| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2019.22.164 |
| Collection number | PR03218 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | File |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Papers |
| Physical description | 105 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Ashby, Hugh King |
| Date made | c. 1982-1987 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Digital format and content protected by copyright. |
| Source credit to | This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government. |
Memoir Notes of Hugh King Ashby
Description
Memoir notes relating to the Second World War experience of Hugh King Ashby, Straits Settlement Volunteer Force.
In his notes, Ashby tells the story of how he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942 and occurrences thereafter. His memoir contains details such as being interned at Changi, a crowded train journey to a camp at Ban Pong, Thailand, dysentery, poor rations, working on the Burma-Thai Railway, and interactions with Japanese soldiers and local Thai people. He was then selected to become an assistant cook for a Japanese engineering unit at Kachanaburi, where he was treated relatively well and was able to eat and bathe regularly. Ashby then writes that he became very ill and was moved to a sick camp at Chunkai, where he developed severe ulcers, witnessed many make-do medical procedures, and recovered slowly. Upon his recovery, he was sent to camps at Non Pladuk and Ubon. In these camps, his experiences included secretly hearing outside news of the war, working on the railway, befriending a bird named “Oscar”, working on the camp sanitation team, and being bombed in Allied air raids.
Hugh King Ashby was unable to talk about his experiences as a prisoner of war until the 1980s, after a visit to the Australian War Memorial. This visit prompted him to begin recording his memories of the war. However, Ashby died suddenly on 19 December 1987, leaving his notes incomplete. His notes were compiled into a memoir by his family (see AWM2019.22.163) and donated to the Australian War Memorial. They are displayed here in their original arrangement.
This file contains:
Card explaining arrangement of notes, [date unknown]
Handwritten manuscript notes, Hugh King Ashby, [c. 1982-1987]
Outlines containing timeline, places and names, Hugh King Ashby, [c. 1982-1987]
Typed manuscript notes, Hugh King Ashby, [c. 1982-1987]