Nakama, Fukuoka #21-B - Japan

Nakama Branch Camp (Fukuoka 21-B)

Established as Fukuoka No.21 Branch Camp at Nakatsuru Coal Mine in Nakama-cho (currently Nakama City), Onga-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture on June 15, 1944.

The POWs were used by Taisho Coal Mining Company. The mine had been abandoned and flooded when the POWs arrived.

588 POWs (311 Dutch, 175 Australian, 99 British and 3 American) were imprisoned at the end of the war.

5 POWs died while imprisoned.

Nakama, Japan, 1945. A group portrait of prisoners of war (POWs) at Camp 21, a coal mine about thirty miles from Nagasaki. The POWs where transferred from Fukuoka No. 2 Prisoner of War Camp, Koyagi Island and according to their health either worked in the mine or as gardeners. The miners worked night and day shifts. Among the group are known to be J. Garrioch, A. Carne, and “Happy” Day in the back row and Wrigley and “Ginger” Shawcross in the front row. The POWs were from two original groups. The first, of about 550 British, with some Australians, 500 Dutch and 100 Americans, arrived in 1942, embarking on Asama Maru at Macassar on 14 October 1942, arriving at Nagasaki 24 October 1942. The other group of 198 Australians arrived 9 September 1944 after a 70 day voyage from Singapore on  Rashin Maru. (Donor J. King)