Prisoners of the Japanese

Fall of Singapore
Written By John Casey

With the Fall of Singapore, about 80,000 allied soldiers including some 15,000 Australians became prisoners of war (POW’s) of the Japanese. Additionally, more than 40,000 Indian soldiers were captured but most reformed into the Indian National Army (INA) and changed sides to support the Japanese. On the islands of Java and Sumatra, 40,000 Dutch, British and including 3,000 Australians from the Australian 7th Division who had been diverted to Java on their way back from the Middle East, became captives of the Japanese. On Timor, Ambon and New Britain, a further 3,000 Australians became POW’s. In total, about 22,000 Australian soldiers became POW’s.

Allied POW’s - an overcrowded Changi Prison

The unexpected capture of so many allied and Dutch soldiers provided a logistical problem for the Japanese by way of provision of food and adequate prison facilities. In most cases, food both in quantity and quality, was poor and prison facilities were grossly overcrowded. The POW’s could grow or buy food from locals to support their rations but this was limited.

In Singapore, the INA were used to guard the POW’s and, in many cases, dealt out punishments ordered by the Japanese commanders. Work parties were organised, initially to assist in the recovery of those killed (both military and civilian) and arrange burial. Then extending to clearing the roads of rubble and the re-installation of power and water supplies. Finally, the Japanese solution to this abundance of manpower was to transfer the POW’s from their prison camps to work camps around South East Asia and Japan.

The most significant use of POW’s was in the construction of the Burma-Thailand Railway. In May 1942, the first group (“A” Force) made up entirely by 3,000 Australians was sent by ‘hell ship’ from Singapore to Burma to work, first building airfields and then on the northern section of the railway from Thanbyuzayat (in Burma) south to the Burma-Thailand border. ‘Hell ships’ were small coastal steamers, generally in poor condition, which had wooden floors placed in the ship’s cargo holes being only about a metre high between floors not enabling the POW’s to stand. A single ladder would provide access to the different levels making it difficult if an evacuation was required. Water for any purpose was not readily available and toilets were usually located on the main deck only. Ventilation was non-existent making the stench in the cargo holes, almost unbearable. None of the ships displayed the Red Cross which was a requirement of the Geneva Convention when prisoners were being transported. The Japanese were not signatories to the Geneva Convention.

One of a limited number of stops where POW’s could escape the cramped conditions of the train trip to Thailand

A month later, a 3,000 strong all-British group arrived at Ban Pong (Thailand) by train from Singapore, to start work from the southern end of the railway. However, train travel was not much better than the ‘hell ships’. The small steel boxcar carriages were like ovens during the day and refrigerators at night. Between 26 to 30 POW’s were crammed into each carriage with only sufficient room to sit. There was little water and a bucket provided as a toilet. Stops only occurred when the locomotive required water or fuel. On the five day journey, limited food was provided and was supplemented with fruit bought by the POW’s, off the locals at each stop.

The Japanese continued to send POW’s to work on the railway until the railway was opened in October 1943. Nearly 62,000 POW’s (comprising 30,000 British, 18,000 Dutch, 13,000 Australians and about 1,000 American) were sent from Sumatra and Singapore to Burma and Thailand. Of this number, nearly 13,000 would die including nearly 3,000 Australians.

In July 1942, the next group (“B” Force) of POW’s was sent to Sandakan in Borneo to build airfields. This was followed by a second group (“E” Force) in March 1943 which disembarked at Kuching and then moved to Sandakan in June of the same year. In January 1945, the first of the ‘death marches’ occurred with the second in May 1945. Of the 2,500 Australian and British POW’s, only six Australians survived.

Generally, once work was completed in the areas around South East Asia (for example, the Burma-Thailand Railway), the POW’s then began their trip to work camps in Japan via Singapore to provide labour to factories and coal mines.

Junyo Maru - 1,300 Dutch POW’s died when it was sunk by an allied submarine

Many POW’s would not survive the trip to Japan. Several ships were torpedoed by allied submarines. Most notable were the sinking of the Montevideo Maru out of Rabaul in July 1942, in which 1,050 Australian POW’s died, the Junyo Maru out of Java in September 1944 when more than 1,300 Dutch POW’s died and the Rokyo Maru out of Singapore also in September 1944 which saw the loss of over 1,100 Australian and British POW’s. The transfer of POW’s to Japan continued until January 1945.

At the end of the war, Australian POW’s like other British, Dutch and American POW’s were scattered throughout South East Asia, Japan and Manchuria. At Singapore, 5,000 Australians were recovered, in Thailand and Burma – another 5,000 Australians, in Japan, Korea and Manchuria - 3,000 Australians and another 1,000 Australians in Java, Sumatra and Ambon. Of the 22,000 Australians who became prisoners of war of the Japanese, a little more than 8,000 died.

John Casey
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