Private Papers of A B Simmonds

Pocket diary kept in 1942 by a Leading Aircraftman who had served in 250 AMES RAF during the Malayan campaign beginning with retrospective entries covering his capture when Padang in Sumatra fell to the Japanese (17 March) and then with contemporaneous entries covering his experiences as a prisoner of war in camps in Sumatra at Padang (March – June), Belawan (June – July) and Gloegoer (July – December); together with his RAF Service and Release Book (1946) and membership card for the Returned British Prisoners of War Association; and two black and white photographs of him in uniform. Of particular note in the diary are the detailed references to the prisoners' daily rations; their recreational and educational activities; news received via a secret camp radio in Padang (March – May); his hospital treatment for suspected appendicitis (June); his appreciation of Judy, the celebrated camp dog later awarded the Dickin Medal (June); his attendance on working parties at the nearby oil depot and loading stones for construction work at Palembang aerodrome (July- September); the punishment of members of the local population for passing food supplies to POWs (August); the eventual signature, under duress, by POWs of non-escape forms (September); the arrival of Red Cross parcels (November), three detailed colour sketches by an unidentified artist of camp life, and a very brief retrospective account of Simmonds's escape from Singapore to Sumatra in February 1942.

Pocket diary kept in 1942 by a Leading Aircraftman who had served in 250 AMES RAF during the Malayan campaign beginning with retrospective entries covering his capture when Padang in Sumatra fell to the Japanese (17 March) and then with contemporaneous entries covering his experiences as a prisoner of war in camps in Sumatra at Padang (March – June), Belawan (June – July) and Gloegoer (July – December); together with his RAF Service and Release Book (1946) and membership card for the Returned British Prisoners of War Association; and two black and white photographs of him in uniform. Of particular note in the diary are the detailed references to the prisoners' daily rations; their recreational and educational activities; news received via a secret camp radio in Padang (March – May); his hospital treatment for suspected appendicitis (June); his appreciation of Judy, the celebrated camp dog later awarded the Dickin Medal (June); his attendance on working parties at the nearby oil depot and loading stones for construction work at Palembang aerodrome (July- September); the punishment of members of the local population for passing food supplies to POWs (August); the eventual signature, under duress, by POWs of non-escape forms (September); the arrival of Red Cross parcels (November), three detailed colour sketches by an unidentified artist of camp life, and a very brief retrospective account of Simmonds's escape from Singapore to Sumatra in February 1942.

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