Braithwaite, James Richard 'Dick' (Bombardier, b.1917 - d.1986)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX45378 Bombardier James Richard 'Dick' Braithwaite, 2/15 Field Regiment, and prisoner of war of the Japanese.

The collection consists of three parts: letters written by Braithwaite to his family during 1941-42 prior to his capture and becoming a prisoner of war; material relating to his release; and material relating to his post war activities and writings.

Part 1 consists of an autographed menu from TSS Katoomba 1941, and eleven letters written by Braithwaite to his family during 1941-42.

Part 2 consists of a map of Sandakan POW Camp around the end of May 1945, drawn by memory in Morotai in July 1945; copies of medical reports; a transcription of Braithwaite's interrogation report, 1945; letters to Dick's family re his release; a note requesting Braithwaite to be a witness in the War Crimes trials held in Japan (he refused); a 1947 letter from Loreto Padua, one of the natives who helped Dick when he escaped into the jungle; several letters from the Government regarding suggested assistance to Loreto Padua and the North Borneo natives in general; a letter from Harry Jackson who headed the Australian-British Borneo Reward Mission in 1946-47; and a citation from General Blamey, Commander-in-Chief, Australian Military Forces.

Part 3 consists of Dick's address book with the addresses of some of the families of deceased prisoners of war he corresponded with post-war and copies of a couple of the letters he wrote. The back of the address book contains an account by Dick's wife, Joyce, of a subsequent return trip to Sandakan with other family members. Also included is a copy of a typed manuscript of the 'Six from Borneo', a documentary radio drama presented by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1947 with handwritten annotations; and nine typed and/or handwritten manuscripts written by Braithwaite covering various aspects of his ordeal, written over the period 1940-1980. Some are incomplete. The last items in this part consist of two letters from Peter Firkins, author of 'From Hell to Eternity', from 1978; a booklet titled 'A Tragedy of Borneo' which outlined a proposal to build a memorial to the Allied troops who died in North Borneo (this later became the Kundesang War Memorial); and a program from the 2016 Anzac Day Dawn service held at Sandakan.

Dick Braithwaite enlisted in the Army on 24 June 1940 from Newcastle. After being assigned to 2/15 Field Regiment and training in Sydney he left for overseas with his unit on 29 July 1941 onboard the troop ship 'Katoomba'. They arrived in Singapore on 15 August and after further training moved to the state of Johore in Malaya around the end of the year as the Japanese threat increased. After failing to stop the Japanese advance, the Australian troops crossed back into Singapore and were subsequently captured when Singapore capitulated in February 1942. Initially imprisoned in Changi, Braithwaite later found himself sent to Sandakan in North Borneo to build an aerodrome for the Japanese. In 1945 when this work was finished the Japanese forced the prisoners to march from Sandakan to Ranau. The majority or prisoners died or were killed along the way, only six survived. Dick Braithwaite was one of those. He took the opportunity along the march to escape into the jungle, where he was helped by the natives, and then eventually picked up an American PT boat.

• Braithwaite, James Richard 'Dick' (Bombardier, b.1917 - d.1986)