Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Henry Langford was born on the 2 September 1921 in Port Pirie, South Australia. Port Pirie is a small country town on the East coast of Spencer Gulf. He grew up with his mother, Amy Beatrice Bowman and father, William Archibald Langford, he also had one younger brother, Peter Archibald Langford. John’s family lived in a working-class town where not many people had lots of money to spare and life was hard. His family were luckier than most in the town as they always managed to get by. John was a part of the Anglican Christian community and went to church with his family regularly. He worked on a farm as a station hand during his teenage years, looking after farm animals which earned him enough money enough money to help support the family.

When World War II broke out, John’s father, William Archibald Lanford, was already an army recruit, working in the Intelligence Service, stationed in Wayville in Adelaide, South Australia. It was always John’s wish to follow in his father’s footsteps and enlist in the army so when WWII broke out, he was excited to be recruited, he was only 19 years and 10 months old. Like many young men in Port Pirie, John wanted to protect his home and fight for his country. Joining the army was also a way to earn a living and help his family as job opportunities were scare in country South Australia. He enlisted as a Private in the Australian Army at the Wayville Barracks in Adelaide, South Australia, on the 14th June, 1941.

During World War II John Henry Langford was trained to be a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery. A Bombardier is responsible for targeting ariel bombs. On the 15th June 1941 he became part of the 2nd/1st Heavy Battery unit for Australia’s Northern Periphery, notably stationed in Timor. The group of 2nd/1st Heavy Battery soldiers formed part of a Sparrow Force.

As Timor fell in 1942, John as well as the rest of the 2nd/1st Heavy Battery Soldiers were captured by the Japanese soldiers and became prisoners of war. They were transported to a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore where they were held in horrible and unhealthy conditions. The Australian prisoners were moved to various camps where they were used as forced labour to work for the Japanese. After John was imprisoned in Changi Prison in Singapore he and his fellow soldiers were forced to work on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway where the POWS were forced to do hard labour work and help construct it. Diseases spread rapidly through the camp with little medical help, and many suffered horribly. There is no information about John while he was a POW and what he went through in the camps. On the 10 August 1943 John was located as still being a prisoner of war. In 1945 he was liberated from the POW camp and saved by American soldiers who came and emptied the camps. Many of his friends who also were a prisoner at that time weren’t as lucky as him and did not survive.

After John was liberated from the prison camp, he made the decision to continue to fight for in the army for his country. He returned to the 2nd/1st Heavy battery unit as a Bombardier. The next year of John’s service he as considered for a special honour, the Defence Medal that is awarded to soldiers after 6 months of service. His service record includes a handwritten letter sent from John to his commanders asking if he would be receiving the Defence Medal. As John was a prisoner of war for most of his service, he was unable to complete the full 6 months service and only did 5 months and 10 days instead. John was denied this medal and instead given another award for his service in the army.

On the 5th March 1946, John was discharged from the army. He settled in a suburb of Adelaide called Cheltenham in South Australia where he lived out his days working and building a home for his family. On the 29th March 1991 at the age of 69 years old, John Henry Langford passed away. There is no indication of his cause of death. He was laid to rest in Centennial Park Cemetery in Adelaide, South Australia, amongst other soldiers of WWII, in the RSL Wall 124, Niche D011

Bibliography

Australian Cemeteries Index. 2023. Joh Henry Langford. [ONLINE] Available at: https://austcemindex.com/?given_names=John+henry&family_name=Langford+&state=SA&min_birth=1921&min_death=1991. [Accessed 26 April 2023].

ancestry. 2023. John Henry Langford. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/john-henry-langford-24-8hlftm?geo_a=r&o_iid=41019&o_lid=41019&o_sch=Web+Property. [Accessed 26 April 2023].
National Archives of Australia. 2023. John Henry Langford. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.naa.gov.au/. [Accessed 26 April 2023].
Australian War Memorial. 2023. John Henry Langford. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1995722. [Accessed 26 April 2023].