There is a new movie, The Railway Man being released for viewing soon. It is the story of Eric Lomax, a Britisher, who was taken prisoner after the surrender of Singapore in February 1942 and sent to work on the Burma to Thailand death railway. The Hunter Valley has its own Railway Men of the Burma to Thailand ‘death railway’ during their incarceration as prisoners of war of the Japanese during the Second World War. Following is a brief narrative:- On 18th February 1941, seventeen months after the commencement of the Second World War in September 1939, the Australian Army’s 8th Division was sent to Singapore to bolster the islands defence in the event of Japan entering the war. Almost ten months later on 8th December the Japanese invaded the British colony of Malaya and Australia announced that we were officially at war with Japan. By 31st January 1942 the Japanese had pushed the British back into the supposedly impregnable island fortress of Singapore. A week later on 8th February the Japanese invaded Singapore from the Malayan Peninsula. By 10th February the Japanese had secured a foothold on the main island of Singapore and five days later, on 15th February the Japanese converged on the city and continued their onslaught and bombardment. Eventually the order was given for the Allied Forces to surrender, and at 6.10pm on Sunday, 15th February 1942, General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding the British forces in Malaya, signed the unconditional surrender. Within a few days over 15,000 Australians marched into Selarang Barracks, the former home of the British Army’s 2nd Battalion of Gordon Highlanders, which in time became known as “Changi.” About 570 of these men were from Newcastle and the Hunter Valley with many being in the following units: Australian General Base Depot 8th Division HQ 8th Division Signals 10th Australian General Hospital 2/10th Field Ambulance 2/12th Field Ambulance 2/12th Field Company 2/15th Field Company 2/18th Battalion 2/19th Battalion 2/20th Battalion 2/30th Battalion and the 3rd Reserve Motor Transport Company. About 200 of these men died before the surrender of Japan three and a half years later on 15th August 1945. Most were to die on the Burma to Thailand railway or at the Sandakan prisoner of war camp or on the Sandakan to Ranau death marches in 1945. The Burma to Thailand Railway By mid-1943 approximately 13,000 Australian prisoners of war were in work camps spread out along the length of the Burma to Thailand railway. The majority of these were men of the Australian 8th Division. Joining them in Thailand were a number of men of the Australian 7th Division captured in Java and men of “Sparrow Force”, captured on Timor. Working alongside them was a large labour force of approximately 51,000 British, Dutch and American prisoners of war and 200,000 Asian labourers. Between May 1942 and June 1943, the Japanese moved the POWs by sea and rail from Singapore and Java to Burma and Thailand in a series of mixed forces or groups. Most of these groups were designated by a letter of the alphabet or by a number. The Japanese told the prisoners of war little of what lay ahead for them at their journey’s end. The following forces and groups were sent: ‘A Force’ from Singapore by sea to Burma ‘B Force’ from Singapore by sea to Sandakan ‘Williams Force’ and ‘Black Force’ from Java by sea to Burma ‘Group 5’ from Java by sea to Burma ‘Dunlop Force’ – from Java by sea to Singapore then to Thailand ‘D Force’ – from Singapore by rail to Thailand ‘E Force’ from Singapore by sea to Sandakan ‘F Force’ – from Singapore by rail to Thailand ‘H Force’ and ‘H6 Officers Party’ – from Singapore by rail to Thailand ‘K Force’ and ‘L Force’ – from Singapore by rail to Thailand …………………………………………. Hunter Valley Prisoners of War of the Japanese: 575 men and 3 women from the Hunter Valley were prisoners of war of the Japanese. There were 3 nurses, 1 RAN sailor, 1 Merchant Navy seaman, 573 infantry men, artillery men, machine gunners, engineers, sappers and medical men. 211 men and 2 women died in captivity: 11 in Indonesia 25 in Thailand - Buried Kanchanaburi War Cemetery 13 in Singapore 7 in Malaysia 16 in New Britain at Rabaul 95 in Borneo at Sandakan or Sandakan to Ranau marches 33 in Burma (Myanmar) - Buried Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery 6 in Japan – one of these men killed in an air raid on 25th July 1945 8 drowned at sea – 2 on the “Montevideo Maru” and 6 on the “Rakuyo Maru.” ............................................ There are only a few Hunter Valley men still with us today who were POWs of the Japanese and used as slave labour to construct the Burma to Thailand railway during the Second World War. With their passing in the years ahead another chapter in our nation’s military history, a chapter of great survival against enormous hardships and challenges dealt to each of them by their captors, shall close. It is important that their deeds and sacrifices are not forgotten. To those who remain in Burma (Myanmar) or Thailand, may they continue to rest in eternal peace.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:50:45 +0000
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