Index, bib, ill, maps, p.224.Within three months of the Japanese entering World War II on December 8, 1941 over 22 000 Australians had become prisoners-of-war. They went into camps in Timor, Ambon, New Britain, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Singapore and Malaya, and a few were scattered to other points in what was briefly part of the Japanese empire. Later most of the prisoners were to be shifted further north into South-east Asia, Formosa, Korea, Manchuria and Japan itself. They were captives within lands and cultures and to experiences alien to those known to all other Australians. At the end of the war in August 1945, 14315 servicemen and thirty service women were alive to put on new, loose-fitting uniforms and go home. One in three of the prisoners had died. That is, nearly half of the deaths suffered by Australians in the war in the Pacific were among men and women who had surrendered. Another 8174 Australians had been captured in the fighting in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: but of these men only 265 died as a result of wounds, disease or execution.By any quantitative measure the imprisonment of so many Australians is a major event in Australian history. For many soldiers it was living --and dying --in captivity which made World War II different from that of World War I. But the prisoners have received no permanent place in Australian history. Their story is not immediately recalled on celebratory occasions. In a general history of the nation in which a chapter is given to the war the prisoners might be mentioned in a sentence, or part of a sentence. Where the horror, stoicism and gallantry of Gallipoli have become part of a common tradition shared by all Australians, the ex-prisoners are granted just the horror. The public may be sympathetic; but the horror is for the prisoners alone. To make another comparison: in five months of fighting on the Kokoda Trail in 1942 the Australians lost 625 dead, less than the number who died on Ambon. Yet the events on Ambon are unknown to most Australians. There were no reporters or cameramen on Ambon and, for the 309 who defended Ambon's Laha airfield, no survivors. How many of them died in battle or died as prisoners will never be known. But there are more than just practical reasons why the record of the prisoners of war is so slight and uneven in the general knowledge of Australians. They have not tried to find out. No historian has written a book to cover the range of camps and experiences, and only in specialist medical publications has anyone investigated the impact of prison life on subsequent physical and mental health. The complexity of the experience and its impact on particular lives have not been expressed in a way to give them significance for other Australians.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, world war 1939-1945 - personal narrativies - australia

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund with the assistance of Bruce Chamberlain AM and Neil Douglas, 1997

Indicate life and interest of German male civilians who were held in internment during /world War 2. The names of several internees involved in the production are included. A unique document saved by the family for many years, and which illustrates the methods undertaken by the internees in order to improve their life while imprisoned. Also illustrates the help offered to the internee by the Australian Authorities, viz the use of office equipment to print the program, and the making available of movie films and musical instruments. Original paper program, printed on two sides.nil

Accompanying letter from the donor and grandson, Bob Wilson.Made by a German Prisoner of War while imprisoned at Murchison POW Camp, and given to one of his guards, thereby showing the good relationship between prisoners and guards.Six sided brown container with lid made of plaster of paris. Depicting plant life, one small flower appears to be a disguised swastika. Inside lid is engraved a printed Murchison"/1941 TR.murchison pow camp 13., german pow.

Six POW postcards sent by Private Stanley Pascoe CHANDLER VX57554 to his mother Christina Chandler in Wahgunyah Victoria. Chandler was born in Wahgunyah and enlisted on the 11/6/1941 at Royal Park in Victoria. Chandler served with the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion and was reported missing in Java in April 1942 during WW2. He was discharged on the 15/1/1946 The post cards were printed by the Imperial Japanese Army for POW's to send home that describes the good climate, food, medicine and clothes. They also allow room for a brief message. Chandler wrote that he was interred with his friend Frank Allen, received 10 cents per day and has not had any illness. POWs were supposed to be able to communicate with their family at home through the International Red Cross under certain conditions. For example, they were limited to 100 letters. However, in reality it was impossible for them to communicate with family more than once or twice during the duration of imprisonment, and there were camps where the POWs were not allowed to communicate with the world outside the camp at all. The average number of cards which the Japanese allowed to be sent out was from four to five for the whole period of captivity, and only some of these reached their destinations.Timber frame containing six POW postcards mounted on cardboard. Postcards printed by Imperial Japanese Army for POW's to send to families, describing their health and living conditions.Postcards have messages home, "Dear Mother, prisoner of war, unwounded and well. Hope all well at home. Love and kisses Stan".pow, world war 2, burma, wahgunyah victoria, prisoner of war, stanley pascoe chandler

Ill, p.298.non-fictionDe Wet gives his experiences as a secret agent of France in Prague, and of his capture and imprisonment by the Gestapo.world war 1939-1945 - espionage - france, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - britain

p.175.non-fictionThe author tells of his imprisonment and escape from British North Borneo, of guerilla warfare in the Philippine archipelago and finally his voyage to Australia.world war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war, world war 1939-1945 - escapes

p.401.fictionA subtle and enlightening novel about a neglected human rights pioneer by the Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa In 1916, the Irish nationalist Roger Casement was hanged by the British government for treason. Casement had dedicated his extraordinary life to improving the plight of oppressed peoples around the world' especially the native populations in the Belgian Congo and the Amazon' but when he dared to draw a parallel between the injustices he witnessed in African and American colonies and those committed by the British in Northern Ireland, he became involved in a cause that led to his imprisonment and execution. Ultimately, the scandals surrounding Casement's trial and eventual hanging tainted his image to such a degree that his pioneering human rights work wasn't fully reexamined until the 1960s. In The Dream of the Celt, Mario Vargas Llosa, who has long been regarded as one of Latin America's most vibrant, provocative, and necessary literary voices'a fact confirmed when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010'brings this complex character to life as no other writer can. A masterful work, sharply translated by Edith Grossman, The Dream of the Celt tackles a controversial man whose story has long been neglected, and, in so doing, pushes at the boundaries of the historical novel. "In 1916, the Irish nationalist Roger Casement was hanged by the British government for treason. Casement had dedicated his extraordinary life to improving the plight of oppressed peoples around the world--especially the native populations in the Belgian Congo and the Amazon--but when he dared to draw a parallel between the injustices he witnessed in African and American colonies and those committed by the British in Northern Ireland, he became involved in a cause that led to his imprisonment and execution. Ultimately, the scandals surrounding Casement's trial and eventual hanging tainted his image to such a degree that his pioneering human rights work wasn't fully reexamined until the 1960s.roger casement, biographical fiction - spanish.

Plates, ill, p.315.non-fictionThis book includes the letters from Constance, Countess Markievicz, to her beloved sister, Eva, while she was imprisoned. Also included are the responses from Eva Gore-Booth and her friends. Together they convey a moving portrait of a remarkable Irish woman.ireland - biography - constance markievicz, ireland - politicians - biography

Ill, maps, p.320.non-fictionThe story of an Australian airman imprisoned in Turkeyworld war 1914-1918 - personal recollections, world war 1914-1918 - prisoners of war

Ill, p.534.fictionThe novel satirises some shortcomings of both government and society, including the institution of debtors' prisons, where debtors were imprisoned, unable to work and yet incarcerated until they had repaid their debts. The prison in this case is the Marshalsea, where Dickens's own father had been imprisoned. Dickens is also critical of the impotent bureaucracy of the British government, in this novel in the form of the fictional "Circumlocution Office". Dickens also satirises the stratification of society that results from the British class system. english fiction, charles dickens 1812-1870

Small 95 page booklet published in 1857 by Fairfax, Melbourne and inscribed by W. D. Lang.non-fictionRev John Dunmore Lang's defence of his son who was imprisoned for his part in the fraud at the Bank of New South Wales Ballarat and Clunes in 1854.drake, lang, rev john dunmore lang, ballarat, clunes, select committee of enquiry

Book has a red white and Malaya 1941, Nursing Sisters of cover, tile printed in white and author's name printed in black on front cover. On the front cover is a coloured black and white photograph "Malaya 1941, Nursing Sisters of 2/4 Clearing Station, 8 Division. Title and author's name also printed in white on spine. The back cover has a summary of the booknon-fictionn 1942 a group of sixty-five Australian Army nursing sisters was evacuated from Malaya aboard the Vyner Brooke, a few days before the fall of Singapore. Two days later their ship was bombed and sunk by the Japanese. Of the fifty-three survivors who scrambled ashore, twenty-one were murdered and the remaining thirty-two were taken prisoner. The book is the engrossing record kept by one of the sisters, Betty Jeffrey, during the three grueling years of imprisonment that followed. It is an amazing story of survival and deprivation in the harshest of conditions.world war 1939-1945 prisoners of war, nurses

Illustrated book with dustjacket. Book has a light green cover, with an image of a compass embossed in gold. on the front. The tile author's surname and publisher's name are embossed in gold on the spine. Dust jacket has multicoloured illustration by J.P.L Kickhefer on front and spine: group of women, some with head scarves walking behind a ?prison guard, barbed wire topped fence in front of and behind group. In the background is a hut and tropical plants. Title (white print) and authors name (red print) appear on a black background at base of front of dustjacket. Title, author's and publisher's names are printed in black on spinenon-fictionIn 1942 a group of sixty-five Australian Army nursing sisters was evacuated from Malaya aboard the Vyner Brooke, a few days before the fall of Singapore. Two days later their ship was bombed and sunk by the Japanese. Of the fifty-three survivors who scrambled ashore, twenty-one were murdered and the remaining thirty-two were taken prisoner. The book is the engrossing record kept by one of the sisters, Betty Jeffrey, during the three grueling years of imprisonment that followed. It is an amazing story of survival and deprivation in the harshest of conditions.world war 1939-1945 prisoners of war, betty jeffrey