He was shot twice through the helmet while ‘leap-frogging from tree to tree’ in a battle with the Japanese, won a Military Cross, and subsequently became a church minister – finally dying recently at the grand age of 103.
Now tributes have been paid to brave soldier and long-standing believer Joe Mullins, who won one of the last Military Crosses of World War Two for displaying heroic bravery in the retaking of a Burmese village from Japanese enemies.
Recently published obituaries detail how he came up with a plan to defeat their enemies despite running low on men and ammunition as a Company Commander in the First Battalion, The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in 1945.
Having been converted to Christianity at a Scripture Union (SU) camp when he was 17, he was ordained as a minister after the war and served in various roles throughout the rest of his life.
In July 1945, the Queen’s Battalion had been ordered to cut off escaping Japanese soldiers. Most of the battalion had left Letpanthonbyin, the village they were occupying, to cut the Pegu-Martaban railway line, which they believed the Japanese would use for their escape, only to return to find the Japanese waiting for them, with 50 soldiers having dug themselves in behind a mud bank.
The depleted battalion attacked the Japanese, with Mullins leading B Company on a final attack. The citation for his Military Cross said that, under continual fire, he had shown ‘disregard for personal safety,’ as well as ‘magnificent endurance and bravery’ to keep his men going, as they took out most of the Japanese positions before being stalled by constant machine-gun fire.
After dark, Mullins and four others ‘leap-frogged’ from tree to tree, before crawling to and getting onto a corner of a Japanese tank and shooting the enemies off. Mullins was shot twice, but both bullets went through his helmet, something he remained convinced was divine providence all his long life.
After a stint in military hospital after his heroics, because of infected legs, Mullins realised he had not been following Jesus as he ought to, and recommitted his life to Him.
After the war, he studied theology and was ordained as a minister. He travelled to India and worked with schoolchildren for SU, before serving for 12 years as pastor of St John’s Church in Bengalaru.
Mullins met his future wife Edith, whom he married in 1956, and they went on to have six children together. He became minister at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Canberra in 1974, and then at St Nicholas’ Anglican Church in Goulburn in 1982, before retiring. He continued to preach until he was 99, and he died on 2 December 2023, aged 103.
John Surtees, Lead Communications Officer for the Soldiers’ and Aviators’ Scripture Readers Association, (SASRA) who work to bring the gospel to the British Armed Forces, said: ‘Major Joe Mullins’ wartime experiences are outstanding in their own right, but the story of his life after the war is an inspiring example of how faithfulness to God overflows into service for others, both during his time in India and latterly in Australia, and a challenge to all to remain faithful until the end.’
