Gallery

• The medals of Bill Attenborough who perished at Ranau having marched from Sandakan in 1945 were stolen from  Bill’s mother in 1970s have been found and generously returned to the family, Bernadette Cowley in Melbourne March 2021.
• WX6841 John Stewart ‘Stewie’ Smith
• POW Strawb Dyson’s mother receives news her son is safe and well in 1943.
• This is the 1911 Broome wedding of ‘Strawb’ Dyson’s parents. WX7577 Archibald Henry Dyson was recovered from Niihama Japan.   In January 1945 Strawb had both his legs pinned between a mine ore cart and the mine wall and suffered serious injuries.
• Squance had been working on Sumatran Railway where conditions were similar to Burma-Thai Railway, except during the last 12 months of captivity there little or no food. Tropical illnesses killed 100s of POWs.  Squance and other seriously ill POWs are flown from Singapore to Guildford  – the then Governor, Sir James Mitchell greets Squance.
• MacArthur signing at the Surrender 2 Sept 1942 on board USS ‘Missouri’ – standing behind US General Wainwright & British General Percival.  Please read further about this story
• Sept 1945 – Allied POWs awaiting evacuation at Java.  Crowded into one camp.
• Scottish born WX8689 Hector MacMaster (aka Jock or Scotty) standing very far left.  He came 2nd in WA Open Pipe Championships in 1938 when the Eastern Goldfields Pipe Band were Champions in same year. He enlisted at Kalgoorlie.  Died beri beri at Tarsau Hospital Camp, Burma-Thai Railway July 1943.
• Toyama, fire-bombed by 173 Superfortresses on night 1st August 1945 was assessed as 99.5 percent destroyed. Fires in the city burned so brightly, even while the raid was in progress, that they set off cameras aboard the B-29s — flying more than 12,000 feet above — that ordinarily were triggered by flash units.” Please read further about Toyama
• Red Cross Nurse feeding ill POW awaiting to board ‘Manundra’ at Singapore 1945
• Colin Cameron WW1
• Darwin Woodchopping Party:  Lofty Watt, Frank Halbert, Alex Spooner, Don Manning.  Watt was only soldier to survive & return home (Photo from Wenn Collection)