Description
Object description
Australian seaman served aboard HMAS Perth in GB coastal waters, Mediterranean, Australian coastal waters and Indian Ocean, 1939-1942, including sinking in Sundra Strait, 1/3/1942; prisoner of war in Serang Camp, Serang and Bicycle Camp, Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies, on Burma-Thailand Railway, Tarmarkan Camp and Petburi Camp, Thailand, 3/1943-8/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Perth, Australia, 1920-1938: family; education; employment; degree of awareness of First World War; attending Anzac Day parades during 1930s; degree of awareness of situation in Europe. Aspects of enlistment and training as seaman with Royal Australian Navy in Australia, 1938-1939: selection process; reaction of parents to his enlistment; pattern of training; attitude to prospect of war; reaction to declaration of Second World War. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMAS Perth in GB coastal waters, Mediterranean and Australian coastal waters and Far East, 9/1939-8/1941: joining and initial impressions of cruiser; signal duties; opinion of Captain Philip Bowyer-Smith and Captain Hector Waller; sailing for GB.
REEL 2 Continues: German Air Force bombing of Portsmouth, GB, 1940; Christmas celebrations, 25/12/1940; role as messenger; question of relations between Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy personnel; reaction to being under first Axis air attacks; opinion of ships' captains; situation in Malta on arrival; messages carried; move to Alexandria, Egypt; lack of effects of war situation.
REEL 3 Continues: attitude to participation in Battle of Cape Matapan, 27/3/1941-29/3/1941; pattern of service in Mediterranean; under attack by Italian Navy torpedo boats; German Air Force attacks; evacuation of troops from Crete, Greece, 5/1941; return to Australia, 8/1941; departure of Captain Philip Bowyer-Smith, 1/9/1941 and arrival of Captain Hector Waller, 24/10/1941; leave ashore and abortive drafting to HMAS Sydney. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMAS Perth in India Ocean, 2/1942-3/1942, including sinking Sunda Strait, 1/3/1942: move to Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies, 14/2/1942.
REEL 4 Continues: encounter with Indonesians whilst carrying message ashore in Batavia Java, Dutch East Indies; opinion of Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman; taking signal of HMS Exeter being hit during Battle of Java Sea, 27/2/1942; question of Allied ships being close to Imperial Japanese Navy Fleet; reasons for not picking up survivors; breaking off of action and return to Batavia, Java Dutch East Indies; in action during Battle of Sundra Strait, 28/2/1942; torpedoing of ship, 1/3/1942; abandoning ship; reaction to sinking of ship, 1/3/1942; rescue by Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Serang Camp, Serang and Bicycle Camp, Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies, 1942: removal to Serang Camp located in outdoor theatre; bartering for food.
REEL 5 Continues: method of passing time and morale; escape from camp and Imperial Japanese Army guards counting of prisoners of war; attitude of Indonesian civilians towards prisoners of war; latrines; rations; attitude of Imperial Japanese Army guards towards prisoners of war; conversational topics; effect of heavy rain on latrines; lack of communication with Imperial Japanese Army guards; removal to Bicycle Camp, Batavia; trading with American prisoners of war; punishment for gambling and punching officer; story of treatment of camp's senior officer Brigadier Arthur Blackburn for informing on men to Imperial Japanese Army guards; behaviour of officers towards fellow prisoners of war; gambling and trading with Dutch prisoners of war.
REEL 6 Continues: working parties in Batavia; obtaining clothing from Australian and American prisoners of war; attitude to being a prisoner of war and lack of contact with outside world; attitude of Imperial Japanese Army guards towards prisoners of war; boxing tournaments and other activities; state of prisoner of war health; concert parties; transfer to Burma, 10/1942. Recollections of period as prisoner of war on Burma-Thailand Railway in Burma, 2/1943-11/1943: arrival at Thanbyuzayat Camp and talk received from Japanese commandant; incident of becoming lost during Allied air raid; description of 4 Kilo Camp, Kandaw; method of removing soil.
REEL 7 Continues: working in teams; daily routine; bridge building and ballast parties; treatment of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers by own officers; move to 55 Kilo Camp, Khonkhan; diseases and danger of cuts from bamboo; character of camp medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel Albert Coates; first trading trip to civilian village; nature of leg ulcer and treatment received from villager; local cure for malaria; items traded; attitude towards lack of cigarettes; impressions of Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Dunlop.
REEL 8 Continues: contrast in behaviour between Lieutenant-Colonels Albert Coates and Ernest Dunlop; description of effects of cholera; recovery from cholera; nature of survival instinct; Imperial Japanese Army's treatment of their own troops and Korean serving with it; behaviour of Korean guards serving with Imperial Japanese Army, including incident of Korean soldier stealing his watch; aid received from Thai and Chinese civilians; fitness assessment of sick by Japanese captors; importance of sense of humour and mateship; rainfall; difficulty understanding Japanese mentality; acceptance of death.
REEL 9 Continues: receiving news relating to progress of war; reaction to completion of railway. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Tamarkan Camp, Thailand, 11/1943-8/1945: train journey to Tamarkan; description of conditions in Tamarkan Camp, 11/1943; sight of Allied aircraft flying overhead; railway bridges on River Kwai; better conditions in Tamarkan Camp and change in attitude of Imperial Japanese Army guards; concert parties at Tamarkan Camp; nicknames for Imperial Japanese Army guards; daily routine; sense of group identity amongst Royal Australian Navy prisoners of war; selection of prisoners of war to work in Japan; avoiding selection to work in Japan; Thai civilian contacts.
REEL 10 Continues: move to work on airfield at Petburi Camp; arrival of American liaison officer, 8/1945; change in behaviour of Imperial Japanese Army guards prior to surrender; hearing news of end of Second World War and celebrations, 15/8/1945; removal from camp after Japanese surrender to Rangoon, Burma; meeting with Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten; question of survival and lessons learnt from captivity; attitude towards service with Royal Australian Navy and captivity; contact with home and instances when he was recorded as dead; father's experience at home in Australia; return to Perth, Australia; survival instinct and return to civilian life; contrast between First and Second World War wartime experiences.
REEL 11 Continues: attitude towards Imperial Japanese Army captors.