Life as a Japanese POW
Click on the image below to access on online exhibition "Colours Behind Barbed Wires: A Prisoner of War's story through Haxworth's sketches" which depicts the living conditions of the POWs interned at Changi Gaol in the form of sketches.
source: National Archives of Singapore
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The artwork of Des Bettany - POW in Changi ** sketchesDes Bettany was among the many POWs working around Singapore to clear up and salvage damaged equipment for the Japanese war effort. View his sketches depicting scenes from life as a Prisoner of War.
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Lost sketches of life inside Japanese PoW campAn article showing samples of some sketches of life as a POW found by a British war veterans family.
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Fall of Singapore: Veterans remember life as Japanese PoWsTwo war veterans from the East of England mark the 70th anniversary of the fall of Singapore
Wartime Kitchen - Food and eating in Singapore
Changi quilts
When Singapore surrendered to the invading Japanese army early in 1942, many British service personnel and civilians – including women and children – were sent to an internment camp at Changi Prison.
Men were separated from the women and children, and there was little contact between them so families didn’t know if their loved ones had survived.
In the video below, Olga Henderson talks about life as a child in a prisoner of war camp and the Changi Quilt.
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The Changi quiltsThree quilts are known to exist and it is probable that there was a fourth as the quilts were intended to be presented to the Red Cross Societies of Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan at the cessation of hostilities.
War heroes
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Infopedia - Mamoru ShinozakiMamoru Shinozaki (b. 19 February 1908, Japan – d. 1991) was a Japanese government official stationed in Singapore before and during the Japanese Occupation. Sometimes referred to as the “Japanese Schindler”, Shinozaki is known for issuing government passes that saved the lives of many Chinese and Eurasians as well as other humanitarian acts during the Occupation
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Infopedia - Lim Bo SengMajor-General Lim Bo Seng was a prominent Hokkien businessman who undertook active leadership in anti-Japanese activities during World War II and is recognised as a local war hero in Singapore.
Operation Sook ching
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Infopedia - Operation Sook ChingOperation Sook Ching was a Japanese military operation aimed at purging or eliminating anti-Japanese elements from the Chinese community in Singapore..
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The Battle of Singapore, the Massacre of Chinese and Understanding of the Issue in Postwar JapanHayashi Hirofumi recounts the details of the "Sook ching" incident, why the massacre took place and how it is being presented in post-war Japan
Force 136
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Infopedia - Force 136 (Operation Gustavus in Malaya)Force 136 ×
Force 136 was a British-led underground resistance group that operated in Malaya during World War II. There were about 50 members in the group which performed acts of sabotage and espionage against the Japanese. -
Tun Ibrahim IsmailTun Ibrahim Ismail, was a Special Operations Executive officer who pulled off a daring 10-month triple-cross while a prisoner of the Japanese during the Second World War.
Read in this article about the sequence of events in Force 136.
Selarang incident
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Selarang Barracks - Infopedia"In 1942, four POWs attempted an escape from the Japanese but were recaptured. To prevent such future attempts, the Japanese wanted all POWs to sign a pledge of non-escape. This act contravened the Geneva Convention, which gave POWs the right to escape. The prisoners refused. To coerce them into signing, the Japanese crammed some 15,000 men, including the British POWs from the Changi camp, into the Selarang Barracks which was originally intended for 800-1200 men. "
A war hero returns...
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Horror of the fall recalled in PoW homage"No one who wasn't here can understand it," Mr Sharpe said softly, as if to himself. "No one can imagine it. There is no way of describing what happened to us and what we saw." These are the words of Mr Jack Sharpe who returned to the site of his incarceration for the first time in 2012