John Mennie

John George Mennie, A.R.M.S. D.A.(ABDN). ARMS.,

Mennie's drawings were donated to the archive at the Imperial War Museum, but came to wider public notice when a selection from a separate source were featured on an episode of the BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow, filmed on 18 September 2011 at Manchester.

Early life John Mennie was born at 28 Clarence Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, on 26 November 1911 to Robert and Margaret Mennie. He was known to family and friends as Jack. He trained at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and at Westminster School of Art in London.

WWII – Singapore and Thailand Mennie joined the Royal Artillery in 1940 and was posted in September 1941 to Singapore (No. 1604539 in the 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Hong Kong-Singapore Royal Artillery). By the time of his capture on 15 February 1942 he had been promoted to lance bombardier. He was captured when Singapore surrendered to the Japanese forces in February 1942 and he was a prisoner of war until August 1945. He was demobbed in 1946 and returned to Aberdeen.

He was in Changi Prison, Singapore, from February until October 1942, when he was transferred to Thailand on 5-day rail journey, arriving on 3 November. Then after a 6-day voyage on a barge up the Mae Klong river from Kontonburi was dumped on the side of a mountain with jungle starting from the bank. They had to clear a space and build a camp from the material around them, bamboo. At 'Kano' their task was to build 10 miles of railway along the mountain. He noted that of the 600 men, 125 were dead within 6 months. 2 miles from Konton buri until May 1944. He was then moved to Nakom Paton, a place that he cheerfully described to his mother as [ having ] the second largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Mennie's drawings in the camps include: Selerang Square Squeeze, Singapore, September 1942. Captioned 16,500 British + Australian POW from Changi area herded in Selerang Square for four days to force them to sign documents promising not to attempt to escape. L/Col Dunlop A.I.F Medical Corps, performing operation in the open at Kanung PoW camp, Thailand May 1943 Servicemen depicted carol singing in a bid to keep their spirits up, Christmas Eve, 1943. Dysentery Ward. Ching-Kai POW Camp, Thai-Burma Railway

Imperial War Museum Mennie created many drawings during his time as a prisoner of war, and in 1978 over fifty pieces were donated to the archives in the Imperial War Museum, London.

Personal life He met Dorothy (Bertha Dorothy Linter Cole) when she enrolled at one of his evening classes at the Marylebone Institute of Adult Education, and she became an accomplished artist. They first lived at The Studio, Holland Park Avenue. Later they lived at Studio House, Colville Road, London W11 which had a purpose built studio with a partial glass roof on the top floor.