Elsum, Percy Henry Frederick (Sergeant, b.1902 - d.1978)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of VX20324 Sergeant Percy Henry Frederick Elsum, Second Australian Imperial Force, Australia and Netherlands East Indies, 1941-1962.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Contains three folders of material relating to Sergeant Percy Henry Frederick Elsum’s service in the Netherlands East Indies as part of Gull Force, and time as a prisoner of war of the Japanese.

Folder 1 of 3 consists of two diaries of Sergeant Elsum.

The first diary [black cover] covers the period of Sergeant Elsum’s service and time as a prisoner of war at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, between late 1941 and mid-1942. In this diary, Sergeant Elsum writes about embarkation, his first impressions of Ambon, settling in to his new camp, Japanese air raids, being present at interrogations of local people believed to be assisting the Japanese, preparing for Japanese invasion, the evacuation of local people, taking part in the Battle of Ambon, being under enemy fire, having limited rations, being captured by the Japanese as a prisoner of war, making plans to escape to Australia, the tightening of security at the prisoner of war camp, living conditions in the camp, daily activities, and friendly Japanese guards.

The second diary [green cover with tiger] covers the period of Sergeant Elsum’s time as a prisoner of war at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, between May 1942 and February 1943. In this diary, Sergeant Elsum writes about Allied air raids close to the camp, life in the camp, making escape plans, inadequate food rations, the establishment of work parties, stealing supplies, the cruel treatment of prisoners and local people by Japanese guards, the release of several Dutch prisoners, the weather, temporarily escaping from the camp to pass information to an Allied agent, being questioned and severely beaten by the Japanese, working very long hours, the Australian efforts to sabotage the Japanese, a large Allied air raid on the camp that caused many casualties, and being seriously injured in an explosion.

Folder 2 of 3 consists of one recipe book and one pay book relating to Sergeant Elsum. The recipe book was compiled by Sergeant Elsum while he was a prisoner of war of the Japanese at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, in c 1941-1943. It contains recipes for a wide variety of foods, including Indonesian, American, Dutch, Spanish, American and Japanese dishes. The pay book contains entries dated between May 1940 and December 1942, and records information such as rate of pay, earnings, and medical details.

Folder 3 of 3 consists of one letter and one manuscript relating to Sergeant Elsum. The letter, dated 22 May 1942, was written to Sergeant Elsum by his friend George, a local Ambonese man that lived near the prisoner of war camp. In his letter, George writes about settling back into his home after the Japanese occupation, listening to war news on his friend’s radio, and making plans to assist Sergeant Elsum’s escape from the prisoner of war camp. The manuscript, titled ‘Through a Hole in the Bamboo’, was compiled by Sergeant Elsum circa 1962 from his two diaries. In this manuscript, Sergeant Elsum records his experiences of his time as a prisoner of war on Ambon, Netherlands East Indies.