The Missing Men of the Suez Maru. In this programme Mike Thomson examines the case of the Suez Maru - a so-called Japanese 'Hell Ship' transporting allied POW's during the Second World war who were massacred at sea. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document.shtml
SUEZ MARU (November 29, 1943) On the islands of Ambon and Hasuku in the Moluccas, Allied prisoners were dying daily through starvation, disease and beatings by their guards. In the past six months almost 400 had died and around 700 were too sick to work. The Japanese then decided to send the sick back to Java. A total of 640 men, including a number of Japanese sick patients, were taken on board the 4,645-ton passenger-cargo ship Suez Maru. In two holds, 422 sick British (including 221 RAF servicemen) and 127 sick Dutch prisoners, including up to twenty stretcher cases, were accommodated. The Japanese patients filled the other two holds. Escorted by a minesweeper W-12, the Suez Maru set sail from Port Amboina but while entering the Java Sea and about 327 kilometres east of Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies, the vessel was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Bonefish commanded by Cdr. Tom Hogan. The ship started to list as water poured into the holds drowning hundreds. Hundreds more, Allied and Japanese, managed to escape the holds and were struggling in the water. The Japanese mine sweeper W-12 started to pick up survivors, but only their own nationals, leaving the British captives behind. Between 200 and 250 men were floating in the sea. The minesweeper then made several slow circles around the survivors and minutes later machine-gun and rifle fire were directed towards the defenceless swimmers. Empty rafts and lifeboats were then rammed and sunk by the W-12. The minesweeper then picked up speed and sped off towards Batavia (Jakarta). They had rescued 93 Japanese soldiers and crewmen and 205 Japanese sick patients. Sixty-nine Japanese had died during the attack. Back at the site of the sinking only floating wreckage and an oil spill was all that was left of the Suez Maru. Of the 547 British and Dutch prisoners, there was only one survivor, a British soldier, Kenneth Thomas, who was picked up twenty-four hours later by the Australian minesweeper HMAS Ballarat. Over 90 percent of POW deaths at sea was the result of 'friendly fire'. The USS Bonefish was sunk off Honshu on June 18, 1945, when on her 8th war patrol. All 86 crew were lost. The Bonefish was the last submarine to be sunk in World War 11.
I am just curious, how could hmas ballarat, a surface ship, be inside japanese controlled territory, what was she doing there? or the survivor managed - within 24 hr - to get himself to the area south of flores island? Even this location would still be too hot for a surface ship. Here are some passages on from HMAS Ballarat (I - Royal Australian Navy) not much detail for her activity in 1943, though.... In December 1942 Ballarat (I) and her sister ships Broome (I) and Colac were detailed to transport Australian troops and land them as far forward as possible in the Buna area. The three vessels reached the landing point at Cape Sudest near Oro Bay without incident, but a few minutes later unidentified aircraft began dropping flares. Because of the threat of attack from enemy aircraft and from enemy warships believed to be in the area it was decided to retire temporarily after only 46 men had disembarked out of a total of 762. Later the same day (14 December) the operation was successfully completed using a new landing position and under cover of darkness all troops were put safely ashore. During the remainder of the month Ballarat (I) was involved in troop carrying on three further occasions. In April 1943 Ballarat (I) was ordered to operate off the Australian east coast to counter the Japanese submarine menace. Returning north for escort duty to New Guinea in January 1944 Ballarat (I) was later employed between Thursday Island and Darwin. In August 1944 she ferried troops from Eilanden River (southern Dutch New Guinea) bringing them without loss to Merauke. In 1945 she was minesweeping off Sydney prior to the arrival of the British Pacific Fleet, departing for Manus on 25 February and arriving at Leyte Gulf on 26 March. Ballarat (I) then participated in the operation for the capture of Okinawa (March-May 1945).
SUEZ MARU (November 29, 1943) Over 90 percent of POW deaths at sea was the result of 'friendly fire'. Peter, What a heart rendering account. I never realised that there was such a high percentage of POW deaths at sea. Did the Japanese Sign or mark the ships as carrying Prisoners Of War? Tom
Hello there My uncle was on the Suez Maru. The family knew that the ship (not Red Cross marked) had been sunk by an American submarine - but my father, his parents and siblings never knew the real story. The crime came to light after a certain date set, after which no more trials would be held and the truth kept from the families of those who were killed, by the government of the day. A Japanese ship carrying POWs would not be marked with a Red Cross flag but a cargo ship would be. Heather
One of our local men was killed in this incident, L/Bdr L H Woodman, 21 LAA. The circumstances surrounded this incident were not known until 1949. Here's an extract from my account of his death; After the war ended in 1945 nothing was known about the true circumstances surrounding the death of these men. They were simply listed as victims of an American Submarine attack until 1949 when Lieutenant Koshio Masaji in writing disclosed to the United States Army Far East Command details about the sinking,asking for an investigation into the massacre of Allied Prisoners of War at sea. His statements triggered an inquiry into his own actions, the actions of the captain of the Suez Maru and the commander of the escort Minesweeper W12. However after the completion of the Japanese War Crimes Trials, no further action was taken to indict Kawano Usumu, Commander of Minesweeper No. 12, for the killing of Allied Prisoners of War or Lt. Koshio for carrying out the orders. Charles
I am just curious, how could hmas ballarat, a surface ship, be inside japanese controlled territory, what was she doing there? or the survivor managed - within 24 hr - to get himself to the area south of flores island? Even this location would still be too hot for a surface ship. Here are some passages on from HMAS Ballarat (I - Royal Australian Navy) not much detail for her activity in 1943, though.... In December 1942 Ballarat (I) and her sister ships Broome (I) and Colac were detailed to transport Australian troops and land them as far forward as possible in the Buna area. The three vessels reached the landing point at Cape Sudest near Oro Bay without incident, but a few minutes later unidentified aircraft began dropping flares. Because of the threat of attack from enemy aircraft and from enemy warships believed to be in the area it was decided to retire temporarily after only 46 men had disembarked out of a total of 762. Later the same day (14 December) the operation was successfully completed using a new landing position and under cover of darkness all troops were put safely ashore. During the remainder of the month Ballarat (I) was involved in troop carrying on three further occasions. In April 1943 Ballarat (I) was ordered to operate off the Australian east coast to counter the Japanese submarine menace. Returning north for escort duty to New Guinea in January 1944 Ballarat (I) was later employed between Thursday Island and Darwin. In August 1944 she ferried troops from Eilanden River (southern Dutch New Guinea) bringing them without loss to Merauke. In 1945 she was minesweeping off Sydney prior to the arrival of the British Pacific Fleet, departing for Manus on 25 February and arriving at Leyte Gulf on 26 March. Ballarat (I) then participated in the operation for the capture of Okinawa (March-May 1945). First of all I apologise for posting this reply elsewhere on this forum. I now see that this thread is the more appropriate place for it. Hello to everyone, I came across this thread regarding the Suez Maru and thought I might share some information that I found intriguing, whilst researching my late fathers movements in WWII, so that I could claim his medals. My Dad ( RAF A.C.1 ) was at the fall of Singapore escaping on the MV Derrymore. this boat was subsequently torpedoed and sunk by Japanese sub 125 on 13/02/1942 60 miles off of the coast of Batavia ( Java ) He, along with the rest of those on board ( including future Aussie prime minister John Gorton ) were left in the water for 24 hours before being picked up by the Australian ship HMAS BALLARAT. My Dad's name is Kenneth Thomas. coincidence ? Also,there doesn't seem to be any records of what happened to the Kenneth Thomas from the Suez Maru incident.
First of all I apologise for posting this reply elsewhere on this forum. I now see that this thread is the more appropriate place for it. Hello to everyone, I came across this thread regarding the Suez Maru and thought I might share some information that I found intriguing, whilst researching my late fathers movements in WWII, so that I could claim his medals. My Dad ( RAF A.C.1 ) was at the fall of Singapore escaping on the MV Derrymore. this boat was subsequently torpedoed and sunk by Japanese sub 125 on 13/02/1942 60 miles off of the coast of Batavia ( Java ) He, along with the rest of those on board ( including future Aussie prime minister John Gorton ) were left in the water for 24 hours before being picked up by the Australian ship HMAS BALLARAT. My Dad's name is Kenneth Thomas. coincidence ? Also,there doesn't seem to be any records of what happened to the Kenneth Thomas from the Suez Maru incident. Sorry ! java ( Jakarta )
Dear All It is strange and sad that it is not until my farthers passing did I find out so much about his war time life. It turns out that he was one of the 20-22, stretcher cases embarked onto the Suez Maru. Because he was not expected to live long, he was dis-embarked at Ambon Island where he luckily recovered and only passed away on 22nd May 2013. I now have copies of his account of the Suez Maru incident and also maps with dates and durations of his time on Java, Ambon and Haruku Islands. He wrote an account of each day on cigarette papers later transcribed to a note book. I have only just registered on this site and am not quite sure if it is appropriate for me to post his account here but if anyone is interested I can. regards Brian Heath
"I have only just registered on this site and am not quite sure if it is appropriate for me to post his account here but if anyone is interested I can." Welcome aboard Brian - as far as I'm concerned, unless you plan on publishing a book on your father, then this is one of the best places to post his story. Any info you have that can be scanned and added to the thread, along with his full story, will be welcome and add to the pool of knowledge on this sad subject. Don't forget to include his full name and service number etc (what unit he was with) so that future researchers can know of his life. regards Dave
Thank you DaveB My farthers name was Frank Heath, Pilot Officer (Ad), Service No. 75308. I will try to attach his story involving the Suez Maru below. View attachment Franks story.pdf Best regards Brian Heath
Hi Brian Thank you so much for posting that. As mentioned earlier in this thread, my uncle was on the Suez Maru :-( He was William Forbes Petrie Brodie and he was a R.A.F.V.R. serviceman. I can imagine that, perhaps, his path as a POW was the same as your father's ..... as such, your posting means a lot to me. As DaveB wrote, anything you can post will add "to the pool of knowledge on this sad subject". Many thanks again .... and I'm so pleased that you posted your father's story. Heather
Thank you Heather and Paul for the kind words. I think it highly likely that Heathers Uncle was a pall of my Dad. As my Dad said in Franks Story (above), he volunteered for the far east but did have a mission. He was one of ten that was trained up in Radar (he had a degree in Physics). So the Japs had all ten in captivity and never knew! My Dad also contributed to a book which was a collection of POW stories. He only signed his contibution F.H. I will attach it below entitled Java. He also drew up a map (tracing from a real map, I guess), and included times, dates and durations of his time on Java. I will also attach the map below (probably) entitled page 1 and page 2. I must appologise for appearing to be 'off topic' but I feel it is all justified as a lead up to the Suez Maru story.
Re my post above.....it turns out that the map pages are too large (file size) to upload. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Brian Heath
hi not sure if anyone can help, trying to research great uncle but having no luck,family told he POW died in captivity.research has found he died whilst being transported on Suez Maru all I have is service no trying to find which unit he belonged to or any info really details I have Service no 640281 leading aircraftman Joseph Walter Pusey age 23 when killed Many thanks if anyone can help
hello Rosie Im afraid it is a very unpleasant story . Forum members will be along shortly to add more info Suez Maru Sunk 29th November 1943 by USS Bonefish, off Kangean Islands 6º 22' South by 116º 35' East. In 1943, the Japanese decided to ship the sick back to Java. A total of 640 men, including a number of Japanese sick patients, were taken on board the 4,645-ton passenger-cargo ship Suez Maru. In two holds, 422 sick British (including 221 RAF servicemen) and 127 sick Dutch prisoners, including up to twenty stretcher cases, were accommodated. The Japanese patients filled the other two holds. Escorted by a minesweeper W-12, the Suez Maru set sail from Port Amboina but while entering the Java Sea and about 327 kilometers east of Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies, the vessel was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Bonefish commanded by Cdr. Tom Hogan. The ship started to list as water poured into the holds drowning hundreds, many managed to escape the holds and swam away from the sinking ship. The Japanese mine sweeper W-12 picked up the Japanese survivors, leaving between 200 and 250 men in the sea. At 14.50, the minesweeper, W-12, under orders from Captain Kawano, opened fire, using a machine gun and rifles. Rafts and lifeboats were then rammed and sunk by the W-12. The firing did not cease till all the prisoners were killed, the minesweeper then picked up speed and sped off towards Batavia (Jakarta) at 16.30 hours. Sixty-nine Japanese had died during the attack, 93 Japanese soldiers and 205 Japanese sick patients were rescued by the Japanese. Of the 547 British and Dutch prisoners, there is reported to be one survivor, a British soldier, Kenneth Thomas, who was picked up twenty-four hours later by the Australian minesweeper HMAS Ballarat, this has not been confirmed. Forum member here can send you a photograph of the memorial panel CWGC Kranji - Singapore Memorial: pics of c25,000 names now available. apply for his service record link Get a copy of military service records - GOV.UK Leading AircraftmanPUSEY, JOSEPH WALTER Service Number 640281 Died 29/11/1943 Aged 23 Royal Air Force Son of Frederick and L. Pusey, of Windsor, Berkshire. some reading for you The case of the Suez Maru 29 November 1943 Suez Maru Database
Hi, Other forum members are likely to know more, but he is listed on the Cofepow database here: Record Details
