The Secret Broom Radio
Lieutenant Russell Francis Wright of the 8th Division was captured by Japanese forces in February 1942. In July, he was taken as a prisoner of war to Changi. While held in captivity, he and a small circle of fellow Allied prisoners of war designed and constructed a wireless receiver. To avoid detection by Japanese authorities, the device - approximately 40 x 10 x 10 cm in size - was concealed in the head of a broom. Wright used the radio to disseminate reliable news bulletins directly transcribed from Allied broadcasts.
Lieutenant Russell Francis Wright provides a demonstration of his disguised wireless set, Singapore, 15 September 1945. Photographer unknown, 117200.
The presence of the radio remained secret to all but four of Wright’s fellow officers who shared living space in Wright’s hut. Despite multiple thorough and extensive searches of the camp and its surrounds, the Japanese never found the device.
Lieutenant Wright assembling the wireless set, Singapore, 15 September 1945. Photographer unknown, 117199.
Wright used the receiver to listen to and record three to four Morse broadcasts per night. Taking rough notes on strips of paper, he would transcribe the information and commit it to memory before sharing with trusted fellow prisoners, who would pass on the news to others.
The fully assembled broom-head with Wright’s concealed radio-receiver, Singapore, 15 September 1945. Photographer unknown, 117197.
As the news circulated, prisoners were kept informed and morale was boosted.
Together with his small organisation of trusted fellow prisoners, Wright helped to smuggle radio equipment to prisoner of war camps in Singapore, Burma, Thailand and Borneo. He devised concealed devices to fit within a shooting stick, a concertina, a clock, and a table leg.
On 15 September 1945, after the end of the war, a documentary film was recorded featuring Wright and his comrades demonstrating their innovations.
On 26 October 1945, Wright’s story was published on the front page of the Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser, in an article entitled “Broom Radio Brings News to War Prisoners”.
For his services, Lieutenant Wright was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1947. He survived to the age of 91, passing away on 22 April 2012.