By Gayne C. Young
He fought in both World Wars, escaped from two prisoner of war camps, and once cut out his own appendix with a knife and a couple of spoons. His name was Jock McLaren and they’ve seldom come tougher.
Born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland on April 27, 1902, Robert Kerr “Jock” McLaren always had an interest in animals. He began studying to be a veterinarian but put his studies on hold to enlist with the 51st (Highland) Division of the British Army during World War I. Whether he saw any combat is a matter of contention given his younger-than-usual age as a soldier, but many historians believe he actually fought in the Spring Offensive in France 1918.
He returned to Scotland to complete his studies following the war then moved to Queensland, Australia, where he worked as a vet in Bundaberg. When World War II erupted, Jock volunteered to serve his new adoptive home. He enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces where he served as a vet then volunteered for overseas service with the Second Australian Imperial Force. The now 39-year-old was assigned to the 2/10th Australian Field Workshops, 8th Australian Division and stationed in Singapore. The Japanese invaded the island nation a month later and Jock and several of his fellow soldiers were taken captive and sent to a POW camp in Changi. Jock wasn’t too keen on being held captive, so he and two fellow prisoners escaped only a few days after their internment.
The trio made it almost to Kuala Lumpur thanks to assistance from Chinese guerrillas and Malayan Chinese villagers but were stopped short of freedom by a group of Malays. But what Jock saw during that attempt would forever haunt and shape his life. In his attempt at freedom, he witnessed hundreds upon hundreds of dead Chinese men, women, and children who had suffered at the hands of the Japanese. Many of the dead had been tortured and raped prior to being killed and this realization raged inside Jock. And while he never formally declared to take revenge on the Japanese, that’s pretty much what he did for the rest of the war.
Back in a POW camp, Jock and his two fellow captured escapees were tortured and faced a firing squad before being returned to their cells. Jock decided he would rather die trying to escape than rot in prison and immediately went about planning another exodus. He worked hard in prison and ultimately managed to get transferred—along with 1,000 British and Australian soldiers—to the Sandakan camp in Borneo. Jock met and befriended a Chinese POW named Johnny Funk and they immediately made plans to escape. The duo broke out of the clink, stole a boat, and made it to the Philippine Island of Mindanao. It was there that Jock met American Reserve Officer, Lt. Col. Wendell Fertig who led a crew of American and Filipino resistance fighters. Their job? Killing the invading Japanese. Remembering what he had seen earlier, Jock didn’t hesitate to join the crew even when given the chance to return to Australia.
Jock and his group killed Japanese and disrupted their actions so well that Japanese forces placed a hefty bounty on his head. That almost wasn’t necessary as Jock came close to dying thanks to a severe case of appendicitis. He was on patrol in the jungle when it happened and realized that his only chance at living was to perform surgery on himself. He cut his appendix out with a penknife and two spoons, then stitched himself up with coconut fibers.
Years later, when asked about operating on himself in the field, Jock replied, “It was hell, but I came through alright.” Jock continued fighting the Japanese on land then later on the sea when he took command of an armored 26-foot whaleboat that he christened The Bastard. Jock and his crew used The Bastard to enter Japanese-controlled ports and fire at supply vessels and piers with machine guns and a mortar, before retreating—often in in broad daylight.
Jock was ordered back to Australia in April 1945 where he was assigned to part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau known as the Z Special Unit. With the ZSU, Jock performed a reconnaissance mission ahead of the Battle of Balikpapan, took part in an operation on British North Borneo, and more. Jock’s military career came to an end that November. When it was all said and done, he had achieved the rank of captain and was twice awarded the Military Cross. He moved to Papua New Guinea where he served as a government veterinarian, then purchased a coffee farm. Only months after moving onto the farm however, he died when he backed his car into a tree causing a rotted piece of timber to fall on him. He was just 53 years old.
After years of failed attempts by lesser men it seems almost fitting that a freak accident is the only thing that could take Jock out.
