Shrimpton, John Anthony (Private, b.1913 - d.1975)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX53590 Private John Anthony Shrimpton, 2/4 Australian Infantry Battalion, Thailand, 1945.

Wallet 1 of 1 - Collection consists of one six-page letter from Private Shrimpton to his sister Emma, dated 26 September 1945. In his letter, written from a hospital camp in Thailand, Private Shrimpton shares his experiences of being a prisoner of war of the Japanese. He writes about the delays in people being notified that their family members were prisoners of war, Australian prisoners being beaten and killed by Japanese guards, being beaten for not saluting, a brigadier being forced to watch the execution of eight of his soldiers, being on a vermin-infested prisoner of war ship, the very large number of prisoner deaths, digging graves for his mates in the middle of the night, hiding in slit trenches while the camp was being bombed by Allied aircraft, and working on the Burma-Thai Railway. He then goes on to write about his excitement to be home again and see his family and friends.