| Accession Number | P02468.623 |
|---|---|
| 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 VX64477 Corporal Francis Robert Burchnall, ...
Description
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX64477 Corporal Francis Robert Burchnall, 2/10th Ordnance Workshops, Australian Army Ordnance 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 Burchnall, aged 52, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 19 May 1943. He was the son of George Jones Burchnall and Elva Burchnall and the husband of Gertrude Nathalia Burchnall, of Bendigo, Vic. He is buried in the Labuan Cemetery Section P, Row A, Plot 5. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)