Pocket watch : Sandakan Prisoner of War camp

Fire damaged man's pocket watch with white enameled face. The watch is missing its glass cover and is marked on the reverse 'Swiss Made'. The other maker's details are illegible.

In 1942 Australian and allied prisoners were sent to Sandakan on the northern coast of British North Borneo to build an airstrip. By 1944 conditions at the camp had deteriorated, with reduced rations and increased brutality. In January and July 1945 the Japanese sent 2000 Australian and British prisoners on a 260 km forced march along jungle tracks to Ranau. Those too sick to move were left in camp to die. A large number of prisoners died along the route or were killed if they fell behind. Most others died in the terrible conditions at Ranau and by the end of the war only six soldiers of the 2500 prisoners originally held at Sandakan had survived. Soon after the war 9 Military History Field Team went to Sandakan to gather historical evidence of the experiences of the prisoners. This pocket watch was among the artifacts recovered. The identity of its owner is not known.