Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Seven: Engineer Lieutenant J. Barclay, Royal Naval Reserve - a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese

British War Medal 1914-20 (Eng. Lt., R.N.R.); Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-18 (John Barclay); Victory Medal 1914-19 (Eng. Lt., R.N.R.); 1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals, these unnamed, mounted as worn; with Loyal Service Badge, nearly extremely fine (8) £120-160

John Barclay, the son of Dr John and Elizabeth Barclay, was born in Banff, Scotland on 23 June 1880. The National Census returns for Scotland show that he resided with his parents at 10 Castle Street, Banff in 1891, at which time he was described as Doctor's Son Scholar, and in 1901 still living with his father now at 37 S Castle Street, Banff, at which time he was described as an 'Apprentice Engineer'. John pursued a career in the Mercantile Marine as a Marine Engineer, and during the Great War was appointed an Engineer Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve.

After the Great War, John Barclay, worked in the Far East, and again volunteered for service after the outbreak of the Second World War. On 9 February 1940, he was appointed as Engineer Warrant Officer, Royal Naval Reserve, and was deployed to H.M.S. Barlight, a vessel of the 'Boom Defences' in Hong Kong. His ship H.M.S. Barlight was scuttled on 19 December 1941 to avoid capture by the Japanese - it was however subsequently salvaged and re-commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy as Netlayer 101, and deployed to Saipan where it was sunk by the United States Navy on 15 June 1944. 

John was captured by the Japanese on or shortly after 25 December 1941 - where is unknown, but he is first recorded in his liberation FEPOW questionnaire as having been incarcerated in a POW camp from 23 January 1942. He was variously held a captive in the following Hong Kong POW camps: North Point: 23 December 1942 - 7 February 1942; Bowen Road Hospital: 7 February 1942 - 10 January 1942; Argyle Street: 10 January 1942 - 23 June 1944; and Sham Sui Po: 23 June 1944 - 4 September 1945. His home address in 1945 was 24 Bridge Street, Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland.