Born on the 1st of April 1912 in Dunedin, New Zealand, Colin was one of 5 children to William Spence and Elizabeth Emily Beatrice (nee McClure) Spence.
At some point Colin moved to Australia and worked as a teacher in Gloucester where he met Doris Higgins, whom he married in 1938.
Having enlisted at Paddington and marched in to Recruit Reception Depot (RRD) on the 2nd of July 1940, Colin was posted to the 9th Battalion. On the 25th of July he was taken on strength at the 9th Recruit Receiving (RR) Battalion, Wallgrove.
Raised in June 1940, the 2nd/18th Battalion’s personnel were drawn from places such as Tamworth, Newcastle, Wagga, Goulburn, and Liverpool the majority of which arrived in late July.
The 2/18th Battalion was organised around a battalion headquarters, with a regimental aid post, four rifle companies and a headquarters company consisting of various support platoons and sections including signals, mortars, transport (later carriers), pioneers, anti-aircraft and administration.
Basic training began at Wallgrove on the 1st of August and was provided by experienced regular soldiers and personnel who had previously served in the Militia. In mid-August the battalion moved to Ingleburn, however on the 12th of August Colin reported sick and rejoined his unit on the 17th of August. By the end of the month individual training had been completed.
Colin was taken to CDS, Ingleburn on the 1st of October with Pleurisy and later transferred to the 6th Australian General Hospital (AGH). He rejoined his unit on the 11th of October. During this time the 2/18th undertook collective training and on the 5th of October took part in a divisional march through Sydney. They again moved in November when the 2/18th was transported to Bathurst for more complex exercises and training.
Although the fighting had not yet spread to the Pacific, by late 1940 there were growing concerns among the Allies about the possibility of a war with Japan. After a review of the defences around Singapore and Malaya, the British government requested Australian troops be sent to garrison the region. In October, the Australian government committed the 22nd Brigade and supporting elements. As a result, the 2/18th embarked upon the RMS Queen Mary and left Sydney on the 4th of February 1941, bound for Singapore.
The men arrived in Singapore on the 18th of February and moved into barracks at Port Dickson, in the north of Malaya. While there, the battalion undertook further training to prepare it for jungle warfare, before moving to Seremban in March. The rigours of jungle training and the tropical heat affected the men, and a number of personnel were hospitalised during this time with illnesses such as malaria, measles, mumps and serious tropical skin diseases.
The 2/18th remained in Seremban until they were transported east to Jemaluang in August. The following month they were sent north to Mersing, which, situated on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, which was considered a likely place for a Japanese landing offering a short route of advance towards Singapore. At Mersing, the battalion was set to work digging defensive positions and constructing wire obstacles, punctuated by familiarisation patrols and anti-aircraft, anti-gas and mortar training. On the 14th of October, he was detached for a period from the 2/18th to the 22 Australian Infantry Brigade BEL Section, which was responsible for repairing and maintaining equipment in the field.
Colin finally succumbed to pyrexiamalaria on the 3rd of November and was admitted to 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) and transferred to the 13th AGH two days later, where he was placed on the ‘X’ List. On the 25th of November he was diagnosed and with malaria. He was finally struck off the ‘X’ List and attached for duty on the 26th of December 1941.
Meanwhile, the battalion had been placed on a war footing as tensions in the region escalated. The Japanese invasion of Malaya commenced on the 8th of January 1942. While the initial fighting raged elsewhere, the 2/18th remained unengaged around Mersing.
It was not until the 3rd of January that the battalion came into contact with the Japanese for the first time, with a patrol from the 2/18th capturing two Japanese airmen who had been shot down near the mouth of the Sekakap River. A fortnight later, Japanese advances along the peninsula to the west led to concerns about the coastal defences being outflanked and cut off. As result, on 17th of January, the 2/18th was ordered to withdraw 16 km south to Jemaluang without having met the Japanese in battle. Following a landing around Mersing, the Japanese began to advance south towards Jemaluang in large numbers. In response, on the 26th of January the 2/18th Battalion, supported by two batteries of artillery from the 2/10th Field Regiment, was tasked with establishing an ambush near the Nithsdale Estate and the rubber plantation at Joo Lye.
Positioning themselves along the Mersing–Jemaluang road, ‘D’ Company was deployed to the north on the western side of the road as the lookout force, while ‘B’ Company was positioned further to the south on the opposite side of the road. South of them, ‘A’ Company formed the blocking force, with their position stretched across the road oriented to the north. Behind them, ‘C’ Company was positioned in reserve, further south. The plan had been for the ambush to be sprung during the day, but the Japanese advance had proceeded more slowly than thought, and it was not until after dark that they entered the ambush site. To inflict as many casualties as possible, the Japanese force, which was estimated to be battalion-sized, was allowed to pass through ‘D’ and ‘B’ Companies. By 3:00 am they came up against ‘A’ Company’s blocking position and the ambush was finally initiated. Devastating indirect fire from artillery and mortars inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese; however, as the northernmost company—’D’—turned south to attack the Japanese from the rear, they came up against determined resistance from a force of Japanese that had managed to infiltrate the ambush site and dig in on a small feature to the east of the estate’s pig farm, north of ‘B’ Company. This effectively cut them off from the rest of the battalion.
Fighting raged throughout the early morning as ‘B’ Company vainly attempted to assist the cut-off ‘D’ Company. Varley decided to launch a counterattack with ‘A’ Company, but at 8:00 am the order to withdraw came from brigade headquarters, cancelling the attack. Covered by the reserve company, ‘A’ and some of ‘B’ Company were able to break contact and fall back. ‘D’ Company, along with those of ‘B’ Company that were still isolated and in contact, had to be left to fight their way back to the battalion’s lines. By the time they arrived, there were only enough men left to form one platoon. The 2/18th‘s losses in this action amounted to about 90 men killed, wounded or missing.
It was during this action that Colin was ‘Wounded in Action’ with sword wounds to both shoulders, which was reported on the 28th of January when he was placed on D/I List.
Japanese losses during the engagement are unknown but are thought to be significant and they were unable to take Jemaluang for two more days.
Colin was removed from the ‘danger list’ on the 5th of February and placed on to ‘seriously ill’ list.
On the 10th of February Colin boarded the converted Yangtse river boat ‘Wah Sui’ along with 350 other wounded (including 120 AIF), 6 nurses, civilians and cargo. Departing on the 12th as Singapore was being bombed, they arrived in the crowded harbour of Batavia on the 15th. No sooner had they arrived they were again boarded bound for Columbo, Ceylon where they arrived on the 22 February. Disembarking he was admitted to the 12th AGH. At some point during his recovery he was transferred to the 23rd AGH.
On the 10th of April he was discharged from the 23rd AGH, Ceylon for his return to Australia. He disembarked the HS ‘Katoomba’ at Adelaide on the 13th of May and continuing his journey by rail, detrained in Sydney on the 17th of May 1942.
On the 3rd of June, Colin’s injuries rendered him temporarily unfit and he was admitted to the 113th AGH. He was finally diagnosed as unfit for duty on the 14th of September and was given a medical discharge on the 23rd of October 1942, and so returned to Doris in Gloucester.
Around the 31st of May, Colin and Doris advised the War Department that they were living were at the Central School, Port Macquarie. In 1945 their only child John William was born.
On the 20 May 1946, Colin received a surprise when he was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). The citation reads:
On the 26/27 January 1942 (night) during AIF operations in Malaya, the 2/18 Bn AIF was holding portion of the NERSING- JEMALUANG Road. The Platoon to which Pte Spence belonged was in position on a knoll near the Waterworks Road with his section covering the main road. When the enemy engaged, the Section Commander was killed, and Pte Spence took charge.
His initiative and leadership of his section resulted in the enemy (about a platoon) being repulsed. The enemy officer rallied the platoon and again attacked Spence’s section. Spence gallantly led his section although outnumbered three to one.
The enemy officer surprised Spence inflicting a sword slash from shoulder to hip necessitating approximately 150 stitches.
Despite his severe wound Spence regained his feet, killed the officer and by directing the fire and movement of his section, repelled the attack successfully and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Weakened rapidly through loss of blood, he ordered the movement of his section to a better position to which they carried him. His feat of courage and leadership was outstanding.
The DCM was awarded on the 6 March 47.
At some point Colin and his family moved to Armidale still working as a teacher before retiring to Forster, on NSW’s Mid-North Coast.
Sadly, their son William died in 1989. Doris died in 2003 and Colin died on the 13th of November 2005 at age 93 in Forster, New South Wales. Both husband and wife are resting in the Gloucester Community Cemetery.
As a postscript, on the 3 Nov 2017 the AWM, advertising its open day posted the following:
Private Colin Spence may have been the only Australian soldier to have used a Japanese sword in combat. On the night of 26–27 January 1942, after being surprised and severely wounded by a Japanese officer during an ambush, Spence grabbed the sword and killed its owner. Against all odds Spence and his newly acquired sword made it back to Australia. Join Military Heraldry and Technology curators to find out more about this astonishing story.
