Imperial War Museum

The Department of Documents holds personal papers, including diaries, collections of letters and accounts written in retrospect. Such references are extremely useful for the personal perspectives they provide.

Sometimes the collections held by Documents are just transcripts a couple of pages long, but sometimes there are whole boxes which constitute a treasure trove of information to go through. Apart from letters or diaries there may be photograph albums - possibly with views of people, or of camps where people were stationed, autograph albums, forms or identity cards, paper or pamphlets.

Some unique items, such as listings for internment camps are held by the Department of Documents and these can be of real value to the family historian. An outstanding example of this is the Changi Civilian Internment Camp register, which was kept until 31 December 1942. The details listed include the full name, age, marital status, occupation, date of internment, name and address of next of kin (both interned and non-interned) and a column for remarks. There are separate sections for men, women and children and they are arranged according to nationality. Viewed in conjunction with the personal accounts held by the Department of Documents, backed by the Department of Printed Books sources - autobiographies and histories that provide details of the fall of Malaysia and Singapore - a clear idea can be gained of what it would have been like for a relative to have been interned.

A similar valuable listing is a 230 page register for Marlag and Milag Nord (a prison camp for merchant seamen at Westertimke in Germany) covering the period between July 1942 and January 1945. This is part of a collection formed by the individual who was imprisoned there, and so shows the range of information that can be found in the various collections.