The basic menu was a bowl of rice, a cup of miso soup, and some pickles. With the lights of Japan in sight on 26th June 1944 one of the ships in the convoy exploded after being torpedoed by the US submarine USS Tang. Listed as an Imperial Japanese Navy gunboat and also as a freighter by different sources: sunk on 12/1/44. Used to ferry 1287 British, Dutch & Australian POWs including RAF from Singapore leaving on 4th July 1944. The POWs used the clothes that they had with them upon their arrival in Japan, and the camps provided work clothes such as tenugui (Japanese cotton towel), jikatabi (traditional work footwear), and gunte (work gloves made of cotton). The group of prisoners was then moved to San Fernando, Pampanga. Sometimes they were thrown into very small cells without food. The bridge was built on a small tributary of the larger main river at Tha Mae Kham, some miles away from the Bridge that tourists are now shown as the bridge. British and American prisoners of war on board. Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its activities during the Second World War, Actual visits to camps by the International Committee of the Red Cross. By the end of Sept. 1945, nearly all of the 32,000 Allied POW's in Japan . endobj He spent time in three jails, including Bang Kwang, the notorious "Bangkok Hilton". Cofepow.org.uk is now making images of some original documentation and prisoner release/questionnaire forms. As the POW camps were established, new laws to control the POWs such as "Regulations of the Treatment of the POWs" and "Detailed Rules" were enacted. Sailed from Singapore to Moji (Japan) departed 21/10/43 with 1155 POWs. This was not enough to keep the Japanese at bay and the British surrendered on 15 February 1942. Shuske Wada, whose charges paralleled those of Toshino, was the official interpreter for the guard group. Sailed from Singapore on 01/05/43 carrying Indian POWs. With Interpols most wanted campaigns stepped up, that figure is now believed to have passed 2,500. 4 Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /59 Taihoku West, Mountain Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /60 Taihoku & Indin, No 6 Camp, Jungle Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /24 Argyle Street, Shamshuipo, "N" Camp, "S" Camp, Hong Kong, JC /88 Numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 Camps, Hiroshima, also Fukuoka 7 &12, Zentsuji 2, Japan, JC /176 Ube, Ube Camp Mines, Higarshimizome,Hakon Shu 2 Camp, Japan, JC /181 Mororan, Muroran, Musoyan, Mussian, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /182 Nisi Asibetsu Camp, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /183 Akahera Camp, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /189 Yokohama, Mitsubishi, Tokyo Group, Japan, JC /201 Seida P.W. In normal times the prison would house 800 prisoners but at one point during the war, it had ten times that. Some of this is in English however many significant parts are in Japanese. . But Prisoners Abroad helped me there too. New Zealanders at Macassar received no mail at all. "The conditions could be so dirty that I had a small cut on my foot which got infected with tap water and swelled up to twice the size so they thought they might have to amputate.". His faith keeps him going, she says. 560 POW's died. Japanese site - Covers Japanese camps only, accurate camp descriptions and a great deal of background information. After an exchange of salutes between the POWs and their senior officers, the firing squad opened fire. Its inhuman, he said. Next to the Huai Ro Khi river it had 3 large huts up to 75 metres long originally but grew in size later. Last edited on 26 September 2016, at 04:45, British people who died in Japanese internment camps, British extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:British_people_imprisoned_abroad&oldid=741224859, This page was last edited on 26 September 2016, at 04:45. *The so-called'INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY',was an armed force formedto secure Indian independence with Japaneseassistance and was largely, at this time, composed of ex Indian (British) army soldiers captured with the other commonwealth troops. Report inappropriate content Yonny Chiang Mai, Thailand Level Contributor 1 Camp, Copper mine, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /58 Heito, No. About 500 civilians, the great majority of Americans, were interned by the Japanese at Camp John Hay. The cell floor resembled a mass grave, with arms and legs all over each other. The rail line was built along the Khwae Noi (Kwai) River valley to support the Japanese armed forces during the Burma Campaign. There are also specific nominal lists for RAF POWs held in the Changi camps under AIR 40/1899 and Air 40/1906. The senior British senior officer at Keijo, Lt Col Elrington held the perception that Australians were being particularly targeted. If you find an error or omission we would be pleased to hear from you and we'll correct or add any detail as necessary. I shared my story and let them know what was going on, I even got myself in the newsletter! Relatives of British POWs who were in Changi POW Camp, Singapore may like to know that The National Archives in Kew, London - have 58,000 POW index cards in 50 or so boxes. It was commonplace for a senior Japanese officer to strike his subordinate officers who then passed the same treatment down the chain of command to their non commissioned staff and down to the lowliest Japanese soldier who then invariably took this out on prisoners under his control. Relatives of British Malayan civilian internees can, by appointment, visit the Imperial War Museum Reading Room to view similar details of Changi Gaol internees in the Changi Register and view other short details in the 1940 Malayan Directory. Answer: Absolutely horrific. He and his crew sent two torpedoes speeding through the icy waters of the South China Sea toward the ship, striking it on the starboard number three hold and the stern. Jumping on a plane to Thailand Having a bit too much fun Ending up in a Thai prison This is not an urban legend or a scene from a movie. Debbie, his mother, herself alluded to this on. With the lights of Japan in . Starvation and malnutrition were the POW's most critical problems. Only 550 of the 900+ who sailed from Taiwan were still alive; 150 more men died in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the coming months, leaving only 403 survivors of the original 1620 to be liberated from camps in Kyushu, Korea, Manchuria, and Taiwan in August and September 1945. Ship sunk 21 September 1944 by an unidentified US submarine. Exact departure dates are confusing since some sources state 3rd June and some 5th June 1944. <> sailed from Singapore on 16 May 43. A camp leader who openly criticised conditions and treatment was liable to be beaten after the departure of the visitor, and recourse was had sometimes to the passing of messages while shaking hands to convey the true situation. It may be that as a consequence, conditions in the Korean camps, and especially at Keijo, were significantly better than in most other Japanese controlled camps. Allied Officers were sent to oversee the transfer of the POWs from the Japanese Army. Sailed from Hong Kong to Nagasaki with 1200 POWs on 19/1/43. Nevertheless, the standard of living in the camps here and in the capital was better than that of most local Koreans. Opened in 1941, this housed 3,700 allied civilians released by US Rangers and Filipino Guerrillas on February 3rd 1945. There is no guarantee that Lance Whitmore will be transferred back to the United Kingdom immediately although authorities do seem to be moving quite quickly with his case. J-Japansailed from Singapore on 16 May 43. British Army built, The Selerang Barracks were constructed between1936 - 1938 and used to house Australian POWs from 1942 onwards. While in San Fernando, 15 weak or wounded prisoners were loaded on a truck, believing they would be taken to Bilibid for treatment. The other 60 per cent were primarily miners and businessmen. The worst problem for prisoners in all North-east Asian camps was enduring the extreme cold in an undernourished state. Both prisoners had their sentences confirmed by the Thai Appeals Court in September 2016 when they both appeared before the court shackled together. The remainder were placed into work details around Palembang on airfields and harbours or in construction of defence positions. Canadian Inventor (Mati Mati Maru/ Sekiho Maru). <> In addition to those two hospitals, POWs were sometimes sent to nearby Army hospitals or hospitals that belonged to the companies where they worked. The POWs were paid by Japanese Army regulations. It is reported that least 1,000 of these inmates are foreigners normally held in Building 2.The institution is a huge prison complex housing both men and women. The FCO, who claim to be fighting against the sentence, said: The British Government takes a strong and principled stance against the death penalty. POWs reported various atrocities of these types in their testimony before the War Tribunals after the war. She describes the whole journey, in one Facebook post, as the will of God which she and her son try to accept. {iIQIkMJt>-)7ID';%%Fg1lHSNC|!_m6by>?ttTb)'V$LvayXT:M0JXPe[TidX ]e.M*.]Bk01J FYhl4Y>!.&FL>b1sxskZ1"tj8]~l|NIx+Jc2k The Japanese Army was responsible for the administration of the camps, but the Japanese Navy wanted to interrogate pilots they captured in an attempt to improve their naval intelligence. endobj Corporal Breavington made a plea to the Japanese officers to execute him alone but was rejected. THAILAND_POW_Camps_rosters (WO 361-2171) - Numerous . At Sandakan and Ranau and Brunei, North Borneo, batches of prisoners in fifties and sixties were marched out to dig their graves, then shot or bayoneted and pushed into the graves, many before they were dead. There is a great deal of evidence the ICRC did visit some camps which were made presentable to them by the Japanese. Russell said that conditions at Klong Prem were very harsh and had been tightened up. And I know that if it wasnt for them, a difficult situation may have become an impossible one. Sailed from Singapore to Moji (Japan) with 1500 POWs on 25/4/43. This was a civilian only internment camp, taken over by the Japanese in 1942. Lance Whitmore pleaded guilty to the charges against him in 2015. While hundreds of these POWs were not considered a threat by the Japanese and were used as 'guards' at Gun Club Hill Barracks and other areas, 500-600 Indian soldiers considered anti-Japanese were held at Ma Tau Chung in very unpleasant circumstances. K & L-365 men of themedical forces left Changi in June and August 1943 for Thailand and worked in the various hospitals along the railway. Sailed from Sandakan Borneo to Labuan Island 0n 30th august 1943 arriving 3rd September with 8 POWs. However, at least now the young man has something himself to hope and hold on to. The route was from Bankok to Moulmein on the Burma/Thai border and connecting then onto the mainline to Rangoon. Typically, they were two-storied wooden buildings in a compound surrounded by wooden walls topped with barbed wire. The average number of cards which the Japanese allowed being sent out was from four to five for the whole period of captivity, and only some of these reached their destinations. They expressed their thankfulness for having escaped from the semi-starvation of their internment camps, as well as their anxiety for the health of those they had left behind in Japanese custody. Conditions in Thai prisons are some of the worlds most notorious. However, on January 9th, the Enoura Maru was bombed and disabled while in harbour, killing about 350 men. Recently, some prisons in Thailand provide the option for family abroad to have video call with prisoners in prison. Now both young men are still only getting into the stride of what will still be very long and painful prison term even if both are eventually transferred to home prisons. Situated in Lushun Manchuria and built by the Russian occupation forces in the early 20th century. These contain basic details of each POW and in Japanese on the back additional information - that on POWs who died is particularly informative. So when money started appearing in my account, around 1,800 baht (35) each month, I was very surprised. These men had no assurance that the Japanese would respect the persons of neutral nationals any more than they did those of the nationals of enemy countries. Paul was living in Thailand, happily married with a young son, running a successful business. Prisoners of British nationality imprisoned by an authority other than that of the United Kingdom. ), No. Mr Davies, who has a previous conviction in the UK in the 1960s for obtaining money by deception, has written an account of his time inside which he hopes will be published. Moreover, for most of the war period, it was estimated that some nine-tenths of the 300,000 Allied prisoners and civilians in Japanese hands were held in occupied territories, south of a line running roughly from Rangoon to the northern Philippines, in which not only were inspections of camps forbidden but no relief action of any kind could be undertaken without express permission from the Japanese authorities. On the other hand, she is now desperately waiting for the good news that Lance will be on his way home to the United Kingdom which will be a huge step forward for the young man and of great comfort and reassurance to his family. (We have a copy of The Prisoner of War magazine from February 1943 which notes a visit to Woosung camp Near Shanghai, China and mentions 3 of the main camps in Japan proper as having had visits). The Japanese minesweeper had struck a Dutch laid mine off the coast and sunk with most hands, along with damage to 2 other Japanese minesweepers. Their tasks involved the cleaning up and repairing of war-torn parts of the city and the badly bombed Chinatown area. One of the other Americans was USMC Lt. who had organized the escape. Once it was discovered that the island was held by the Japanese, an officer of the Vyner Brooke went to surrender the group to the authorities in Muntok. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Carried 1100 POWs from Singapore to Moji (Japan) on 30/10/42. It was torpedoed and sunk 30 July 1945 by USS Sennet (SS-408) off Hokkaido. Also organised trips to Thailand twice a year. Situated in Kowloon district, this camp was the largest in Hong Kong and the main place where both professional soldiers and the Hong Kong volunteer defence corps were imprisoned during the Japanese occupation. On September 18th, 1944, when sailing from Tangjung Priok, Java to Padang, Sumatra, Junyo Maru was torpedoed west off Sumatra, Mukomuko by the British submarine HMS Tradewind.
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