| Accession Number | P02467.487 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film copy negative |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX45309 Sapper Ralph Robert Neilson, 2/12th ...
Description
NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX45309 Sapper Ralph Robert Neilson, 2/12th Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers. 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. Sapper Neilson, aged 31, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 18 November 1944. He was the son of Lachlan Getty Neilson and Harriett Louise Neilson and the husband of Nellie Neilson, of Newcastle, NSW. He is buried in the Labuan Cemetery Section N, Row A, Plot 8. (Photograph copied from AWM232, items 4 and 5. Personal information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database.)