Suez Maru: 29 November 1943

Discussion in 'The War at Sea' started by geoff501, Sep 18, 2008.

  1. harkness

    harkness Well-Known Member

    Pusey_k.jpg
     
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  2. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Here's a link to the current player, with the downloadable audio there: BBC Radio 4 - Document, The Case of the Suez Maru

    The Case of the Suez Maru
    Document
    Mike Thomson presents the series using documentary evidence to throw new light on past events. He examines the events surrounding a massacre of Allied POWs by the Japanese in 1943 and peruses the document that allowed the perperators to escape justice.
     
  3. Eva Maria 12

    Eva Maria 12 New Member

    LS

    Like to talk to the son of Kenneth Thomas.

    My uncle was on the ship.

    Somebody knows how to contact that survivor of the ship or family of him.

    Further may be japanese survivors.
     
  4. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello and welcome


    best to post what you have and make it a bit more personal in your search for information
    Also you have the wrong year it is 1943.
    The Suez Maru | COFEPOW
    thank you
     
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  5. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

  6. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Probably a good time to merge threads.

    Not much known by me apart from the Dutch victims IJA cards bear the code "KA7", a file number which was given by the Japanese Prisoner of War Information Bureau. At what date a list of victims was provided I don't know. It is possible that the code also appears on IJA cards for British victims.

    A Japanese Professor provides an important Kew file reference which bears a slightly different name for the ship:

    " Reference:
    LCO 2/3002
    Description:
    Japanese war crimes S/S "Suey Maru" As to whether trial should be held having regard to the recommendations of the Far Eastern Commission that trials should be concluded by 30th September 1949
    Date:
    1949
    Held by:
    The National Archives, Kew
    Former reference in its original department:
    3201/20 (part 56)
    Legal status:
    Public Record(s)
    Closure status:
    Open Document, Open Description"

    The learned professor is Hirofumi Hayashi.

    Hirofumi Hayashi - Wikipedia


    Australian Archives have files but they are not digitised.

    Australian investigators were very good at helping British investigators in the "maru" cases.

    Australian files listed:

    MP742/1 336/1/1965 PART 2 War crimes: Weekly reports of investigations by 2 Australian War Crimes Section - Investigation reports by Captain J Sylvester [period covered 5 December 1947 - 20 January 1950] [component 2 of 13]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1947 - 1950 10526046
    MP742/1 336/1/2026 PART 1 War crimes - Massacre of Allied PW [prisoners of war] on sinking of SUEZ MARU [Supplementary search term: Captain Sylvester; Includes list of English prisoners of war that embarked on SUEZ MARU at Amboina] 1. MISC 39 [Component 1 of 5]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1949 - 1949 393391
    MP742/1 336/1/2026 PART 2 War crimes - Massacre of Allied PW [prisoners of war] on sinking of SUEZ MARU [Supplementary search term: Captain Sylvester; Includes list of English prisoners of war that embarked on SUEZ MARU at Amboina] 2. Suez Maru case - Captain Sylvester - 153B Safe custody - MISC 39 [Component 2 of 5]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1949 - 1949 32839304
    MP742/1 336/1/2026 PART 3 War crimes - Massacre of Allied PW [prisoners of war] on sinking of SUEZ MARU [Supplementary search term: Captain Sylvester; Includes list of English prisoners of war that embarked on SUEZ MARU at Amboina] 3. 153B Suez Maru case[Component 3 of 5]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1949 - 1949 32839305
    MP742/1 336/1/2026 PART 4 War crimes - Massacre of Allied PW [prisoners of war] on sinking of SUEZ MARU [Supplementary search term: Captain Sylvester; Includes list of English prisoners of war that embarked on SUEZ MARU at Amboina] 4. War Crimes - Sanuki-Maru - 170 - date completed 11 June '48 [Component 4 of 5]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1949 - 1949 32839306
    MP742/1 336/1/2026 PART 5 War crimes - Massacre of Allied PW [prisoners of war] on sinking of SUEZ MARU [Supplementary search term: Captain Sylvester; Includes list of English prisoners of war that embarked on SUEZ MARU at Amboina] 5. Allied translator and interpreter service [Component 5 of 5]
    Access status: Open Location: Melbourne
    1949 - 1949 32839307
     
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  7. Jacqcrofts

    Jacqcrofts Member

    Hello -
    I am also a family member of a man killed in the Suez maru atrocity. I have been researching it in detail and am just finishing my PhD which covers it, and I wrote a book in 2020 about it, as well as built the Suez Maru Memorial at the NMA.
    I am afraid the recurring tale of Kenneth Thomas being the only survivor is fiction. There were no survivors. The story started, I don't know where, but it has been widely perpetuated by Denis Courant, on COFEPOW, as 'an amusing anecdote' that he survived and was many miles away. I seek to get rid of these references, as they are not only not amusing, but they are disrespectful to our families who lost relatives in the Suez Maru war crime. Please do come and meet about 200 of the 414 Britsh families on our Facebook group, @suezmaru, where we share lots of information and where remembrance gatherings for the men are detailed.
    Very best, Jacquelyn
     
  8. Jacqcrofts

    Jacqcrofts Member

    There are only a few images of the suez Maru, including:
     

    Attached Files:

  9. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Jacquelyn,

    Eva maria 12 has only been here in July 2021, with that one post.
     

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