John Charles WILTON

  General Notes:

Sourced from "Wilton Family Web Site"

http://www.jcwilton.com// (no longer exists)

Births Sep 1911
WILTON John C Werry Liskeard 5c 90

John Charles Wilton enlisted in the RAF 21 May 1941. He transferred to
the Far East 4 December 1941. Going first to Abdain and then on to
Bandaong, Java. Arriving 7 February, 1942.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Name: WILTON, JOHN CHARLES
Initials: J C
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Aircraftman 1st Class
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Age: 34
Date of Death: 13/07/1945
Service No: 1407563
Additional information: Son of John Henry and Beatrice Grace Wilton; husband of Sarah Ann Wilton, of St. Ives, Cornwall.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 3. G. 6.
Cemetery: JAKARTA WAR CEMETERY

In Memory of
JOHN CHARLES WILTON
Aircraftman 1st Class
1407563
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
who died on
Friday, 13th July 1945. Age 34.
Son of ]ohn Henry and Beatrice Grace Wilton; husband of Sarah Ann
Wilton, of St. Ives, Cornwall.

Cemetery: DJAKARTA WAR CEMETERY, Indonesia
Grave Reference 3. G. 6.

Jakarta (Djakarta) lies on the north-west coast of the island of Java.
Djakarta War Cemetery is in the suburb of Menteng Poebe, 11 kilometres
from the city centre and is adjacent to the Netherlands Field of Honour,
Jakarta Selatam (South Jakarta). It can be reached by two main roads -
Jalan Dr Saharto and Jalan Casablanca. The Cemetery is entered on the
northern side by a short flight of steps leading into the Memorial
building. The entrance faces the old civilian cemetery where hawkers from
the localmarket often spill out, partly blocking access to the cemetery.
The local name for the cemetery is Makam Perang Jakarta.

Jakarta, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia, lies on the
north-west coast of the island of Java. It was the administrative capital
of the former Netherlands East Indies and was known as Batavia, the name
used in the records of the 1939-1945 War. Batavia was the port by which
thousands of British and Commonwealth servicemen entered Java in February
1942 from Singapore and Sumatra, shortly before the Japanese invasion of
the island. It was defended by Nos. 232 and 605 (Fighter) Squadrons from
Tjililitan airfield, a few miles distant. Although greatly outnumbered
and dwindling in strength, the fighters remained in action in defence of
the capital from l7th-27th February. The 77th Heavy Anti-Aircraft
Regiment was also employed in Batavia's defence. On 25th February H.M.S.
Exeter, Electra, Encounter and Jupiter and H.M.A.S Perth sailed from
Batavia to join the Eastern Striking Force at Sourabaya before meeting
the Japanese in the Battle of the Java Sea. On 1st March the Japanese
landed near Batavia, by the 4th the Dutch had ordered its evacuation, and
on the 5th the Japanese occupied the town. Most of the Allied prisoners
of war captured in Java were later concentrated in a number of prison
camps around Batavia, one of the largest being "Bicycle Camp", so named
because it had been the barracks of a Dutch cycle battalion. The camp
held among its first prisoners 300 survivors of H.M.A.S. Perth, and 250
soldiers of the 2/15th Punjab Regiment who had fought in Borneo. In 1961
at the request of the Indonesian Government, the Commonwealth dead from
the Netherlands Field of Honour at Sourabaya, and from those at
Palembang, Medan and Muntok in Sumatra, were brought into the cemetery,
which already contained 474 Commonwealth war graves. Additional land was
acquired to accommodate all the graves, and the total number of burials
was increased to over 1,000. Jakarta War Cemetery therefore contains the
graves of many who died in defence of Java and Sumatra during the swift
Japanese advance in 1942 and many others who perished afterwards as
prisoners of war. Among the dead were sailors who fought in the Battle of
the Java Sea, soldiers of "Blackforce" including a number of Australians
whose graves lie together in plot 6, and airmen who died in flying battle
and airfield defence. The cemetery is entered on its northern side by a
short flight of steps leading into a memorial building. Two main grass
avenues cross the site, one running north-south and one east-west, and
the Cross of Sacrifice stands at their intersection. The graves of
members of the forces of undivided India lie on a terrace in the southern
part of the cemetery. Here an Indian Forces monument has been set up; it
is a stone pillar crowned by a sculptured wreath and bearing wreaths on
two sides, with "INDIA" inscribed below one and "PAKISTAN" below the
other. The graves are marked by bronze plaques set in concrete pedestals.
The cemetery is covered with turf and planted with many colourful
sub-tropical trees and shrubs.

John married Sarah Ann COLLINGS, daughter of Herbert Ernest COLLINGS and Mary Elizabeth. (Sarah Ann COLLINGS died on 4 Jul 1996 in St Ives, Cornwall, England.)