| Place | Asia: Japan, Shikoku, Zentsuji |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2016.633.3 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | Extent: 1 cm; Wallet/s: 1 |
| Object type | Card, Diary, Postcard, Document |
| Maker |
Commonwealth of Australia |
| Date made | 1943-1946 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Burns, Jack Lusby (Lieutenant, b.1918 - d.2010)
Description
Collection relating to the Second World War service of VX39159 Lieutenant Jack Lusby Burns, 1st Independent Company, Japan and Australia, 1943-1946.
Collection consists of:
Item 1: One small brown pay book, covering the period 1 October 1945 to 4 February 1946, issued following Lt Burns' liberation from Zentsuzi Prisoner of War Camp, Japan.
Item 2: A collection of 14 postcards addressed to Lt Burns' mother. 13 are from Zensuzi [Zentsuji] Prisoner of War Camp on postcards provided by the camp, with the camp's name printed on the front. Many include both Australian and Japanese postmarks. The final card is from Hakodate No.4 Camp, dated 14 July 1945, following the Australian soldiers' move from Zentsuzi in June 1945. These postcards send his best wishes to family and friends in Australia with brief responses to letters that they had sent him. There are several mentions of Red Cross care packages, which Lt Burns states arrive every two weeks, until they cease arriving in April 1945. There are several mentions of bridge tournaments played between the soldiers (a hobby that Lt Burns would continue throughout his life). In almost every postcard are mentions of fellow soldiers that were also captured in Rabaul and his lack of news regarding their situations. One postcard dated April 1944, contains a detailed insight in the community and leisure activities of the prisoners. In this postcard, Lt James talks of having received 900 new books for the library, new boots, two gramophones, and records from the American Red Cross; his classes taken in Italian, Spanish, and shorthand; weekly concerts; canteen facilities; and animals that prisoners are raising including chickens, pigs and goats.
Item 3: A collection of 3 Christmas cards and one greeting card spanning the period 14 April 1943 to Christmas 1944. Each card is hand-made and hand-illustrated in pencil and ink. One is illustrated with a Japanese bonsai tree and Japanese orchid, another with a lamp post and the remaining two with company insignia. They appear to be made in camp by fellow prisoners.
Also see AWM2016.485.1.