However, many of this group were repatriated by US Navy, including, it seems, your father. You are not to say anything to anyone until after you have written out your statement and handed it in. In Britain, mercy ships came in to Liverpool or Southampton, with just a few naval vessels docking at Portsmouth. Hi Ally, my Dad Eric Barnes an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander liberated from Japan completed his final leg of the journey home from New York to Southampton on the Queen Mary… he arrived on Nov 7th 45…. I have a few questions to ask: A forum community dedicated to Ships, boats, and vessel owners and enthusiasts. But the military police rounded him up and he was sent back to NZ. I am writing a novel about a soldier who in 1941 was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and forced to work on the Railway of Death. I didn’t even realise that on the Monowai in September 1945 they conducted a theatre program – my dad painted the fliers for this see https://changipowart.com/archives/4754 I will gladly add in any omissions and am also happy to make corrections, with proof. USS Oconto was part of the first convoy to arrive in Tokyo Bay Click link to read more about Operation Magic Carpet The US hospital ships Rescue and Benevolence initially stayed in harbour triaging POW. She was sunk off Bougie a few days later. Some ships also carried German/Austrian/Italian PoWs who were sent to camps in England.  Catalinas, Dakotas and Liberator aircraft are known to have been used, especially for flights to Australia and India. Some were nothing more than a camp at the side of a river or were hidden deep in the jungle. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the story further… Hi Ally, Once they had cleared a path, the first convoy came alongside Keppel wharves on Wednesday 5th September 1945 … He was held prisoner in tiouksu#2/6, Kinkaseki and Kukutsu camps. 485 British civilians (incl 45 Australian POW), Processed 10,000 of the sickest POW. Posted in National Service, Troop Ship Details | Tagged National Serviceman in the RASC, Singapore April 1952 | 5 Replies Jan 1961 was a very memorable cruise. Camps like Sime Road in Singapore were renovated and reused as Transit Camps for newly recovered Allied citizens. Keep up the good work! On the fifteenth he wrote General Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of ABDACOM (American-British-Dutch-Australian Command), about Singapore. See end for disclaimers and addendum’s. POW/internees, Route: Sydney - Morotai - Kuching - Labuan - Morotai - Balikpapan, Morotai - Brisbane - Sydney, embarked 34,600 rescued POWs plus 3,300 sick in hospital ships. Usually list-compilers see theirs as the final answer. In other instances, I found reports of expected arrivals but not the actual arrival. There are two troop ships that you hear very little about, they were Empire Parkston and the Wansbeck, these were known as ST's (sick tubs). Although comprehensive, this list is in no way complete. Between Jan 3 and Feb 5, 1942 ten convoys arrived at Singapore carrying over 30,000 troops. Had Churchill wanted to, could a Dunkirk evacuation be possible? Arrangements have been made for you to tell your story to interrogating officers who will get you to write it down. Presumably back to Britain. A Japanese Navy photograph (extensively highlighted for propaganda effect) showing HMS Prince of Wales at upper left and Repulse beside it slightly close to the camera. For Edwards, as with all the troops, life on the ship was a new experience for them and I would imagine it embodied much of what they had envisioned the war to be. As always, there were variants. The ship was ordered by the British India Steam Navigation Company, from the Barclay Curle shipyard in Glasgow, and when completed she was chartered by the Government to carry troops. I went to Kuching and visited the camp. The records of ships used to carry troops to their theaters of operations were destroyed intentionally in 1951. He was taken to Australia in a RAF bomber and eventually, with a lot of other fepow’s boarded a ship for Esquimalt, Canada. "According to our [U. S. National Archives] records, in 1951 the Department of the Army destroyed all passenger lists, manifests, logs of vessels, and troop movement files of United States Army Transports for World War II." Source: Troopships of World War II by Roland W. Charles, published by the Army Transportation Association, Washington, D.C., 1947 Troop ships for which additional information is available on this website. I’ve included a few flights in the list to give an idea, but there were many more. To access these you will need to pay the subscription of 8.95 for a month. In some cases naval vessels were used, and where known I have noted those. You have provided vital information never seen before…..at least by my eyes. After taking six months to recover, being only 6 stone on release and nearly blind, his sight recovered after large helping of Marmite (vitamin B) he took over his father’s hairdresser’s shop -father having passed away in 1943 due to gas from the 1st. My father Ssgt. Off To The Sudan AKA Sundan (1932) “HMS GLORY was then deployed on trooping duties and took passage to Manila to embark Prisoners of War for passage to Esquimalt in Canada where they were to return to UK. 382 British for Akl, 54 Australian for Sydney. An estimated 10 million Chinese were killed by the Japanese invading forces, including entire villages. Come join the discussion about crew logs, maritime history, shipping lines, shipwrecks, cruise ships, weather, and more! " Many were never reported to Japanese HQ and some had already closed before Japan surrendered. He stayed on in the Army and rose to the rank of Major, he went back to Singapore in the 1960s and served three years with the Malaysian Army. The fall of Singapore was one of the greatest embarrassments the British ever had because they had 125,000 troops there and … Going to Java in March and trying to find out more info. 116 PoW, 348 wounded military, arrived late at night (no official welcome), biggest RAF (2720) repat held up in Mercy (storm), 1460 (including 37 Canadian sick and 119 fit) + 3 more trips, Was one of four "Bay" ships to enter service (Largs, Esperance, Jervis), AIF 23 officers, 18 other ranks + 1 NZ + 3 merchant navy, 1000 civilian, 900 POW: army, navy, RAAF held up in Mercyside, 4,500 troops from Far East (not sure if she carried POW), 1000 Europeans incl 75 civilians ex Sime Rd, caught fire on 17 Oct 45 and 811 Indian + 9 British PoWs transferred to HMS Safoin, 659 AIF PoW. My paternal grandfather was OIC Troops on the Queen Mary (troopship) for an early trip from NZ to Egypt. As such, the East Indies, including Singapore, was a major target for them. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Refitted, she was used as a pilgrim ship to Jeddah and was eventually scrapped at Taiwan in 1971. My father, FEPOW, Able seaman William Coates Nicholls, who passed away in 2007, aged 87, told me that he left Singapore, soon after the Japanese surrender on the Cruise Ship, ‘Canberra’ and he had a photograph of the ship. Thankfully their descendants are not like them these days. The arrows indicate attacks by Japanese forces. My father John Joseph Higgins Royal Artillery 944840 was at the fall of Singapore, liberated 02/09/1945 from Burma, we think he arrived in Liverpool in November 1945, we don’t have any photographs of my father when he was a young man, i was wondering if there would be any military photo’s in the army archives and how would we get some copies. It is more than likely that, since he mentioned Hawaii and Canada, he was on a ship from Japan to Hawaii to Canada. He would then have been taken by rail across the continent where he would have embarked another ship to the UK. Estimates put the number at about 130,000 (not including local Asian populations.). Many, especially those from eastern seaboards, were shipped up through Pearl Harbor to Canada, where they were taken by special hospital trains to the Atlantic for shipping home. I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of Allied mercy ships (and air-craft) which were used to recover and repatriate British Commonwealth Far Eastern Prisoners of the Japanese imperialists (FEPOW) including civilian internees. Churchill’s attention did turn to Singapore when the Japanese were in a position to threaten the Malay Peninsula in January 1942. Actually thousands of people came to meet the majority of repatriation ships that arrived in October and November 1945. After initially serving as a POW in Thailand on the Death Railway he was sent to Japan to work in the mines. Built in 1921 with a gross tonnage of 16,280 and named Cameronia. 23/6/46, Carried wounded POW to San Fransisco 12/12/45. With the limited information I’ve got, I’m thinking it’s a possibility he may have been on the Australian navy ship Canberra when he either arrived in Singapore or was captured and left on a cruise ship, but has muddled the two names? As an Infantry Landing Ship she carried 1 Surreys from Greenock to North Africa for the 1 st Army landings in November 1942. FEPOW Repatriation Ships as they arrived October 1945 Embarked: Monowai 8 Singapore Tegelberg 9 Singapore Empire Pride 12 Rangoon Boissevain 12 Rangoon Mooltan 14 Singapore Nieuw Holland 15 Singapore Worcestershire 16 Rangoon Orduna 19 Rangoon Britannic 21 Singapore Sobieski 23 Singapore Georgic 25 Singapore Antenor 27 Singapore Empress of Australia 27 Hong Kong Cilicia … From Halifax my father nether did relate which ship he had from there but I have been told that he most probably embarked on the Queen Elizabeth to Southampton but I see that the Iie de France sailed 4 days earlier so he could have been on that one. He said that he travelled across the Rockies by train and that they had a ticker-tape welcome in New York. The second ship, the City of Sydney, is shown being escorted by two harbor tugs. My father in law, John/Jack FYALL was from Lee, London, SE 12 and joined the territorials 118th Field Regt, 18th Division on 28.04. Countries where Allied prisoner camps were situated are: Japan, Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Java, Federated Malay States including Singapore, Burma, Siam (Thailand), Borneo, Korea, New Guinea, and Formosa (Taiwan). Singapore's Duty & Tax Import Laws. Then I can work on ships. However, it is true, especially in the case of PoW’s and government employees, that the public were sometimes kept away from the areas immediately adjacent to the wharf to allow for efficient disembarkation and/or because of potential infectious diseases. By October 18th, 1945 the situation in Singapore alone was: There were well over 220 concentration camps, Kempetai jails, or other PoW facilities in the Far East (some reports run to nearly 500). For questions or comments about this site, please e-mail ww2_troopships@comcast.net. I was 19 years old. It is not known exactly how many Allied civilian internees were captured because records were either not kept or were destroyed. PoW’s were then generally required to report to camp for demobilisation and release or sent to hospitals. Would you have any info of my Grandfather Fred Painter who was a driver/gunner in the 5th Rgt Royal Artillery. I wonder whether there are any local, London resources available, which might give me further information regarding his situation? In any case, thank you for the work you have done to give us all this information; it means a great deal to all of us. British were sent to hospitals in India or New Zealand. A few months later, merchant shipping again provided yeoman service by evacuating the same troops from the ports of Hungnam and Wonsan, following the intervention of the People's Republic of China into the conflict. Use the next button to move down the list. If your total parcel is valued over 400 SGD, you will likely be subject to a 7% Singapore … This was a risky operation considering the August 15th surrender was not formalised until September 2nd, and Allied forces only landed in Japan on August 28th. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. MS Dunera Troop Ship To School Ship Posted on March 28, 2013 by Mike Finding March 25, 2013 Renamed Empire Clyde in 1953. My Aunt worked in the war office and was able to let my Mother know he was on his way home. Canada was also a popular route home for British ex-prisoners. This was a Haskell class attack transport belonging to the American Navy for the purpose of troop transport. Many were located adjacent to potential RAF targets. That is just what will happen to the families of your comrades who died in that way if you start talking to all and sundry about your experiences. It was a bit of a joke, since he was the highest ranking army officer on board. Nov.1960 was bought by the China Navigation Co and renamed KUALA LUMPUR. I’d like to add that according to my Great Grandfather’s Changi POW diaries he left Keppel Harbour aboard the Moreton Bay with a ‘covettte escort’ on 13th September at 14:00 hrs, arriving in Madras on the 19th September 1945 at 09:00 hrs. It was decided very early on, that the ex-prisoners were in no condition for long flights to the United Kingdom. I’m sorry, I no longer have time to research individual cases, but have put my existing research online for others to use and expand on. Relatives were sometimes told to welcome them at camp rather than on the wharf. But I can only find HMAS Canberra which apparently sunk in Aug 1942 at Solomon Islands, P&O Cruise Ship Canberra which did become a troopship during the Faulklands War but wasn’t launched until 1961 and USS Canberra which was in Boston undergoing repairs between Feb-Oct 1945. Peoples war, the BBC website had an interesting story of a guy who was on a troop ship at that time and records that half the troops went to the Western Desert and the other half to Singapore and some of the ships went via Capetown and others via Durban. We can only imagine the stress these parents must have lived under. Possibly disembarked Commonwealth POW in Hawaii, Hospital Ship, sat in harbour processing sick Allied POW, Civilians incl women/children, POW, Military, British FEPOW taking on board the 198 from Reaper, Hospital ship, wounded POW/internees. Good luck with your search. He caught a train back to Bridgwater and all the we coming party were still there to give him a fantastic welcome home. I got the impression that he went to R&R via New York, but reading the other posts on this site it could have been the other way round. I think we could maybe begin to move on if the Japanese government would only own up and admit they did wrong, apologise and possibly compensate. Unfortunately Dad slept through the stop and woke up at Taunton. Im also trying to follow my fathers repatriation after being liberated by the US military. 423 most seriously ill, mainly from Changi. My Dad was in the Philippines and was neither wounded nor captured, but this gives me a window into the world he experienced and would never talk about. From http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-04CV-Glory.htm If anyone has an interest in the CoFEPOW organisation from West Sussex / South London, please get in touch. Arr Marshal Is. Paula. 354 British and Australian. Some were horrific hellholes and others were merely ordinary houses with severe curfews. Its naval personnel transported prisoners to the bay and onto hospital ships. 5864 returned personnel, POW & internees. Was there an older cruise ship named Canberra? Whereas the British operation was largely finished by the end of November with the stragglers coming in by Feb/Mar/Apr 1946. He spent the rest of WW2 in the home guard as area commander. He got home I think in late October 1946. Love to see somebody prepared to add information to an existing list, well done! In general, Australians were sent to hospitals in Moratai and Labuan. The crowded troop ships arrived safely, giving the soldiers, sailors and Marines a great sense of relief. If he was on a USS ship, it is likely that he would have been transferred off at Pearl Harbour for a Commonwealth ship to Canada. PoW’s on some British repatriation ships, eg: HMNZS Monowai, were warned by the O.C. Special trains and/or volunteer caravans were arranged to transport new arrivals. Devonshire also was used to carry troops to Juno Beach as part of the ‘D’ Day landings in June 1944. Repatriated naval officers occasionally hitched a ride on naval vessels. Click here to view a site map. APOLOGIES IF YOUR COMMENTS HAVE DISAPPEARED: First they were told that hearing the truth would only bring untold misery to those who had lost sons and husbands. Selected Troopships of WWII - Scroll down to see total list. As he states that he was bound for Manila I am assuming that he was transferred to the HMS Implacable which you show left Manila 3 Oct 1945. In Singapore the first British Navy cruisers to arrive in the Harbour were the Sussex and Cleopatra along with their minesweepers and destroyers. The ships, now known as DM-1, departed the Addu Atoll on January 5 and arrived in Singapore on the 13th. Recovering the thousands of Australian citizens was the responsibility of the Australian Government, but coordinated by the local RAPWI authorities (Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Civilian Internees.) I estimate that it comprises only a half of the ships used to repatriate Commonwealth FEPOW. Hi Ally, I have tried to find my Fathers route home for a long time without success. Landed 35 Canadians in Manila, abt 25 RAF in groups of 4-14 men over the week, 1000 PoW and 200 internees (left Colombo abt 19 Sep), 1000+ liberated Allied prisoners. “Dispositions, 22nd Brigade, 10 p.m. 8th February” – the positions of Australian forces around Sarimbun, Singapore, 8 February 1942. Regards Mal, Hi Ally,firstly thanks for putting this list together i would like to add that Nieuw holland sailed from singapore to liverpool 15/9/45 via colombo,suez,port said,gibralter my fathers diary says arriveduk 16/10/45but i expect that was when they dissembarked He had his fortieth birthday, 4th Sept 1945 still a prisoner. not to speak about the contemptible horrors they had witnessed when they disembarked. In 1845 P&O services were extended to Singapore and the Far East and in 1852 they started a bi-monthly Singapore to Australia service. Six of the nine armoured troop carriers belonging to Singapore, from a shipment detained at a container terminal, are seen in Hong Kong, China November 24, 2016. Therefore the arrival dates may be wrong by a few days for some entries, as ships were occasionally held up by: weather, wharf strikes, passenger walk-offs, destination changes, waiting at Suez Canal, etc. I have not initially included the prefix for ships, as most of them are well known troopships or hospital ships and newspaper reports of the day did not always use a prefix. Anything to anyone until after you have information about a crossing, please submit your information found it fascinating POW! Closed before Japan surrendered ‘ when I was at New Zealand, wounded! 1942 ten convoys arrived at Singapore carrying over 30,000 troops, shipwrecks, cruise ships, weather and. Troops to Juno Beach as part of the business, retiring in 1984 to live at Burnham-on-Sea and... 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