Description
Object description
The Far East - The Aftermath.
Full description
I. 'THE FAR EAST- THE AFTERMATH.' Hundreds of Imperial Japanese Army officers surrender their swords in Malaya. Large numbers of Japanese Army personnel stand in a prison enclosure. Large numbers of Japanese prisoners of war march past gathered Malay civilians. 'HAINAN.' Emaciated Allied prisoners of war stand in a prison camp compound at Hainan. Interior footage shows emaciated and ill Allied prisoners lying on camp beds. Sick prisoners are carried on stretchers by Japanese soldiers. 'SINGAPORE.' Former Japanese prison camp guards dismantle the main barbed wire barricades at the entrance of their camp (location undisclosed). Allied prisoners of war smile at the camera from behind the wire fence of the prison compound. Former Allied prisoners scramble in a good humoured way for a packet of cigarettes that has been thrown to them. A column of very emaciated bare chested Allied prisoners walks past the camera position, their appearance bearing stark testimony to their harsh treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors. Thousands of civilians throng the streets carrying Chinese Nationalist flags. A British Union flag flies over the offices of The Straits Times newspaper. A Japanese occupation flyer reading "Victory for Nippon Assured" is removed from a wall and replaced with a Straits Times flyer which reads "Jap Surrender- Allies Enter Singapore." A newspaper boy distributes the first copies of the Straits Times printed since the Japanese surrender. Bare chested Japanese prisoners of war fill trenches on a Singapore street. Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten on a tour of the various internment camps talk to former inmates.
Full description
II. 'SOUTHAMPTON.' A merchant ship carrying former British prisoners of war from the Far East arrives at Southampton Docks. The ship is manoeuvred into a berthing position by a tug. Large numbers of British servicemen crowd the upper decks of the Merchant ship, later disembarking to cheers from a gathered civilian crowd. Members of the St John Ambulance Brigade distribute packs of cigarettes and small food parcels to the disembarking men.
Full description
III. 'LIVERPOOL.' A merchant ship carrying repatriated Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel arrives in the Mersey Docks. Civilians crowds throng the quaysides as the airmen disembark. Happy scenes follow as some of the RAF men are met by waiting loved ones. The item concludes with a return to street celebrations in Singapore. Members of the Singapore Mayfair Musical and Dramatic Association carry banners celebrating the Allied victory over the Japanese during a large victory parade.
Physical description
35mm