Australian POWs_Singapore Reading Task.docx

Australian POWs - Singapore Singapore was one of the most important places at which Allied prisoners of the Japanese were held during World War II. When Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942 there were over 100,000 British troops on the island, including nearly 15,000 Australians. The...

Australian POWs - Singapore Singapore was one of the most important places at which Allied prisoners of the Japanese were held during World War II. When Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942 there were over 100,000 British troops on the island, including nearly 15,000 Australians. These were soon forced to march to [Changi](https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/burma-thailand-railway-and-hellfire-pass-1942-1943/locations/australian-prisoners-asia-pacific/changi), the major POW camp established in Selerang barracks at the eastern tip of the island. Later in the war many other prisoners would pass through the hub of Singapore as they were moved around the Asia--Pacific region by the Japanese to sites in Borneo, Burma, Thailand, Japan and other destinations. On Singapore Island itself prisoners were distributed from Changi across a number of work sites from as early as 22 February 1942. Their tasks included unloading ships on the wharves of Keppel Harbour, stacking food and merchandise in warehouses (or godowns), levelling bomb shelters, filling shell craters, clearing Allied mine fields and collecting items such as scrap iron for shipment to Japan. Approximately 2800 prisoners were employed in erecting a monument to the Japanese and Allied \'fallen warriors\' at Bukit Timah, the hill at the centre of the island where the Allied armies made their last defensive stand against the Japanese. Later in the war the prisoners were also sent to build an aerodrome and defensive systems, including tunnels, in anticipation of an Allied invasion. Work in these camps was initially welcomed by prisoners. It gave them a freer environment than Changi and offered the chance to steal food, petrol and other commodities which could be traded on the black market. Although the labour was heavy and uninteresting, generally conditions in Singapore camps were better than elsewhere in Asia. Some kind of accommodation, was reached with the Japanese, though there was always an element of cruelty. The hours and conditions of work were also not as punishing as at the height of the construction of the [Burma-Thailand railway](https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/burma-thailand-railway-and-hellfire-pass-1942-1943/events/building-hellfire-pass). However, as the war turned against the Japanese, food and water supplies on Singapore became scarce. The prisoners began to suffer many of the same [illnesses](https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/burma-thailand-railway-and-hellfire-pass-1942-1943/events/surviving/illness-and-death) experienced in Thailand and Burma. These included beri beri, malaria, dengue fever, tropical ulcers and the tormenting condition of scrotal dermatitis nicknamed \'Changi balls\'. Singapore was also home to the notorious Outram Road gaol which the Japanese used to punish anyone---prisoners of war, internees and local people---who breached their regulations. Australians apprehended for having radios and organizing an underground movement at [Sandakan](https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/burma-thailand-railway-and-hellfire-pass-1942-1943/locations/australian-prisoners-asia-pacific/borneo), for example, were interned here. Outram Road was a place to be feared. Prisoners, often tortured and kept in solitary confinement, endured great physical and mental distress. Many died.