More help please - My great-grandfather, Driver William Hancock, Royal Corps of Signals

Discussion in 'Royal Signals' started by kivo, Jun 22, 2011.

  1. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Dear Assam,

    Thank you for your message about cemeteries.

    Comparison of the names in the 22nd June party and burial sites is not much of a start.I do not have the complete list of the "600' who were in the party. I think it will take several more long visits to our National Archives to try and obtain the full list from the rolls now available.

    Men were split up from their units as a matter of Japanese policy, and the inevitable sickness would have the same effect, so it may be a wild goose chase anyway. I hold out the vain hope that the 22nd June party did not go beyond the 77 kilo mark, and not as far as Niki at 279 kilos.

    By the way, the National Australian Archive's policy of digitisation is a great help. I almost always repeat searches in the UK archives for Far East POW material in the Australian Archives, sometimes discovering a digital copy of the same document as is held by our archives, but the latter not being available free online. The Australian Newspaper digital project - Trove - has been invaluable.

    I came across the report of an Australian officer into missing personnel in Borneo in the UK archives. It was written in about October 1945 and was extremely thorough, given the brief time available for the researching officer to get his work done. I will have to try and find the reference.

    John
     
  2. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    The following document was prepared at the beginning of May, 1945, which may explain why it was prepared in a hurry... It is to be found on the recently released WO361/ 1775.

    This appears to be notes from the de-briefings of returned POWs and answers a lot of the remaining questions.

    There is another typed document in the file which deals with extracts from Colour-Serjeant's Beach's diary.

    Herewith:


    SS/330/82/1/Cas PW

    0103/4347 SECRET

    PRISONERS OF WAR RECOVERED FROM JAPANESE HANDS
    IN THE PHILIPPINES

    INTERROGATION OF CAPTAIN J. GIBSON AND 79 O.Rs.


    Dropmore Camp - 3/4 April, 1945.
    Curzon Street House - 17 April, 1945.
    Bower Wood Camp - 20 April, 1945.

    All of the party was captured at Singapore and confined at CHANGI. They
    were sent to BANPONG, SIAM, in June 1942 in No.2 Group. Here they were employed
    on road-making and camp building. In October 1942 the party moved to CHONGKWAI.
    In November they were joined by the prisoners from No.4 Group. During the
    construction of the railway they occupied various camps in the neighbour of THA
    KHANUN, their stretch of the railway was to the North-West of No.4 Group's stretch.
    No.1 Group occupied HNONG PLA DUK and THA MAKAN. No.3, 5 and 6 Groups were on
    the BURMA end of the line.

    Conditions in No.2 Group during the construction of the railway were
    generally similar to those in other groups. Collective punishments were common
    and discipline was normally enforced by beatings, at least one of which was fatal.
    Officers were made to work by a threat that their men would be given no rations.
    Their work was bridge-making and cable-laying.

    The cholera epidemic commenced in May, 1943. The disease spread down the
    river through bodies being thrown into the water. The lack of sanitary precautions
    on the part of NEI prisoners was criticised.

    The casualty rate among "F" and "H" Forces, sent from Malaya to the railway
    in the summer of 1943, was exceptionally high, (possibly 50%). Captain Gibson
    estimated total white casualties in SIAM at 17,000. Higher estimates were made
    by other members of the party. Names of the dead were carefully recorded by
    officers. In the larger cemeteries, plans of the graves are buried under the
    main crosses, for identification purposes in case the marked crosses on individual
    graves are destroyed.

    The sick were evacuated to THA MAKAN in the latter part of May, 1943. The
    Senior British Officer of this Hospital Camp was Lieut.-Colonel TOOSEY, R.A.
    In October, the prisoners were moved to CHONGKWAI, to make room for Australians.
    There were about 9,000 prisoners in this camp, and 1,000 graves in the cemetery.
    Sick men continued to arrive by barge and train, many dying on the way. The
    death rate in CHONGKWAI was 20 per day during November and December 1943.

    The railway was completed in November 1943, and the evacuation was carried
    out between December and February.

    Conditions at CHONGKWAI, steadily improved. The Camp was reconstructed
    under the direction of Major OUTRAM, R.A., who acted as Senior British Officer.
    In January 1944 a party of 400 fit men were sent to build a hospital camp at
    NAKHON PATHOM. This is a well laid out camp with wooden huts.






    Shelter trenches in these camps were provided for the Japanese guards only.
    The prisoners were ordered to stay in the huts during air-raids. It was
    believed that casualties had occurred among P.W. during an air-raid on PRANG KAZI.
    There were frequent air-raid alerts. Sometimes a Red Cross Flag was displayed
    at CHONGKWAI.

    Quinine was given regularly in the Hospital camps, but there was a
    continuing shortage of other medical supplies.

    About 2,000 Prisoners of War were selected from CHONGKWAI for transfer to
    Japan. In this party the ratio of officers to men was 1 to 150. No officer
    above the rank of Captain was chosen. The party entrained for SINGAPORE on
    1st June; the journey lasted four days. They saw no other prisoners of war
    on the way.

    /In

    In SINGAPORE, the party was accommodated in RIVER VALLEY ROAD Camp. They
    made contact with some Indian P.W., who were delighted to see British officers
    again. There were some British prisoners at CHANGHI, including a number of sick,
    but no contact could be made with them.

    Captain GIBSON and 1,250 men embarked on the HOFOKO MARU on 26th June. After
    much discussion, a certain number of prisoners were allowed to stay on deck after
    the ship left SINGAPORE, but most of the men were confined in two holds, already
    partly filled with cargo. The mens health, which had been undermined by bad
    feeding in SINGAPORE, suffered from the bad accommodation and lack of sufficient
    food and water. The ship was delayed at MIRI, ( BORNEO ) by a broken engine. She
    made MANILA Harbour on 23rd July, and remained here until 20th September.

    While in harbour, 96 men died. The British doctors did everything possible
    to save lives, but their only medical supplies were two cases of American Red
    Cross material, most of which was taken by the Japanese. After many appeals, the
    Japanese allowed 50 of the worst cases, only, to be taken to a camp in MANILA.
    Conditions on board the ship were appalling.

    The HOFOKU MARU finally sailed on 20th March.(sic) She was bombed and sunk by
    American aircraft on 21st September. 71 prisoners of war got ashore on rafts
    and driftwood. Of these, 63 were recaptured and taken to BILIBID and CABANATUAN
    and 8 ( including Captain GIBSON and three Dutch P.W. ) made contact with the
    guerrilla forces. 161 prisoners of war were picked up by Japanese boats, and
    were taken to BILIBID. The remaining prisoners died in the holds or in the water.
    ( NOTE: There are slight discrepancies between the figures given above, obtained
    from interrogations, and those given in Colour-Serjeant BEACH's Diary ).

    The remainder of the party from SIAM, consisting of 750 men under Captain
    R. HALL, R.A. left SINGAPORE on the ARSARKA (?) MARU on 4th July, ( having
    embarked on 18th June). Conditions were similar to those on the HOFOKU MAKU.
    She made MANILA on 16th July, and remained in harbour for some time. As far as
    is known, only 3 men died on board this ship. Colour Sergeant BEACH and 20
    other sick men, were taken on shore to BILIBID. 31 sick were similarly landed
    on 25th June. The remaining prisoners on board this ship are known to have
    reached JAPAN, cards having been received from OSAKA Camp.





    Conditions in BILIBID and CABANATUAN were much better than in the camps in
    SIAM. Red Cross supplies were comparitively abundant. Drafts were taken from
    the camps to JAPAN at intervals, as mentioned in the appended diary. It is
    thought that 40 British prisoners of war were on board the transport which was
    sunk in December.

    The Japanese do not appear to have made any effort to remove the prisoners
    at BILIBID or CABANATUAN when the American forces landed. Orders were issued that
    the prisoners must remain in the camps; if found outside, they would be treated
    as combatants.

    Captain GIBSON and the other members of this party spoke highly of the
    excellent treatment which they had received at the hands of all American and
    Australian authorities concerned in their repatriation.



    P.W.2.(c) James Leigh
    Curzon St. House, W.1. Major
    D.A.A.G.
    MAYfair 9400/Ext....
    4 May, 1945

    DISTRIBUTION:

    A.G. M.I.9 ( 4 copies) H.C. for Canada
    D.A.G.(A) P.W.2. (b) & (c) ( A. Bell, Esq.)
    D.P.W. P.W.3. 5. H.C. for Australia
    D.D.P.W. F.4. (PW) ( Maj. J.L. Lenehan) (3 copies)
    D.D.M.I./PW Cas.(PW) (3 copies) India Office ( A.R. Swinnerton)
    D.F.(d) PW Liaison Officer Colonial Office ( Lt. Col. Cole)
    M.O.12. B.A.S. Washington Air Ministry ( Group Capt. Burgess)
    M.I.2
     

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