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Many excellent
books have been written by prisoners and internees. We do not attempt to
replicate them here; merely to try and give some structure and understanding of
what happened in the camps.
Only by reading
a selection of books will you even begin to get an idea what it was like to be a
Japanese POW. see Bibliography Further reading recommendations and other information sources are
given at appropriate points and the verbal testimonies of ex POWs recall
individual experiences.
By the
end of March 1942, vast numbers of Allied prisoners of war were being held in
mainly Singapore, Java/Sumatra and the Philippines. POWs were taken in
other theatres and at other times, bringing the total to nearly 140,000, but
never again was the influx so great.
In
addition, there were some 200,000 civilians who would be interned for a similar
period and the survivors of some 49 vessels carrying escapees from Singapore to
Australia which were sunk or disabled off Sumatra. It is believed 5,000 died.
Singapore
was to become the central staging post for the movement of British and
Commonwealth POWs. (Manila fulfilled the same role for US POWs.) They were
organised into “Forces” as they were transferred, often by merchant ship, to
their destination. These merchant ships were, at the same time, being used to
move all types of cargo. In many cases the conditions for the POWs were
appalling. The refusal of the Japanese authorities to mark the ships carrying
POWs resulted in the death of many thousands as they were attacked by Allied
submarines.
Dates of major
POW movements from Changi, Singapore, and their destinations.
Source: Australian War Memorial
|
Force |
Date departure from Changi |
Destination |
|
A Force |
15 May 1942 |
Burma |
|
B Force |
8 July 1942 |
Borneo |
|
C Force |
28 Nov 1942 |
Japan |
|
D Force |
14-18 March 1942 |
Thailand |
|
E Force |
29 May 1943 |
Borneo |
|
F Force |
April 1943 |
Thailand |
|
G Force |
26 April 1943 |
Japan |
|
H Force |
May 1943 |
Thailand |
|
J Force |
16 May 1943 |
Japan |
|
K Force |
June 1943 |
Thailand |
|
L Force |
23 August 1943 |
Thailand |
|
Senior Officers’ Party |
16 August 1942 |
Japan via Formosa and Korea |
|
Senior Working Party |
16 August 1942 |
Takeo (Formosa) and Seoul (Korea) |
Send mail to
administrator@fepow-memorial.org.uk with
questions or comments about this web |
