DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL.
London Gazette 19 February 1946.
MONTAGUE VICTOR REGINALD JOHNSON
“For great courage and fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds whilst serving in H.M. Ships Kelana, “HUNG TAO” and Shun An, lost in action in the Far East – February 1942.”
[BIOGRAPHY] 1920-
Monty Johnson was born on 12th October 1920 at 20 Thornsbury Avenue, Southampton and was latterly upon his enlistment living at 186 Butts Road, Sholing, Southampton with his stepfather Frederick Stokes & his mother Ivy, Amelia.
His ship HMS HUNG TAO was in Tambilahan on 16th February 1942 and left the Lingga Archipelago to rescue survivors from KUNG WO. No further news was received on the status of the vessel which was clearly sunk. (LT Bevis, MALACCA)
He was Captured & Imprisoned by the Japanese at Padang, Sumatra on 17th March 1942, aged 22 and spent three and a half years in the brutal captivity of the Japanese Army as a slave labourer in Changi & other POW camps in Malaya.
After being released from his indescribable wartime P.O.W. ordeal on 2nd September 1945 aged 25 he was returned to the United Kingdom where he received his Distinguished Service Medal, but soon afterwards he emigrated as a Fitter on the Free Passage scheme to Australia on SS Ranchi from Tilbury on 30th September 1948 to Victoria.
He apparently became an Australian citizen and spent the rest of his life in Australia.
[THE VICTORIA CROSS ACTION of HMS LI WO & Lt Thomas Wilkinson RNVR)
In a similar action involving HMS Li Wo, which was a patrol vessel & another one of the impossibly small & lightly armed ex-Chinese converted passenger ships, a posthumous Victoria Cross was won by Lt Thomas Wilkinson, RNVR of Liverpool when he and his valiant crew in HMS Li Wo decided to “have a serious go” at a number of capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy and a supply ship which was set on fire and sunk. All they had was a single 4” gun with just fourteen rounds of ammunition and four machine guns.
Lt Wilkinson’s medals are in the Lord Ashcroft Collection at the IWM, London.
This is an exceptionally rare & greatly desirable D.S.M. ROYAL
NAVY gallantry group to a brave engine room junior sailor who with
the crew of the small converted Chinese passenger ship HMS
HUNG TAO took on the might of the Japanese Imperial Navy during
the battle for Singapore.
(NOTE:)
**Lt John Harcourt Craig also of the HMS Hung Tao (sunk by enemy action 15 February 1942) was also decorated for this action in the same gazette with a Distinguished Service Cross (LG: 19th February 1942) and was also captured with Monty Johnson at Padang (Sumatra) on 17th March 1942.
All the medals are totally unworn & practically Mint State with
original ribbons.
The group comes with Japanese POW card copy & several other
pages of POW listing references and rolls.
(SOLD)