became part of their shoulders.

POW life and conditions on the Sumatran Railway were appalling – deteriorating further towards the end of 1945, there were virtually no food supplies  (even for the Japanese) – POWs desperately searched the already bare surrounding vegetation for leaves, small animal life, insects and anything edible.  They were bullied and beaten working long hours to complete the rail track.     There were no medical supplies for the simplest ailments.

When the war ended and the Army sent in recovery teams, they were completely horrified and the health and condition of the near death POWs.

 

 

 

 

Death Notice from his brother Alister.

 

 

McASKIL, Private, ROBERT RAMSAY, WX8261, A.I.F. 2/4 M.G. Bn., Australian Infantry. 28 March 1945. Age 44. Son of Donald and Jessie McAskil, of North Coburg, Victoria, Australia. Grave Ref. 2. B. 17.

 

Bob was the second youngest of 8 sons born to parents Donald and Jessie McAskil who married in Victoria in 1880. The couple also had four daughters. The McAskils had a farm called ‘Merri Banks’ Newlands, Coburg around 1900 which is recorded in the history of the district of Coburg.

We believe Bob was in fact born in 1899 and not 1901 as recorded on his enlistment.  He would have found it necessary to conform to the age limit maximum of 40 years as so many enlisting men did.

Tragically for the McAskill family two brothers died in France WW1. Allan Douglas died 5 Feb 1917 aged 22 years and Angus Archibald died 17 Jul 1928 aged 33 years.

 

Below:  death notice for Allan McAskil, known as ‘Curly’ to the family,  1917

 

Below:  death notice for Angus Archibald McAskil 1918

 

Bob’s mother Jessie died in Coburg, Victoria in 1913 aged 52 years.  Bob would have been about 14 years of age, with a younger brother Alistair Gordon born in 1901 and younger sister Lesley Grace born in 1906.

Below:  Bob played with the local Coburg football team but in 1926 found himself in trouble with the law several times.  Alister too – perhaps it was their Scottish ancestry!  It is at this time Bob and his brother may have decided to try working in WA.  Their father’s brother Alexander McAskil had been in WA Goldfields for some years.

 

 

Below:  Newspaper reports on mining showed Alexander McAskil  had been in the WA Goldfields since early 1900s.

Above:  Death notice from brothers Alister and Bob for their uncle Alexander McAskil in 1943 who resided WA.

 

Bob had been living and working in Menzies (mining)  prior to his enlistment.  We believe Bob and his younger brother Alistair moved to West Australia from Victoria to work.  They had their uncle Alexander McAskil residing in WA.  There is evidence the family were close.

Alistair was recorded living and working in the Yilgarn mining area.  He had married in Perth about 1935 to Winnifred Hale.

Bob’s father Donald died Victoria in 1938.

The family burial plot in Coburg, Victoria.

 

Bob died of cardiac beri beri at 106 km Camp on 28 March 1945 aged 46 years.  He was one of 3 men from 2/4th to die of terrible illnesses in appalling conditions in Sumatra.  There were only two doctors for the whole Railway and no medical supplies.

Please read about the railway in Sumatra

Bob McAskil was one of 11 men from 2/4th to be a POW in Sumatra.  Both he and Booth died working on the Sumatran Railway.