| Accession Number | P02468.309 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film copy negative |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX22839 Corporal William James Lancaster, No. 2 ...
Description
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX22839 Corporal William James Lancaster, No. 2 Company, Australian Army Service Corps. 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. Corporal Lancaster, aged 46, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 7 June 1945. He was the son of William James White Lancaster and Malinda Lancaster, and the husband of Dorothy Erica Lancaster, of Glen Iris, Vic. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 21. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)