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Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 2, South West Pacific Theatre, Morotai, BESSART, POW Release, 1945

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Overview

Newspaper copy of pencil sketch of Gunner RJ Bessart giving English lessons

Historical information

During the Pacific war, the Japanese captured 22,000 Australians: soldiers, sailors, airmen and members of the army nursing service, as well as some civilians. They were imprisoned in camps throughout Japanese-occupied territories in Borneo, Korea, Manchuria, Hainan, Rabaul, Ambon, Singapore, Timor, Java, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam and also Japan itself. At the end of the war only 13,872 of the POWs were recovered: one-third of the prisoners had died.

Details

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-311

Contextual information

Part of a series of sketches by war artist Tony Rafty which appeared in "The Mirror", Sydney on 20 October 1945

Last modified

Friday, 10 October, 2025

Completeness

72

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Other items from Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

POW 11

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