User:Davlyn

John Cramer MM

Born on the 8th of January 1916 to Thomas and Jane Cramer at the Holt Rainhill Lancashire Thomas was a coal miner John was one of 9 children. His only brother, Thomas was drowned at the age of 10, when the ice on a pond gave way in 1930. Two of his sisters died at an early age his sister Peggy came off a bike and sustained a sever eye injury, developed meningitis and died. Another sister died in 1938 from diphtheria. His sister Angus was a matron in the local hospital and was the first sister to pass away in later life. His sister Jean developed cancer and was the next to go. His other sister Mona also developed cancer but actually died from a chest infection. John is survived by his sister Alice. Who is still in England. John's family was not wealthy and could not afford luxuries in life such as advanced education. John demonstrated a keen intelligence which was observed by the local catholic church. A arrangement was agreed to by his parents and the church and John was sent to study at Liverpool University and was to be trained as a doctor. John was very happy with this and enjoyed his first year at university and learnt a lot about the human body.

It was not until the start of his second year that he found himself down to study theology. Believing this to be a mistake he spoke to the powers that be but was told to go and talk to his parents Going home to sort things out he learnt that the price to pay for being a doctor was he was also going to be a Priest.

The thought of becoming a priest was too much to bare. As he had spent some time in the Territorial Army between the ages of 16 and 18 he decided to run away from home and join the regular army. Hence on the 15th of March 1933 he joined Army in the Royal Corp. of Signals On the 6th of August 1935 John transferred to Royal Army Medical Corp. and commenced his training with the RAMC Where he qualified as a nurse and operating room assistant. During his training he was posted to the hospital in Netley near Southampton in the south of England. It was while stationed at Netley he met his wife to be Elizabeth Thompson.

After his basic training as a nurse he was sent overseas to complete his training.

China

Some historians believe World War II started in July 1937 when an incident near Peking set off open war between China and Japan. John was sent to China on the 7th of September 1937.

Shanghai

The army sent John to Shanghai 24th February 1940. John spoke frequently about his stay in Shanghai and especially about the friends he made while stationed there. Of special pleasure to him was when his grandson Stuart went to China and visited Shanghai and stood in exactly the same spot as he had done.. Stuart had his photograph taken to replicate a photo taken of his grandfather 50 years prior. John continued his education as a nurse and operating room assistant at the Shanghai hospital, until September 1940. By this time Japan had steadily occupied most of northern China. Japanese soldiers started to arrive in Shanghai and gave the English soldiers a hard time. John was confronted by a group of Japanese soldiers and was ordered to bow to them but refused to Bow to then or anyone else. A solder became angry and hit him with the but of a rifle into the stomach causing injuries which put him in hospital with Peritonitis. As more Japanese arrived his unit was evacuated to Singapore but due to his injuries John was left behind as he was too sick to travel. Not wanting to stay he made his own way to the docks and boarded a troop ship which was going to Singapore.

Malaya

While off the coast of Malaya approaching Singapore the ship was sunk by what was thought to be a Japanese submarine. The boat was some way out but somehow he made it to the shore but having no identification and being very sick no one knew who he was. A RAF officer found him on the beach and moved him to the dock area and left him. Before going his wrapped John in his officer great coat. A while later the wife of the area commanding RAF officer was doing a tour of the area and saw him there. Believing him to be a RAF pilot officer she took him under her wing and had him taken to hospital. In the meantime he was then reported Missing presumed killed in Action. It was several months before his wife to-be knew he was still alive. He recovered and spent the next 9 months stationed in Malaya.

Return to England

Having completed his time in Malaya John returned to England 13th July1941 and while on a two day pass married Elizabeth Thompson on the 30th August 1941.

North Africa

John was Sent to North Africa 23rd October 1942 and joined the invasion of Tunisia. The ship he was on was approaching Algiers when it was struck by torpedoes from a German U boat and was sunk with the loss of many lives; fortunately John was able to swim ashore. He continued overland with the British forces to Tunisia. His main role was now that of operating room assistant with a field surgical unit which operated at the forward lines. The main aim of the unit was to do whatever was necessary to keep the soldiers alive until they could be transported back to a base hospital. This frequently meant removing badly damaged limbs and surgery to tie of bleeding arteries. Before very long he was given the role of acting surgeon as the casualty numbers were far too many for the too few surgeons on hand. Italy

Sometime in 1943 John left North Africa and joined the battle to regain Italy. The first point of contact believed to have been through Sicily. His exact movements are unclear but it is known that he moved around both the south and north of the mainland. During his time in Italy several incidents occurred which were to shape his future.

Firstly he was recommended for an infield promotion to Lieutenant but this would mean leaving the RAMC and ceasing to be a Medic and joining an infantry unit. John declined the promotion but was told he could not refuse. To stay as a medic he left the regular army and joined a small unit known as Popski's Private Army as a medic. This small band of soldiers undertook dangerous missions with the intention of causing havoc behind enemy lines. His job was to take care of any casualties on the mission. Before leaving and taking up his new position with Popski's Private Army he was supposed to take one of the truck and pick up some supplies but a friend offered to do it for him and to allow him to finish packing so he could get away early. This change was done unofficially and unknown to John the truck was hit by an enemy shell and destroyed. The ensuing fire left the bodies unrecognisable and John was once again reported killed in action. It was not until many months later that he met someone who told him he was dead. One operation behind the German lines, the unit received quite a few casualties. John set up a operating room in a barn and commenced surgery on several soldiers. During the middle of an operation the Germans sent several fighter planes to destroy the barn. What they did not realise was that the barn was actually a disguise ammunition dump and the Germans did not want it to fall into the hands of the British. As the bombs hit and exploded John received severe burns to his hands, arms and part of his chest and face. Despite his injuries he safely evacuated his patients from the barn single handed. The commanding officer who observed these actions recommended him for a commendation and he was duly Mentioned in Dispatches for Distinguished Service in the London Gazette on the 24th August 1944.

Crete & Greece

The natures of his injuries were such that the service wanted to discharge him as an invalid. John would not accept this type of discharge and after several months of recovering resumed an active role as a medic with No. 9 commando unit RAMC This unit lead him into the liberation of Crete and as one of the first to land on the island was given the honor of carrying the regimental flag during the liberation parade. From Crete the unit went onto Greece and into Athens. At that time Greece was in the midst of a civil war and the government, lead by Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou was under siege from the popular liberation army. Papandreou's daughter was very sick with a ruptured appendix's and the RAMC was asked to help her. The unit did not have any doctors or surgeons so John undertook the operation and removed her appendix and nursed her back to good health. As a result of this Georgios Papandreou wrote to John and sent a Christmas card every year until the late 50's

Back to Italy

Once again John found himself on the front line on the east coast of Italy heading north when he found himself involved in Operation IMPACT ROYAL. The objective was to capture the bridges before the retreating enemy could destroy them. The attached citation describes his actions and on the 5th of May 1945, was duly awarded the Military Medal for Bravery and distinguished service.

Back Home and Discharge

Back home John was discharged with colours on the 25th October 1945 with a disability pension. His wife's family owned and ran a general store and post office so for a short while assisted with the running of the business. John tried hard to get a full time job but found the disability pension was always against him, so he requested the government to remove him from the pension. Very quickly he was employed by the Royal Navy as a Civilian Driver on some occasions he was assigned as chauffeur to Louis Mountbatten,1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, chief of British commandos and then Supreme Allied commander in Southeast Asia. John developed a lot of respect for both Louis Mountbatten and his wife.

Part of his duties as chauffeur to Louis Mountbatten, was to look after visiting dignitaries who came into the area. This meant John frequently transported His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinborough and Prince Charles. John used to like to recall an incident when he had picked up the Duke of Edinborough from Eastleigh Airport and was taking him to a meeting in Southampton when the Duke realised he had left his briefcase on the aircraft. Bearing in mind John would have lost his job and probably his license if he had been caught speeding and putting the life of the Duke at risk refused to drive faster when requested by the Duke to `hurry it up'. In the end the Duke had to give him a direct order to exceed the speed limit to ensure the Duke got to the meeting on time.

1956 Change of Job

Having worked hard at two jobs, chauffeur and part time taxi driver, an opportunity arouse to became a hotel keeper and he began training with the Watneys brewery and in 1957 opened a new hotel in Basingstoke called the Beacon. Trade was good so he and his family became reasonably prosperous. John now found himself mixing with many of the local dignitaries and was invited to join several organisation such as the masons and the licensed victuallers association. Being associated with many rich and important people never changed him. His thoughts were always for other people no matter what their position in life was.

John involved the hotel in the local soccer league and fielded a strong soccer team every week. He also organised several local concerts and became friend with Acker Bilk.

Christmas of 1966 was very busy and the cellar was full to the brim with draught beer so much so they had to be stacked 2 high. One morning while trying to drop a 36 gallon barrel of beer from on top of another one it got caught and spun around and landed on top of John and dragging his right arm breaking it and dislocating his shoulder. Before staggering upstairs to tell someone of the accident he completed his job and mounted and tapped the barrel ready for the morning trade. It turned out that not only had be broken his arm he had also fractured his cervical spine at C3-C4. This lead to him becoming completely paralysed down the left side of his body.

John spent nearly 6 months in hospital, 3 months of which were in traction. The neck refused to heal and although the traction was working and was relieving the pressure on the nerves he could not stay in traction fort the rest of his life. The fractures were to the front of the spine and surgically it was difficult to repair. The surgeon had read about a new technique performed in America but had never been performed in England. After extensive consultation with specialist in America details of the technique were mailed to England and his surgeon successfully open his neck from the front and fused C3-C4 with bone taken from his hip. He made a good recover with only a 10% loss of movement. During the recovery period John had to wear a large metal neck brace which held his head in a fixed position. This meant he could only look straight ahead and could not look down. This lead to him not seeing a small obstacle and he tripped and fell over. In falling over he developed and inguinal hernia.

When the neck had fully healed he was taken to theatre and the hernia was repaired. The family visited him in hospital the evening after the surgery and John told us about the dream he had. He has seen himself float up and out of his body and he was on the ceiling watching the operation below. He saw the surgeon with a big syringe which was plunged directly into his heart and all of a sudden he was back into his body. We questioned the nursing staff telling what John had said. The nurse disappeared and several minutes later the surgeon arrived and listened to what John had to say. The surgeon then told us John had had a cardiac arrest during the operation and had been revived with an injection directly into his heart.

In 1967 John took a well earned holiday and visited relatives several hours drive away. On a Sunday morning John was woken from sleep by severe pain in the middle of his back, he had become very sweaty and cold. A local doctor was called. After asking a lot of questions he related the pain to his operation on his neck and after giving him some pain relief told him to go back and see his own doctor. The pain settled but 2 days later the same pain re-occurred, only this time much stronger. The local doctor was called but would not attend saying he needed to go back to the doctor who had performed the surgery. John was driven back home and his own doctor called. Immediately he was told that it was not his neck but he had had several heart attacks. An ambulance was called and he was taken to a specialised hospital where he had several more episode of severe back pain. The family was told he would probably not survive as the damage was too great. He returned to work and continued to run the hotel for another 2 years.

Retired due to ill health

In 1967 John had further heart problems and his doctor insisted he retire immediately or he would die. John retired but as both his sons were now in Australia he wanted to come to Australia to be with them. He applied to emigrate but his doctor said he would not survive very long so Australia House rejected his application. There was only one option and that was for him to pay his own way and for his son to sponsor him so he would not be a burden on the tax payer.

Arrived in Australia

John arrived in Australia by boat, along with his wife in 1970. He was introduced to friend of his son who was a doctor (GP) and surgeon, fortunately this doctor had a different outlook on life and told him to go out and get a job and make the most of life. John purchased a Milk bar in Williamstown and spent the next 2 years selling ice cream and fish & chips on the Esplanade. Although business was very good during summer it died totally in winter.

John took a job as hall keeper at the Royal exhibition buildings in Carlton and worked there until he retired at the age of 65. John liked to be involved with people and joined the Lions Club of Williamstown until he moved to Sunbury. Retirement did not come easy so he did casual work as a cleaner for his son who had a cleaning business.

Move to Sunbury

His eldest son had moved to Sunbury so he decided to follow so he could be close to his two grandsons. He became a very integral part of their lives, collecting them from school in Essendon looking after them when school had finished. He was called father by his son and was affectionately called Arder by his grandsons. Not being a person to idlely sit around he decided he would join his son in the local State Emergency Service. He was always called Father by his son and this name stuck and he was called Father by all the SES volunteers. (new members would think he was a priest as he was only ever called Father). John became involved with all aspect of the SES from communications to Road Accident Rescue; he even worked on roofs during strong storms. He was still attending Road Accident Rescues on his 70th birthday.

After the SES he took on an easier role and joined the Sunbury Ambulance Auxiliary and was involved in many Sunbury Fairs and Tin Rattle to raise funds for the local Ambulance. He spent time as the treasurer of the Auxiliary.

Over the last six or seven years his health has slowly declined but he would never let things get on top of him. He managed to keep the local ambulance officers busy with his many trips to hospital, including a trip in the helicopter to the Alfred Hospital. Even though doctors kept telling him he would not survive this operation or that operation he just kept on. 1993 saw him face a 1 in 3 chance of survival and had a triple bypass. This gave him a renewed lease on life.

Loss of his partner of 60 years

July 1998 saw the unexpected death of his wife Elizabeth. He held together very well and was determined to live by himself still. He made the comment "I am glad Elizabeth went first because it meant she did not have to suffer the pain of grieving and the loneliness" After the death of his wife he spent many months in hospital recovering less each time. October the 24th saw him admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with severe pain in his left leg. The left foot developed an infection and despite surgery to try to improve the blood flow to the left foot the infection spread. Despite his willingness to fight on the infection got the better of him and he passed away on Christmas Eve 1999.

This article has been prepared by his eldest son David Cramer and has been compiled from Army records in his posession. These include his Pay Book, Record of Service and his actual medals, including the Military Medal inscribed with his name and service number. Some of the above details have been stated by John Cramer while he was alive. His service number was 2568791. Several other photographs exist, including John Cramer MM leading the ceromonial entry in the Liberation of Greece Parade (1944) he is carrying the British flag.