Changi, Singapore. c. August 1945. Three men who were prisoners of war in Changi Prison Camp ...

Changi, Singapore. c. August 1945. Three men who were prisoners of war in Changi Prison Camp writing home from their beds in the camp barracks after the Japanese capitulation, confident that their letters should now reach their loved ones. From left: Private (Pte) A. T. Knopp of Redcliffe, Vic, wearing a pith helmet; Pte J. K. Carr of Abbotsford, Vic; Pte W. L. Sloan of Bendigo, Vic. Pte Sloan is passing around cigarettes, which they have only received recently. Until their liberation, the closest thing to tabacco that the prisoners could find was a wild growing weed, which they dried, chopped up and hammered to a small grain, and then wrapped in newspaper. Note the personal items around the bed areas in the barracks, including boots, sandals, clothes, towels, kitbags, mugs and other eating implements, photographs, and helmets, as well as two boxes of Kellogs Corn Flakes which would have only been a recent addition. Pte Knopp is using one of the packets of Corn Flakes as a stand for the pad he is writing on. (Donated by J. Butler)

• Kampong Makassar, Batavia, Java. August 1945. The first pictures to arrive in Australia taken at ...