Accession Number | S04072 |
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Collection type | Sound |
Measurement | 56 min 32 sec |
Object type | Memoir |
Physical description | audio cassette; unbranded C90; mono |
Maker |
Kirley, Walter Edward |
Date made | 8 August 1984 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial This item is licensed under CC BY-NC |
Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Permission of copyright holder required for any use and/or reproduction. |
NX72938 Walter Edward Kirley as a Private, 2/20 Battalion and prisoner of the Japanese, 1941-45, [reminiscence]
Starts by correction of recollections of events at Changi in another book. As a POW 'D' Force - talks about receiving Red Cross parcel; 13 March 1943 - first 500 POWs to leave Changi /Singapore by train in steel trucks; conditions on train; stopped at Kanburi (Thai-Burma railway); then to Tarsoe by truck where they heard about building the railway; they by foot to camp near Kenyu and worked on cliff face;death tent at upper Kenyu, cholera outbreak and carrying bodies to the cemetery; May/June 1943' - arrival of F' and 'H' Forces in very poor condition; effects of cholera; describes train ride to camp Tamarkan and building bridge over the River Kwai; Nov 1943 moved to Chung Kai; improvements made by Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop; effect of tropical ulcers; moved to Tamawang June 1944; comments on health of POWs; May 1945 Mergui Road work party; bombing of railway; POWs in Bangkok hospitals after the war - Joe Lynch; home on ship 'Highland Brigade' 24 October 1945. Talks about building embankments; compares conditions in Burma with POWs in Japan; POWs shot and left moats around camps in Thailand; threat of death marches. Side B: final comments on the war, the Japanese and assistance of Thai civilians; humorous stories and nick-names - 'Happy' Harry Smith; praises POW medical staff; enduring friendships.
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NX72938 Walter Edward Kirley as a Private, 2/20 Battalion and prisoner of the Japanese, 1941-45, [reminiscence]
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Part 2 of
NX72938 Walter Edward Kirley as a Private, 2/20 Battalion and prisoner of the Japanese, 1941-45, [reminiscence]