Was Any Of Your Family In A Japanese War Camp During World War Two?

[GabrielC]

When I have been doing my family history I found out that one of my late grandad's cousins was held in a Japanese war camp. He later ended up on the infamous Burma Railway he some how survived but when he returned home he was barely recognisable to family. He had a few close calls in France  when they surrendered to Germany in 1940 then ended up in Singapore when it fell in 1942 but this time was not so lucky and ended up in a Japanese camp until 1945. 

 

Was any of your family held by the Japanese and is there any records relating to prisoners ? 

[hackey lad]

Apparently my Great Uncle, my Grandmother’s brother was a Japanese POW  but that’s where my knowledge ends .

[Longcol]

My late Uncle John was - a member of the medical corps. Never really spoke about it - always referred to rice pudding as "Burma Road".

 

Understand he was chosen as a "witness" to the atomic bombs that were used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was one of the first of the allied forces to set foot on the Japanese mainland.

 

 

[Jim Hardie]

My Uncle Joe spent three years as a POW in Thailand. It ruined his health but he was able to hold down a surface job with the Coal Board.

[Janet24]

We had a relative who was a POW and suffered from mental health issues for the rest of his life. As people of that generation did,he struggled on and held down a good job,but it certainly had a massive impact on him and his immediate family.

[iamwoody]

Not had a relative who was a POW to my knowledge but my mother used to tell us of local soldiers who'd  returned at the end of the war who'd been japanese prisoners and she described them as walking skeletons  .

[lobster]

My late  mum's cousin was chief Medical Officer for Changai Prison during the Japanese occupation

I also have a close fried who's late father was stationed in  Singapore with the R E .He was at Changai , then the Burma Railroad before being shipped to Japan . His ship was torpedoed by an American Submarine and he spent 3 days in oil infested water before being picked up and sent to Japan . Where he was sent to work in the mines . He too saw the atomic bomb blasts . He weighed about 6st when repatriated and had to spend 3 months in Canada to recover before being returned to the UK

 

[lobster]

POW records      https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-prisoners-second-world-war-korean-war/

 

Available from the National Archives

[GabrielC]

2 hours ago, lobster said:

POW records      https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-prisoners-second-world-war-korean-war/

 

Available from the National Archives

Thanks for that .

[cuttsie]

Albert Binney .Post 55 , Ordinary Sheffielders . on this section Shefield Forum .