Union Jack flown at Japanese POW camp, Ohama : Corporal T W B Turner, 2/19 Battalion, AIF

Places
Accession Number REL30195
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Flag
Physical description Cotton, Hemp, Wool
Maker Unknown
Date made c 1942-1945
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

Wool bunting union jack with a cream coloured cotton hoist. A short length of hemp halyard runs through the hoist, ending in a loop at either end. The flag may be a composite made from several parts, as the fabric colours and method of assembly vary. Originally packed in a green cardboard shoe box, marked with blue ballpoint ink on the lid: 'THIS FLAG WAS THE FIRST TO FLY OVER JAPAN (OHAMA) JAPAN'.

History / Summary

Union Jack concealed in captivity by members of 2/19th Australian Infantry Battalion, and flown at the Ohama Japanese POW camp, (also known as 'Ohamma') the day the war ended.

Ohama was a coal mining centre at the northern end of the island of Honshu, and about half of men imprisoned there were put to work in the mines, where each man was required to dig 1.5 tons of coal a day. Other prsioners were sent out to work on farms Approximately 250 Australians (of a total of 390 allied prisoners) were held in the camp between September 1944 and the end of the war.

This flag was retained by NX35347 Private Thomas William Beresford ('Beres') Turner, who died in the 1990s. A photograph of Beres Turner can be found on page 733 of the regimental history 'The Grim Glory of 2/19 Battalion A.I.F.'