| Accession Number | P02467.829 |
|---|---|
| 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 NX68039 Sapper James Roderick Drinkwater, 2/12th ...
Description
NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX68039 Sapper James Roderick Drinkwater, 2/12th Field Company, 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 POWs 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 Drinkwater, aged 29, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 26 May 1945. He was the son of Edward W. Drinkwater and Cecile Ivy Drinkwater, and the husband of Freda Joan Drinkwater, of Dobies Bight, NSW. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 6. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)