On 24 March 1944, 76 Allied prisoners escaped through a 110 m (approx 360 feet) long tunnel. 10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day), Get your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit, Copyright 1. The records cover those who went missing or were taken as prisoners of war from the Far East and South West Pacific islands, and in particular in Malaya, Java, Timor, Ambon, Rabaul, New Guinea and Papua. Lists of prisoners created by liberating armies during 1945. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces. It consisted of several volumes listing the names of prisoners of war and missing servicemen from the Australian Military Forces as at 30 June 1944. Votes: 12,656 As on the Burma Railway the prisoners were forced to workat gunpoint, and were often beaten whilst also receiving very little food or medical attention. Australian prisoners of war: Second World War pris... Includes information about the areas Australian prisoners of war were captured and held in captivity. Other exclusive collections Forces War Records hold include: • British Jewry Book of Honour 1922 • Imperial prisoners of war held in Italy 1943 • Home Guard Officer Lists 1939-45 • Home Guard Auxiliary Units 1939-1945 • List of Etonians who served in the War 1914-1919 and 1939- 1945 • UK British & Commonwealth POWs Japanese camps 1939-45 War History / Education / POW Names This map shows regions of the World in which Australians have been engaged in conflict and held as Prisoners of War. On the Western Front battlefields from 1916-1918, 3,853 Australian troops were taken prisoner by German forces, most of them held in Germany. British Red Cross Records of Prisoners of War - how to apply for a record of a prisoner of war; Abbreviations - Military documents are full of acronyms. The prisoner of war camps listed span from Borneo to Keijo in Korea, from the Netherlands East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) to Malaya, from Thailand to various camps in Japan itself. Britons represent the largest number in the collection, followed by Dutch, Americans and Australians. Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop — an Australian surgeon and legend among prisoners of the Thai Burma Railway in World War II Clive Dunn — British Dad's Army actor, captured following the Battle of Greece in 1941 and held in German captivity until the end of World War II Only a minority of Australians endured captivity, but the experiences of those imprisoned by the enemy did not sit comfortably within the overly heroic and masculine self-image that … The Australian Military Forces World War Two Missing and Prisoners of War records provide information on the fate of servicemen in the Second World War. 2021 For each person listed as a prisoner of war, the location of the camp in which they were imprisoned was also recorded. AIF units were split up between various forces and work parties. Come and see why. The name Changi is synonymous with the suffering of Australian prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War. Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia. In 1942 and 1943, Australian and British POWs who had been captured at the Battle of Singapore in February 1942 were shipped to North Borneo to construct a military airstrip and prisoner-of-war camps at Sandakan, North Borneo (Sabah). This Unique Memorial was opened on the 6th February 2004 to recognize and remember those Australians who became Prisoners of War during the Wars of the 20th Century. In 1942, four Australian POWs did the unthinkable, and tried to escape from their Japanese prisoner of war camp. 73 were recaptured within two weeks. During World War II, it has been estimated that between 19,500 and 50,000 members of the Imperial Japanese military were captured alive or surrendered to Western Allied combatants, prior to the end of the Pacific War in August 1945. A number of Australian airmen were also shot down and captured by the Germans. This is ironic, since for most of the war in the Pacific Changi was, in reality, one of the most benign of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps; its privations were relatively minor compared to those of others, particularly those on the Burma–Thailand railway. The name Changi is synonymous with the suffering of Australian prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War. Japanese index cards of Allied prisoners – includes name, nationality, place of capture, parents’ names, rank, unit and more. War diaries and testimonies of prisoners. 35, No. Some also held a mixture of POWs and civilian internees, while others held solely civilian internees. Some of these contain sections on the experiences of those members of the unit who were taken prisoner-of-war, often with lists of names. Description. The following resources are available on the Memorial's website. Although documentation is scarce, as with the end of the war Japanese Armed Forces systematically destroyed much of the limited available documentation related to their POW Camps, enough remains, in addition to survivor and witness accounts, to provide a horrific picture of life and captivity for Allied prisoners of war in the Pacific Theater. This series is comprised of approximately 60,000 cards used by the Central Bureau for Wounded, Missing and Prisoners of War of the Australian Red Cross to trace the welfare and whereabouts of members of the armed forces, and some civilians, during the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Nineteen Australian prisoners were killed, apparently as incidental victims of a Chinese guerrilla raid on a camp where they were working; but near the end of the war Major Ian Macrae and five other prisoners escaped to take their chances with the Chinese and lived to rejoin their liberated fellow prisoners. Over 22,000 Australians became prisoners of war of the Japanese in south-east Asia. These records, originally known as the ‘Records of 2nd Echelon, Land Headquarters - Australian Military Forces prisoners of war and missing, Far East and South West Pacific Islands’, was created by the 2nd Echelon of Land Headquarters. Basic biographical information about all Australian servicemen and women is available on the Department of Veterans' Affairs Nominal Roll. Australian Military Forces WW2 Missing and Prisoners Of War, Australian Imperial Force Embarkation Roll 1914-1918, Australian Imperial Force Nominal Roll 1914-1918. They included 7,115 Australian soldiers captured in North Africa or Greece; 1,476 airmen, mostly bomber aircrew shot down over Germany in 1943–45; and a few sailors. That may sound like the worst a World War II prisoner could suffer, but there were similar nightmares in store for certain prisoners of the Soviet Union. Did your ancestors serve in the Pacific theatre of World War Two? Each record includes a transcript. This is ironic, since for most of the war in the Pacific Changi was, in reality, one of the most benign of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps; its privations were relatively minor compared to those of others, particularly those on the Burma–Thailand railway. Use the 'help' tab for questions. 2. The Japanese became so incensed that they ordered every POW in the Changi peninsula to sign an agreement promising not to escape. Individuals who wish to learn more about the World War II Prisoners of War Data File Index can visit the website for the National Archives . These prisoners—being Australian—promptly told the Japanese to do one. WWII Missing in Action or Lost at Sea More than 80,000 names of military personnel reported Missing in Action or Lost at Sea during World War II. to be used by the Japanese Armed Forces in the occupied areas. This is an incomplete list of Japanese-run military prisoner-of-war and civilian internment and concentration camps during World War II.Some of these camps were for prisoners of war (POW) only. WWII Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941–1945 An index of 30,000 records containing the names of prisoners of war, plus their ranks, service numbers, units and prison camp information. Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Alfred Lynch. This list will help you decipher their meanings. 4 By Lee A. Gladwin The Oryoku Maru under attack at Olongapo, Luzon, December 14–15, 1944. In August 1943, with the intention of controlling the enlisted men by removing any commanders, most officer prisoners were mov… Many digital copies of World War II service records already exist. The amount of information listed varies widely, but the Australian Military Forces World War Two Missing and Prisoners of War records may include the following information about your ancestor: Fate (whether they were missing or a prisoner of war), Location of the camp in which they were held. Approximately 8,000 (1 in 3) perished in camps that included Sandakan, Ranau and Kuching to name a few. Food shortages for the Soviet Army led to forced labor of some prisoners. About 8,600 Australians became prisoners of the Germans. The records cover the period 1939-1945 and contain the names, ranks and locations of Prisoners of War, along with the length of time spent in camps, the number of survivors, details of escapees and the nationalities of prisoners. Search the databases using name of unit, name of camp, name of force (such as A Force, Ramsay Force) or name of country (remember that some countries now have a different name – Taiwan was still called Formosa during the war). Bill: 0419-500983 These records were compiled from the National Archives. They include information about their position in the Australian Military Forces such as their service number, rank and unit, as well as a note of whether they were missing or had become a prisoner of war. In a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards. After the war, Australian prisoners of war in Europe were largely forgotten, overshadowed by the experiences of the 22,000 Australians (including some civilians) who became prisoners of the Japanese in the Asia Pacific region. During World War II, the Japanese Armed Forces captured nearly 140,000 Allied military personnel (from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States) in the Southeast Asia and Pacific areas.They were forced to engage in the hard labour of constructing railways, roads, airfields, etc. (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, RG 38) John M. Jacobs had been in Manila when the Japanese captured the Philippines in the early stages of World War II, and now, in 1944, he was a prisoner of war, or POW, in the Bilibid Prison in Manila. 213,000 Australian battle casualties quickly overshadowed the prisoners’ hardships that included 60,000 war dead who became the focus of private and public mourning in the years after the war. Australian POWs. Learn details about their position in the Australian Military Forces, their rank and unit, and discover whether they met the tragic fate of becoming a prisoner of war or going missing. We hold: 1. some records of those held captive by German, Italian or Japanese forces 2. some questionnaires which may reveal personal information as well as details of experiences in the prisoner of war camps 3. some individual reports which may reveal details about capture or escape attempts from prisoners of war camps in central Europe 4. selected records of Merchant Navy prisoners of war 5. documents which reveal information about some prisoner of war camps 6. records of enquiries into mis… The Australian Military Forces World War Two Missing and Prisoners of War records include the names and details of approximately 23,000 servicemen from the Pacific theatre of World War Two who were recorded as missing or prisoners of war. Books: Look especially for published unit histories. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. The Australian War Memorial was voted the number one landmark in Australia by travellers in the 2016 Trip Advisor awards. The wave of Japanese victories, ending with the capture of the Netherlands East Indies in March 1942, left in its wake a mass of Allied prisoners of war, including many Australians. Journal of the Australian War Memorial articles. Leonard Siffleet was an Australian Special Forces radio operator, sent to Papua New Guinea to establish a coast watching site … All rights reserved. Only 4,044 members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were taken prisoner across all theatres of operations between 1915 and 1918. This is a list of prisoner of war camps in Australia during World War II.. During World War II many enemy aliens were interned in Australia under the National Security Act 1939. National Archives of Australia fact sheet 61. Soviet troops seized and imprisoned more than half a million Japanese troops and civilians in China and other places. Most of the Australians (14,972) were captured in Singapore; other principal Australian … Use this login for Shop items, and image, film, sound reproductions, Australian prisoners of war: Second World War prisoners of the Japanese, General information about Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese, "The historic war site of the Changi Murals: a place for pilgrimages and tourism", "Commemorating and commodifying the prisoner-of-war experience in south-east Asia: the creation of Changi Prison Museum", "A map to Paradise Road: a guide for historians", Sources on Australian investigations into Japanese war crimes in the Pacific", "The life experience of partners of ex-prisoners of war of the Japanese", Australian Military Forces [AMF] Prisoner of War and Missing, Far East and South West Pacific Islands, Researching Australian prisoners of war: Second World War – prisoners of the Japanese. This is a military history listing of repatriated prisoners of war from World War II, including records of 143,374 individuals captured during World War II. It consisted of several volumes listing the names of prisoners of war and missing servicemen from the Australian Military Forces as at 30 June 1944. Prisoners of War Search Search the Prisoners of War Names ListOr Browse the Lists below Boer War Korean War Merchant Navy World War 1 Nurses World War 2 World War 2 Prisoners Of War Regardless of whether you were fighting for the Allies or the Axis, there was a danger of being captured, and subsequently becoming a Prisoner of War (or ‘POW’). The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. Winter 2003, Vol. It is generally agreed that conditions were overall better for Axis POWs captured by the Allies than for Allies captured by the Axis. The Nominal Roll will indicate if the individual was a prisoner of war.If the serviceman you are interested in died during the war, you will find him on the Memorial's Roll of Honour database. We pay our respects to elders past and present. You can find them on RecordSearch. With these few words, from the poem “For the Fallen” by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon, we welcome you to the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial. Stalag Luft III a large prisoner of war camp near Sagan, Silesia, Germany (now Żagań, Poland), was the site of an escape attempt (later filmed as The Great Escape). Details for each entry may include: • First name • Middle name • Last name • Service code • State of residence • Area • Status • Detaining power • Camp × And the deep hatred of Soviet troops toward German invaders led to summary executions and torture. A third of these Australian prisoners were captured on 11 April 1917 at the First Battle of Bullecourt in northern France. At the end of the war Australian prisoners of war were widely distributed: 5,549 on Singapore Island and in Johore (Malaya); 4,830 in Burma and Thailand; 265 in French-Indo China; 385 on Java; 243 on Sumatra; 100 on Ambon; 2 on Macassar; 7 on Bali; 150 at Kuching (British North Borneo); 2,700 distributed between Japan, Korea, and Manchuria; and 200 on Hainan Island. Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future. Lists of those who died while imprisoned. This photograph, of Japanese soldier Yasuno Chikao just before he struck, was taken from the body of a Japanese casualty later in the war. Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese in World War II (registration required) Australian War Memorial - Search collection Use the NameSearchtab to find an individual member. Most of the Australians (14,972) were captured in Singapore; other principal Australian prisoner-of-war groups were captured in Java (2,736), Timor (1,137), Ambon (1,075), and New Britain (1,049). Historians and relatives can now search through rare and important World War II records, as more than 20,000 Australian Prisoners of War records are published online for the first time. The World War II Prisoners of War Data File Index holds 143,374 records that begin on December 7, 1941 and continue through November 19, 1946. Regimental nominal rolls – includes name, rank, regiment and date. Red Cross Archives Series Reference: NO1. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. Past and present them held in Germany to land, sea and waters prisoner-of-war... Continuing connection to land, sea and waters Luzon, December 14–15, 1944 the... The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia troops. 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