Guestbook

Brings back memories, we were with you and others April 2001

Peter, Your comprehensive website is a great supplement to the knowledge we gained on 2003& 2004 Quiet Lion Tours Anzac Day. We look forward to further updates,
Regards, Kev & Dot

Hi Peter
May I congratulate you on a wonderfully informative site.
I, too, have a web site 2-26bn.org, which is dedicated to the men of the 2/26 Battalion, which was the only Infantry Battalion raised in Queensland.
We and others like us,must do our utmost to make sure that true story of the part Australians played in the war in South East Asia is told and retold.
Most folk know about the part Australians played in the Middle East and Europe, but a relatively small proportion know of our involvment in the war with Japan in S. E. Asia, and especially the inhume treatment of the POWs by the Japanese particularly during the building of the Thai-Burma Railway, at Sandakan and in the mines in Japan itself.
The true story of Australias involvement in this conflict must be told and retold. People must know the whole gut wretching truth, not some whitewashed, politically correct version, or distorted incorredt versions presented by one particular foreign government.

Thanks Peter for the excellent work you are doing to ensure that we do not forget the people who enlisted to protect our country, and particularly those who died for us. Ive been reading a few of the books about the Burma Thailand Railway and still have others to read as yet. To say Ive enjoyed reading these books would be a lie - however theyve certainly given a clear insight into the inhuman dealings on the Railway. It is interesting to note that the recollections of Ian Denys Peek in one-fourteenth of an elephant describes the dreadful illnesses and particularly cholera taking a much greater toll on the southern railway than those described where Australian medical officers were in charge and took steps to reduce the spread of the disease. I can well appreciate your deep respect for them and the need to tell their story. Peek does make mention of a big Australian doctor making a huge difference at one of the camps where he was interned.

I wrote yesterday of the passing of my friend, Denny Scanlon. I got to thinking what it was that sets men like Denny and his fellow POWs apart. And I guess this could be my eulogy to him
After all they suffered, and the heinous treatment they received, so many of them, against the odds, lived well in to old age. They did not let bitterness, anger, or hatred destroy them. Even though they had every right to feel these emotions. They didnt complain about the lasting effects on their health. They just got on with it.They only seemed to speak of the funny episodes of their captivity, and only fleetingly, if at all, about the bad ones. They had extreme tolerance and patience. They had compassion.They even forgave, if not forgot.
And who could forget?
I think there is something for us to admire and aspire to, in the example they have set.
Graeme Williams

I am reading your website tonight, as I think with sadness, and respect, for our great family friend Denis (Denny) Scanlon, who passed away today 23/2/06, aged 93. Denny was a member of the 2nd/40th Btn. from Tasmania, and a POW. He was an inspiration to my wife and I, caring, generous, and an absolute gentleman. I have been to Singapore twice in recent years, and each time I am there, I make a pilgimage to the Changi Memorial to pay my respects to all those brave men. It is one of the most moving experiences of my life, and I feel a presence there. I believe all Australians who visit Singapore should place this at the top of their list.
Lest We Forget
We Will Remember Them
Graeme & Sue Williams

Dear Peter, my Grandfather was Captain Ian Lovell Duncan, medical officer, and I have been greatly uplifted by your work and article on his life as an officer and Japanese POW. Thankyou.
Ian de Renzie Duncan

You've done a great job with this site Peter. I think it's important to get the POW story out so that it will never be forgotton. Webmaster The Official 2/26th Battalion Website.

Reading the articles from this great webpage has given me a special, and sometimes terrifying, insight into what our soldiers and nurses suffered. What an inspiration those people have been! As a Nursing Officer in the GRes and Regular Army I have never seen these horrors of war and hope I never do however I have a wonderful respect and admiration for all those who have served and for Peter who has tirelessly researched and collected these personal stories of suffering, bravery, defeat and triumph. Attending the 2004 Remembrance Day Trip,by the Defence Reserves Association,to the Thai Burma Railway was one of the most moving and informative trips I have done. Thank you for the recent account of Sister Hannah's experiences as a POW.

thanks Peter for telling the stories of these people who should never be forgotten. It has given me an even greater insight to Jim (Jim Allpike WX7064 2/4 Machine Gun Bn, subsequently captured in Java and then associated with 2/3 MG Bn)- a truly remarkable man. I shall pass this information on to his grandchildren. I am proud to have him in my family.

Peter, Great additions to your web-site.Have read Tommy Busine's NX77799 story,a wonderful read!!. Had pleasure of travelling with Jim Busine Anzac 2003.A dedicated man in wanting to keep the memories of what happened on the Railway forever in our minds.

Hi Peter,
Good to see this site is growing. I hope the photos I am sending you can be put to good use.

Thank you for the insights into what being a prisoner of war to an Asian enemy was like. It corroborates (although you might not want it to) the act in my Troop in South Vietnam of swearing to each other that none of us would be taken alive. We remembered the cruelty of the WWII Japanese, the North Koreans and the treatment of two infantry diggers who were captured by the enemy in 1968, and then found dead in a market place with the obvious signs of death by mutilation. Your work is, in my opinion, a re-affirmation to all our servicemen, that in a future conflict with an Asian enemy, surrender is not an option.

Congratulations to Peter Winstanley for his efforts in creating a great website.<BR>His work is a living and growing memorial to the sacrifice and service of our men and women at war, and I am sure that it will help future generations come to understand the PRICE THAT WAS PAID FOR THE FREEDOM THAT WE ENJOY, and never let anyone take it away.<BR>My late father DX561 Sapper Lewis Frank Scott signed up in 1940 and, after service with the 7th Division in the Syrian and North African Campaigns, was cast into Japanese hands by Wavell on Java in 1942. He buried his best mate DX562 Sapper James Russell at Kilo 100 camp in Burma in 1943.<BR>Those members of the 2/6 Field Company left alive on completion of the Railway were sent to Saigon, then on through the gates of Hell itself, namely Omuta Camp 17, Fukuoka Province in Japan. They remained there as slave labour in the Mitsui coal mine until the atom bomb was dropped on nearby Nagasaki.<BR>Research by Peter Winstanly is helping people understand the terrible treatment and torture our loved ones received at the hands of the japanese and korean guards, and why this may have made their life so difficult when they returned to Australia. For his efforts my family thanks him most sincerely.

Thanks for your help and generousity Peter...You maintain a very fine tradition! I'm glad that these sites are available so that we won't forget.
Rick

It's amazing how todays culture doesn't even understand what these men went through. My grandfather, Dr. Henri Hekking, enlightened me as to what happened in the camps. Until the day that he passed, he never spoke about the Japanese with any anger or hatred. Another man who recently passed was Tom "Slug" Wright. He was another inspiration in my life. He also survived the sinking of the USS Houston. I can't thank the Vets of any era enough for giving us the freedoms we have today. More so the hatred and anger that was left on the "war fields" and not brought home. I understand that not everyone has had the same experience, I wish they had. To all the Vets who read this, THANK YOU!

My brother was William Charles Batchelor Jr. He was on the USS Houston when it was sunk. As a Jap POW he was in many different camps but wound up in Burma on the Railroad of Death where he perished at 80 Kilo camp on Oct 1 1943. I miss him every day. Hope to hear from someone who may have known him.

Although I am a military officer of nearly 40 years, I have learned a lot in viewing this web site. Well done Peter.

Thank you Peter for your dedication. You have covered so much. My brother (Rolly Small NX66852 2/10 Field Ambulance "F" Force- died Songkurai 28June 1943)and all those who died there are remembered in such a fine tribute.It is a great comfort that there were such wonderful doctors and mates there with them when we at home could not.

The bravery,ingenuity and mateship of these soldiers can never be forgotten. As a veteran of the Vietnam (war?) it makes me very humble to see what these people have been through. We need every bit of history possible to be recorded in the hope that it may stop anything like this ever happening again. I know it is hard to speak about what has happened in a war situation, but I believe we need to see more of it. Well done on a great website.

Thanks for a very good web page. Most of my incarceration was in Japan, first at Kobe and when that city was bombed-out we were transferred to a town outside Nagasaki. We were in that city a few days after the a-bomb had been exploded and were amazed at the damage. The bomb saved us from being executed,as this was to happen when the Allies landed in Japan. Needless to relate, that proved unnecessary.

A well researched site. The stories are of human courage, whilst enduring inhuman treatment.
After visiting the Canberra war memorial last year, this site has brought back some very sad memories of that period in my lifetime. I just hope none of my six young grandsons ever have to experience anything like this.

Im researching a gent that I worked with 40 yrs ago. He was a POW in camp#26 at Keisen Kyusu Japan. His name is/was Pte Edward Brown QX13341 Australian 8th Div Sigs. I am presently waiting for National Archives records. He gave me a wallet with Japanese invasion money & a bundle of wrappers from all the items he received from a red cross POW package.

I would like to commend you on your well-researched and presented website, which demonstrates your commitment to preserving, for future generations, the stories of hardship and gallantry of the Australian prisoners of war captured during the Second World War. Best wishes for your ongoing efforts in collecting and documenting these important histories.

This is fantastic, brings back so many memories of a fantastic trip (Quiet Lion Tour 2000) to see what those wonderful men endured for our freedom.