Maxwell Henry Buchhorn 1918~1944

 

Maxwell Henry Buchhorn was born on October 17 1918 at "Meramie" Private Hospital Albury and was the eldest of the two children born to parents Albert & Alma Gertrude Buchhorn nee Keller ... Albert & Alma had married in 1917 in the Adelaide suburb of Gilberton SA.

 

Apart from these meagre facts: that Max would have attended the Lavington Public school and then, after passing the Primary Final Examination that saw him gain entry to Albury High School in January 1931, nothing more is known about his childhood.

 

There is no occupation listed for him on the WWII Nominal Roll so even that is a mystery. However I feel that he, in all likelihood, may have been a labourer possibly in the farming or orchard community. This has been confirmed to a degree by the information found in the NSW Electoral Rolls that I have access to (1930-1980) that lists his father's occupation as a fruit grower.

 

Max's father Albert appears to have been a prominent member of the Albury Show Society & the Albury & Border P., A. & H. Society. The family's tenure in the Lavington area appears to have been about 20 odd years but just when they returned to South Australia is not known, however we do know that they were still in Lavington up until at least 1937.

 

This comes from the WWII Nominal Roll:

 

Buchhorn: Maxwell Henry:

 

• Service: Royal Australian Air Force

 

• Service Number: 8594

 

• Date of Birth: 17 October 1917

 

• Place of Birth: Albury Nsw

 

• Date of Enlistment: 5 February 1940

 

• Locality on Enlistment: Albury Nsw

 

• Place of Enlistment: Victoria (?)

 

• Next of Kin: Buchhorn, A (presumably his father Albert)

 

• Date of Death: 24 June 1944

 

• Rank: Aircraftman 1

 

• Posting at Death: Air HQ (Unit) Far East

 

• WWII Honours and Gallantry: None for display

 

• Prisoner of War: Yes

 

• Roll of Honour: Unknown (This means that there may have been no such information in the service record or the information was indecipherable. We know however, that Maxwell's name appears on the plaques on the Memorial Gates at the Urana Road Oval)

 

• Cemetery: Kranji section of the Singapore Memorial Cemetery column # 44 and is listed on panel # 119 in the Commemorative Area of the Australian War Memorial. 

 

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Although not having sighted his service record I believe that Max was stationed in Java around the January of 1942 more than likely with # 1 Squadron RAAF.

 

After the fall of Java Max, along with over 2,700 other troops, was taken prisoner. As there were at least five POW camps that included: The Bicycle Camp, Kampong, Macassar, Buitenzorg, or Adek, I am unsure in which particular camp Max had been incarcerated. However, as the main draft for repatriation to Japan had been selected from Adek, more than likely the main camp, I feel that Max could have been interned here.

 

The following paragraphs have been taken from "Australia's War 1939-1945" website run by the Department of Veteran's Affairs:

 

"January, February and March 1942 was a disastrous period for the Allied cause in south-east Asia as the Japanese rapidly seized territory in the island archipelago to Australia's north. Tarakan in Borneo was occupied on 11 January; Rabaul, New Guinea, fell on 23 January and Balikpapan in Borneo on the 24th; on the night of 30-31 January, Japanese landings were made on Ambon and by 3 February Australian and Dutch forces there were forced to surrender; Singapore fell on 15 February; and by 23 February the island of Timor was virtually in enemy hands. At the end of February, only Java remained unoccupied.

 

Java was defended by an assortment of Dutch colonial, British, Australian and American forces. On 25 February 1942, two Japanese invasion convoys were spotted making for the eastern and western ends of the island. Attempts were made by Allied aircraft, including Hudson bombers of 1 Squadron RAAF, to bomb the convoys but despite some hits they failed to stop them.

 

On the afternoon of 27 February, an Allied naval group, which included the cruiser HMAS Perth, attacked the enemy's eastern convoy. In the ensuing battle two Dutch cruisers and four destroyers were sunk. On the night of 28 February-1 March, the enemy's western convoy sailed through Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, anchored and began landing troops. HMAS Perth and the American cruiser USS Houston came upon the convoy and a fierce engagement ensued. In this Battle of the Sunda Strait Perth and Houston were sunk; about half of Perth's crew went down with the ship and the remainder became prisoners of war. Yet another Australian ship, the sloop HMAS Yarra, was sunk on 4 March as it escorted a convoy south of Java.

 

Once ashore, the western Japanese force advanced towards the towns of Batavia and Buitenzorg. Opposing them near Buitenzorg was 'Blackforce', named after its commander, Brigadier Arthur Blackburn VC, consisting mainly of non-infantry units of the 7th Division AIF. These men had been landed in Java from the Middle East just days before, some of them without their weapons or equipment. For a few days Blackburn, with some awareness of Japanese tactics, mounted a successful holding operation. However, on other battlefronts Allied troops fell back before the Japanese and by 11 March 'Blackforce' was obliged to surrender after Dutch forces capitulated. Its losses numbered about 100 killed or wounded and over 2,700 became prisoners of war.

 

With the Allied surrender in Java the Japanese had attained, in just over three months, an empire in the Pacific and south-east Asia. It was to take over three years of war to drive them from it."

 

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(Disclaimer: The information that appears below has been taken from the website styled "Australian POWs WWII". The accuracy of the websites data is untested)

 

In May 1944 prisoners from all of the camps were gathered together for repatriation to Japan. As well as the American, British, & Dutch contingents of POWs, 271 Australian's (including Max Buchhorn) were sent aboard the "Kiska Maru" headed for Singapore. After landing, the POWs were transported to the "Havelock Road" camp.

 

Loaded on to another merchantman, the draft finally made it to Manila Bay before heading to Formosa. Here the ship carrying the draft struck bad weather and almost founded. The draft was quickly transferred to the 6,700 ton "Tamahoko Maru".

 

 At 11:50pm on June 24 1944 with it's cargo of 772 Australian, American, British, & Dutch POWs, and in sight of the lights of Japan the "Tamahoko Maru" was almost blown in two. She had been struck by a torpedo launched from the US submarine "USS Tang". Water poured in through a gaping hole in her side and as the "Tamahoko Maru" started to settle in the water, hundreds of prisoners jumped into the sea. A Japanese whale-chaser was soon on the scene and began picking up survivors. 

 

A total of 560 POWs had died that night and, of the 267 Australians (four had died during the voyages from Java) that remained amongst the cargo only 71 were accounted for. They along with the other survivors would be interned in the "Fukuoka 14" Prisoner of War Camp in Nagasaki for the duration of the war.

 

Maxwell Henry Buchhorn was amongst those who died that night.

 

Members of the Royal Australian Air Force who did not survive included (this is just a snapshot of the 14 men from the RAAF who perished):

172. BROWN, Ronald Edward; LAC; 17047; 1 Squadron; Aged 22.
173. BUCHHORN; Maxwell Henry; AC1; HQ RAAF (Far East); Aged 25.
174. GIBBINS, Bruce Addisson; Cpl; 3353; 1 Squadron; Aged 26.

 

Maxwell is also remembered at panel # 119 in the Commemorative Area of the Australian War Memorial.

 

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night

 

Excerpt from "The Fallen"

 

Robert Laurence Binyon 1869~1943