John George Mennie, A.R.M.S. D.A.(ABDN). ARMS., (26 November 1911 – 24 August 1982) was a Scottish artist who came to public attention in 2011 for his many contemporaneous drawings of his life as a prisoner of war during the Japanese occupation of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The drawings were made in secret depicting scenes of daily life and personalities in the camps in Singapore and Thailand, working on the

Death railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 b ...

. They also uniquely documented the ''

Selarang Square Squeeze The Selarang Barracks incident, also known as the Barrack Square incident or the Selarang Square Squeeze, was a revolt of British and Australian prisoners-of-war (POWs) interned in a Japanese camp in Changi, Singapore. The events started on 30 ...

'' when some 17,000 prisoners were forced to crowd in the barracks square for nearly five days with little water and no sanitation until they signed a 'promise not to escape'.Back from Hell – John George Mennie – Artist and Prisoner of War
/ref> Mennie's drawings were donated to the archive at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, but came to wider public notice when a selection from a separate source were featured on an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television programme ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

'', filmed on 18 September 2011 at Manchester.

Early life

John Mennie was born at 28 Clarence Street,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 ''Gray's Anatomy'' is a reference book of human anatomy written by Henry Gray, illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter and first published in London in 1858. It has had multiple revised editions, and the current edition, the 42nd (October 202 ...

in Aberdeen and at

Westminster School of Art The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman descri ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After graduation he worked as a commercial artist in London for eight years until he enlisted in the army in 1940.''Back from Hell'', John Mennie, Biography
/ref>

WWII – Singapore and Thailand

Mennie joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1940 and was posted in September 1941 to Singapore. ( No 1604539 in the 2nd Highland A.A. regiment, H.K.S.R.A. ) By the time of his capture on 15 February 1942 he had been promoted to

Lance Bombardier Bombardier () is a military rank that has existed since the 16th century in artillery regiments of various armies, such as in the British Army and the Prussian Army. Traditionally the bombardier tended the vents at the top of breeches, handled ...

. 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.Japanese POW Index Card
/ref> Mennie described his 4-year PoW itinerary in a part of a letter to his mother written at Pratchi camp, Thailand, 5 September 1946.John Mennie's first letter to his mother after 4 years PoW. Thailand, 5 September 1946.
/ref> He was in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

, 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 The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Meklong, is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, o ...

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 Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

' 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. He left Kano camp in August 1943 and went to Chungkai, 2 miles from

Konton buri ''Kai/Konton'' is a collaborative album by Bill Laswell, Yoshi Otani, Manabu Murata and Munenori Senju. It released on March 2, 2011 by P-Vine Records. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Konton'' liner notes. ;Musicians *Bill Laswe ...

until May 1944. He was then moved to

Nakom Paton ''Nakom'' is a 2016 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Kelly Daniela Norris and T. W. Pittman. The film had its world premiere at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section and was invited to have its N ...

,Nakom Paton memorial
/ref> a place that he cheerfully described to his mother as '' having the second largest

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

in the world.'' In January 1945 he was moved 'up country' to a camp called Tamawan. In May 1945 he was moved again, a 6-day journey to Pratchi camp where the prisoners had to tunnel into a mountain to make bomb proof magazines for ammunition.

Secret drawings

Mennie was one of a few brave prisoners that recorded life in the Japanese POW camps at great risk to themselves. Others included

Jack Bridger Chalker Jack Bridger Chalker (10 October 1918 – 15 November 2014), was a British artist and teacher best known for his work recording the lives of the prisoners of war building the Burma Railway during World War II. Biography Chalker was born in Lond ...

Philip Meninsky Philip Meninsky (1919 in Fulham, England – 2007) was the son of Bernard Meninsky. Despite an early passion for art, at his father's wish, he initially trained as an accountant, before being called up for National Service. After a first posting ...

Ashley George Old Ashley George Old (born 1913, d. 2001) was an artist best known for documenting the lives of prisoners of war forced to construct the Thailand-Burma Railway. During World War II he was stationed in Singapore, and when it fell to the Japanese in ...

and

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and f ...

. Mennie created two series of secret drawings while he in the camps: * a documentary series detailing Japanese barbarity and the conditions endured by prisoners. He secreted these in the stem of a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

walking stick A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion acces ...

; * a set of eighty sketch portraits of his comrades which he secreted under the piece of wood on which he kept his

mess tin A mess kit is a collection of silverware and cookware designed for use by military personnel for food and military rations. They may also be used during camping and backpacking. There are many varieties of mess kits that militaries issue to the ...

. These were eventually discovered by the Japanese, removed, stolen back from the Japanese camp office, made their way back to the UK and were posted to his mother's address in Aberdeen. His meagre materials were pen, pencil, scraps of paper and card including 'white space' torn from manuals, plus a Chinese 'Children's watercolour paintbox'.Aberdeen Weekly Journal 11 April 1946
/ref> 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 The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 by ...

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

, London.

Art and teaching career

After graduation from the

in circa 1931 he worked as a commercial artist in London for eight years until he enlisted in the army in 1940. In 1947, after his demobbed from the army, Mennie started teaching

life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and Human positions, postures, using any of the drawing Drawing#Media, media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representatio ...

and painting at the Marylebone Institute of Adult Education, later run by the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

. He also ran an 'art stall' at Nicolls Antique Market in

Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...

. Mennie was a member of the

Royal Society of Miniature Painters Sculptors and Gravers The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, more commonly known as the Royal Miniature Society (RMS), is an art society founded in 1895 dedicated to upholding and continuing the tradition of miniature painting and sculpture, ...

.Back from Hell – Gallery of portraits by John Mennie
/ref>

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 Holland Park Avenue is a street located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London. The street runs from Notting Hill Gate in the east to the Holland Park Roundabout in the west, forms a part of the old west road ...

. 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.

References

External links

Gallery dedicated to John Mennie's PoW drawings at 'Back from Hell' website

* ttp://www.johngmennie.co.uk/miniart.html Gallery of portraits by John Mennie at 'Back from Hell' website
Aberdeen Weekly Journal 11 April 1946

Aberdeen Weekly Journal 11 April 1946, Part 2.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mennie, John 1982 deaths 1911 births Artists from Aberdeen Alumni of Gray's School of Art Alumni of the Westminster School of Art British Army personnel of World War II British war artists British World War II prisoners of war Burma Railway prisoners Royal Artillery soldiers World War II artists 20th-century British war artists World War II prisoners of war held by Japan