Transcript diary of Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, April 1942 - November 1944

Blackburn, Arthur Seaforth, VC, CMG, CBE (Brigadier, b.1892 - d.1960)

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Accession Number	AWM2020.22.21
Collection number	PR00014
Collection type	Digitised Collection
Record type	Item
Item count	1
Object type	Diary
Physical description	164 Image/s captured
Maker	Blackburn, Arthur Seaforth Wighton, Rosemary
Place made	Australia: South Australia, Adelaide, Australia: South Australia, Adelaide
Date made	1942-1944
Conflict	Second World War, 1939-1945
Copying Provisions	Digital format and content protected by copyright.
Source credit to	This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government.

Description

Transcript diary relating to the Second World War service of SX6962 Temporary Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, Black Force (Java), Netherlands East Indies, Taiwan and China, 24 April 1942 - 3 November 1944.

After serving as lieutenant colonel in command of the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion in February 1942, Blackburn was posted to Java to bolster Dutch forces and stall the advance of Japanese forces. He was appointed brigadier and commander of an ad-hoc unit of approximately 3,000 men named "Black Force" after its commander, with which he opposed the Japanese on Java, including at the Battle of Leuwiliang. On 11 March 1942, Blackburn surrendered his forces to the Japanese and became a prisoner of war.

This diary documents the surrender of forces under his command and his subsequent internment. Entries cover the period from 24 April 1942 - 3 November 1944, and describe the treatment of prisoners by the Japanese and conditions encountered in the camps. Topics include the conditions in the camps, beatings by the guards, mail being withheld, the organisation of the prisoners, disease and illness, forced signing of oaths of allegiance, shortages of food and medicine, work parties, air raids, and the low morale of the internees. Blackburn documents multiple changes in location including being moved to Changi in late December 1942, subsequent transfer to various camps in Taiwan through 1943 before being moved to Chen Cha Tung in Manchuria via Japan and Korea in September-October 1944.

This transcript was compiled by Blackburn's daughter, Rosemary Wighton, in 1991. Wighton wrote a prologue and epilogue, adding context including the operations of Black Force, other statements by Blackburn on his capture and imprisonment, and some of his activities following the war.