| Accession Number | P02468.414 |
|---|---|
| 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 VX38057 Gunner Wallace Alberts, 4th Anti Tank ...
Description
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX38057 Gunner Wallace Alberts, 4th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery. An Aboriginal serviceman 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. Gunner Alberts, aged 26, died of illness (malaria) as a prisoner of the Japanese on 31 March 1945. He was the son of Angus Roderick and Frances Maude Alberts, of Lake Condah, Vic. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 1. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)