| Accession Number | P02467.811 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film copy negative |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX67306 Sapper Arthur Walter Bird, Headquarters ...
Description
NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX67306 Sapper Arthur Walter Bird, Headquarters 8th Division, Royal Australian Engineers. He was one of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POW camp in north Borneo, having been transferred there from Singapore as a part of B Force. The 1494 POW's that made up B Force, were transported from Changi on 7 July 1942 on board the tramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving in Sandakan Harbour on 18 July 1942. Sapper Bird, aged 28, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 9 July 1945. He was the son of Walter and Pearl Myra Bird, and the husband of Beryl Marjorie Bird, of Stanmore, NSW. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 5. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)