Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Robert Breen

(Born 19th April 1911 to Clement Michael and Agnes Mary Breen).

He was married to Elsie "Jean" and had five children: Shirley, John, Yvonne, Robert and Bill.

William enlisted on 1 June 1940, and was posted to C Company, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion.

The battalion was deployed to the Middle East in April 1941 where it saw action against Vichy French forces during the Syria–Lebanon campaign. 

After Japan entered the war William's batallion was transferred to the Pacific region. The battalion integrated into a larger Australian formation – named "Blackforce"

A large majority of the battalion was captured during the Battle of Java after faulty intelligence resulted in a rout causing the Dutch allies to withdraw and flood through Blackforce's lines.

William's unit was involved in several skirmishes with 'C' Company bearing the brunt of the Japanese attacks  -suffering seven killed and 28 wounded, while inflicting about 200 casualties on the Japanese.

Blackforce was ordered to surrender on 9 March 1942 following the Dutch capitulation the day before.

Prisoner of War

William Robert Breen was "Reported Missing Believed Prisoner of War" on 5 Sep 1942. (Source: Voice - Tasmania)

Captured by the Japanese forces, William was interned as a POW at Makasura Camp and while there assigned to Dunlop Force – Java Party NO. 6 (Named for Lt Col E.E. 'Weary' Dunlop - the most senior Australian POW commisioned officer)

The party was taken from Makasura Camp on 4th January 1943, and were the first arrivals on 25th January at was was to become the southern end of the Burma Thailand railway. It was here the party was immediately forced into labour.

(The links on this page go into detail of the horrific conditions William and every other soldier was forced to endure during construction of the railway.)

Almost six months later William fell ill.

In March 1943 Dunlop Force arrived at the Hintok Mountain camp. The worst time at Hintok Mountain camp was the 'Speedo' in mid-1943 when some men worked without rest for more than eighty days. Under intense pressure from the Japanese engineers in charge of the railway construction the local Japanese commanders demanded that sick be included in the daily workforce quota. The protests of Dunlop and other officers were often ineffectual. 

_{Source: DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2024 ), Hintok Mountain camp, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 12 April 2024, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/burma-thailand-railway-and-hellfire-pass-1942-1943/locations/camps-near-hellfire-pass/hintok-mountain-camp}

Casualty of War

Excerpt from The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop

_{23 June 1943
New case of cholera today TX1774 Pte W.R.Breen aged 33. He was recently suffering from enteritis and was forced to work on the railway, very week and unwell. He was unable to leave camp today since prostrated with a fresh attack of diarrhea and vomiting last night, and developed whispering voice, “washer-woman’s hands and feet etc. He was transferred to the cholera tent.”}

_{28th June 1943
TX1774, Pte W.R.Breen of 2/3 M.G. Bn died of cholera in hospital at 1345 hours. He and Pte Jarvis illustrate some of the difficulties of this dread disease. By working on them at all hours, we got them through the algid stage. They seemed a reasonable prospect, yet neither looked like establishing kidney function and became comatose after a stage of restlessness and delirium.}

A commerative plaque for William Robert Breen can be observed at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand

Medals Awarded:

Australian Service Medal 1939-1945

The Australia Service Medal 1939-1945 was instituted in 1949 to recognise the service of members of the Australian Armed Forces and the Australian Mercantile Marine during World War II.

War Medal 1939-1945

The War Medal 1939-45 was awarded for 28 days full-time service in the Armed Forces between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. Operational and non-operational service may be counted, providing that it was of 28 days or more duration.

Defence Medal 1939-1945

The Defence Medal is awarded for six months service in a prescribed non-operational area subject to enemy air attack or closely threatened, in Australia and overseas, or for 12 months non-operational service in the Forces overseas from or outside Australia.

Pacific Star

The Pacific Star is awarded for entry into operational service in the Pacific Theatre of Operations between 8 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

1939-1945 Star

The 1939-45 Star is awarded for service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 for a period of six months (180 days) operational service for RAN and Army personnel and RAAF non-air crew personnel.