In late August the Asama Maru reached Loureno Marques with some 800 civilians from Japan, South-East Asia and the Philippines, and within the following fortnight, the Tatura Maru and the Kamakura Maru arrived with a further 1000-odd from occupied China. 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 weigh about 15kg (33lb) so you're hobbled as you walk and my legs are scarred for life. Canadian Inventor (Mati Mati Maru/ Sekiho Maru). On arrival at Mojio, the POWs were split & sent to Moji & Kobe camps. Register with your email address now, we can then send you an alert as soon as we add a record close matching the one you were searching for. (Both Toshino and Wada had supervised the San Fernando murders.) And I know that if it wasnt for them, a difficult situation may have become an impossible one. The Cabanatuan prison camp was named after the nearby city of 50,000 people (locals also called it Camp Pangatian, after a small nearby village). After the war, Changi Gaol once again became a civilian prison, while the Changi military area was repaired and redeveloped for use by the British garrison. "One minute the person would be in the cell with you and the next they would be gone, although they have changed now to lethal injections. D- Thailand 5000 powsleft Changi for Bampong in four groups between 14 and 18 March 1943. 3, Fukuoka Camp, ( steel works ), Japan, JC /222 Mukaishima Camp, Hiroshima Group, Japan, JC /229 Kumamota No. Nicknamed the Benjo Maru as Benjo means toilet -due to the number of POWs suffering dysentery on board. While there are some contradictions about just how tough and nightmarish Thai prisons are or Klong Prem prison might be, it is a high security facility in Thailand notorious for the spread of diseases and conditions that are unhygienic. 824 (AKA Teiryu maru, Kakakusen, Northwestern Miller, Augsberg), President Harrison (AKA Kachidoki/Kakko maru). Note: there may be duplicated entries for some camp descriptions as camp names and sub names are often confusing: i.e. Unknown to the Japanese, there was a radio secretly hidden by the POWs on the grounds, which provided them with news from the outside world. By taking too aggressive a stand they would have run a great personal risk and would probably at the same time have jeopardized what scant opportunities for relief work they had. A Dutch-built ship of 2071 tonnes, launched in 1900. At the time, Lances mother, Debbie Caswell who has championed support efforts for her son including her own regular video calls to him in prison, felt strongly that the psychological fallout from the sudden death of Lances beautiful Thai fiance, was a big factor in his admitted criminal actions in August 2014. 273-274) re the beheading of the PBY aircrew members. 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. Sailed from Singapore to Japan (Moji) 27/10/42 with 1205 POWs. But Prisoners Abroad helped me there too. Some 12,000 of members of the Iranian diaspora met from all over Europe on January 16 in the EU Parliament host city of Strasbourg to urge the bloc to list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards . The group of prisoners was then moved to San Fernando, Pampanga. Recently, some prisons in Thailand provide the option for family abroad to have video call with prisoners in prison. endobj endobj <> In all there are 14,324 prisoners of which 14,125 are males and 199 are females.[3]. In most camps blankets were provided by the camp, however, many POWs reported that the severe winter cold adversely affected their health. Around 27,000 Filipinos and 2,200 Americans died at Camp O'Donnell. These nurses joined up with a group of men and injured personnel from the ship. Few POW camp buildings were new. The survivors of the sinking were held for several days in an open tennis court at Olongapo Naval Base. Left Singapore on 4/9/44 bound for Japan with 950 British & Australian POWs from D party group 4, sunk in the same incident on 12/9/44as the Rakuyo maru and 520 were rescued by the Japanese and a few others by US submarines. Sailed from Singapore to Moji (Japan) departed 20/9/43 with 507 POWs. Usually though, you couldnt even identify it. Designed as a civilian cruise liner, in 1941 the ship became a troop transport for the Japanese Navy. The chain of command responsibility that led to Yamashita's execution is now referred to under war crimes as the Yamashita standard. Hell in a Thai jail. Kachidoki Maru (AKA Kakko maru/President Harrison). A type of military secret police, also largely responsible for counter-espionage activities. He has done wrong, but there is a reason he got mixed up in all that, everything that was going on, she said. However, at least now the young man has something himself to hope and hold on to. He was found guilty for ordering the execution of the four POWs and on 7th April 1946, he was executed, by shooting, at the same spot where the four POWs died. 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. 60 KM west of Bangkok and on the direct communication line of the Japanese Army. endobj Lance is a kind, caring, unselfish, loving person who always put others before himself. All POWs leaving Singapore did so from Singapores Keppel harbour which is now part of the main port authority of Singapore state. The Japanese 'encouraged' these men to join the Indian National Liberation Army, but met with little success. The Changi Peninsula had been the British Army's principal base area in Singapore. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Sailed from Singapore to Moji (Japan) departed 21/10/43 with 1155 POWs. Argyle Street Camp was a Japanese World War II Prisoner-of-war camp in Kowloon, Hong Kong which primarily held officer prisoners. After mid-1944 most POWs on the east coast area were based at Sungeigerung camp. The FCO say they are aware of 13 British Nationals currently awaiting execution in the USA, Pakistan, Democratic Repubic of Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Ghana and Bali. Bang Kwang is a grim place holding long term prisoners, and is where the death sentence is carried out on rare occasions. The list below is not definitive, however, there is some information on every ship that it was possible to find data on immediately. (v# bRJQ@}'3;;39EF}=78ehFjM;-n; ]k9"#. After the war, it became clear that there existed a high command order issued from the War Ministry in Tokyo to kill all remaining POWs. The POWs were already in weak condition before embarkation, and they had to endure terrible conditions while aboard the transport ships (hell ships'). There is some dispute about the length of time he will have to serve ranging from 10 to 20 years but it certainly will be a long term of imprisonment in a UK prison. Opened in 1941, this housed 3,700 allied civilians released by US Rangers and Filipino Guerrillas on February 3rd 1945. They were later also forced to build a 220 km long section of railway between Pekanbaru and Muaro, with 18 POW camps along the length of the railway. Sailed from Singapore on 15/05/43 to Moji, Japan with 900 POWs on board. ; Catanduvas Federal Penitentiary (Catanduvas, Paran, Brazil) - also based on . In January 1942 it was emptied, with the POWs moving to Shamshuipo, North Point, and Ma Tau Chung Camps. With his beautiful Thai girlfriend, he regularly attended high profile parties and entertainment events and was often seen with beautiful women. 15 0 obj The Battle of Bataan ended the next day with an Allied surrender. Dainichi was torpedoed on 08/10/43 by USS Gurnard, along with another Japanese ship, she was carrying a troop transport of over 2000 at this time. Answer: Absolutely horrific. Toyofuku Maru (AKA Hofuku Maru/Fuji Maru). They are treated the worst of all. However the track was sold to Thai Railways and the 130 km Ban PongNamtok section re-laid and is in use today.". The prisoners of war allocated to this force were all sick men, with Diptheria and dysentery amongst other illnesses. His mother has said that if she could change places with her son tomorrow in prison, she would do without question. In the 1946 war crimes trial, they were reported to have been taken to a nearby cemetery, beheaded, and dumped into a mass grave. The final column shows the pre-trial/remand population rate per 100,000 of the national population. Jumping on a plane to Thailand Having a bit too much fun Ending up in a Thai prison This is not an urban legend or a scene from a movie. On November 1, 1944, Asama Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the US Submarine Atule 100 miles (160km) south of the island of Pratas. <> US submarines picked up some 63 POWs in the sea after the sinkings, The Japanese 136 others, however, 1159 POWs died. The number of deaths which occurred when Japanese "hell ships"unmarked transport ships in which POWs were transported in harsh conditionswere attacked by US and Royal Navy submarines were particularly high. When in their cells, prisoners have only one square meter instead of four-six meters as recommended by the Council of Europe. This was a civilian only internment camp, taken over by the Japanese in 1942. By the end of Sept. 1945, nearly all of the 32,000 Allied POW's in Japan . One of the other Americans was USMC Lt. who had organized the escape. The route was from Bankok to Moulmein on the Burma/Thai border and connecting then onto the mainline to Rangoon. At that time, his father, 56 year Russell Whitmore expressed his frustration at the fate of his son. In those camps, which had no such facilities, POWs were allowed to shop in the neighbourhoods near the camps under the supervision of the Japanese guards. In addition to the number of POWs who reached Japanese camps, approximately 11,000 POWs tragically lost their lives when allied air and submarine forces attacked the ships transporting the POWs to Japan. The Japanese Govt. 6 0 obj Despite the physical support they were giving me, the pressure of life inside had quite an effect on my mental health. A machine gun was set up on the beach and when the women were waist deep, they were machine-gunned. Risser) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Taga Maru (2220 GRT) off Seishin, northwestern Korea in position 4142'N, 12934'E. The POWs declined offers to blindfold. Roofs of the POW camps were marked with the letters PW and relief supplies were dropped by parachute using US Navy fighter-bombers and US Air Force B-29 heavy bombers. He had his life term for possession reduced after he pleaded guilty. THAILAND_POW_Camps_rosters (WO 361-2171) - Numerous . Finally, in October, he was among 1000 prisoners judged fit to work; they were moved to a lumber camp on Mindanao to engage in manual labour. Prisoners in Japan, on the whole, fared better, especially those at Zentsuji (where one man received 80 letters), than men in the Dutch East Indies where the number seldom reached double figures. By July 1943 some POWs were transferred to the Japanese homeland camps where labour was in short supply. Prisoners Abroad is a charity registered in England and Wales. C- Japan, Left Singapore on 28/11/42 and arrival was split into those that went onto Kobe (Kawasaki) camp and Naoetsu (number 4 Tokyo camp). Arrived at Moji in Japan where POWs were sent onto Taisho sub-camp, one of a group of camps around Osaka and Kobe. For example, they were limited to 100 letters. Mati Mati =wait, wait a nickname for this hell ship that zigzagged across the Pacific carrying POWs so much it was always a delayed journey. Because the prison censored my letters, I couldnt exactly explain the full horror of what I was seeing. In 1942, Corporal Rodney Breavington and Private Victor Gale from the Australian Imperial Force, Private Harold Waters from the East Surrey Regiment and Private Eric Fletcher from the Royal Army Service Corps were recaptured after a failed escape attempt. In the North & Central areas around 3,200 men were incarcerated, with a party of 2,000 men being transported to Burma in May 1942. Mitsubishi, Nippon express etc. 5 0 obj endobj Many prisoners, including tourists, are forced to fight for their freedom, a practice that dates back to the 18th century when the Burmese people defeated Thailands old capital Ayutthaya. The registers give minimal information about each prisoner which may include registration card number and dispersal information. 15,029 men were treated in the hospital and 806 died and were initially buried here. Sailed from Singapore on 06/09/44 to Japan with 900 POWs on board. The young man, who is now 32 years of age, is believed to be suffering from the physical and mental effects of 5 years in Bangkoks Klong Prem prison on the outskirts of Bangkok in Chatuchak. In many cases, with UK prisoners in Thailand with very severe sentences, the quickest route to release, even when transferred back the the United Kingdom has still been the issuance of a Royal pardon from the Thai King. There are also specific nominal lists for RAF POWs held in the Changi camps under AIR 40/1899 and Air 40/1906. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Used as a POW & Internment camp between April 1942 and June 1944. They were forced to engage in the hard labour of constructing railways, roads, airfields, etc. There were Japanese civilian doctors or medical officers who came around the camps, or there were the POW medical officers in each camp who conducted treatment. On 3 April a second raid by Liberator bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces damaged the wooden bridge once again. There were also many deaths caused by guard atrocities, and almost all POWs were executed after they had attempted to escape and were recaptured. On September 7, 1944, the hell ship SS Shinyo Maru was attacked by the submarine USS Paddle. He was sentenced to death. Like almost every British person there, he relied heavily on Prisoners Abroads support. Terms of Service apply. 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