Stories categorised in 'Prisoners of War'. Exact departure dates are confusing since some sources state 3rd June and some 5th June 1944. A survey of the track had shown that it's poor construction ‘would not support commercial traffic’. A Kempeitai Prison rather than a fully fledged POW camp, located in Rabaul town itself, https://www.awm.gov.au/events/conference/2002/degroen.asp, Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its activities during the Second World War, Vol,1,p.451, prisoner-of-war and internment camps in Japan, Allied prisoners and civilians in Japanese hands, Ships from Hell: Japanese War Crimes on the High Seas in World War II’, Japanese Registers of Allied Prisoners of War (PoWs), www.paperlessarchives.com/FreeTitles/POWCampsOutisdeJapan.pdf, 2 million exclusive records, found only on our site, Records transcribed in the UK for maximum accuracy, 1 on 1 Personal assistance from military photo and document experts, Access to Orbats mapping tool, allowing you to trace your WW1 ancestors steps. A former British prisoner of war describes building the bridge over the River Kwai during WW2. Lieutenant-Colonel Tatsuji Suga (born 22nd September 1885) was the commander of all prisoner-of-war and civilian internment camps in Borneo. An island at the south of Singapore Island itself and the nearby beach was the scene of the infamous executions of those POWs who attempted escaped from Selerang POW camp in Changi province. 6318 British and 2815 Australian POWs are counted within these deaths. The POWs were paid by Japanese Army regulations. POWs& Soldiers", followed by 298 people on Pinterest. At the end of WW2, a Japanese freighter sails with Allied prisoners as cargo but, sensing doom, the prisoners plan to overpower their guards and capture the prison-ship. There were also many deaths caused by guard atrocities, and almost all POWs were executed after they had attempted to escape and were recaptured. Many prisoners, however, indicated that because of the availability of fresh vegetables in the warmer months and local fish during winter, rations were in some ways better than at Jinsen and Keijo. 1600+ British POWs arrived here on May 20th 1943 from a 300-mile march from Ban Pong. Not all camps had the same regime; some were far stricter than others often very much to the point of brutality so don’t be too surprised to hear of vastly differing experiences. The Imperial War Museum, in association with the publisher J.B. Hayward, has published a series of volumes listing all British & Commonwealth POWs held in Germany and German Occupied Territories. Deep in Malaya, as World War II is rapidly coming to an end, men, women and children, trapped by the Japanese invasion, are held captive in the Blood Island prison camp. After an exchange of salutes between the POWs and their senior officers, the firing squad opened fire. 13 & 3 Camp, Cherison, Bandoeng, Java, JC /255 1 Allied Group Hospital, Lyceum, Bandoeng, Java, JC /156 Taiping Jail Perak ( amalgamated with ) Ipoh, Malaya, JC /288 Ipoh ( amalagamated with JC /156 ), Malaya, JC /296 Sungei Bulow, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, JC /316 Oesapa Bezar, Timor, Netherlands East Indies, JC /313 Los Banos and Santo Tomas Camps, Manila, Philippines, JC /1    Kanburi, Kanchanaburi, Khan Buri, Siam, JC /2    Pungyisho ( south of Tarsao ), Siam, JC /5    152 kilo railway camp, Hintock River Camp, Siam, JC /26   Tamuang,Taenvang, Tam Wang, Siam, JC /27   Wanyei, North Tarsao, 125 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /34   Takelin, 101 kiol railway camp, Siam, JC /40   Linson, 202.5 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /42   Kanyu, 140 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /48   Pran Kashi, 208 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /49   Tarkenun, 203 kilo railway camp and 211 kilo, Swinton's Camp, Siam, JC /50   Tampii, Arrahill, Jungle Camp, Siam, JC /53   227 kilo railway camp and 245 kilo, Siam, JC /55   Vajiravugh College, Bangkok, Siam, JC /56   Takanon, 228 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /61   Klikrie, Klien Kli, Tarkenum, 240 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /62   Ladya Railway Suppy Camp, Kanburi to Tarsao Road, Siam, JC /70   Bankow, Bangkao, 96 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /71   Wampo South, 110 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /72   245 kilo railway camp and 227 kilo, Siam, JC /81   Rin Tin, 82 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /86 Tampii Camp, 147 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /96  North Wamps, Wamps, 114 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /99  Lampoe, 32 kilo north of Chieng-Mai, Siam, JC /126 230 kilo railway camp and 245 kilo, Siam, JC /133 Tamajo, 229 kilo railway camp, and 234, and 239 kilo, Siam, JC /137 Kachu Lu, Katchu Mountain Camp, Siam, JC /143 Bangan Camp, 9 kilo north of Brencasi, Siam, JC /159 Tarkenun,Swinton's Camp, 230 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /164 Tarrua, 102 kilo railway camp, Siam, JC /178 Tagerry ( Burma/Siam border ), Siam, JC /190 Bontilon Camp, ( on Wampo to Tavoy Rd ), Bonti, Siam, JC /3                Kranji No. Nicknamed the Benjo Maru as Benjo means ‘toilet’ -due to the number of POWs suffering dysentery on board. J-Japan sailed from Singapore on 16 May 43. In the first place, they refused for the greater part of the war to recognise, except in Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the right of representatives of the Protecting Power and the International Red Cross Committee to pay visits of inspection. All over Borneo hundreds and thousands of sick, weak, weary prisoners were marched on roads and paths until they fell from exhaustion, when their heads were beaten in with rifle butts and shovels, and split open with swords, and they were left to rot unburied. Between them Germany and Italy captured a total of 142,319 British prisoners, with Japan capturing 50,016. Prisoners of war at the dock area in Yokohama, Japan, waiting to be processed prior to boarding a hospital ship. Generally, however, POWs held by the Americans enjoyed the greatest level of comfort of any POWs: “The German, Austrian, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war who were held in American hands during World War II experienced the best treatment of any nation’s prisoners in that conflict or probably any other” (Krammer, 2008: 58). The camp commandants often refused to reply to questions put to them. Many died due to asphyxia, starvation or dysentery. They began preparing assembly areas for the POWs as soon as the Japanese surrender documents were signed on September 1, 1945. All the prisoners were returned to their original barracks afterwards. The number of deaths which occurred when Japanese "hell ships"—unmarked transport ships in which POWs were transported in harsh conditions—were attacked by US and Royal Navy submarines were particularly high. Japanese staff worked and lived in the camp's administration building, which also contained storage and toilet facilities. Left Singapore on 4/9/44 bound for Japan with 950 British & Australian POWs from D party group 4, sunk in the same incident on 12/9/44as the Rakuyo maru and 520 were rescued by the Japanese and a few others by US submarines. Primarily a hospital POW camp it housed around 7,500 POWs mostly the US. The case of the Oryoku Maru collectively covers the seven-week voyages and fate of Allied POWs held in the Philippines, who survived the sinking of that ship in Subic Bay in December 1944, and the bombing of a second ship the Enoura Maru, in the harbour of Takao, January 1945, and the Brazil Maru which transported the last surviving Allied POWs to Moji, Japan. This was the Kempeitai (Japanese military/secret police) centre for hard labour, torture and execution. The worst problem for prisoners in all North-east Asian camps was enduring the extreme cold in an undernourished state. The Oryoku Maru was a 7,363-ton passenger-cargo liner that the Japanese used to transport 1,620 survivors of the Bataan Death March, Corregidor and other battle sites. Inside the compound, POW quarters usually consisted of rows of two or three-storied bunk beds with either traditional Japanese Goza (woven straw mats) or tatami (straw mattresses) on the wooden bunks. ... so they would know what he went through in WW2. To-151 Kamioka Prison (Gummyoji) Yokohama. Prisoners in Japan, on the whole, fared better, especially those at Zentsuji (where one man received 80 letters), than men in the Dutch East Indies where the number seldom reached double figures. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google On one march 2,790 POWs started, and only three survived. The engines were rated at 475 hp (354 kW). The total number of POWs who died in all the camps in Japan was about 10 % of those who were transported to the home islands. There are also several records of the civilian internees kept at the Changi Museum's website. 60 KM west of Bangkok and on the direct communication line of the Japanese Army. Due to poor sanitation, lice and fleas plagued POWs, and there was danger of spreading infectious diseases. The two camps were only separated by a small river/canal with a bridge built across it. Forces and returned to the United States. The men were regarded as not fit enough to be transferred to working areas but were shipped out of Changi anyway on 13 trains with no ventilation and little food or water. Left Belawan Sumatra on 25/6/44 bound for Pakanbaroe Sumatra and was sunk by Submarine HMS Truculent the next day, 180 of 720 POW and 27 of 55 Japanese troops killed. The National Archive has a large number (56,000 –not a complete set) of: ‘Japanese POW index cards 1942-1945 within its collections (not digital) these are held in Catalogue WO345. Of the 267 Australians onboard only 72 survived. She was deliberately scuttled by the Dutch to prevent her from falling into enemy hands but the Japanese refloated and salvaged her in 1942. Privacy Policy and (Ned Kelly, a legendary Australian outlaw, was a popular choice!) Two torpedoes hit the hull of the ship which sank, killing several hundred American, Dutch and Filipino servicemen. In addition to the number of POWs who reached Japanese camps, approximately 11,000 POWs tragically lost their lives when allied air and submarine forces attacked the ships transporting the POWs to Japan. to be used by the Japanese Armed Forces in the occupied areas. 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. The senior officer of the Japanese army commanding General Tomoyuki Yamashita was executed at Bilibid Prison in 1946 after being found guilty of allowing the murder of unarmed POWs. Carried 1,000 prisoners from Makassar, Celebes to Nagasaki, Japan beginning October 10th, 1942 and arriving 13 days later. Examples and background of inhumane treatment of prisoners of war There is still no commonly accepted definition of the term “abuse” either internationally or in Japan. Akikase was later torpedoed and sunk on 03/11/44 by the US submarine USS Pintado. Of the 1210 people on board, a total of 339 were lost that night, 308 workers (including POW’s), 26 prostitutes and 5 Japanese soldiers. Prisoners of war who have been interned in the Hanawa Prisoner of War Camp #6 at Honshu, Japan, joyously greet 1st Lt. Jack Bresnick of Boston, Massachusetts, the first American they have seen in three or four years. At the end of the war, the Japanese Armed Forces destroyed all documents related to the POW Camps. 56,000+ of those held by the Empire of Japan were recorded in the War Departments records now held at Kew under the title ‘BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR HELD IN JAPAN OR JAPANESE-OCCUPIED TERRITORY’ Imperial War Museum, Catalogue No. Conditions in Korean camps were amongst the best a POW could hope for in territories under Japanese control. The POWs were supposed to be able to communicate with their family at home through the International Red Cross under certain conditions. The … While the attitude of the Japanese authorities regarding prisoners' mail seems to have been one of indifference, their attitude regarding visits to prisoner-of-war and internment camps was much more positive. Carried 1100 POWs from Singapore to Moji (Japan) on 30/10/42. But in the shipyards near Osaka, two starving British prisoners ate lard from a great tub used for greasing the slipway. 46 NIDS Security Reports I. Tha Sao 130 KM -Group 4 of D party from Singapore worked here. Carried 1065 POWs from Thailand in July 1944. The ship left Singapore on the 5th September 1944 en route to Manila via Borneo, arriving in Miri on the 11th picking up supplies and human cargo and leaving again on the 15th. In 1942, the Japanese seized Burma and took control away from Britain. In April 1945, the camp military districts were reorganized and three new POW Camps were established in Sendai, Nagoya, and Hiroshima. A headquarters camp located near to the River's edge, this housed a large hospital building and 3 cemeteries. The Tamahoko Maru was then almost blown apart and water poured in through a gaping hole in her side. The POWs assembled at places such as Nagasaki, Nii-machi in Shizuoka Prefecture, Yokohama, Omori in Tokyo, Chitose in Hokkaido, and by the end of September, most of the POWs had returned to their home countries via Okinawa and Manila. Nov 20, 2016 - Explore marion jones's board "American P.O.W. THESE are the startling pictures which show the horrific moment Japanese troops used British prisoners of war for target practice. The following day Suga, together with several of his officers were flown to the Australian base on Labuan, to await their trials as war criminals. (Khwae Yai). 14) by an air raid and seven were killed by the A-Bomb in Nagasaki Mitsubishi Ship-Building Branch Camp (Fukuoka No. In 1945, Lieutenant General Shimpei Fukuei (also spelt as Fukuye) was the first to be tried for war crimes. No communication with the other prisoners was authorized, and negotiations undertaken with the object of altering this state of things were not successful. Sister Bullwinkel was later captured again and spent the rest of the war in captivity. In most cases, existing warehouses, company employee dorms, or school buildings were remodelled and used as POW camp buildings. Sanitary facilities consisted of four 5-gallon buckets which were grossly inadequate. The camp was in existence until May 31st 1944 when military prisoners were transferred to Changi prison, while the remaining 3500 civilians were moved to Sime Road Camp. It then carried 20 prisoners from Wake Island to Yokohama, Japan beginning November 1st, 1942 and later carried 71 prisoners from Singapore to Moki, Japan beginning September 21st, 1943. (Other reports state 548 POWs and no survivors. Prisoners were routinely beaten, starved and abused and forced to work in mines and war-related factories in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. Lieutenant Kenichi Nakagawa was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. About 36,000 were transported to the Japanese Mainland to supplement the shortage of the work force, and compelled to work at the coal mines, mines, shipyards, munitions factories, etc. There were also many work accidents where POWs were injured. Taiwan camp specialist site: very accurate rosters and painstakingly researched data. This ship was used for several POW voyages including the delivery of Fepows to Fukuoka camp via the port of Moji in 1942/3. "BRITISH CIVILIANS INTERNED BY THE JAPANESE DURING WORLD WAR II" By Ron BRIDGE A requirement to establish a definitive list of British subjects interned as civilians by the Japanese in Concentration Camps (some euphemistically called Civil Assembly Centres by Tokyo) has shown that no comprehensive list appears to be in existence. Arrived at Moji in Japan where POWs were sent onto Taisho sub-camp, one of a group of camps around Osaka and Kobe. A Kempeitai Prison rather than a fully fledged POW camp, located in Rabaul town itself. A prisoner-of-war ( POW ) and internee camps in this, the could... Even provided POWs with small amounts of tobacco facts during the war Tribunals after the film, great! Pows could buy simple daily necessities officers murdered 139 US POWs lack of food German! 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