Alfred Robert Maskell VX25221 was a POW in Japan at the time of the air drop, he souvenired the document. Refer 2485 for medals and service history also 1100.2, 2489P.Document on yellowed paper with black printing on both sides. Heading is "Allied Prisoners". One side is in English the other in Dutch. Document explains that Japan has surrendered and that air drops will begin to POW's. Details re bundles, contents, rations, allowances, clothing and instructions on food consumption.documents, pow

John Phillip MURPHY No VX17294 enlisted in the 2nd AIF on 15.5.1940 age 30 years 5 months. Posted to the 2/29th Bn 29.11.1940, embarked for Singapore 30.7.1941 disembarking 15.8.1941. Promoted to L/Cpl 2.1.1942, listed as missing 16.2.1942 then POW. A telegram in his records dated 4.8.1945 to his wife Mrs A Murphy of Kirkwood St Eaglehawk states “Alive at Changi Camp”. He disembarked Australia on 8.10.1945 and discharged from the Army on 6.12.1945. Refer also Cat No 1110.Envelope, “Prisoner of War Post” yellowed, red print, stamped “Passed by Censor” re J.P.Murphy.Typed “VX17294 L/Cpl J P Murphy 2/29 Battalion AIF Australian Prisoner of War Malaya”. In pencil “Changi”.envelopes japanese, pow, murphy

A personal memoir of Changi POW, Keith Wilson. The author details the daily lives of prisoners & their interaction with their Japanese captors.Black, buckram hard cover with title on spine in gold letters. Blue end papers. Blue & white dust cover with illustrations front & back. Title on front in white letters. Title on spine in black letters.On front end paper: L K Morgan 8/90books, military, history, imprisonment

Book, light green soft cover, photo in centre of 2 small boys standing to attention. 236 pages. Back cover has photo of the Editor on lower LHS.Written on title page: Donated by F O'Connellbooks, history

Book, black hard cover with red cloth binding & red, white & black dust jacket. Front cover has background of a red circle with 7 lines radiating from the bottom. 462 pages.Written on title page: John W Toon OAM Ex POW 8th Div AASC Donated by: Bgo YMCAbooks, military history, prisoners

Copy of framed photograph of World War 2 Australian Army serviceman Lieutenant Edgar Burton Chapman, service number VX43645, who served in the 2/10th Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers. The 2/10th FC was attached to the 8th Division. Chapman later transferred to the 2/12 FC which was in Singapore when the Japanese invaded. Chapman was captured and spent 3 1/2 years as a Prisoner of War in Changi Prison. Chapman was born in Dromana, Victoria, on 21st March, 1914 and lived in Frankston and attended Frankston High School. He trained as a Civil Engineer and commenced work with the British Phosphate Commission in Nauru.

Retrieved from original location by Kevin Myers during official military preparations for a Hellfire Pass memorial in recognition of the allied POW lives lost during construction of the Burma-Thailand railway during WW2.Direct connection between local (Montmorency and Victorian) soldiers in WW2 and the work undertaken by allied prisoners of the Japanese Army.Steel spikes used in construction of the Burma-Thailand railway during WW2.Noneprisoner of war, burma, ww2, railway

Account of the author's capture by the Japanese forces in Malaya in 1941, and experiences in prisoner of war camps in Kuala Lumpur, Changi and Thailand.18 x 11 cmprisoner of war camps, world war 2. malayan campaign

Diary covers the period from November 1942 to September 1944. Waters was executed by the Japanese in New Guinea in March 1945. The autograph book belonged to Waters mother (Maude), and records the appreciation of the service personnel who lodged at her residence in Bridge Street, Hampton.WW 2 diary, notes, and sketches of Peter Waters (410186 RAAF 80 Sqn).peter waters, maude waters, ww2, prisoners of war, raaf, 80 squadron

Letter written from (unknown) POW imprisioned by the Japanese on Morotai Island from 1942 - 1945 to (unknown) friend. Descriptive of life and treatment in POW camp. The island was captured by the Japanese in early 1942. Morotai's southern plain was taken by American forces in September 1944 during the Battle of Morotai, and used as a staging point for the Allied invasion of the Philippines in early 1945, and of Borneo in May and June of that year. Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura was discovered in the Morotai jungle in 1974, as one of the WWII Japanese soldiers who held out subsequent to the Japanese military's surrender.Photocopy of letter, 4 pages, originally written in ink on (unofficial) Australian Red Cross form.Added to head of letter at a later date is inscription ' First letter written home for 3 1/2 years'.Top left hand- FOR SAFETY/ IN YOUR LETTERS DO NOT REFER TO:-/ The name of your ship or other ships in the convoy, or its escorts./The date of sailing, ports of call, or probable destination./ The description of troops, their loca-/tion or any other information/ which, if intercepted, would be of/ value to the enemy. In your Top right hand- Australian Red Cross Society/ (UNOFFICIAL)/ 25-8-45/ (added at later date 'Morotri Island')/ Alex, Have witten this especially/ as i don't wish our women folk to know the tougher side of life./Well Alex for the first/ 2 1/2 years as POWs we lived reasonably/ well, but the last 15 months was like /hell. Heres the worst lot of b-s/ you could find on earth, they worked /us from 7AM till 6 PM, & fed/ us on muck you wouldn't feed to/ Pigs. I'm nothing at all they would 2, pow, morotri island, morotai island, world war, prisoner of war, australian red cross society

non-fictionThe detailed history of the No.8 Independent Commando Company during World War II. Plastic protective cover over the book. The 2/8th Independent Company was formed at Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria, in July 1942 and travelled to Yandina, in Queensland, in September. While the other seven independent companies saw action in the islands off Australian and in New Guinea, the 2/8th spent most of the next two years based at Adelaide River, in the Northern Territory. While it was in the Territory, the independent companies underwent a series of reorganisations and the name of the 2/8th was changed from the 2/8th Independent Company to the 2/8th Cavalry (Commando) Squadron. This name was later simplified to just commando squadron. In July 1944, after years of waiting, the squadron left the Territory and sailed from Townsville to Lae, via Milne Bay. While at Lae, the squadron received an intake of 70 men from the 2/8th from the 2/3rd, 2/5th and 2/6th Cavalry (Commando) Squadrons, many of whom were veterans of the earlier New Guinea campaigns. Their experience was no doubt a useful reserve that would have been called upon during the 2/8th’s subsequent campaign in Bougainville. Others though, were able to implement some of their commando training when a small group from the 2/8th they made a secret landing on New Britain. Towards the end of the 1944 the 5th Division was preparing to make a landing at Jacquinot Bay in New Britain. Part of these preparations included landing a small group of officers from the division at Jacquinot Bay to make a secret reconnaissance of the potential landing site. As Jacquinot Bay was still in Japanese controlled territory, ‘C’ Troop from the 2/8th provided the protection for the reconnaissance party by establishing a position on the beach and by patrolling the surrounding country. Everything went well and the 5th Division later landed at Jacquinot Bay in November. The squadron too was on the move, and in October it sailed to Torokina, the main Australian base on Bougainville, where it joined the II Australian Corps. The campaign on Bougainville was dived into three areas, the Central, Northern and Southern Sectors. The 2/8th served in the latter two areas. The 2/8th made the first move of the Australian campaign in the Northern Sector, by patrolling from Torokina to Kuraio Mission and Amun once a week. The squadron did this from the second week of November unit the second week of December. The 2/8th was then transferred to the Southern Sector. The main battle for Bougainville was fought in the Southern Sector, as the 3rd Division advanced towards Buin – the main Japanese base on the island. As the division’s infantry brigades advanced along the coast, the 2/8th’s task was to protect their flank by conducting forward reconnaissance patrols, harassing the Japanese with raids and ambushes and conducting a form of guerrilla warfare. The squadron had a long campaign. For nine months, from the end of December until August 1945, the troopers were in action the whole time. After securing the Jaba River, they moved inland, first to Sovele Mission, then the villages of Opai, Nihero and Morokaimoro. They had reached Kilipaijino by the end of the war. Each village taken became a patrol base. Patrols were usually limited to two sections, although up to six sections could be operating at a time. Patrols generally lasted four to six days, but nine-day patrols were not unknown. The squadron collected and collated track information, terrain reports and located the enemy. Once patrols had gathered information, they were free to make a ‘strike’ against the Japanese by setting an ambush or taking a prisoner. These raids were very effective, as they forced the Japanese to deploy troops to their rear areas, removing men from the front created by the infantry. Following Japan’s surrender and the end of the war, the ranks of the squadron thinned quickly as men were discharged or were transferred to other units. For those who were left, the squadron returned to Australia at the end of December. In mid January 1946, at Liverpool, the 2/8th Commando Squadron was disbanded.

p.247.non-fictionAustralian veterans of the Second World War who fought against the Japanese share their feelings about the war in the sixtieth anniversary of its close.world war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war - japan, world war 1939-1945 - veterans - attitudes

Index, bibliography, ill, p.478.non-fictionIn Crisis in the Pacific acclaimed historian Gerald Astor draws on the raw experiences of marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen under fire - from generals and admirals to correspondents, line officers and enlisted men on both sides of the battle lines - to present a view of the critical struggle for the Philippines, the keystone to Japanese domination of the Pacific and to ultimate Allied victory. These accounts, many published here for the first time, are dramatic and graphic, brutal and awe-inspiring. Ranging from the diplomatic and nursing corps' experience of the Japanese conquest and occupation of the islands, to the Bataan death march and first-hand accounts of war crimes inflicted by the Japanese on prisoners of war, to the final push for the hills of Mindanao, Crisis in the Pacific is the first complete history, told in the words of the men and women who were there, of one of the most crucial battlegrounds of World War II.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – phillipines, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives

Ill, maps, p.295.The story of 'Lark Force', the 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion and support units, which defended Rabaul in 1942, with most of the Force becoming prisoners of the Japanese. world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – new guinea, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.262.non-fictionThe story of POW's captured at Hong Kong is told for the first time in this book. A gripping tale of courage and enduranceworld war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – hong kong, world war 1939-1945 - prisoners and prisons - japan

Ill, p.210.non-fictionAn account of the author's experiences in two World Wars, as a Sergeant Major in a machine gun battalion and as a prisoner of the Japanese in Java, Singapore and Thailand. world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia, prisoners of war - australia

Ill, p.157.non-fictionCreated by the Australian War Memorial, this book is an online companion to a travelling exhibition that explores the lives of those who were held captive by the Japanese. It describes what happened during the time these individuals spend months and years behind barbed wire, hungry, bored, cold, and sick. The book tells the story of how many survived and why they deserve our respect and understanding. world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – australia, prisoners of war - australia - pictorial works

Index, bibliography, ill (b/w), p.185.non-fictionA description of Albert Coates and of his imprisonment as a prisoner of the Japanese in Sumatra, Burma and Thailandprisoners of war - australia, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - australia

p.288.fictionA fictional account of the Cowra break out of 1944.prisoners of war - japan - fiction, cowra break-out - fiction

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.179.non-fictionOver 60,000 Australians and Americans captured by the Japanese during World War II toiled and died to build the Bridge over the River Kwai. Respected military historian Linda Goetz Holmes tells the story of one man's survival in Japanese labor camps during WWII. Amazing photographs, taken secretly by other prisoners, chronicle this dark history of Allied troops in the Pacific theatre of war.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – australia, burma thailand railway

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.688.non-fictionThe untold story of the Sandakan death marches of World War II. After the fall of Singapore, in February 1942, the Japanese conquerors rounded up tens of thousands of British and Australian soldiers and shipped them to prison camps scattered throughout Hirohito's newly won Empire. The fall of Britain's 'impregnable fortress' was the greatest humiliation in British military history, for which Churchill never forgave the Japanese. But nothing would surpass the wretched fate of some 2,700 British and Australian prisoners who were shipped to British North Borneo later that year. They landed in Sandakan, on the east coast of the island, after a 10-day voyage on a Japanese 'hell' ship, and were herded into a jungle camp some eight miles inland. Thus began the three-year ordeal of the Sandakan prisoners of war - a barely known story of unimaginable horror.world war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war - sandakan, japan - prisons and prisoners of war

Index, bibliography, notes,maps, ill, p.334.non-fictionIn 1939 Marsden Hordern's mother refused to sign the paper allowing her seventeen-year-old son to fight overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. 'I did not rear you to be killed in an airplane,' she said. 'Join the navy.' He took her advice and in doing so determined his future. In small patrol boats, Fairmiles and a Harbour Defence Motor Launch, he patrolled the shores of Japanese-held territory, assisted beleaguered commandos in Timor, and was finally caught up in the drama of rounding up Japanese prisoners of war and guarding them in New Guinea.world war 1939-1945 - naval operations - australia, royal australian navy

Ill, maps, p.159.non-fictionThe building of the Burma - Thailand Railway by allied prisoners of warworld war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war - japan, burma - thailand railway

Index, ill, maps, p.198.A 25 year old Australian, James Boyle, was one of thousands of prisoners of war who worked in inhuman conditions to build the Thailand/Burma railway. He was determined to record his experiences and thos of his mates - at the limits of human endurance.japan - prisons and prisoners of war, burma - thailand railway

Index, ill, p.352.non-fictionShares the story of Judy, the first-ever animal to gain formal status as a prisoner of war, who during World War II saved countless lives and became a friend and protector to Allied soldiers in the Japanese prison camps in Indonesia.animals - war use, dogs - war use - great britain

Index, ill, bib, p.559.non-fictionFor months during 1943 there was no night in Hellfire Pass. By the light of flares, carbide lamps and bamboo fires, men near-naked and skeletal cut a passage through stone to make way for a railway. Among these men were some of the 22,000 Australian soldiers taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. In camps across Asia and the Pacific, they struggled, died, and survived with a little help from their mates. 'Hellfire' was researched in Australia, Japan and across South-East Asia. It draws on 50 first-person interviews, ranging from former prisoners to an old Mon villager deep in the Burmese jungle, and from Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew to veterans of the Imperial Japanese Army. The result is a tour de force, a powerful and searing history of the prisoners of the Japanese. world war 1939-1945 - prisoners and prisons - japan, burma - siam railway

Ill, maps, p.138.non-fictionIllustrated history of the Sandakan death marches. Includes a roll of honourworld war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war - sandakan, world war 1939-1945 - prisoners and prisons - japan