Seeking copyright holders
The Memorial’s Research Centre Digitised Collections team digitises archival collections at risk of deterioration. This process helps to preserve the original items and enables the selected collections to be accessed online in future.
The Memorial is seeking permission from the copyright holders to publish the collections listed below. If you are a copyright holder, a relation, or a descendant of the persons named below, please contact the Memorial via email: Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au
Frederick Edwin Stahl, 1909–1996
Frederick Edwin Stahl was born 12 March 1909 at Northcote, Victoria, to Charlotte Bloomfield Stahl (née Page) and James George Stahl.
In 1939 he married Elaine Fortune Steel (1915–2012), who from then on was known as Elaine Fortune Stahl. Their marriage produced two sons: Fred Stahl Jr. and Leslie Vance Stahl (1946–2019).
Fred Stahl enlisted at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, in 1940. During the Second World War he served as QX6306 Captain F.E. Stahl in the 8th Division Signals. When Singapore fell in 1942 he was taken as a prisoner of war by Japanese forces and was moved to various work camps along the Thailand–Burma Railway until the war ended in 1945. For his outstanding devotion to duty and courage, Stahl was Mentioned in Despatches and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Frederick Edwin Stahl died on 3 June 1996 in South Australia, at the age of 87.
The Australian War Memorial holds a handwritten diary for April–August 1945 relating to Stahl’s internment. If you are a copyright holder, a relation, or a descendant of Frederick Edwin Stahl, please contact the Memorial via email on Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au.
Collection number: 3DRL/7410
John Norman (Jack) Watt, 1918–2009
John Norman Watt, commonly known as Jack, was born on 13 December 1918 at Canterbury, Victoria, to Nellie Victoria May Watt (née Hough) and George Percival Norman Watt.
Jack Watt worked as a bank clerk before enlisting in 1939. During the Second World War he served as VX39383 Captain J. N. Watt in the Australian Army Pay Corps, as AIF Command Paymaster of Changi prisoner-of-war camp between February 1942 and 1946. Jack Watt was promoted to Major and Mentioned in Dispatches.
In 1946 he married Charlotte (Pete) King Davies (1919–2012), who from then was known as Charlotte King Watt. The marriage produced three children: Roy Watt, Faye Lambert (née Watt), and Julie Watt. Jack Watt’s post-war career included positions such as CEO for Cox Brothers department store chains, development executive at Woolworths, and business owner of Burdines, a women’s fashion chain.
John Norman (Jack) Watt died on 25 October 2009, in Victoria, at the age of 90.
The Australian War Memorial holds a collection of papers relating to Watt’s internment and service in the Royal Australian Army Pay Corps, 1942–1946. If you are a copyright holder, a relation, or a descendant of Jack Watt, please contact the Memorial via email on Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au.
Collection number: AWM2016.51.1
John Alwyn Meillon, 1916–1961
John Alwyn Meillon was born on 11 April 1916 at Newcastle, New South Wales, to Kathleen Mary Meillon (née Flynn) and Louis Meillon.
Meillon worked as a solicitor before enlisting in 1939. He served as NX33560 Lieutenant J. A. Meillon in the 2/30 Australian Infantry Battalion during the Malayan Campaign. When Singapore fell in 1942, he was taken as a prisoner of war by Japanese forces until he returned home in October 1945.
In 1946 he married Yvonne Adele Parmentier (1919–2018), who from then on was known as Yvonne Adele Meillon. The marriage produced two children: Madeleine Meillon and Michael Meillon.
John Alwyn Meillon died on 20 November 1961 in New South Wales, at the age of 45.
A two-page typed article written by John Meillon titled “PAY” exists within the papers of VX39383 Captain John Norman (Jack) Watt’s collection. It describes his thoughts on the prisoner-of-war pay distribution scheme established by the Japanese Army. If you are a copyright holder, a relation, or a descendant of John Alwyn Meillon, please contact the Memorial via email on Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au.
Collection number: AWM2016.51.1
“Willie the Twerp”
In the pages of VX39383 Captain John Norman (Jack) Watt’s diary there is a handwritten letter signed by a fellow prisoner-of-war, “Willie the Twerp.” Willie’s full name and details are unknown to the Memorial.
The letter dated 31 October 1942 was addressed to “Messrs Elliott, Watt & de Little” who are Jack William Weir (John) Elliot, John Norman (Jack) Watt, and Alan Giblin de Little. In his letter ‘Willie’ talks about the long hours of work to move food supplies for incoming working parties returning from Java’ breaking anticipated social engagements’ and his “unhappy and unrecognised Cinderella existence.”
If you are aware of Willie’s identity, or are a copyright holder, a relation, or a descendant of Willie, please contact the Memorial via email on Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au.
Collection number: AWM2016.51.1
David Hardacre
David Hardacre was a volunteer with the Royal Australian Army Pay Corps Museum at Simpson Barracks, Watsonia, Victoria. In 2015 he compiled a research paper and analysis of the VX39383 Captain John Norman ‘Jack’ Watt collection that consists of personal diaries and papers relating to his service as AIF Command Paymaster of Changi. David Hardacre’s typed research paper on Watt’s material now exists within the digitised collection of Jack Watt’s private record at the Australian War Memorial.
If you are a copyright holder, or a relation of David Hardacre, please contact the Memorial via email on Digitised.Collections@awm.gov.au.
Collection number: AWM2016.51.1