Where is the Ambon camp?

Where is the Ambon camp?

Indonesia
Unknown to the Allies, prisoners were held at isolated camps on Ambon, in Indonesia, and Hainan, an island off the south coast of China. Just over a thousand Australians, members of Gull Force, had been forced to surrender on Ambon in February 1942.

What were the conditions like at Ambon?

Three-quarters of the Australians captured on Ambon had died before the war’s end. Of the 582 who remained on Ambon, 405 died. They died of overwork, malnutrition, disease and one of the most brutal regimes among camps in which bashings were routine.

Why were the events of Ambon significant for Australia?

Ambon was an important air and sea link between Australia, New Guinea, and the northern NEI . The Japanese invasion on 29–30 January, supported by heavy air and sea bombardments, quickly overwhelmed the defenders, who surrendered on 3 February.

What is an Allied prison camp?

A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. Civilians, such as merchant mariners and war correspondents, have also been imprisoned in some conflicts.

Where is Tol Plantation?

Many of these were murdered on or about 4 February in the vicinity of Tol and Waitavalo Plantations at the eastern end of Wide Bay on the south coast of New Britain.

Do prisoners of war have rights?

Besides being held in a special “camp,” prisoners of war are supposed to be granted all of the rights and privileges that their captor grants to its own armed forces, at least in terms of food, water, shelter, clothing, exercise, correspondence, religious practice and other basic human needs.

What did the POWs do at Camp Forrest?

Camp Forrest officially became a prisoner-of-war camp on May 12, 1942. The camp housed Italian and German POWs. Prisoners became laborers at Camp Forrest in the hospitals and on farms in the local community.