| Accession Number | AWM2018.572.54 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Sound |
| Object type | Oral history |
| Physical description | audio cassette; TEAC CDX1 |
| Maker |
Spooner, Walter George Houghton, Alison Viney |
| Place made | Australia: South Australia, Adelaide, Modbury |
| Date made | 2001-09-28 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
| 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. |
| Source credit to | This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government. |
Walter George (Wally) Spooner, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, Middle East and POW Changi, interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton
Description
SX12091 Walter George (Wally) Spooner, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton for her "The Age of Innocence 1937-1947" oral history project. The interview covers topics related to his service in the Middle East and as a prisoner of war at Changi, including: a 1939 fire in the Adelaide Hills; service in Palestine and the Lebanon mountains near Tripoli; being diverted to Batavia (Jakarta) after the fall of Singapore; destroying all their vehicles and munitions after the surrender; three weeks in Changi before going by train to Thailand; toileting conditions en route; working at the River Kwai; Weary Dunlop and Major Moon; Hintok Road Camp; men dying of cholera; Tha Sao (Tarsau); sleeping in 'godowns' on the Mekong River; 'Z force'; emotional reactions to the end of the war; returning home via hospital in Darwin; his post-war health.
-
Listen to
Walter George (Wally) Spooner, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, Middle East and POW Changi, interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton
-
Listen to
Part 2 of
Walter George (Wally) Spooner, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, Middle East and POW Changi, interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton
-
Listen to
Part 3 of
Walter George (Wally) Spooner, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, Middle East and POW Changi, interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton