John Mennie was born at 28 Clarence Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, on 26 November 1911 to Robert and Margaret Mennie.
18 Facts About John Mennie
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John Mennie was known to family and friends as Jack.
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John Mennie trained at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and at Westminster School of Art in London.
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John Mennie joined the Royal Artillery in 1940 and was posted in September 1941 to Singapore.
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John Mennie was captured when Singapore surrendered to the Japanese forces in February 1942 and he was a prisoner of war until August 1945.
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John Mennie was demobbed in 1946 and returned to Aberdeen.
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John Mennie described his 4-year PoW itinerary in a part of a letter to his mother written at Pratchi camp, Thailand, 5 September 1946.
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John Mennie 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.
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John Mennie noted that of the 600 men, 125 were dead within 6 months.
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John Mennie left Kano camp in August 1943 and went to Chungkai, 2 miles from Konton buri until May 1944.
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John Mennie 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.
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John Mennie was one of a few brave prisoners that recorded life in the Japanese POW camps at great risk to themselves.
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John Mennie created two series of secret drawings while he in the camps:.
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John 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.
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In 1947, after his demobbed from the army, John Mennie started teaching life drawing and painting at the Marylebone Institute of Adult Education, later run by the Inner London Education Authority.
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John Mennie ran an 'art stall' at Nicolls Antique Market in Portobello Road.
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John Mennie was a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters Sculptors and Gravers.
18.
John Mennie met Dorothy when she enrolled at one of his evening classes at the Marylebone Institute of Adult Education, and she became an accomplished artist.