Source: NST 25 August 2007 by Jaswinder Kaur
More than six decades after he died in Borneo, a family finally comes to the place where he fell.
Some journeys are holidays. Some are pilgrimages. For the family of Sergeant George Julian Beetson, it was both an emotional return and 60 years in the making.
In August 2007, Mary Sheridan Beetson, 81, and her brother Brian Beetson, 70, led their children and grandchildren all the way from Australia to Sabah. They came to stand where their father had fought, died, and was finally laid to rest.
Who Was Sergeant George Julian Beetson?
Sergeant George Julian Beetson was among the Australian soldiers shipped to what was then North Borneo to fight the Japanese in World War II.
He never came home.
He died as a prisoner of war on November 1, 1944. He was just 39 years old, leaving behind a wife, Nellie, and two small children in Australia.
For his family, he remained a hero frozen in time.
"I was 14 when Dad left for Borneo," Mary recalled. "He was my hero and could do nothing wrong in my eyes. I remember him quite well; he was a gentleman."
For months, the family held onto hope. Nellie kept receiving cards from him while he was away.
"My mum kept on receiving cards from him when he was away, and we believed he would come home one day. Then we received a telegram from the War Department telling us he was dead. We were devastated."
A Family's First Visit to Sabah
Mary and 12 descendants of Sergeant Beetson travelled to Sabah for the first time. Their journey took them to his grave at the Labuan War Memorial and to memorial services in Kundasang and Sandakan for the Australian and British soldiers who died in North Borneo.
Mary admitted she didn't know what to expect.
"But it wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be when we attended memorial services for Australian and British soldiers who died in North Borneo. I guess it must have been because of the support I had from my family."
For Brian, who was only 3 years old when his father left, the memories are faint but precious.
"I remember him leaving, though. We took him to the train station. While he was in Singapore, he sent a parcel of presents to us. I still treasure the set of toy elephants he sent me."
His saddest memory is the day the hope ended.
"My saddest memory is when the telegram arrived to say he would not be coming home. I was 7 then, and Mum crumpled into a heap as she collapsed."
Even 60 years later, the grief is close to the surface. Brian was asked to speak about his father during one of the memorial services.
"It was like reading under water. My eyes were wet," he said.
After the war, a few of his father's personal belongings — including his Bible and his tobacco pouch — were mysteriously returned to the family.
"We believe someone from Western Australia returned them, but it is something [of a] mystery. We wish we could find who returned the items."
Lest We Forget
What moved Brian most was how Sabah remembers.
He said he was touched that memorial services were held in Sabah for heroes, the way they are back home in Australia — a sign that the sacrifice of soldiers like his father is not forgotten, even so far from home.
Photo Caption: Mary Sheridan (right) and Brian Beetson recollecting memories about their father. (Inset) A picture of Sergeant George Julian Beetson, wife Nellie and their children Mary and Brian before World War 2. – Picture courtesy of the Beetson family
Original reporting by Jaswinder Kaur, New Straits Times.
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23 September 2026: 10:52 p.m.
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