Deciphering FEPOW camps

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by AB64, Jun 17, 2021.

  1. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Looking through some POW Liberation questionnaires I'm struggling to ID a few camps, can anyone help with the 6 with red marks to the left on the below images (sorry they vary in clarity/size). In general with these questionnaires the place names can be really hard going with so many variants in actual place names and on the prisoners knowledge of where they were and how it was spelled, plus sub camps (some of these seem very clear but google doesn't agree) - dates also don't help as some do to-from, some just a single date (that usually seems to be arrived, some have gaps/overlaps. At the moment I'm trying to map out where the men whose Service Books I have were and when, to see who were in the same camps at the same times, to try work out what transports they were on etc.

    lewis1.JPG
    mellalieu.JPG
    REARDON_Stephen_1024x1024.jpg

    Turner._Frederick_John_William_1024x1024.jpg
     
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  2. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Good evening AB64,

    Your third image down, I think this will be Apparon (Apparon 80 Kilo Camp).

    For every single camp there's likely to be half a dozen different recorded spellings. Stuff here that should be of use in deciphering all.

    Thai-Burma Death Railway Camps

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.
     
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  3. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Good shout, oddly the page shows Apparon at 80km, but then go down the list to 80km and it shows Apalaine and at 82km is Apalon - on some the Camp Leader helps narrow it down. I've used that page and a few others but its all a bit hit and miss.

    Cheers
     
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  4. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    I think it's 82 Kilo Apalon (Aparon, Aperon).
    Last one I would think is Kinsaiyok.

    You may find Camps of use but in a quick look through for the others I saw nothing obvious. I'll have a look elsewhere tomorrow. If you remain stuck you could give the names of the FEPOW to the TBRC ( TBRC Online: THE THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY CENTRE ) who should have a data card for them.

    Tim
     
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  5. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Absolutely AB!

    Your fourth image down will be Kinsaiyok, but is it referring to the main camp or one of the three "jungle" ones.

    Best guess type decision making it may have to be unfortunately, unless some sort of cross referencing documents can make things certain.

    Good luck with all.

    Jim.
     
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  6. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    And Tim still types faster than me!

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.
     
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  7. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I know there was a Konquita, sometimes Kon Koita (Concreta) cemetery on the railway around the 268 Kilo, not sure if this was also the name of a camp?
     
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  8. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Now Bamboo's beaten me. Was just going to say that between 249 and 270 Kilo there are several Kon Koita Camps (Concreta?) and Kroeng Krai (Crea?). Section 3C

    Tim
     
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  9. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    They seem reasonable - the they are close together as well which seems sensible, I've been trying to check McKellar to see what camps he was at as I think it was C E McKellar of 118th Field Regiment but I can't tie him down to camps except Tasoa about the right time.
     
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  10. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Image 2 - Unte
    I would be reasonably certain that this is Onte Bridge Camp - an offshoot of Nong Pladuk.

    Tim
     
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  11. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    That seems a good match, when I check it seems to normally be Bangon, but also Bangan as well as a couple of other names - not very considerate these Japanese (in so many ways but not giving each camp a single defining name just puts the tin lid on it)
     
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  12. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Hello AB64,

    Have you seen these re C E MacKellar?

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.

    Mackellar, Clifford Edmond FRONT.jpg

    Mackellar, Clifford Edmond BACK.jpg
     
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  13. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    There's another Colonel MacKellar (James Oliphant) amongst the Japanese cards (as below)

    My Japanese is non-existent, apologies should they be of no help in determining which camps the MacKellar's were in.

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.

    Mackellar, James Oliphant FRONT.jpg

    Mackellar, James Oliphant BACK.jpg
     
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  14. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    There is a simple trick to "learn" IJA card Japanese using a Dutch Archives site and Google translate. The easy way to search Dutch IJA cards is to search for the file references: in the last above example "JA 260".

    Then click on the returns to view cards and translations to typed Japanese characters and English (!)

    Beware, do not download the index Zip thing, this will scream at you that you do not own it if you try to copy it to plain text.

    The link to the search page is: Japanse interneringskaarten

    Line two in mauve on reverse of card in post above is a rubber stamp, full date not completed.

    In this translation the last character before the "IV" is missing.

    昭和18年_月_日泰俘虜収容所IV分所へ移管す;

    Translates to:

    "Transferred to the IV branch of the POW camp IV in 1943;"

    Apparently !
     
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  15. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    I think I may have misinterpreted the information I looked at. It looks like Onte is indeed Bangon/Bangan and the POWs were moved from here to Nong Pladuk. See entry for Dolan - 3 day journey from Onte to Nong Pladuk.
    upload_2021-6-20_13-11-35.jpeg
    Tim
     
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