After Japan surrendered in August 1945, the process of freeing prisoners of war (POWs) and sending them home began. This was a complex process as camps were spread across South- East Asia and the Pacific. In some cases, it took weeks for Allied ground forces to arrive at the POW camps. Many POWs were also in very poor health. In September and October, around 14,000 Australian POWs were repatriated. Repatriation was usually by boat, although some of the fitter prisoners were flown back to Australia. POWs had priority over other Australian soldiers. Shortly after they returned home, they were demobilised from the military. But many found it hard to reintegrate into society after the initial thrill of homecoming had worn off. For some, the physical and psychological effects of their captivity would linger for decades.
After Japan's surrender
We were going home, and it was just really terrific. We were absolutely elated. Even now I think of that homecoming. It is like being born again. Something wells up into you.
[Don Moore quoted in Hank Nelson, Prisoners of War: Australians under Nippon, Sydney, ABC, 1985, 206.]
For Australian prisoners of war (POWs), the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 was the first step towards going home. In September and October, around 14,000 POWs were repatriated. This was the culmination of years of hope and longing. But for many, the physical and psychological effects of their captivity would linger for decades.
As soon as the Japanese surrendered, Allied authorities implemented plans to find and provide supplies to their citizens who were POWs. Air drops of leaflets and food were followed by medical and administrative personnel who parachuted into the major camps.
When they learned of the Japanese defeat, the prisoners usually took control of their camps. They managed their day-to-day operation. There were only isolated cases of vengeance against the Japanese. Most prisoners were simply overjoyed to be free.
But the prisoners' situation became secure when Allied ground forces finally arrived. In some places, this was many weeks after the Japanese surrender because the Pacific theatre was so large.
Reception depots
To process former prisoners, the Repatriation of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees organisation (RAPWI) set up reception depots. Prisoners were given medical attention, received letters and had their details recorded at these depots.
The collection of nominal rolls and other information, some of which had been kept hidden from the Japanese for years, was an essential part of documenting Japanese atrocities for prosecution in war crimes trials.
The War Graves Commission survey party also used these details to find graves of prisoners buried near former POW campsites.
Once a POW's details were recorded, his relatives could be informed of their fate. Many families had received no news since 1942. Some learned at this point that their son, brother, father or husband had died years earlier.
For men used to extreme hardship and scarcity, it was a profound relief to receive supplies and medical treatment from the Allied military organisation. Roy Whitecross remembered being given new clothes and equipment and throwing away everything else:
Who can imagine what that meant to us! For years we had hoarded rusty tins for drinking cups, rusty dixies, patched and disreputable bits of clothing, knowing if they were lost they could not be replaced. Now we tossed them away, secure in the knowledge that we were in the midst of plenty.
[RH Whitecross, Slaves of the Son of Heaven, Sydney, Corgi, 1971, 252.]
Returning to Australia
Repatriation of the POWs was a logistically complex operation. Prisoners were dispersed around South-East Asia and the Pacific and many were in a poor state of health.
Repatriation was usually done by boat. Some of the fitter prisoners were flown back to Australia. POWs had priority over other Australian soldiers.
Some former POWs remained in the Pacific to help the repatriation parties in their work, such as surgeon Lieutenant Colonel Ernest 'Weary' Dunlop.
Demobilisation from the military occurred soon after arriving in Australia.
For most ex-POWs, homecoming was an incredible experience after years of captivity. They were welcomed back as both soldiers and ex-prisoners, and their stories would soon become part of the national memory of war.
Even so, many returned men felt there was a stigma associated with their surrender and captivity.
The ex-POWs' reintegration into Australian society was an ongoing process. The military offered training programs. Friends and family helped them adjust to civilian life. Many former prisoners had no wish to dwell on their experiences, desiring only to 'get on' with their interrupted lives.
Most ex-POWs managed to get by to varying degrees. But some found post-war life difficult, especially after the initial joy of homecoming had worn off. Private William Webb of the 3rd Reserve Motor Transport Company remembered:
Our discharge centres have vomited us out, by the hundreds, and after the almost sacred family reunions, we view with some misgiving, a rather strange world, that somehow does not seem to be going to be quite that Utopia, as viewed from dark hopelessness of a prison camp.
[AWM PR87/183]
Compensation for ex-POWs
After their experiences of Japanese brutality, poor food and exposure to multiple illnesses, many prisoners had chronic health issues. Consequently, in the immediate post-war period, mortality rates among former POWs were higher than among other veterans.
While many prisoners did not want to be seen as needing special treatment, there were ongoing battles for compensation. Although they were paid their wages by the Australian Government for the time they had spent in captivity, POWs had missed out on food, clothing and other allowances. Many felt they had been short-changed. They believed they had actually saved the military money while in captivity.
In the immediate postwar period, prisoners of the Japanese received some compensation under the terms of the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan. (This money was raised from the sale of Japanese assets in South-East Asia and the Pacific, such as the Burma-Thailand Railway.) But this amounted to only £102 ($285).
Former prisoners such as 'Weary' Dunlop took a leading role and advocated on behalf of captives of the Japanese. But it was not until 2001 that former POWs received significant compensation. The Australian Government paid each surviving POW $25,000.
Glossary
- repatriation