A POSTAL HISTORY OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR AND CIVILIAN INTERNEES IN EAST ASIA DURING WORLD WAR TWO VOLUME 1 SINGAPORE & MALAYA 1942-1945 THE CHANGI CONNECTION By David Tett
INFORMATION UPDATES All significant new information will be posted on this site at regular intervals. If you would like to receive an email when the site is updated, please click here
Any information you have regarding the mails to or from the prisoners in any territory in East Asia is welcome. Either make contact by email to davidtett@aol.com or by writing to David Tett c/o BFA Publishing PO Box 34 Wheathampstead Herts AL4 8JY.
Specific questions posed by Volume One include:
CLICK on green questions for accompanying illustrations
QUESTION VOLUME ONE
PAGE REF
Dates of opening and closing camps
26-29
Details of other camps
29
From what date was surface mail from UK returned
35
From what date was airmail from UK returned
36
From what date was surface mail from Australia returned
41
From what date was airmail from Australia returned
What was the route used for sending mail from India/Ceylon to Malaya
304
What was arrival date in Australian ports of Arawa
337
QUESTION VOLUME TWO
PAGE REF
Do other instructions exist published in Holland advising relative how to communicate with their relatives who were POWs or internees
32-33
Were all the handstamps applied at a central point, and if so where
49- 62
Are any other examples known from Djawa WK- Liang Ambon
102
Where was the card, Fig 2-7-2 sent from
199
Were there two Asanuma’s in Sumatra or did one censor use two handstamps at various times or on certain items
200
How many cards were the POWs and internees in Celebes allowed to send and on what dates
228-245
Are there other marks known on POW/internee mail not illustrated
305-338
Where were the stickers/handstamps illustrated in Chapter 13 applied
339-348
Where were the No Record handstamps applied and what dates were they used
349-350
QUESTION VOLUME THREE
PAGE REF
Where were the INCONNU RETOUR handstamps applied
9-15
Why were cards from the Bangkok Internment camp only allowed on two occasions
26-29
What is the source reference for the formation and movement of the Group HQs
39 & 61
Why were Group 5 cards from Burma not censored
46
Did Suzuki censor all 1942-1943 cards from Thailand and if so where was he based
68- 98
Why were the first 1944 cards handstamped with an additional Furyo Yubin
86
Was Adachi censor applied in Java or Thailand
96
Was Ishikura censor applied in Java or Thailand
96
Was Sato censor applied in Java or Thailand
97
Where was Marpery
99
Was Choshi censor applied in Java or Thailand
122
Where was Hughesdon, inscription on Fig 3-4-34
130
Where was No 3 Branch resealing tape applied and why was it produced
132-133
How did Fig 3-4-46 come to have an Ipoh censor mark
140
What was the purpose and meaning of the Transferred to Ko handstamp Fig 3-4-53
144
Was Kawai censor applied in Java or Thailand
148
Where was incoming mail censored – centrally, at Group HQ on in camps
152
Were there any further postal offices other than the eight listed
224-225
Did the postal workers censor their own mail
234
Were Burmese postal workers drafted in at the Burma end of the railway to handle
Civilian worker’s mail, as in Thailand
250-255
What date did Orbita leave Rangoon
292
QUESTION VOLUME FOUR
Page Ref
What date in August were the senior officers transferred to Taiwan
31
Does any mail addressed to the Indian POWs exist
57
Do further types of the mimeographed card exist
84-88
Do other examples of cards from Indian POWs exist
89
Does M signify Male or Man for Men's dormitory
120
Where was the censoring of mail carried out
139
Was the civilian cover coded E14 produced by the International Red Cross
146
Is the South African “Flag” mark a censor mark or if not, what is it
153
Were Sce des Prisonniers de Guerre handstamps applied in Tokyo
156 & 157
Why is only one example of Nakasone's censor seal known
182
Why is only one example of Kawamoto's censor seal known
183
Is 4-6-21 written in code
198
How did Shanghai Americans know the names of the POWs in Shanghai
207
Does any Hainan Island mail exist
214
Does the handstamp 4-7-21 include the name of the camp - Chapei
223
Does the handstamp 4-7-46 include the name of the camp - Great Western Road
241-242
Does mail exist to/from Lincoln Road and, if so, was there a special handstamp 242
Does mail exist to/from the smaller camps listed
243
Does anybody have mail from Ash Camp available for examination by the author
287
Does anybody have mail from Chapei available for examination by the author
287
Does anybody have mail from Eastern Area available for examination by the author
287
Does anybody have mail from Yu Yuen Road available for examination by the author
287
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of HMS Glengyle
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of HMS Smith
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Gerusalemme
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of Repose
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of Letitia
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Guardian
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Glenearn
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Logan
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of HMS Reaper
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of Empire Chieftain
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of HMS Alacrity
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Empire Clyde
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of USS St Olaf
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of Queensborough
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Tamaroa
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Highland Monarch
372
Can anybody supply the date of arrival of Highland Chieftain
372
Can anybody supply the destination and date of arrival of Strathmore
372
When was 4-12-31 sent and where and when was it censored
376-377
There are many other questions posed within the text of the books and if further information is forthcoming, please contact the author at davidtett@aol.com.
Since the publication of Volume 1, the major find has been an example for the August 1944 civilian card. This card was destined for the POW camp at Changi. It is part of a correspondence between a husband in the POW camp and his wife in the civilian camp. Such mail was thought to be prohibited. It was for most people, but for some reason these two were permitted to correspond and the evidence is included in Volume 2. This is the only known example of the August civilian card which in itself supports the theory that the mail was lost at sea.
Another important additional find concerns the mail from the Indian POWs in Singapore In Volume 1, Chapter 7, two cards were illustrated from Indian POWs presumed to be from Singapore: Figs 1-7-33 and 1-7-34. These were the only two such examples known to the author, and did at least show that the Indian POWs were allowed to write cards. Little is known as to the frequency, dates, routes or other aspects of these communications. Two more examples, illustrated in Volume 3 have come to light which add a little to the scant knowledge on the subject.
The first card, Fig 3-11-1, is not actually from an Indian POW at all but from a Gurkha. The Gurkhas, natives of Nepal, had for years been providing servicemen to the British Army. In the Malayan campaign they were part of the British Indian Army, but the Japanese made no distinction between Indian soldiers and Nepalese Gurkhas as POWs. They were all segregated from the British and their officers and taken to Farrer Park. The Japanese even tried to coerce the Gurkhas into joining the INA, the Indian National Army. Reputedly none did.
The card itself is very similar to Fig 1-7-34. Like this card the address side is identical to the first and second cards sent by the British and Australian POWs except that it has no Marai handstamp. The words to the left of the card read Ken’etsuzumi (Censored), Furyo Shuyosho (Prisoner of War Camp) and across the top, underlined, Furyo Yubin (Prisoner of War Post).
On the message side, however, like Fig 1-7-34, there are preprinted messages to be erased as appropriate. No card given to the British and Australian POWs had this feature – all were plain for the POW to complete as he wished or as instructed. Quite why the Japanese had different cards prepared, albeit with the same address side, for the Indian POWs is a mystery. The preprinted message is a common feature of cards from other territories, as we see from Chapter 3, but not from Singapore.
The card is dated 22nd June 1943 (Fig 1-7-34 is undated) and is from Haki Lal Thapa 2/2 Gurkha Rifles. It is addressed to Palpa in Western Nepal and has two Indian censor marks, the straight-line DHP/139 and the octagonal PASSED DHP/5 applied in Bombay. It travelled from Bombay to Kathmandu, Nepal, where it received an identifiable date stamp, but with an illegible date, and from there to Palpa.
Both sides of a card from H L Thapa, Gurkha Rifles, to Palpa, Nepal.
The date stamp at the top left is from Nuwakot (referred to as Nuwakot West No 4 in the postmark, West No 4 being the district), which is not far from Palpa. The date on this date stamp is "8th day of the 8th month, Bikram Sambat year 2000". This translates to 21st November 1943, amazingly the same date of the Kilpauk, India, arrival handstamp on Fig 1-7-34. It rather suggests that these two cards were written at the same time and travelled in the same batch to Bombay. The censor seal on 3-11-1 is not fully legible but the appears to read Hayashi or Bayashi.
The second card is very similar to Fig 1-7-33 except that it is undated and has the censor seal of Shimogahara, who also censored the second British and Australian cards in February 1943. The card itself is identical to the third card sent by the British and Australians in December 1943. This card is addressed to South India and has two Bombay censor marks, the straight-line DHP/134 and the octagonal PASSED DHP/6. The arrival stamp is dated July 1944, so it was certainly sent before Fig 1-7-33 (which is dated August 1944), possibly in December 1943, the same time as the British and Australian third card. The writer wrote in block capitals and used 21 words, again very similar in style and layout to Fig 1-7-33.
From this tiny sample of four cards it appears that the Indian POWs were permitted to send cards on at least three occasions, in June 1943 with preprinted sentences, late 1943 or early 1944, and in August 1944 – the latter two occasions with the message blank. It is likely that cards were sent at other times and hopefully one day further evidence will come to light.
