Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

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

Overview

Newspaper copy of pencil sketch of 'beast of Amboina camp", Ike Ouchi, civil administrator attached to Japanese Navy

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-32-99-313
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
Saturday, 11 October, 2025
Completeness
72
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

POW 13
Artist
POW
One hundred and sixty-four ex-pows of the Japanese, survivors of gull force, 2/21st infantry battalion and attached troops, were evacuated from Ambon in the Ceram Sea and brought to Morotai by ran corvettes for hospitalisation at 1st Australin Prisoner of War Reception Group camp. The camp interpreter of the Ambon pow camp Ike Ouchi was also brought back to Morotai. he is shown above, standing with members of 1st Australian Armoured Division Provost Company shortly after disembarking from HMAS Cootamundra.

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