Japanese POW

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by Alisonmallen, Apr 12, 2019.

  1. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    i have very recently discovered a relative on my grans side, her cousin, who died in a Japanese Pow camp. Can anyone help with further information on him please? I discovered a while back his father died during the first war of illness and believed there to only be one son. It seems there were two.
    1063513 Leading Aircraftman Ernest Monteith Reid RAF Volunteer Reserve died in POW camp 29/11/1943 and no known grave. Singapore memorial.
    I would love to know why he was there, had he been in a planet crash or stationed there. What did he die of and so on. Anything is helpful thank you
     
  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  3. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current
    Name: Ld Aircftmn Ernest Montieth Reid
    Maiden Name:
    Death Date: 29 Nov 1943
    Cemetery: Singapore Memorial
    Burial or Cremation Place: Kranji, North West, Singapore
    Has Bio?: N
    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56233388

    Suez Maru


    1063513
    Leading Aircraftman Reid, Ernest Montieth
    Database

    TD

    Bonefish (SS-223) of the US Navy - American Submarine of the Gato class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net
    The Suez Maru Atrocity;
    On the early morning of 26 November 1943 about 350 sick POW's from Liang Camp arrive at the Port of Ambon and are straight away embarked on the Suez Maru. In the mean time the POW's ......................................................................................
     
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  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

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  5. ozzy16

    ozzy16 Well-Known Member

    Came across this earlier.
    Graham.
    emr.jpg
     
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  6. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    Thank you for this so he was put onto the Suez Maru and torpedoed? How awful and sad. I thought I would possibly see that he got Ill and died in a camp. That family had a hard time from both wars it is no wonder my g-grandfather didn’t want my gran to marry a soldier. She did though.
     
  7. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    Is there any way of knowing if he was ill or wounded when put on the ship?
     
  8. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Picking up info from the POW index card posted by Graham. Ernest was captured on the 8th March 1942 (Java) and seems to have been held in possibly two different camps before boarding the Suez Maru. There might be more details on the reverse of the index card written in Kanji Japanese characters, but it is likely that the information will centre around his death on the ship.

    I don't hold a subscription to FMP, so am not sure if the reverse of these cards is available on line?
     
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  9. ozzy16

    ozzy16 Well-Known Member

    Cheers Steve,
    Didn't show anything.

    Graham.
     
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  10. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    Well thank you both anyhow for looking. I need to research more as I know nothing about this man. I had known of the father and brother but didn’t pick up there was a second son. So he had been send to Java then with the RAF? I dnt know what his job would have been, I mean was he ground crew for example. I will try and send for his war record.
     
  11. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    My knowledge and information on RAF FEPOWs is somewhat limited. A considerable number of RAF ground crew and admin staff had been sent to Singapore in anticipation of air reinforcements which in practice never happened. Being surplus, unarmed and untrained in ground fighting, many were evacuated to Java prior to the fall of Singapore. Ernest may have been amongst these or he may have been stationed at one of the airfields in Sumatra or Java.
    I would however be reasonably confident that Ernest was in a Party of 2,070, mainly RAF, which departed Jaarmarkt Camp (Java) for Haruku (Haroekoe) on 26 Apr 1943 on the Amagi Maru and the Matsukawa Maru. The sick from this Party were removed from Ambon on the Suez Maru on 25 Nov 1943. Much more detail is contained in this article, which also has a book list for further reading.
    Haruku
    Hopefully something else will turn up for you to make a definite connection. Researching FEPOWs is a bit like a jigsaw, suddenly you find the right piece and a bit more falls into place.

    Tim
     
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  12. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Your so right Tim, one piece of info leads to another and a door opens up. I used to be able to access the Cofepow database of POW's, but for good reasons no doubt the organisation has restricted access to registered members

    Still, they may have some more information for you Alison, here is the link and contact details are at the bottom of the page:

    Research Database | COFEPOW
     
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  13. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    As regards the COFEPOW database. An explanation in the COFEPOW newsletter:
    Whilst on the subject of the website, it
    may be apparent to researchers that the
    separate COFEPOW database is no longer
    available. It was originally set up many years
    ago with the help of member Tony McQuaid
    and his team of volunteers, who worked
    tirelessly to upload and maintain the site.
    Frustrated for years by technical difficulties,
    however, the original purpose of the site
    could not be fulfilled, particularly with
    regard to the Liberation Questionnaires.
    The trustees elected therefore to use a
    different method to provide this information,
    which, although presented more basically,
    proved successful and reliable. In turn, the
    database was no longer a viable facility. The
    trustees recognised it was still a useful tool
    and so allowed it to continue until its domain
    name became renewable this year. With no
    new data added to it since 2014, Bigfork, the
    site management providers, confirmed that
    the language and technical platform are
    no longer used and that they would not be
    able to continue to maintain it
    . No further
    expense on it could be justified, so the
    decision was made to cease maintenance
    of the database. We understand some
    researchers may miss it, although we are
    sure members will understand the reasons
    and will not be disadvantaged. We already
    provide data and information free, where
    elsewhere a fee is charged.

    Tim
     
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  14. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    So helpful many thanks folks - yes a jigsaw because I have been researching various war topics/soldiers in the family for 35 years and just found this link it is amazing.
     
  15. ozzy16

    ozzy16 Well-Known Member

    This might be worth a follow up. Sorry I don't have access to the newspapers.

    Graham.
    np1.jpg
     
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  16. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    The newspaper is the Londonderry sentinel and I think I have all info on each family member from it since 1900 it was actually where I realised who the brother was as I know the Princes St address well! It never ceases to amaze me what you find out! That bit finished by saying he had just received a letter from him.
     
  17. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    I realise it was also reported in Belfast! The sentinel had a lot more Reid info and I found a late uncle went to court and was fined for playing football on a piece of grass at the end of the street poor thing
     
  18. The_Stonker

    The_Stonker Active Member

    I have just now seen your question, and I don't think it has been answered.

    Put simply, anyone who was a captive of the Imperial Japanese Army rapidly became ill, as a consequence of overwork, undernourishment and routine brutality of the most extreme sort.

    I am at a loss to understand why the Allied prisoners aboard the Suez Maru were being shipped to Java: given the appalling abuse to which they were subjected, daily, it is not remotely credible that humane considerations were behind the Japanese decision to declare them "sick".

    Nor did the Japanese take the trouble to comply with Geneva Convention standards, by clearly marking the Suez Maru as carrying POW, further reinforcing my view that the welfare of their captives was the last thing on the mind(s) of whomever it was that ordered that they be loaded aboard the Suez Maru.
     
  19. Alisonmallen

    Alisonmallen Well-Known Member

    Yes I have wondered that point myself but perhaps as there was a lot of disease it was an easy method of clearing out disease by removing those riddled. It also meant that they were killed by Americans as opposed to Japan
     
  20. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    A popular misconception. There was nothing in the Geneva Convention regarding the marking of ships carrying POWs. The only markings recognised are those for Hospital Ships. For Hospital Ships it was a requirement that they only carried wounded or sick personnel and medical staff. Most of the Japanese Hell ships also carried troops and cargo. Allied ships carrying German and Italian POWs were also not marked and several were also sunk. The Red Cross had tried to have a recognised marking for POW carrying ships but this was rejected by the US and UK.

    Tim
     
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