Captain Sam Templeton
Captain Sam Templeton – Hero of the Kokoda Track
Missing-in-Action for 68 years.The disappearance of Captain Sam Templeton, the Commander of B Company 39th Battalion, has been a great and enduring mystery in Australia, with plenty of speculation as to his disappearance and fate amongst historians and his fellow soldiers. Rumors circulated in Australia and PNG that Templeton may have been captured, interrogated and killed near Oivi or Deniki, or that he was captured and taken back to Rabaul for interrogation and then executed. Despite all the rumors and speculation in Australia the fate of Captain Templeton was known to many Japanese Soldiers and their families.
One Japanese soldier in particular, Kokichi Nishimura, (The Bone Man of Kokoda) (now aged 90) told me recently that Captain Templeton was executed, he had been one of the officers ordered to bury his body and he drew me a map of the burial site. This information was not only exciting to me but believable. Nishimura himself is the subject of a book, ‘The Bone Man of Kokoda’, which describes his 25 years in PNG locating the remains of Japanese soldiers and returning them to their families and homeland.
I believe Nishimura shared this important information with me as he knew that in 2008 I had discovered the complete graves of four Japanese soldiers and ensured they were returned home via the Japanese Ambassador to PNG. He understood my quest to find Captain Templeton so his family too could finally lay him to rest.
Captain Sam Templeton holds a special place in Australian history. He commanded the first Australian Company to cross the Kokoda Track and instilled in his men great confidence and resolve to repel the voracious Japanese tiger heading their way. Had the 39th Battalion and Templeton’s men in B Company failed, then the course of Australian history would be very different. They took on the might of the Japanese Army and inflicted physical, logistical and psychological wounds on them that would eventually become terminal to the Japanese.
My quest to unravel the mystery of what happened to Captain Templeton has involved a great deal of research, luck, fate and assistance from numerous sources in Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea. I have been aided with entries from the 39th Battalions War Diaries for this period, translated diaries of some of the Japanese Veterans that were there, and interviews with Veterans from Australia, Japan and PNG.
The following pages tell some of the story of Captain Sam Templeton, the 39th Battalion and the Kokoda Campaign. The magnificent job the men of the 39th Battalion did in these early dark days on the Kokoda Track can never be forgotten.
The Australians fought a determined and ferocious enemy in the Japanese, their campaign is also described. My meetings with family members of those Japanese soldiers whose skeletal remains I discovered and returned during my investigation were insightful and rewarding. Meeting Kokichi Nishimura has been instrumental to this investigation.
My determination to locate Captain Templeton burial site has been an incredible journey. In revealing the fate of Captain Sam Templeton, missing-in-action for 68 years, it provides at last, the opportunity for this revered soldier to finally rest in peace. It also reminds us of the horror and futility of war.
Captain Templeton & the 39th Battalion
Captain Samuel Victor Templeton V50190 was born on the 28th January 1901 in Belfast City Northern Ireland. He was one of six children. He had a colourful history, enlisting in the Royal Navy at age 18 and served in WW1. On his discharge from the Navy he served with the Royal Irish Constabulary and was engaged in putting down a rebellion by the IRA. It is also reported that he fought in the Spanish Civil war as a member of the International Brigade, but this is certainly not true.
Captain Templeton arrived in Australia in 1920 and soon after joined the 5th Battalion of the CMF as a Private. He quickly advanced to Corporal then became a Sergeant.
Captain Templeton or Uncle Sam as he became known married his sweetheart Doris in 1925 and they had four children.
Sam tried to enlist in the AIF on several occasions but was rejected because of his age.
Captain Sam Templeton then joined the 2nd/7th training Battalion AMF (Militia) and then enlisted in the 39th Battalion on the 1st July 1940. He then received his commission as an officer to the 39th Battalion and then travelled to Port Moresby on Christmas Day 1941 he was 42 years old.
The 39th Battalion was very fortunate to have Sam. He was a strong, capable soldier and leader and his experience would prove invaluable as during the early days in Port Moresby the 39th Battalion was used mainly as labourers, unloading and loading ships and digging defenses.
Uncle Sam stood 5 ft and 9 1/2 inches tall, well built, strong and into everything. He was a quiet man, well liked but also liked his space. He was as straight as a gun barrel, if it was wrong, he would put it right.
Captain Templeton felt very strongly about the war, and was busting his neck to get into it
It had been a surprise to many of the 39th and 53rd Battalion that they were in PNG at all, as they were Militia, Australia’s home Army or the Reserves; their understanding was they were to be used exclusively for the defence of Australia. What the men in the Militia Battalions soon learned was that New Guinea was mandated territory of Australia and that they were being used to defend Australian territory.
Many of the early Company Commanders of the 39th and 53rd Battalion were older men who struggled with the tropical climate in Port Moresby. A number of these Commanders came down with tropical diseases, including Malaria and were repatriated back to Australia.
Captain Sam Templeton thrived in these conditions and took every opportunity he could to instill good military practice in his men. He paid particular attention to their health, hygiene and nutritional needs. This practice included regular teeth cleaning, regular washing of body and hair and the taking of appropriate Malaria precautions. He also ensured that they continued their physical and self defense training to ensure that they still had a fighting edge despite their use as labourers. These simple but effective practices contributed greatly to B Companies success in crossing the track and fighting the Japanese.
Visit http://www.kokodaspirit.com
Missing-in-Action for 68 years.The disappearance of Captain Sam Templeton, the Commander of B Company 39th Battalion, has been a great and enduring mystery in Australia, with plenty of speculation as to his disappearance and fate amongst historians and his fellow soldiers. Rumors circulated in Australia and PNG that Templeton may have been captured, interrogated and killed near Oivi or Deniki, or that he was captured and taken back to Rabaul for interrogation and then executed. Despite all the rumors and speculation in Australia the fate of Captain Templeton was known to many Japanese Soldiers and their families.
One Japanese soldier in particular, Kokichi Nishimura, (The Bone Man of Kokoda) (now aged 90) told me recently that Captain Templeton was executed, he had been one of the officers ordered to bury his body and he drew me a map of the burial site. This information was not only exciting to me but believable. Nishimura himself is the subject of a book, ‘The Bone Man of Kokoda’, which describes his 25 years in PNG locating the remains of Japanese soldiers and returning them to their families and homeland.
I believe Nishimura shared this important information with me as he knew that in 2008 I had discovered the complete graves of four Japanese soldiers and ensured they were returned home via the Japanese Ambassador to PNG. He understood my quest to find Captain Templeton so his family too could finally lay him to rest.
Captain Sam Templeton holds a special place in Australian history. He commanded the first Australian Company to cross the Kokoda Track and instilled in his men great confidence and resolve to repel the voracious Japanese tiger heading their way. Had the 39th Battalion and Templeton’s men in B Company failed, then the course of Australian history would be very different. They took on the might of the Japanese Army and inflicted physical, logistical and psychological wounds on them that would eventually become terminal to the Japanese.
My quest to unravel the mystery of what happened to Captain Templeton has involved a great deal of research, luck, fate and assistance from numerous sources in Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea. I have been aided with entries from the 39th Battalions War Diaries for this period, translated diaries of some of the Japanese Veterans that were there, and interviews with Veterans from Australia, Japan and PNG.
The following pages tell some of the story of Captain Sam Templeton, the 39th Battalion and the Kokoda Campaign. The magnificent job the men of the 39th Battalion did in these early dark days on the Kokoda Track can never be forgotten.
The Australians fought a determined and ferocious enemy in the Japanese, their campaign is also described. My meetings with family members of those Japanese soldiers whose skeletal remains I discovered and returned during my investigation were insightful and rewarding. Meeting Kokichi Nishimura has been instrumental to this investigation.
My determination to locate Captain Templeton burial site has been an incredible journey. In revealing the fate of Captain Sam Templeton, missing-in-action for 68 years, it provides at last, the opportunity for this revered soldier to finally rest in peace. It also reminds us of the horror and futility of war.
Captain Templeton & the 39th Battalion
Captain Samuel Victor Templeton V50190 was born on the 28th January 1901 in Belfast City Northern Ireland. He was one of six children. He had a colourful history, enlisting in the Royal Navy at age 18 and served in WW1. On his discharge from the Navy he served with the Royal Irish Constabulary and was engaged in putting down a rebellion by the IRA. It is also reported that he fought in the Spanish Civil war as a member of the International Brigade, but this is certainly not true.
Captain Templeton arrived in Australia in 1920 and soon after joined the 5th Battalion of the CMF as a Private. He quickly advanced to Corporal then became a Sergeant.
Captain Templeton or Uncle Sam as he became known married his sweetheart Doris in 1925 and they had four children.
Sam tried to enlist in the AIF on several occasions but was rejected because of his age.
Captain Sam Templeton then joined the 2nd/7th training Battalion AMF (Militia) and then enlisted in the 39th Battalion on the 1st July 1940. He then received his commission as an officer to the 39th Battalion and then travelled to Port Moresby on Christmas Day 1941 he was 42 years old.
The 39th Battalion was very fortunate to have Sam. He was a strong, capable soldier and leader and his experience would prove invaluable as during the early days in Port Moresby the 39th Battalion was used mainly as labourers, unloading and loading ships and digging defenses.
Uncle Sam stood 5 ft and 9 1/2 inches tall, well built, strong and into everything. He was a quiet man, well liked but also liked his space. He was as straight as a gun barrel, if it was wrong, he would put it right.
Captain Templeton felt very strongly about the war, and was busting his neck to get into it
It had been a surprise to many of the 39th and 53rd Battalion that they were in PNG at all, as they were Militia, Australia’s home Army or the Reserves; their understanding was they were to be used exclusively for the defence of Australia. What the men in the Militia Battalions soon learned was that New Guinea was mandated territory of Australia and that they were being used to defend Australian territory.
Many of the early Company Commanders of the 39th and 53rd Battalion were older men who struggled with the tropical climate in Port Moresby. A number of these Commanders came down with tropical diseases, including Malaria and were repatriated back to Australia.
Captain Sam Templeton thrived in these conditions and took every opportunity he could to instill good military practice in his men. He paid particular attention to their health, hygiene and nutritional needs. This practice included regular teeth cleaning, regular washing of body and hair and the taking of appropriate Malaria precautions. He also ensured that they continued their physical and self defense training to ensure that they still had a fighting edge despite their use as labourers. These simple but effective practices contributed greatly to B Companies success in crossing the track and fighting the Japanese.
Visit http://www.kokodaspirit.com
posted by Wayne's Kokoda Spirit Blog at
2:32 PM
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