Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Can anyone translate a Japanese (or Chinese) WW2 document for me

I found him listed on a "Hell Ship", the POWs were being transported From Singapore to Formosa (Taiwan)


Bloody hell BoatieBird :(

Imperial war museum has an in-depth article.

 
Fascinating and obviously sad to discover such things.

Knew my grandfather had been part of the US Navy/coastguard during the Pacific war, but only recently found out he was invalided suffering from what would be called PTSD today. The kamikazes buzzing his ship were too much. He spent time in navy hospital and then veterans, and died in his early 30s. Don't know the precise circumstances but still really hit home. :(
 
I see all the translating's done already :thumbs: The date does look like a regnal count which would be right, the character preceding 17 is 昭 (same as in the 昭南 for Singapore later) which would indicate the Showa reign.
Apparently 運轉手 is unambiguously a driver in Japanese though read the Chinese way makes you expect something else. Even appears with former meaning in title of Taiwanese film: 运转手之恋 (豆瓣)
The characters added by hand by his rank are 軍曹 which is just a translation of lance sergeant.
Nothing else that hasn't been done leaps out, the 泰 character likely means Thailand as has been mentioned but has other common uses and associations, like Mount Tai, so don't think you can be certain.
 
Reading about the Hoten Camp it does seem to have been the destination for a lot of Allied prisoners caught in SE Asia and the transport ships were notorious that took them there which might fit with him dying on ship but in detention. The camp is called 奉天 in Chinese, as you can see the first character resembles 泰 with the lower element different and it's tempting to wonder if they're associated but they really are two quite different characters and not the sort of typo you'd expect.
 
I've had time to read through the articles/links now.
Fucking hell, how sad :(
To survive the horrors of the Thailand-Burma railway only to be killed by your own side.

It's such a shame my dad isn't around, I'd be interested to know if Great Uncle Fred's story was known within the wider family.
One of dad's brothers is still alive, also a Fred :), I might see if he knows.

Thanks again lizzieloo, you really are a whiz at this stuff :thumbs:
 
Last edited:
I posted a link to this podcast on another thread but they have coincidentally just done a special on Japanese POW camps with the author of this book, Sarah Kovner:



I haven't listened to this episode of the pod yet or read the book but they have good record for decent mil hist authors so may be worth a listen.
 
Characters in red are 東京 which is Tokyo. Place of capture says 香港島防禦陣地 which is Hong Kong Island then something like "defence redoubt/position/base". The camp say Hong Kong too so that fits. Can't make out the second character in occupation but I reckon it'll be something like machinist or machine operator.
 
Characters in red are 東京 which is Tokyo. Place of capture says 香港島防禦陣地 which is Hong Kong Island then something like "defence redoubt/position/base". The camp say Hong Kong too so that fits. Can't make out the second character in occupation but I reckon it'll be something like machinist or machine operator.

Thank you.

He made it back, he lived into his 90s
 
Looking at the crossing out of Hong Kong (and the single character preceding the serial number to the left which will mean HK too) and Tokyo written in above I think it might mean he was transferred from Hong Kong to a camp in Tokyo - would that fit?
 
Looking at the crossing out of Hong Kong (and the single character preceding the serial number to the left which will mean HK too) and Tokyo written in above I think it might mean he was transferred from Hong Kong to a camp in Tokyo - would that fit?
I only know what is on that card, didn't know anything about it before now.
 
oic I just ignored the dates cos tiny mind :oops:
Not super up on Japanese history but think they went Western calendar during the Meiji modernisations, only keeping the practice of dating things by the emperor's reign year but months the same as internationally.
 
They write the dates in the opposite order to us so it reads 昭和 16 年 12 月 25 日 which is literally Showa 16 year 12 month 25 day
 
Characters in red are 東京 which is Tokyo. Place of capture says 香港島防禦陣地 which is Hong Kong Island then something like "defence redoubt/position/base". The camp say Hong Kong too so that fits. Can't make out the second character in occupation but I reckon it'll be something like machinist or machine operator.

Hong Kong Island Defense base was my wife's immediate translation.
The occupation is Someone who works manual labour to run a train. My wife thinks someone who shovels coal, but I thought perhaps more of an engineering role (as he was in the royal engineers?).
 
Hong Kong Island Defense base was my wife's immediate translation.
The occupation is Someone who works manual labour to run a train. My wife thinks someone who shovels coal, but I thought perhaps more of an engineering role (as he was in the royal engineers?).

He was a carter for a grocer before the war, so that must have been to do with his role during the war.
 
Back
Top Bottom