| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | 118855 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white |
| Physical description | Black & white |
| Maker |
Stuckey, Norman Bradford |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Nakom Paton, Thailand. 18 September 1945. Allied ex-prisoners of war (POWs) of the Japanese who ...
Description
Nakom Paton, Thailand. 18 September 1945. Allied ex-prisoners of war (POWs) of the Japanese who are patients in ward 18 of the Nakom Paton POW Hospital Camp. These men were working on the Japanese defence positions at Nieke near the Burma-Thailand border when the enemy surrendered and are now being treated for recurrent malaria. Pictured, left to right: Signaller L. C. Newman, 8th Australian Division Signals; Private (Pte) H. Forrest, 2/20th Australian Infantry Battalion; Pte H. F. Harding, 105th Australian General Transport Company; Pte N. Crowther, 2/20th Australian Infantry Battalion; Pte W. H. Yeo, 2/2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion. In January 1944, using POW and native labour, the Japanese began the construction of this major POW hospital for the chronically ill and amputees at Nakom Paton, on the main Singapore-Thailand railway, fifty six kilometres west of Bangkok. Lieutenant Colonel A. E. Coates, Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC) was appointed as Chief Medical Officer. At its peak the camp contained 7,353 POWs.