| Accession Number | P02468.386 |
|---|---|
| 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 VX35804 Signalman Noel Lewis Downward, 8th ...
Description
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX35804 Signalman Noel Lewis Downward, 8th Division Signals, Australian Corps of Signals. 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. Signalman Downward, aged 28, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 23 May 1945. He was the son of Lewis Henry Lakeland Downward and Jeanne Victoria Downward, of East Brunswick, Vic. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 7. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)