| Accession Number | P02468.303 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film copy negative |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX20596 Craftsman Alexander Joseph Smith, 22nd ...
Description
Vic. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of VX20596 Craftsman Alexander Joseph Smith, 22nd Independent Brigade Group Ordnance Workshop, Australian Army Ordnance Corps, attached to 69th Light Aid Detachment. He was one of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POW camp in north Borneo, having been transferred there from Singapore as a part of B Force. The 1494 POW's that made up B Force, were transported from Changi on 7 July 1942 on board the tramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving in Sandakan Harbour on 18 July 1942. Craftsman Smith, aged 26, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 14 April 1945. He was the son of Adam and Jane Elizabeth Smith, and the husband of Edna Mary Smith, of Albert Park, Vic. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 29. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)