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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxqaUqtJPG0

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Australian Nurses captured by the Japanese

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Australian Nurses captured by the Japanese

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The first 6 AANS (Australian Army Nursing Service) were captured at Rabaul in January 1942.

After 6 moths being held captive at a mission hospital at Vunapope, they were transported to Japan were they were kept in various camps until the ending of WW2.

One month later, Japanese soldiers advanced towards Singapore and Australian nurses in the area were forced to evacuate.

65 sisters were transported from Vyner Brooke shortly before the fall of Singapore.

12 died when when the ship sunk off Sumatra and 21 died in the Bunker island massacre on the 16th of February 1942.

Out of these nurses 32 became Prisoners of War. They were held with civilian internees in camps on and around Palembang in Sumatra.

The conditions of the camps were dreadful. After 3 and a half years of being held captive, many women suffered from tropical disease and malnutrition.

During the early days of their captivity. in Sumatra, the women were kept busy with eduvtauonal activities and musical concerts. However, the conditions worsened when they were transferred to a new camp.

Food and medical supplies were hopelessly inadequate.

The death toll rose.

Australian nurses in Malaya 1941

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ABC Documentary Vivian Bullwinkel An Australian POW WW2 Heroine DVD Trailer

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Ambon & Hianan

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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'We were absolutely flabbergasted. I can remember the reactions from various fellows: some of them just swore, some of them threw things about, some of them were just silent and shocked.'
Captain Ray Steele, 2/15th Field Regiment

For the many thousands forced to surrender, the experience was bewildering. The chance to fight had been denied. Pride in their fighting abilities had abruptly turned to frustration and anger, or simply the inability to comprehend. Thoughts of friends and family were never far away, and hopes of reunion gave many men and women the strength to go on. The following years would become a fight for survival.

Some of thousdands of British soldiers taken prisoners of war after the surrender of British Forces in Malaya, 1942.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jve60OM2drE

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Survivors were freed from camps all across Asia in 1945. Some of these survivors were freed from where they were initially captured, others from camps in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and more. Prisoners survived due to a multitude of factors: military discipline, individual initiative, stealing from guards, and relying on their mates. They all needed hope, strength, and luck. https://www.awm.gov.au/sites/default/files/exhibitions/stolenyears/images/rc/RC00974.pdf

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Around one thousand Australians were forced to surrender on February 1942 on Ambon.
By the time the war had ended more than 2/3 of Australian prisoners were dead.
Some prisoners were killed in allied attacks on a Japanese bomb dump, which was located near the camp while others dies on medical "experiments".
They were badly beaten, starved, battled severe illnesses, were forced to work and were also executed. The harsh conditions that they were put through resulted to the loss of many lives of Australian soldiers.
From 1131 Australian soldiers in Ambon, only 352 survived and returned home.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=38TY2OgxwA

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50,000 British and Australian prisoners of war were taken to Changi besides basic rice rations and demands for tasks to be done on the island, the Japanese rarely intervened into the running of the camp. Conditions were fairly reasonable compared to other camps and was sometimes called 'heaven' compared to the Burma-Thailand railway.