Escape from the Japanese in WW2
After the Fall of Singapore, about 120,000 Allied and Dutch soldiers including 22,000 Australians, became prisoners of war (POW’s) of the Japanese. The Japanese used the POW’s as forced labour either to reconstruct bombed airfields, to build the Burma-Thailand Railway or to work in the coal mines and factories in Japan. But little is ever mentioned about the POW’s who either escaped or attempted to escape.
Commendation for Gallantry
In captivity, the POW’s diet mainly consisted of rice and vegetables and ultimately led to malnutrition and disease. As time went on, the POW’s became too malnourished to make any sort of escape attempt from camps that could be hundreds of kilometres from allied-held territory. And Europeans in Asia were easily noticed. For those that did try, the threat of immediate execution on recapture was ever present. Some were lucky enough meet up with sympathetic local groups in their area and survive their escape. But generally, the outcome for a POW escaping was not a good one.
In Australia, between 2015 and 2017, an Inquiry was made into circumstances in which some POW’s were killed either during their escape attempt or after recapture. The Inquiry examined more than 90 cases recommended either by the Defence Force or by public submission. The Final Report (view full report here) details the circumstances of each submission and whether the POW was eligible for a Commendation for Gallantry award. The findings in each case start on page 54 of the Report and makes for interesting reading. Of the 94 submissions, 28 servicemen (view full list here) were posthumously awarded the Commendation for Gallantry.
Footnote: It is not understood how thorough the search was for POW’s who might qualify for consideration for the Commendation for Gallantry. Amongst previously published blogs is the story of Breavington and Gale who were both executed by the Japanese after escaping. Neither are mentioned in the Review. And, in the blog on Private Harold Martin, mention is made about Gunner Keith Dickinson, one of Harold’s mates, who is buried in the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery in Burma. A review of Gunner Dickinson Service Records states that he was executed by the Japanese on or after escaping. Likewise, Gunner Dickinson is not mentioned in the Review. It would appear that none of these men have been awarded the Commendation for Gallantry. No doubt there are other examples!!