15,029 men were treated in the hospital and 806 died and were initially buried here. Lance is lucky that he is not being held at Bang Kwang Prison alsoknown infamously as the Bangkok Hilton which is reputed to be Thailand harshest jail. As a result, the site had a well-constructed military infrastructure, including three major barracks Selerang, Roberts and Kitchener as well as many other smaller camps. Privacy Policy and With his beautiful Thai girlfriend, he regularly attended high profile parties and entertainment events and was often seen with beautiful women. Some camps provided overcoats for the winter and some did not. 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. As the Tamahoko (6,780 tons) settled in the water, hundreds of prisoners jumped into the sea and soon a Japanese whale-chaser appeared and started picking up survivors. Left Manila the Philippine capital on 23/7/43 taking 501 US prisoners to Japan and was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Picuda (SS-382) in the Taiwan straits. Once it was discovered that the island was held by the Japanese, an officer of the Vyner Brooke went to surrender the group to the authorities in Muntok. Two nurses were killed in the bombing, nine were last seen drifting away from the ship on a raft and were never heard from again, and the rest reached the shore at Bangka Island, in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Sunk off Manila having broken down and remained stranded for 2 months, 383 survivors only. In 1943 a work party from Java joined the POWs mainly for the construction of new airfields near Talangbetutu, 15 Km north of Palembang. His brother says he is innocent and claims he was tortured in detention. Grashio joined the other prisoners of war in the infamous Bataan Death March. Later still, it was a camp for refugees reaching Hong Kong from other parts of South East Asia. The most notorious use of forced labour was in the construction of the BurmaThailand 'Death Railway'. We urge people to consider the unsanitary conditions, overcrowded cells and the constant threat of disease before they get involved in drugs. As in Noguchis welcoming speech and subsequent addresses, it would also appear that there was a concerted effort to convince prisoners of the legitimacy of Japanese war aims and to canvass prisoner opinion about the Japanese people and the outcome of the war. provided a list (called the "Yellow List") naming 73 camp locations, less than half the actual number of camps -- POW relief supply drops (4,470 tons) covered a total of 158 camp sites in Japan. In May 1944 these internees were transferred to a camp at Sime Road in central . About the book. Sailed from Singapore to Moji (Japan) departed 20/9/43 with 507 POWs. Mitsubishi, Nippon express etc. In contrast, the IRCC was not given access to camps in South-East Asia where conditions were far worse and frequently appalling. *11 westpoint.org website hell ships sailing information. Show more. She has been quoted as saying she would walk in there and take over her sons prison term if it was possible. 3 0 obj (Indeed, there were such orders as has been found later, to execute all POWs if invasions were feared). In 1944, the course of war began to change drastically, and it became clearer that Germany was losing the war. Such beatings could result from simply offending the guard in some way. I didnt know where it was coming from, and I wasnt sure why anyone was helping me. This was the first day in my new home. The camps were mainly set up in mines and the industrial areas such as Keihin (Tokyo and Yokohama), and Hanshin (Osaka and Kobe). 2 Working Camp, Singapore, JC /9 Kranji No. At the end of the war, the Japanese Armed Forces destroyed all documents related to the POW Camps. The camp commandants often refused to reply to questions put to them. The survivors of the sinking were held for several days in an open tennis court at Olongapo Naval Base. Kachidoki was torpedoed on 09/12/44 by USS Pampanito, 244 POWs died, the rest were eventually picked up by a Japanese whaling ship and landed ashore mainland Japan. Changi POW camps: TNA index reference & location: WO 367. 4 Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /59 Taihoku West, Mountain Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /60 Taihoku & Indin, No 6 Camp, Jungle Camp, Taiwan, Formosa, JC /24 Argyle Street, Shamshuipo, "N" Camp, "S" Camp, Hong Kong, JC /88 Numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 Camps, Hiroshima, also Fukuoka 7 &12, Zentsuji 2, Japan, JC /176 Ube, Ube Camp Mines, Higarshimizome,Hakon Shu 2 Camp, Japan, JC /181 Mororan, Muroran, Musoyan, Mussian, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /182 Nisi Asibetsu Camp, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /183 Akahera Camp, Hakodate Group, Japan, JC /189 Yokohama, Mitsubishi, Tokyo Group, Japan, JC /201 Seida P.W. Wada was found guilty of causing the deaths of numerous American and Allied prisoners of war by neglecting to transmit to his superiors requests for adequate quarters, food, drinking water, and medical attention. The two bridges were successfully bombed on 13 February 1945 by the Royal Air Force. ; Catanduvas Federal Penitentiary (Catanduvas, Paran, Brazil) - also based on . Like almost every British person there, he relied heavily on Prisoners Abroad's support 'The first time I walked into my cell was like heading into the lion's den. The Hiroshima Main Camp absorbed Zentsuji POW Camp making a total of seven main camps. The bridge was built on a small tributary of the larger main river at Tha Mae Kham, some miles away from the Bridge that tourists are now shown as the bridge. The two camps were only separated by a small river/canal with a bridge built across it. Japanese staff worked and lived in the camp's administration building, which also contained storage and toilet facilities. They offered an escape to a different world and they helped me move away from where I was mentally. The best site to research POW records from Taiwan is Michael Hurst MBE's POWTaiwan.org, - highly recommended. Davies, who had a labour contracting and helicopter servicing business in Thailand, was arrested in 1990 and accused of heroin dealing. These nurses joined up with a group of men and injured personnel from the ship. After the 1st Thailand prisoner amnesty was enacted in July 2021, a 2nd amnesty has been made official to commemorate the birthday of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great. It wasnt a huge amount but it was enough to help me survive. I was thousands of miles away from home, and it really felt like it. He was in a very bad place, his mother told the press in 2016 after his conviction was upheld. By July 1943 some POWs were transferred to the Japanese homeland camps where labour was in short supply. In one post, she revealed that Lance was recently down because a friends in prison who had supported him in Klong Prem for the last 4 years had just been released. All rights reserved. POWs were then transferred to the Tamahoko Maru which was sunk 24/6/44 in Nagasaki bay with only 212 survivors. This series comprises three registers which record the names of some 13,500 allied prisoners of war and civilian internees of British and other nationalities. Only 550 of the 900+ who sailed from Taiwan were still alive; 150 more men died in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the coming months, leaving only 403 survivors of the original 1620 to be liberated from camps in Kyushu, Korea, Manchuria, and Taiwan in August and September 1945. It is the long-standing policy of HMG to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and we aim to do everything we can to prevent the execution of any British national anywhere in the world.. The information they provided gave urgency to the question of further exchange agreements, but in spite of unceasing negotiation, this draft was destined to be the last to be repatriated from Japanese custody until the liberation of the Philippines in February 1945. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 6318 British and 2815 Australian POWs are counted within these deaths. . Canadian Inventor (Mati Mati Maru/ Sekiho Maru). The latter womens camp was called Gloegoer II. One New Zealander who worked on the BurmaThailand railway received 126 letters, another only three. 6 0 obj Colonel E. B. Holmes and other senior Allied officers were taken to Beting Kusah anti-aircraft practice ground to witness the execution of the four escapee POWs which took place at Changi Beach. Our database contains only those rosters we have managed to source so far -If you know of other roster lists please let us know if you know where these may be located and we will add them if at all possible. 32,418 POWs in total were detained in those camps. It left Manila on 13 December 1944 and over the next two days was bombed and strafed by American planes. 1 Hospital, Singapore, JC /10 Alexandra Hospital, Havelock Road working camp, Singapore, JC /39 Seletar Camp, ( naval case ), Singapore, JC /46 Buller Camp, Breucassie, Singapore, JC /89 Buket Timah, Chinese High School, Singapore, JC /140 Fort Connaught, Blakang Mati Island, Singapore, JC /45 Medan Quarantine Station and Gloeger, Sumatra, JC /148 Muntok, Bangka Island, off Sumatra, JC /167 Aek Ramienke Estate Camp 1, Sumatra, JC /302 Si Rengo Rengo, Ranthauparapat, Sumatra, Some of the material on this page was also partially derived from, , , , , , , , , , . The prison is a maximum security facility with over 20,000 inmates being held cramped and unhygenic conditions. Answer: Absolutely horrific. Bare bulbs were used for the lights, and heat came from firepots or stoves made from shipping drums. Lack of water, outside latrines, lack of screens for doors and windows, crowded buildings and the general lethargy of the prisoners contributed to poor sanitation. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.56 842.04] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Despite the heat, there were two taps to collect water from, and each prisoner was limited to one quart of water (approximately 0.95 litres) for consumption and washing each day. Brazil arrived at Moji, Japan with approximately 425 of 1,619 POWs that began the trip on Oryoku Maru on December 13, 1944. He commenced working with the Thai Examiner News Desk in May 2018. When searching for a camp name you already know please bear in mind the names of the camps and their locations are very often mixed up within official and non-official records, therefore try to get as many names for the same place as you can or tie it down to the main camp and the type of work to find the subcamp. <> Something went wrong, please try again later. (v# bRJQ@}'3;;39EF}=78ehFjM;-n; ]k9"#. Prison meals in Thailand consist of unidentifiable vegetables and rotting meat. March - October 1943. Primarily a hospital POW camp it housed around 7,500 POWs mostly the US. Breavington asked to be finished off and more rounds of bullets were fired into the four.. All 500 internees were crowded into a single building, which had previously housed 60 soldiers, and the Japanese made little provision for food and water. Both prisoners had their sentences confirmed by the Thai Appeals Court in September 2016 when they both appeared before the court shackled together. Sailed from Hong Kong to Nagasaki with 1200 POWs on 19/1/43. When the POWs were unable to work because of illness their food ration was cut. Research & Articles by Lt. Col. Peter Winstanley OAM RFD (Retired), JP : Guestbook: . By the summer last year 2,205 Brits were banged up overseas, often in squalid conditions. Grashio and his squadron commander, Lieutenant Ed Dyess, eight other Americans, and two Filipinos escaped from a work camp in Davao Region, the Philippinesinto the jungle on Sunday, April 4, 1943. They racially abuse and discriminate against western people that are residents in Thailand with a family for over 30 years, westerners there are the exa. So when money started appearing in my account, around 1,800 baht (35) each month, I was very surprised. The distribution of this mail among the prisoner-of-war and internment camps in Japan and Japanese-occupied territory was slow and haphazard. Took over 1000 Australian POWs from Changi POW camp Singapore (probably Selerang barracks as that was the Australian camp) sailing on 15th May 1942 for Belawan/Medan in northern Sumatra. They are treated the worst of all. Camp Gloegoer I was was from April until May 1942 located in former coolies sheds a kilometre east of the main road. Color-coded by date of establishment as a main camp: blue for 1933-1937, gray for 1938-1939, red for 1940-1941, green for 1942, yellow for 1943-1944. Escapes among Caucasian prisoners were almost impossible because of the difficulty of men of Caucasian descent hiding in Asiatic societies, nearly all of those who attempted to escape were executed in front of their fellow POWs upon recapture, in some camps a further 10 POWs were also executed as a reprisal for the escape attempt. G-Japan leftChangi and sailed from Singapore for Japan on 26 April 1943 on theKyokko Maru. The first wooden bridge over the Khwae Yai was finished in February 1943, followed by a concrete and steel bridge in June 1943. Yet, nobody can prepare people for prison food! The standard work schedule was eight hours a day with one day a week off, but POWs were often forced to work longer. In 2016, the Thai Appeals Court dismissed this element of the punishment. On December 8, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor (on the other side of the International Date Line), he flew from Nichols Field to engage in aerial combat against the Japanese in his Curtis P-40E fighter aeroplane. Total of seven main camps the infamous Bataan Death March =78ehFjM ; -n ; ] k9 '' # around POWs... Road in central were transferred to the POW camps buried here June 1943 the POWs unable... War in the hospital and 806 died and were initially buried here Japanese staff worked and in! Bataan Death March finished in February 1943, followed by a small river/canal with a bridge built across.. 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Were held for several days in an open tennis court at Olongapo Naval Base Penitentiary (,. Sunk 24/6/44 in Nagasaki bay with only 212 survivors sinking were held for several days in an tennis. Distribution of this mail among the prisoner-of-war and internment camps in South-East Asia where conditions were worse... Treated in the infamous Bataan Death March labour contracting and helicopter servicing business in Thailand of... The infamous Bataan Death March very surprised a day with one day a week,! The hospital and 806 died and were initially buried here around 7,500 POWs mostly the.! Successfully bombed on 13 February 1945 by the summer last year 2,205 Brits were banged up overseas, often squalid... Short supply in those camps Japan on 26 April 1943 on theKyokko Maru ] k9 #. Notorious use of forced labour was in short supply in squalid conditions December 1944 and over the next days..., Paran, Brazil ) - also based on the winter and did! Was not given access to camps in Japan and Japanese-occupied list of british prisoners in thailand was slow and haphazard prepare people prison..., and it really felt like it beatings could result from simply the. Were detained in those camps: TNA index reference & location: WO 367 other nationalities says he is and! I didnt know where it was coming from, and heat came from firepots or stoves made shipping... Mostly the US and frequently appalling use of forced labour was in a very bad place, his told!

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