This story was unknown to me 8 months ago & I’ve been on it full time only for 2 months, hence it’s an early attempt. It’s select, as the Australian records are too vast to list entirely. The 5 books here seem to be the only ones on Indian FEPOWs & the rest of the biblio are primary records and a handful of articles I found useful to introduce me to the topic.
Some highlights:
- Sergeant Crasta called New Britain “Torture island” and in his little-known memoir Eaten by the Japanese he describes so much so well. From the title I knew he had not chosen it – in fact his son had. Somehow POWs seem to have less bitterness than one would expect.
- Lt Pillai’s escape, his MC in 5 days after reaching Delhi and his 32- page report gave India HQ the first news of the POWs, internees & civilian morale – a thrilling read.
- Major Dhillon, after a 6-month verification of his debrief of double crossing the Japanese, was awarded the MBE. Though nothing happened, had he planned a Triple Cross all long?
- Lt BP Singh’s MBE recommendation highlights him being the only Indian with the British in Changi. He had been captured in Arakan 1943 & to prevent him “infecting” the other Indians with his spirit, sent to Changi.
- In his memoir, Lt Col Gurbaksh Singh recounts how he learns much later of his DSO, as it was awarded just before surrender. When Bose tries to recruit him into the INA he says, “if I could betray one master, I could betray another”. CinC India recommends a CBE for his POW days, he gets “just” an OBE.
- The interrogation of Maj Kogi Kazuo when he justifies the beheading of Captain Ansari, George Cross, based on the Japanese military code that he produces.
- Jemadar Chint Singh joined the INA & then left it to spend 30 months in New Guinea. At liberation, he was 1 of 13 survivors out of 2500 (fortunately 191 more had been rescued earlier), provided evidence for many trials & returned to give evidence vs Lt Gen Adachi.
- The Last Word: The illiterate Cook Shaikh Madar’s thumbprint on his testimony to ensure his voice is heard, and it is.
Chap 1: In WWII in the Far East, the Indian Army served in all the campaigns – Burma, Malaya/ Singapore, Hong Kong and Borneo, extensively covered by historians and British/ Australian participants. These are rare accounts by Indians participants (3 of these are in the highlights but I’ve given different details here):
- Three Thousand Miles to Freedom by Brig MM Pillai, MC, Lancer Publications 2009. Lt Pillai was in the Bombay Sappers and was in KROH COL at the start, Slim River, & later escaped in May 1942.
- Escape from Singapore by Brig Jasbir Singh SM (his son), Lancer Publications 2010. Captain Balbir Singh of 4/19 Hyderabad Regiment – sent to reinforce Kotah Bahru & then the retreat down the Malay peninsula and escaped in May 1942.
- Indelible Reminiscences, Lancer Publications 2013, published by his wife after his death. Lt Col Gurbaksh Singh Commanding Jind State Forces – guarding Tengah & Kallang airfields in Singapore, June 1942 sent to construct Kluang airfield in Johore, Malaya (3,000 men) where they remained for rest of the war.
- Eaten by The Japanese, by John Baptist Crasta, published by Invisible Man Books 1998. Sergeant Crasta, RIASC wasn’t in the front line but witnessed the chaos in Singapore on Dec 8, 1941, in KL later & back again in Singapore. Describes post surrender Singapore, “Torture ship” journey to New Britain, his horrific time there, terrors of Allied air raids starting Oct 12, 1943, liberation & repatriation – a vivid account of his time in captivity and possibly the only complete manuscript published as is.
Besides these memoirs, some of which cover the campaign, there are many well-known histories such as Singapore Burning by Colin Smith etc. that give an idea of what their unit was doing/ facing during the campaign.
Ch2: Singapore in 1942
Was rife with the launch of the Japanese sponsored Indian National Army (INA) to expel Britain from India, propaganda & torture to make Indians join & some dramatic escapes.
(Indian POW Annexure 1 is a short historical note on this).
Start with Feb 17, 1942, surrender ceremony in Farrer Park where the Indians were “handed over” to Japan by Lt Col Hunt (5). This created great controversy post war when senior INA officers were tried for treason – the handover was taken by Nehru & the defense team as absolving Indians from their allegiance (6). Hear from those who did not join the INA see 1-4, 8-14
Feb 1942: Settling down into various camps across Singapore. See 8, 11
March 1942: the first shipments of troops for labour:
- March 21, units of HKSAR (HK and Singapore Artillery) shipped to Philippines (see 7)
- Gurbaksh Singh told in March to leave for Borneo, that gets delayed & he with 3,000 men go instead to Johore in June (3 pg96).
- Balbir Singh almost marching off for Andaman’s when its cancelled (2, pg67).
- Pillai says 9,000 troops shipped out by April to Andamans, Hanoi & Thailand. He says HKSAR sent to Andamans, though it went to Phils. However as seen in Balbir & Gurbaksh Singh’s cases, things change. Am verifying other details (11, App A).
May 4 Escape by Cap Balbir & Gangaram Parab of 4/19 Hyderabad and Cap Pritam Singh 5/6 Punjab. Balbir & Parab reach early Oct 1942. Pritam Singh reaches end October helped by Dhillon (see Double Cross below). See 8,9,10.
May 7 Escape by Lts Pillai & Radhakrishnan (a Volunteer who had not been interned) and Cap Natarjan, IMS. Though they leave 3 days later, they arrive 2 months earlier on Aug 2. While in hospital, Gandhi, Nehru & entire Congress leadership is arrested, India is in chaos & they are suspects. 5 days after reaching Delhi on Aug 26, CinC recommends MC. See 11, 12
May onwards
- INA propaganda (see 1-4, 8-15) and in August, tortures (see 16, 17)
- Syonan Times (English language paper in Singapore to replace Straits Times) reports on India (see 22)
- September 1942 about 20k POWs join INA, wearing badges (see 17)
- Late October 1942 Double Cross by Major Dhillon, RIASC and 2nd Lt Bakhtawar, Bengal sappers. See 13,14, 15. Nothing happened later, but was it a planned triple cross?
- 29th December 1942 – 1st INA disbanded by its commander, Cap Mohan Singh, 1/14th Punjab (see 18-21)
- Early 1943 attempts to get recruits back again, see 17.
References (AWM/ some WO at National Archives online, IOR or India Office Records at British Library are not)
- Hunt: In most books he’s ref to as Lt Col Hunt Malaya Command or HQ. He is in fact Lt William Shapter Hunt, Commander of the 2nd Echelon of Hodsons Horse, Indian Armored Corps (courtesy Jonathan Moffat)
- INA Trial IOR-L/WS/1/1579
- HKSAR sent to Philippines on March 21 (post-war debriefs AWM54 1010/4/164 pgs 73-5, 88-93 etc)
- CSDIC (Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre – it worked with MI9 to debrief escaped POWs) report on Cap Balbir debrief & MC recommendation WO-373-62-600
- CSDIC report on Cap Parab debrief & MC recommendation WO-373-62-601
- CSDIC report on Cap Pritam Singh debrief & MC recommendation WO-373-62-662
- Lt Pillai’s 32-page report AWM 54-779-10-4 deserves special mention. He brings the 1st news of conditions in Singapore, Malaya, Thailand & Burma to India HQ. Besides his escape, the debrief covers:
- Changi civilians, Australians at Seletar, Indians at Bidadari, Nee Soon, Tengah, Tyersall, Buller
- Shipment of 9k Indian POWs for labour
- Other escapes
- Assessment of chance of escape for British/Aus (nil), Indians, good
- Suggestions on propaganda in Southeast Asia & India
- Names of those who helped them.
- Attitude of locals before, during the war & after surrender, assessment of loyalty
- India HQ Report on Pillai / Radhakrishnan debrief & MC recommendation WO-373-61-980. Gazetted 29 Sep 1942. Note Natarajan stayed behind in Burma.
- MBE recommendation for Major Dhillon WO-373-62-605
- Major Dhillons own account IOR-L/WS/1/1576
- CSDIC report on Lt Bakhtawar debrief & MBE recommendation WO-373-62-598.
- Major James report AWM 54 1010-4-152 (p3-5 of pdf)
- Jemader Chint Singh affidavit AWM 54 1010-3-108 (pg 25-6 of pdf)
- Report on Cap Mohan Singh WO-325-51
- Major Fujiwara Interrogation WO-203-6314
- CSDIC INA History IOR-L/WS/2/45
- INA History by Historical Section IOR-L/WS/2/46
- Syonan Times various articles if you search on The Syonan Shimbun or Syonan Shimbun Fornightly with relevant date range and key words eg Maru (for ship), Indian etc https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/advanced
Sarawak/Borneo (only 1 battalion 2/15 Punjab).
Well documented example of how units get split up and shipped from place to place. 2/15 Punjab Reg surrendered in Sarawak Apr 3 1942. 700 sent to Java, then Singapore, where some remained, some sent back to Java, some remaining in Singapore & some came to New Britain.
- Havildar Major Maula Baksh detailed account (AWM 54 1010/4/164, pg9),
- From this group, Captain Sher Dil Khan, MBE for fortitude in captivity in New Britain WO 373-87-347
- Looking for some evidence from him, found an affidavit verified by him AWM 54 1010/4/170 PG 77
- For those who stayed behind in Borneo, battalion gets 2nd wartime MBE, Subedar Mhd Hasham at Kuching WO 373-87-344
- Sekhon’s account of Kuching/Sarawak crimes See AWM 54 1010/4/130 pg 11-12
- Sekhons Questionnaire – beatings to make them join INA in Miri/ Lutong – NAA Series No MP742/1 Control Symbol 336/1/2018 (courtesy Moffat)
- LABUAN crimes Sepoy Chuni Ram AWM 54 1010/4/120 p80-85
- Trial held in Singapore for crimes at Lutong Jun 1945 during Allied invasion. https://singaporewarcrimestrials.com/case-summaries/detail/092
My coverage of Hong Kong has been brief so far:
Captain Ansari, nephew of Nizam of Hyderabad, was singled out due to his royal blood. He was beheaded 20 Oct 1943. George Cross gazetted 18 April 1946
- WO 325/ 167 has details of the trial Japan held when he was sentenced.
- His CWGC grave https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2815107/mateen-ahmed-ansari/
- Write-up on him – https://vcgca.org/our-people/profile/155/MATEEN-AHMED-ANSARI
HK Escape narratives
- Multiple escape narratives and award recommendations WO-373-64-702
- Sepoy Manga Khan escaped 1942, caught & escaped 1944 leading 3 others. WO-373-47-418
- Jemadar Sher Singh escape narrative WO 373-64-65
- Akbar Ali + 4 escape narrative WO 373-64-66
- Numerous other awards in GAZETTE 18 Apr 46
- Hong Kong Indian Camp Argyle Street WO 361/2048
Burma references are limited:
See 33. From Burma in April 1942, Jemadar Padam Bahadur Thapa and Subedar Tekbahadur Limbu started an escape together, then split up. Thapa’s team splits further & he finally reaches India with 4 soldiers. The other part of his team is headed by Sepoy Ganga Bahadur Khettri who has 2 soldiers with him & also reach India. All are awarded. Meanwhile Limbu also reaches India with his team & gets the MC.
34. Escape by Sub Tekbahadur Limbu in 1943, awarded MC, WO 373-62-499
34. Trial vs COL SUGASAWA summary Burma Railway
https://singaporewarcrimestrials.com/case-summaries/detail/095
35. Trial transcripts
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=30297583
The Japanese start shipping Indian POWs to New Britain/ Guinea in Dec 1942.
Good Articles to get the big picture:
36. Prof Stanley https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/journal/j37/indians
- Maj-General Hamid https://tribune.com.pk/story/2402061/could-inferno-be-worse?fbclid=IwAR2T-mpKMwDY_041sEXwr3VoU2T2qZDnu_hMsDMA2IpjqmJLI_eIIFcj2qw
Hell-Ship Journeys
- Pulau Trial Case Summary
https://singaporewarcrimestrials.com/case-summaries/detail/001
- Went in Thames Maru to Pulau, (also carried 1500 Malay Chinese Javanese labourers? Trial says 2k Indian http://www.combinedfleet.com/Thames_t.htm
- Sinking of Buyo Maru Jan 27, 1943 by a US sub USS Wahoo with 194/500 people dying. See 45 (Sen)
- USS Wahoo patrol reports US National Archives NAID 74859023, and NAID 278490254
- http://combinedfleet.com/googlesearch.php?cx=004186240537787039759%3Abhyjuw5taag&channel=2324678199&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=BUYO&sa=Search
- Photo from US Naval History and Heritage Command – view from periscope of USS Wahoo of Buyo Maru sinking- public domain
- Hibi Maru (AWM 54 1010/4/170 Pg 91-2 CAP AMS CHARMARETTE 1HYD http://www.combinedfleet.com/Hibi_t.htm
- Other journey description, see 4.
- Singapore Keppel Harbour conditions Op Jaywick Debrief NAA – Item ID 235230
On their experience once they reached
They were liberated by Australia and AWM contains archives of their evidence. After giving them time to recuperate, they made each answer a questionnaire on their time in captivity (this is the document to be used to verify IWPs, hell ship dates). if war crimes were mentioned, then a separate statement needed to be made.
Navigating AWM54 – World War II
AWM54 779 on POWs and Internees
AWM54 1010 on War Crimes Trials
As few Indian POWs are mentioned by name, best way is to search Indian POW
From vast archives, these documents are good examples of the 100s of questionnaires & specific statements. The highlighted pages are by officers who provide a big picture narrative of their captivity (also see 16 and 17 for big picture):
- AWM54 1010/4/164
Major Rasheed, Bahawalpur State Forces, AWM 54 1010/4/164, pg 24-32
Jemadar Diwan Singh of 1st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regt AWM 54 1010/4/164 p94-7
- AWM54 1010/4/170
Captain Sen 5/2 Punjab Rifles AWM 54 1010/4/170 p47-53 (sunk by sub)
Lt Dr Saksena AWM 54 1010/4/170 pg 59-62
Lt Col Syed Mohd Ishaq Hyderabad State Forces, AWM 54 1010/4/170, p63, p65-9
LT A.K.DAW Med Officer for SEN AWM 170 pg 156-7
- AWM54 1010/3/109
- AWM54 1010/4/179
- AWM54 1010/4/130
- AWM54 1010/4/152
- AWM 54 779/3/102
- AWM54 1010/9/94 (cannibalism)
In 1944, Allies landed on New Guinea/ Bougainville in 1944 and this prompts escapes eg:
- Cap JH Patel in New Guinea with 27 others
- Gopal Prasad Jha, Bougainville, Aug 1944
- Cap Pillay, Bougainville in Sep 1944.
- WO 373-64-76:
Meanwhile in Singapore
- Captain DURRANI Bahawalpur State Forces, George Cross
- Rifleman Mehraj Din, Rajputana Rifles, escaped from Singapore to KL and set up a tailor shop. He supplied Indian POWs secretly & remaining undetected for the rest of the war. Awarded BEM. WO 373-104-170.
- There were many others who blended into Singapore and Malaya after escape (interview with Lt Pillai’s son, Admiral Pillai)
- Captains Sudame & Jayaram, RIASC escaped from Singapore separately, and caught in Bangkok, brought back. Both awarded MBE WO 373-104-56 and WO 373-104-54
- Lt Ismail oral history IWM who had remained here. Marvellous tape. 3RD tape, Min 14:00 onwards on Malaya https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80011491
- Lt BP Singh, captured at Arakan campaign, staunch anti-Japan, so segregated & the only Indian in Changi with British POWs. Set up radio & found his way out of Changi to pass war news regularly into Indian POW camp to keep their spirits up. WO 373-104-140 and his Changi record WO 367/1
- How doctors are managing https://fepowhistory.com/tag/indian-pows/
After liberation
How Many were shipped? 13-14k men shipped from Singapore, 550 to Pulau, 2.5k to New Guinea, 10-11k to New Britain.
How Many Survived? Pulau, 337/550, New Guinea 204/2.5k, not sure about New Britain (Crasta says out of 11k, 5.3k survivors including 1k hospital cases)
Indian POW Annexure Note has details of how this is calculated.
After rest & once questionnaires answered & specific statements made on war crimes, courts of inquiry were held.
- AWM54 1010/4/170 has examples on pg 42-6, and 70-74
Subsequently 100 war crimes trials were held by Australia solely on atrocities against Indian POWs. In 66 of these all or some of the accused were convicted to death or prison.
Inidan POW Annexure has a note on Legal aspects/ defense by Japanese .
A good starting point are these articles:
- Sissons, D.C.S. The Australian War Crimes Trials and Investigations (1942-51).
- Article on Australian War Crimes Trials with focus on Rabaul
https://academic.oup.com/book/26719/chapter/195551727
- TOKYO WAR CRIMES TRIALS – MARK FELTON YOUTUBE
Trials archives:
- AWM226 items 15, 16, 17
- AWM54 1010
- Singapore war crimes trial portal with summary https://singaporewarcrimestrials.com
- It has Links to details in UNs ICWC, search by name of defendant. This has records of all trials across countries, but mainly summaries & judgements, not the transcripts and evidence https://www.legal-tools.org/
Some representative examples of trials
- Beheading of Cap Nirpal Singh without Trial AWM54 1010/6/100
- Trial of Captain Taura (said to be the cruelest unit commander on New Britain) AWM54 1010/3/81
- Based on Taura’s conviction, his C/o Col Negishi was tried as well but found not guilty AWM54 1010/6/4
- Lt Gen Adachi – convicted & committed suicide while serving his sentence AWM54 1010/3/8
- Trial of Gozawa Odaichi & others for atrocities on Hell Ship & on Palua island WO235/813.
Chint Singh was prolific. He gave vast amounts of testimony, used in at least 6 trials and was 1 of the few who was brought back to give evidence in court such as at the trail of Lt-Gen Adachi.
- Chint Singh The Man Who Should Have Died by his son Narender Singh Parmar was published in 2021
- His 61 page record of New Guinea and liberation- A brief sketch of the fate of 3000 Indian POWs in New Guinea. 1943-1945. Pacific Manuscript Bureau.
https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/pambu/catalogue/index.php/396y-mwfd-fm7w
- Multiple affidavits as evidence in AWM 54 1010/9/79
- And AWM 54 1010/4/31
- Chint Singhs handwritten letter thanking 6th Australian division AWM 54-779-1-20
The Other Side of the Hill
A good place to find this in the trial transcripts. In addition, see
- AWM 54 1010/9/22 Affidavits by Japanese at Rabual, New Britain
- AWM 54 1010/9/23 Roll of Japanese units at Rabaul, statement by Gen adachi
- Unpublished manuscript by Japanese commander at Rabaul General Imamura AWM MSS1098
- Oral History of a Japanese now POW Iwao Muranaka in Changi post war
In Japanese with a transcript – a pilot with Navy Air For& comes to Singapore, they were ready to fight off invasion, as POW, labour works in Singapore, says British guards cried when they left for Japan.
Awards for Indian FEPOWs
2 George Crosses, at least 6 OBEs, over 30 MBEs, numerous MCs, MMs, BEMs, Mentions were awarded to Indian FEPOWs. Following gazette’s include multiple awards:
- April 18, 1946: Ansari GC, 6 OBEs, many MBEs
- May 9, 1946: 15 MBEs https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37558/data.pdf
- Sep 25, 1947: over 20 MBEs, 14 BEMs, Mentions etc
POWs return home:
- Crasta (4) names his repatriation ship and many others.
- Dr Stanley suggested looking at NAA & National Library of Australia’s Trove database of newspaper articles many of which cover repatriation of POWs
https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/category/newspapers?keyword=
- Chint Singhs book (72) gives an account of his return to New Guinea in 1970 to commemorate 25 years of the end of war.
- Cap Balbir Singh (2) who retired as a Brigadier retraced his escape route in 1988
- Their post-war feelings/ impact – we don’t know as none of the 5 memoirs cover this. This is the gap I’m trying to bridge through interviews. Have spoken to sons of 2 POWs and working on more.
You have to read my (hopeful) book to know the story properly & find out what the POWs felt and how it impacted the Family. I’m very new to this and welcome any guidance/ help.
Thanks, Gautam Hazarika, ghazarika70@yahoo.com
Annexure 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND INDIAN ARMY & INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY
When looking into the Indian Army, one comes across terms like KCO/ KCIO/ VCO/ ICO/ ECO.
- VCO: till the early 1920s, all officers were British. The senior most rank for Indians was Viceroy Commissioned Officers, senior to warrant officers but below commissioned officers.
- KCO/KCIO: early 1920s, Indians commissioned from Sandhurst (Kings or Kings Indian CO)
- ICO: when graduation training shifted from Sandhurst to India, they were called Indian CO.
- ECO were Emergency CO when WWII started.
There were very few Indian officers in Singapore – I’ve come across mainly Lieutenant’s, some Captains, very few Majors and only 2 Lt Cols.
Besides the Indian Army, there were also units belonging to the princely states, called Indian State Forces.
- There were 5 such units in Singapore – Hyderabad State Forces (different from Hyderabad Regiment which was Indian Army), Mysore, Bahawalpur, Jind, Kapurthala.
- Many of the people mentioned here, like Waheed (Annexure2), Rasheed (45), Ishaq (46), Gurbaksh (4) served there.
INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY
In creating their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and “Asia for the Asians”, before the war began, Japan Army HQ reached out to the local political groups in Southeast Asia. This unit was headed by Major Fujiwara and was known as Fujiwara Kikan. They found that there were Indians everywhere and each colony (and Siam) had an Indian Independence League (IIL), a political organization meant to galvanize the local population to support Indian independence in any practical way. Fujiwara went to Bangkok as Siam/Thailand was the only independent country (all the rest were British/French/ Dutch colonies) and met Giani Pritam Singh, the Head of IIL Thailand. The Giani decided to join hands with Fujiwara to expel Britain from India and the 2 headed to Malaya when the invasion began and around Dec 10, 1941, met one of the captured Indian officers Captain Mohan Singh, 1/14 Punjab. He too decided to work with the Japanese and formed the kernel of what was to become the Indian National Army (INA).
Annexure 2 How Many went to New Britain/ New Guinea? How Many survived?
New Guinea:
Chint Singh wrote a 61 page narrative on New Guinea with a lot of detail (73). His heading is 3000 people. However, on pg 33 & 34, he finds that:
IWP 16 has 1 survivor out of 560 (a more reliable source, Jemader Nand Singh says 547)
IWP 17 has 0 survivors out of 500
IWP 18 has 2 survivors out of 565
IWP 26 has 2 survivors out of 309
IWP 19 (his own) has 8 survivors out of 539
Total 13 survivors out of 1,979 men.
There are no figures for IWP 17 (also in NG) and using the average of all the groups c 525, taking total in New Guinea of 2,500.
Later he finds that 191 men had been rescued before the war ended. So a total of 191 + 13 = 204 survive.
Sadly, 2 of the 13 survivors die on Sep 20, leaving 11. Chint Singh stays back to give more evidence and the remaining 10 fly back to India. They all die when the plane crashes. He remains the sole survivor of the 13 liberated after the war ended.
For when they sailed to NG, see below.
New Britain (NB):
When the Japanese start shipping Indian POWs in Dec 1942, they were organized into 26 Indian Worker Parties (IWP) of 500-600 men each, headed by an Indian officer. They normally sailed in a convoy of 2-2.2k men. Based on this, and the different pieces of archive information, the voyages and number of men are:
Voyage 1: One group sailing in December 1942 to New Britain (NB) – there are 2 refs to this. The stated Commander was in NB. This may have been a sole group as it was the start. So 500 went to NB.
Voyage2: On Jan 5, 2000 men sail to NB – 4 groups
Leave Jan 5, 1943, Buyo Maru with Sen’s 500 gets torpedoed and 1500 are on tanker Pacific Maru. Reaches Feb 19. All in AWM.
Voyage 3: On Jan 12, evidence of 1 group (James) sailing for NB. There are refs to this voyage in AWM. Likely to be 4-5 groups totaling 2-2.5k men.
Voyage 4: On May 1, several groups sail to NB (many refs in AWM), likely 4-5 groups of 2-2.5k men. Reach Jun 28.
Till now, we have 13-15 groups shipped.
Voyage 5: On May 5, 4 groups of 2.2k men sail to New Guinea (IWP 16-19). Reached May 16. Detailed a/c by Chint Singh in AWM.
Voyage 6: On May 5, 2000 men set sail in Thames Maru, 520 get dropped off at Pulau on Jun 8 (IWP 15) and the rest go to NB (IWP 20 + likely IWP 21 & 22). Reach July5. Complete details in AWM.
Voyage 7:
- ICWC archives say 30 men dropped off later at Pulau after Voyage 6, so there must have been another voyage.
- Other hints from archives – IWP 26 arrives in NG in Jun 43. In Voyages 5/6 we have identified IWP 16-20 from archives, so there was likely Voyage 7 that included as usual c4 groups of c2k men.
- Hence likely this voyage had IWP 26 with 309 men to NG, IWP 23-5 of 1.5k men to NB and on the way dropped off 30 men at Pulau.
- This ties up a loose end as we had not accounted for IWP 23-5 yet. The total to NB would also tally with the 11k figure mentioned by Crasta. This last point may be a stretch and aI wouldn’t have done it had we not had the other evidence.
From this we have 13-14k men shipped from Singapore of whom 550 went to Pulau, 2.5k to New Guinea, 10-11k to New Britain.
How Many Survived? Pulau, 337/550, New Guinea 204/2.5k, not sure about New Britain (Crasta says 5.3k survivors including 1k hospital cases)
Annexure 3 War Crimes Trials
Tokyo trials was for high-ranking ones like PM Tojo. Besides this US, Australia, UK, China, Holland, Phils conducted over 2000 trials, on atrocities in territories controlled by them.
Courts of inquiry were held as preliminary investigations – were the allegations specific, were witnesses alive, were the accused identified & alive? If so they were interrogated and eventually 100 war crimes trials were held to prosecute the Japanese. A basic tenet of English law is being able to cross-examine a witness. However it was realized that if this was to be followed, then many Japanese could not be tried as their accusers had either died after giving testimony or would have gone home, so a special act was passed that allowed written evidence to be admitted. For some trials, the accusers were brought back from India, as Chint Singh was.
From the trial records one can see that the Japanese defence was well organized. Japanese officers with legal training formed the defence. The accused seemed well trained on how to answer questions – be brief and to the point. Instead of flatly denying accusations such as having beaten POWs, they would admit having pushed them on the shoulder. Senior officers came to provide evidence in court in support of their juniors. In many cases, defense was by Allied officers & they gave it their best.
The official Japanese view was that the Indians were not POWs but sub-soldiers as they had joined the INA (most of those in PNG had not) and were under Japanese military law where any command must be obeyed, and no one is to complain (the reason they gave for senior Japanese officers not knowing conditions were bad). Besides the conditions for the Japanese was as bad. Many POWs were beheaded, shot or bayoneted to death without trial. The Japanese commander General Imamura took responsibility for it all & offered to stand trial for all cases if his men were released. That offer was not taken. Eventually, 100 trials were held and in 66 of them, all or some of the Japanese were found guilty and sentenced to death or a jail sentence ranging from life down to 2 years.
RFHG 