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George Main - Gordon Highlanders WW2Photographs and history of George Main who served with the Gordon Highlanders in World War Two in Malaya and was a Prisoner of War of the Japanese: This page is dedicated to George Main - Gordon Highlanders WW2 who was the grandfather of the author of qaranc.co.uk The Gordon Highlander soldier on the left in the photo below is George Main. He was born on the 12 April 1915.  The service number for Private George Main was 2885767. He enlisted at Aberdeen on the 18 April 1940 to the Gordon Highlanders. During World War Two he served in Malaya from the 5 August 1940 before becoming a Prisoner of War Far East, being listed as missing on the 15 February 1942, listed as Y List POW on December 1945 and discharged medically unfit for further service due to his Prisoner of War experiences at the hands of the Japanese for 290 days, being released on the 1 December 1945. Read more about the Gordon Highlanders Far East Prisoners of War in The Forgotten Highlander: My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East 
and Surviving the Sword: Prisoners of the Japanese 1942-45
It is thought that the photo below was taken at a WW2 Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. The back of the photograph has Japanese lettering. Private George Main is fourth from the left on the front row.  Like many Gordon Highlanders WW2 FEPOW soldiers George Main told his family little of his time at the hands of the soldiers of Japan. He did tell his daughter that he was lucky to be alive because they were coarse and ill treated the British soldiers at every opportunity. He was close to death once after a Japanese soldier threw a pick axe at his back and he received terrible injuries. He recalled this leading to a near death experience and seeing his mother. His wounds took a long time to heal in the harsh conditions of the prison camp with little medical care, drug and dressings.  After his release from the WW2 POW camp he was taken to BMH Singapore for nursing care and medical treatment where his wounds and malnourished state were treated. He was then taken to special military camps in America and Canada to recuperate. Many thought at the time that FEPOW's were not returned to the UK quickly because their skeletal appearance would have been bad propaganda. The reality was that they needed to recover physically and emotionally from their cruel treatments in the camps. Many would not have survived the long journey home by sea without this valuable recuperation period. To demonstrate just how long this took Private George Main was not discharged from the army until February 1946 and still suffered health problems from his time as a Far East Prisoner of War.  His soldier's release book class "A" registration was PTH/DIV/V SR 1623. His release papers were dated 16 Feb 1946 at Perth and Unit given as Y List POW. His military conduct was described as Exemplary. On his discharge from the army George Main was awarded a 20% war pension for malnutrition and privation with associated postural defects and tropical ulcers. Comparing the photos below of Pte George Main you can see the weight loss caused by being a FEPOW. As a civilian in post war years George Main became a plastic moulder. George Main died on the 9 April 1968 at 0530 hours in Eastern General Hospital, Leith. He was aged 52 years. His cause of death was Angiosarcoma of the small intestine and Carcinomatosis which could be argued were caused by his years of abuse at the hands of Japanese troops as a Far Eastern Prisoner of War. He was survived by his wife Margaret Stewart Main and their children Sandy, Helen, George and Carol. They lived at 8 Croft Road, Murray 2, East Kilbride. His father was George Green Main a retired General Dealer and Robina Main (nee Black) who lived at 9 Froghall Place, St Machar in Aberdeen.  The discharge papers of George Main Gordon Highlanders WW2 read: Territorial Army Record of Service Paper of a man deemed to have been enlisted into the Territorial Army for the duration of the Emergency under the provisions of the National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. Army Number: 2885767 Name: Main George Regiment: Gordons 015 Nature of Engagement: AC Service Trade: N/T (Non Technical) Military Conduct: Exemplary This man was a POW in Jap hands for over three years. He has given every satisfaction during his service and he is thoroughly honest and sober, reliable and trustworthy. He should do well on taking up civilian life again. 16 Feb 1946 (written by a Captain of the Gordon Highrs) Private George Main of the Gordon Highlanders was awarded the following WW2 medals: 1939/45 Pacific Star (Burma Star) Defence Medal War Medal 1939/45 If you would like to contribute any info or photographs related to Gordon Highlanders WW2 please contact me. A QARANC wall plaque and shield is available to buy through Amazon. The QA shield is hand made and ready to hang on the wall. . Buy Now. 
Findextrawork 
Since leaving the QA's we have done an assortment of self employed work and jobs, some which only take an hour a week, others have been full time. We
have written about these at our other website Findextrawork at
www.findextrawork.co.uk
where we share the information for free to help others with information and resources about earning more money.
Visit Findextrawork for more information.
The Real Tenko The latest book about British Army nurses and nursing describes a dark chapter in the history of the QAs. The Real Tenko: Extraordinary True Stories of Women Prisoners of the Japanese  by Mark Felton is an account of the fall of the Far East to Japan. It comprehensively covers war atrocities performed by the Japanese troops to women stationed in places such as Singapore and Hong Kong. This included Sisters of the QAs who were stationed in hospitals such as
BMH Bowen Road Hong Kong and
BMH Singapore. Read the Qaranc.co.uk review or
Buy Now
with free delivery available.
View more British Army Nursing Books - with free delivery available. If you would like to contribute to this page, suggest changes or inclusions to this website or would like to send me a photograph then please e-mail me. The photos and pictures on this page have been kindly sent to us for inclusion on this page. If you would like to contribute photographs then please contact us. For the official Army QARANC webpage please go to www.army.mod.uk/home.aspx For the QARANC Association website please go to www.army.mod.uk/army-medical-services/qaranc/9884.aspx *********************************************** Help Needed A reader of Qaranc.co.uk is researching the exhumation of Heinrich Himmler in Luneberg, Germany circa 1945-46. He thinks that two nurses from the QAIMNS attended the exhumation due to the poor state of health of Walter Schellenberg. He would like to learn if any of the nurses kept a diary of the events leading up to the exhumation or sent any personal letters home to friends or family that may have provided an insight into Walter Schellenberg and the exhumation. Please contact Qaranc.co.uk if you have any information. Qaranc.co.uk have recently learnt about two former Military Hospitals that we would like to write about. These are the British Military Hospital at Wuppertal in Germany and BMH Benghazi. If you know any information, would like to share your memories or have photographs that we can use on the site then please contact Qaranc.co.uk A reader is writing an article about the demise of the Military Hospital for the RAMC Magazine and seeks some help. There was, in Kuala Lumpur, a hospital called BMH Kinrara. He would like to know when it opened and closed, what happened to the buildings and the staff. He thinks that Kinrara closed as Terendak opened and that the staff were transferred across to 34 Company RAMC? He would also like any information about the Military Maternity Hospital, Penang. If you can help then please contact Qaranc.co.uk There is a lovely photo of three QA Midwives from the 1960s about half way down on the Royal Herbert Hospital page. If you can help with information about the Maternity Unit in Woolwich or identify the QA Officers then please contact Qaranc.co.uk The BMH Dhekelia has new photos which includes a stunning picture of the demolition of the original building and some staff photos. The contributor would like some help with the date it was demolished and would love to hear from anyone who worked with her relative. |
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