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Thank you so much Mike, that information is all very helpful, I am so grateful.

Hi Fiona, I have nil information on your grandfather except that he joined the S.S.V.F. and had a service number of 6013. His Japanese Index Card shows him to be in Workgroup 4 on the Siam Railway. I believe you will get far more accurate information from the following two experts.
Jonathan Moffatt at the Malayan Volunteer Group will help regarding the S.S.V.F. at the website https://www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/contacts—membership.html. The experts for the Railroad are https://www.tbrconline.com/index.htm . (I dont think hyperlink will work so copy"n"paste). Both sites do a wonderful job at research for families.

I would love to find out more regarding my grandfather Leonard Walter Marsh, he lived in Singapore as a civilian,
but I believe joined up only days before Singapore was taken, he was captured and spent the whole war as a POW,
I believe working on the Burma railroad, but know little else, I would love any further information of where he was
during those years, I know my grandmother and father escaped to Australia on one of the last boats, not knowing
if my Grandfather was alive for many years.
He did survive, but injuries sustained from those years took a toll on his health and he died in his late fifties.

Bill, as there were many William Murray taken POW, you will need to add more information to identify him. Unfortunately marriage details are not on pow files. Some of the following would help: middle name, when born, where born, parents christian names, regiment, etc

Trying to find out about my uncle, William Murray.
I think he was a Japanese pow.
I know he was married in India to a Queen Alexandra"s nurse.
I think she was a Major.

Hi William, your Grandfather was Staff Sergeant Curry, service number 1861266, of the 40th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers. As a staff sergeant, he had a responsible role to play, and held in regard by the men as well as the officers. He was never in Thailand as he was actually taken prisoner on Christmas Day 1941 in Hong Kong. On the 01.10.1942 he was involved in one of the notorious events of war in the east when he was in a Japanese hell-ship that was attacked by an American submarine and sunk. The hell-ship was the Lisbon Maru being torpedoed by USS Grouper. 820 prisoners died that day, but obviously William was rescued. He was sent to Osaka 1B camp and there he died. He would have been probably cremated there as it is stated his urn was in the mausoleum at Yokohama after the war. The records show the family were at Oberon Street, COOGEE, in Australia. To connect the water damaged prayer book to the Lisbon Maru would be a wonderful family story.

My grandfather, William Curry, is buried in Japan. His family were evacuated to Australia during the war years. They were taken to England and believed he was still alive in captivity. Someone who witnessed his death said he died of beriberi some years earlier. There are only snippets of info like a water damaged prayer book - was he interred in Thailand and shipped to Japan? My grandfather was in REME I am told and was an NCO. I wish I knew more

Can anyone tell me if the return to Maghull was just to Liverpool or did they stay at the psychiatric hospital there now known as Ashworth?.
My Grandfather came home via India and we have a card saying May your brief stay with us be happy…and trying to establish of her continued to be refed there or assessed for what would be PTSD now?
Any information would be helpful

Refence my post below dated 29.10.22, I have now found to have made a couple of errors. Firstly, Harolds journey of 4.4.42 was OVS (by sea) NOT to the Railroad, but to Saigon, in the hellship Nissyo Maru. Secondly, it would not be until 22nd June 1943 that they were then transferred to the Railroad.

Hi Mike I would love more information thank you 

Hi Debbie, It was quite a challenge to find anything about your uncle. However, it eventually became clear that he spelt his name as Loder and not Loader. So gunner H J Loder, service number 5726185 (sometimes listed as 1726185) was listed in the 5th S/L files as residing in Wareham Rd, Holton Heath, Poole. He was one of the first to be sent to the Siam Railroad on 04.04.1942, and was with the Group 4 workforce. This means that after initial work around Ban Pong, he would then have slaved around the camps at Wampo, Tonchan, and Konyu. His Japanese Index card states that he first became ill on July 31st 1943 and was in the 2nd Hospital POW camp, Kanchanaburi District. As you know he died on November 8th 1943 of dysentery and malnutrition, and is now buried in Chungkai. Harold would never have been in Burma, he was only at the Siam end of the Railroad. Contact me if you wish to have any copies of his files.

Looking to find out a little more about my uncle
Harold thomas loader died age 21 POW Burma 
Railway 1943. He was in the 5th searchlight regiment 
Wonder where they was sent and were from to
Burma 

Hi Gail. Unfortunately there are no details available for the service folk bought back from Singapore, Rangoon, Java etc. Some of the ships have a list of fare paying passengers, but the POWs were listed seperately and the forms went to the war transport dept. It is believed these forms were probably destroyed. Those POWs who were held captive in Japan, Taiwan and Philippines have been identified on passenger lists as details were held by the American Archives NARA.

Hi, you kindly found out information about My G. Uncle Charles Archibald Cope, He was a POW in Thailand. I was wondering if you could tell us how to find out which ship he was repatriated on, or maybe where to start looking. His service number was T/181073
Regards
Gail

Hi Charlie. I am assuming that W. Harris is Wilfred Harris from West Hartlepool, as he was a crew member of HMS Exeter. Wilfred seems to have avoided leaving a papertrail anywhere, with his Japanese Index Card appearing to be a substitute created in 1945, and on various documents he is marked as "no details". The only form that gives us any information is his Liberation Questionnaire which gives his service number (unclear) as probably D/JX237684, and he states that after capture he spent the entire war as a POW at Makassar. (South Sulawesi). The POW Camp had a brutal Commander named Yoesheda who was known as "The Mad Monk".

Looking for any information on my grandmothers brother W Harris who served on the HMS exeter and who survived the POW camp. He returned on the HMS Maidstone but I cannot find any other information.
Only information I have is from An old diary which my grandfather kept where he mentions “ Lena’s brother missing from the exeter 28 March 1942” and later writes “ Lena got word her brother safe off Exeter, Prisoner 3years 7 months
Hope someone can shed some light. Grandmothers maiden name was Helena Harris ( Lena )

Leanne, see email.

My Great Uncle, Ronald Flint DOB 9th May 1921 was in Singapore when it fell to the Japanese and was taken prisoner,
He escaped from a Japanese POW camp by clinging on to the underside of a train and eventually made his way back to his company.
I have been unable to find any information about him. Any information would be much appreciated.
He was living in Luton when he enlisted and I believe he was a Private in the army

Oh my gosh, thank you Mike so much, this is amazing.
Are there any websites you recommend to help dig further into this,
I"m finding it really fascinating. I am also looking at Edgar James Cope (Charles")
brother. I believe he may have gone to Burma. Believe he was a Corpral and
number 5677055. Again, any info would be amazing, Thank you

Hi Leanne. Charles Cope, service number T/181073, held rank Driver in the RASC. However, he listed himself as 196 Field Ambulance RASC so he had been attached to this group probably on a permanent posting. He lists his address as Rectory Cottage, Howe, Nr. Brooke, Norwich.
He became prisoner on 15.02.1942 at the capitulation of Singapore. He was sent to the Burma Siam Railroad on 18.06.1942 so this was one of the very first train loads who were sent. His POW Camps were Non Pladuk, Ban Pong, Tarsao, Non Pladuk (again) and finally Pratchi. You can view his Liberation Questionnaire courtesy of the volunteers at Cofepow :https://lq-cofepow.org/products/cope-charles-archibald?_pos=3&_sid=f0b218559&_ss=r
He is listed as being finally liberated on 30.08.1945 and probably sailed home from Rangoon.

I am searching my ancestry and a relative was a Japanese POW in 1942. His name was Charles Archibald Cope, from Kent. 
I believe he may have lived in Norfolk with his wife while he was serving.  Any help would be amazing, thank you 

I have just found this excellent site while researching the death of a man mentioned in WW2 newsletters from Northampton Post Office, and found useful info here.His storyFrederick Donald Hughes "Don" Robinson was born on 29/12/1915, son of George and Nellie nee Moore. The birth was registered in the Lutterworth Area in 1916.
In March 1932 Don was appointed as a postman at Leicester.
By mid 1939 Don was employed as a Sorting Clerk and Telegraphist for the Post Office and lived with his parents at 60 Harrow Road, Leicester but he transferred in the same role to Northampton GPO in October 1939.
He enlisted in the Army and (to use his experience as a GPO Telegraphist) became Signalman 2591866 in the Royal Corps of Signals and was posted to the Far East, Malaya, as part of 18th Divisional Signals.
He was captured by the Japanese Forces at the Fall of Singapore, on 15/2/1942 (or 17/2/15 in the Japanese system - 17th year of Showa era.) and is believed to have worked on the Burma Siam railway construction, under what are now known to have been brutal and inhumane conditions.
On 12/9/1944, Don was amongst some 900 British P.O.W.s aboard the Kachidoki Maru, being transported from Malaya to Japan. The ship was part of a convoy, HI 72, sighted by United States Navy Submarines and late in the evening USS Pampanito, unaware that Allied P.O.W.s were aboard ships in the convoy, attacked launching three torpedoes, two of which struck the Kachidoki Maru one astern and one amidships. She sank near Hainan Island.
The Kachidoki Maru was built by New York Shipping Company in Camden, New Jersey and originally named ‘President Harrison’, then, having been captured, the Kakku Maru before Kachidoki Maru. The ship was 524 feet overall length with a displacement of 10,500 tons and was painted battle grey, flying the merchant marine flag, which was a red ball in the centre of a white field. It had no red cross markings.
There were 515 survivors, those who abandoned ship at the earliest opportunity, were picked up by other vessels in the convoy but Don was amongst those 415 lost. Some survivors were picked up by U.S. Submarines and were amongst the first to tell of the horrors of the Railway.
The Rakuyo Maru carrying Australian and British P.O.W.s in the same convoy was torpedoed and sunk by U.S.Submarine Sealion with even more fatalities.. At least 1500 P.O.W.s died in total.
The ships conveying P.O.W.s to Japan have been called "Hell Ships", but of course the prisoners had already endured hell working on the railway, and some who reached Japan would endure it in a different form.
Don Robinson is Commemorated on Column 45 of The Singapore Memorial..

Hi, I have recently received  copies of my great uncles war records.
He was a pow in Borneo. I would like to find out what camp he was in.

 He was one of the British who survived and went home eventually but died not long after. 
I would be grateful if any information. His name was Alfred Honeysett. And was a zapper in the royal engineers. 
Many thanks. 

I trekked many sections of the subject line with a group from Brisbane some years ago. My brother-in-law Rick Nelson and I were the only sons of Australian soldiers who were
prisoners of the Japanese on that trip.All were amazed at the sites and POW camps and how the prisoners survived such harsh conditions.
Of course, our fathers never spoke of their experiences, and we were just as awestruck as the rest of the group.My dad took many years to adjust to normal life after returning to
Australia, but carried on supporting his family and never complaining.
His health of course finally let him down, due to the injuries and diseases he endured during the war.
I would have loved to have taken him back to visit the rail sites, but he died at the age of 73, on Australia day in 1988.
I am now 75 and wish he had been around to see my grandchildren.

I am keen to find more information about my great
uncle Harold Beech from Manchester.
He was in the 9th Coast regiment artillery and was a gunner.
He died 0n 30th May 1943 in Tonchan Main as a POW.