Ivan Day
IVAN FRANK DAY
Rank: Private
Service Number: SX11342
Units Served: 8 Divisional Ammunition Sub Park
Personal Details: Ivan Frank Day was born on the 7th of March 1920 in Nairne. His mother was Florence Muriel May and his father was Frank Lester Day.
Enlistment Details: Ivan Enlisted on the 19th of February 1941 in Nairne.
Details about his role in the War: Ivan left Australia with his unit on the 8th of December 1941 and sailed for Singapore. When he arrived, he was stationed and was in charge of a large ammunition dump, supplying shells, bullets, etc to other units. Ivan Got the nickname ‘Batman’ from his mates while in Singapore. Jeff Harris (another soldier from Ivan’s Unit) recalls seeing the Japanese grouping on an island and if given the chance, his unit could have blown the island to pieces, but they were told to hold their fire as it would give away their positions. The next morning they were told that it was over, they marched back to their quarters, and were taken as prisoners of war. Ivan was put into the POW camp known as the A Division and had to work in extremely harsh conditions building the construction of a railway. The camp he was in was known for its treacherous conditions and large amount of casualties. Ivan fell ill with the disease Berri Berri and soon died on the 27th of August 1943.
Age of Death: 23
Memorial Details: Ivan Frank Day’s name is on the memorial plaque in Woodside. He is buried at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery.
Interesting Material: Two ships were used to transport the A Division to their camp. On the trip one of them was accidentally hit by an American torpedo and nearly all on board were killed. Luckily, this wasn’t Ivan’s ship.
