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A few things to ponder. We now have some 20 veterans in the website and up until I began researching each I never have heard of them before. They are all unique characters with unique stories to tell.

Can you tell who the following veterans names?

1. He was captured in Java, sent to Changi and then Hellfire Pass. As a 14 year old in Katanning, Western Australia, he was stabbed with a knife in the stomach.
2. Drew the most intricate sketches of badges in a German book he got from the Red Cross while a POW in Germany.

3. Received an Arctic Circle Cross 68 years after his skills as a navigator found a German U boat in the North Sea and the crew sunk it.

4. A WRAAF who efficiently managed the store at Pearce Air base during the Second World War.

5. A Canadian who was in the British Army as a Bandmaster. Led a band in Stalag VIIIB to entertain and as funeral lead.

6. Lucky to escape death when a bullet fired by a Japanese sniper crashed through the bridge of his nose. His mate was killed by the same bullet.

7. Was a member of the group in Stalag VIIIB who entertained the troops through theatre plays. Had a beautiful singing voice. Came home with a small black book full of autographs of the people he met whilst a POW.

8. A fluent speaker of German saved the lives of countless soldiers when he convinced the German commander that it was not the Ally troops who killed Germans on Crete outside of the rules of the Geneva Convention. He should have been promoted to Sergeant for his gallant efforts.

9. Signed a pair of canvas shorts, while a POW on Crete or in Germany, that turned up in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. As a POW on Crete was used to build an aerodrome at a location called Tymbakion on the south side of the island.

10. Fluked running into his brother in New Guinea while fighting the Japanese. The two were unaware of each other’s movements until they met at Moratai Island.

How did you go?

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The pdf look for each of our veteran has been adopted as it is easier to write up and layout. The positioning of photographs and indents stays true whereas the website looks great in edit but then shuffles around once in publication. Another plus for pdf is that adding extra information and graphics can be done by simply adding a page.

Today’s addition of William Thomas Masters is a childhood dream come true. Bill was a rat of Trobuk and one of my heroes so finding out about his army life and what happened to him inlater life has been interesting. All the kids at Kojonup grew up knowing that Bill was a ‘Rat’ and therefore someone to look up to. The odd thing is he was rarely seen by any of us, except his two grandchildren but we were still in awe of this soldier. Finding out about his time in Queensland learning jungle warfare tactics and then fighting the Japanese in New Guinea was all new. Go to his site and read the stories of William Thomas Masters virtually forgotten for his exploits until now. Do you have someone that should have their war story told then contact us on this website and we’ll help you with the research and presentation.

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I now am pleased to tell you all that there are 4 soldiers on the website and each has a unique story to tell. It would appear (as I surmised) that not one of these people has in the past been recognised on a grand scale. It is significant that this happens as they are all deserving HEROES. The more I can find and place on this website the better. So if you know of a veteran (most, unfortunately, will be deceased) then get their kin to contact me and I will get them started. In the meantime I am still experimenting on the setting out. I have two options being a direct typing onto the website (as you see with William Roy Buirchell) or a pdf document (see George Bradbury and Albert Rickman). If you have an opinion on the better one again contact me and voice your opinion. Much obliged to those who take the time.

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An area that I have always held close to my heart is the silence that falls when a veteran is asked for his story about his experiences in the WWII. The question becomes “why can’t they tell us what happened to them and their mates?”. As I read through the numerous diaries that came home I get cold shivers running up my spine. The thought that rushes forward is how can anyone share a story or hundreds that are beyond human behaviour. So shocking that no-one could possibly believe them?
Another area is the reaction of our veterans towards an enemy and their culture. The war is over, peace is here at last, compensation has been paid and yet my soldier father would never accept an apology for what he perceived as his ruined life. My brothers and I unwittingly received severe reactions for acting normal. The refugee resettlement after the war saw many former people from an enemy country resettled in Australia. My father was resentful towards Germans, Italians and Japanese for all of his life. How many generations will it take before an Australian child of 9 can write to a pen-friend in Nagoya, Japan without his father losing their temper, grabbing the envelope, ripping it furiously into pieces and flinging all of it in the open fire. All the time loudly demonstrating that the ‘Nips’ are the most despicable of all races and are to be seen as non human? (The language was much more colourful)

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The website continues to evolve so bear with us as we make it more universal and gender-equal. We hadn’t forgotten the other people in the Second World War it was more that we were conversant with a restricted group plus the wider you cast a net the more the numbers multiply. Could we really handle millions of requests? That is a profound no, however, in fairness, anyone who has a veteran relation should get an equal chance to tell their story to the World. Secondly, it is clear that the females played a huge part in the war and should also be recognised for their work and their sacrifices. I have been reading about the nurses who were machine-gunned while walking into the sea in Java. Tragic story and one that is a ‘must-read’. Only one survivor but she lived to tell the story.

Tymbakion is a story that I chanced upon and even the members of this incident haven’t passed on the story. Although it doesn’t fit the overall theme it is one I would like to share with you all.

I have been working on the Tymbakion story and this is an intriguing story. It ties together over 150 men from Australia, New Zealand, and Britain who all apparently were sent to Stalag VIIIB in Poland in and around July but didn’t officially arrive there until 30th January 1942. Hold on if that sounds ‘double Dutch’ then you are right. Seems to be a lot of propaganda involved and one must ask why was this necessary? It also begs the question as to why records both German and Allies were incorrect or totally missing across June, 1941 to January 1942 period. The answers are more likely found in the ordinary soldier’s diaries. Keep up with the story as we follow the small group of Australians who were involved in what to me originally was a mystery of intrigue.

Slowly getting an idea of how this website edit works. The use of blocks has been quite foreign . I managed to get the photos and the Gallery lined up rather than spread all over the page. Now I know about the image and galley blocks I shall start on a few of the others.

Have sent an invitation to some of the people who have shown an interest in having their veteran relations placed on this website. My main worry is that there could be a flood if I don’t control things. The more the merrier is NY preferred position but this will only work if the people writing in take a lot of the work. This is really the way it should be as they are the ones with the information, stories, and memorabilia.

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Christmas and New Year have come and gone but the interest in the website has steadily grown. We are still trying to decipher all the signatures that George Bradbury collected while at Stalag 8B. Try these to pique your interest:

His use of a German book and his fascinating drawings seemed to collect the interest from people far and wide. We have managed to work out about 70% of the signatures and now turn to readers to help out. Each page of names has a code for identification such as 001/, so if you recognise a signature or even if you think you do let us know and use the code to show where it is. EG on page 003/ I note that number 17 is missing but I think it is my uncle Roy Fredericks. To let us know use contact and indicate the page and number as 003/17 Roy Fredericks (any other information would be fantastic.

We have finished the George Bradbury story and it is being sent back to George’s daughter, Diane, for her final approval before we publish it. She is very excited about the idea of having her father’s tribute on this website…..do you know of others who are worthy of being on this tribute website?

We are rethinking our title and the tagline to be more inclusive. We also want the tagline to reflect the silence that came home. “Did they ever speak about the war?” “No not often they just seemed to want to forget.” Their untold stories are full of survival and resilience that we today cannot imagine. Then there are all sorts of hidden memorabilia they brought home that we will only find if we search high and low…the autograph book of Albert Rickman; the pair of signed canvas shorts in the box belonging to Albert Chamberlain, a song written by George Bradbury to his wife and daughter, a detailed diary by Bill Taylor and another by Vic Petersen…. All amazing objects that had their genesis in Prisons of War.

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Our current research soldier is Reginald Owen Hambley and he was a keen collector of autographs (seems it was a pastime for lots of POWs to pass the time and to feel they had lots of friends…. bit like our modern-day Facebook and Instagram, etc). He found a German book while incarcerated near Munich and used every bare space he could find with drawings or collecting autographs. We will attempt to list all the people who signed in his book in the hope that it may result in a connection.

Talking about connections we have made one which is amazing. Dianne Kirwin who is a Canadian living on Prince Edward Island came upon a signature in the Albert Rickman Collection. She was so excited to see that it was by her father’s hand. She has been corresponding through Facebook and email with my partner, Deb Johnson (the other half of the research team), and is keen to have her father listed on our website as a British soldier who was captured and sent to Stalag VIIIB. Keep an eye open for this as he was an interesting character.

Wonderful news from Helen Bradbury, who is the daughter of Reginald Hambley. She received the draft copy of Reg,’s story and writes:

Thank you for this wonderful Christmas present. I am in total awe of your amazing presentation of Dad’s story. Wow. Just wow. Words cannot express the overwhelming feeling. Thank you.
My sister is coming up to Perth again on the 10th of Jan,so will go through the story with her and see if we can fill in a few extras and edit. 

Thank you for this wonderful Christmas present. I am in total awe of your amazing presentation of Dad’s story. Wow. Just wow. Words cannot express the overwhelming feeling. Thank you.
My sister is coming up to Perth again on the 10th of Jan,so will go through the story with her and see if we can fill in a few extras and edit. 
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This is good news as it says we are on the right track in our efforts to pay tribute to the men and women who served their country during the World War.

You will note that we have included women in our website. This hasn’t been evident on looking back over what we have written thus far. Yes we do put our ladies in the lists and are pleased to offer to tell their stories.

We have been asked on a number of occasions “What places can we go to to find information about our loved ones who fought in the war?” To help out we have been working on a list of such search areas for you to use. Not only a list but exactly, step by step method of opening and using these . Go to Research to find the list and the links.

So where to now? An open invitation to other relations of World War II relations to share the life story . Contact us on contact@prisonersofwarcrete.com and we’ll talk you through.

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Our First Comment

This website is our tribute to those who bravely volunteered to join the Army and sail off to foreign lands to fight for everyone’s freedom. What happened to them and what stories did they relate when they returned? Most of these soldiers returned and rarely spoke of their adventures. Why was their silence so deafening and left them misunderstood by the general populous?

We want to find as many of these heroes and find out about their lives. You can help us by offering the names and stories of the people you know or have heard of who became soldiers and fought in the European and Pacific Theatres.

We will give you a profile of your person(s) and ask that you fill it in with stories, photographs and memorabilia and return these to us. We will put the parts together and publish the life of your soldier.

The thousands of men who you find in books, the internet, etc have names, ranks, and numbers only so we don’t get to know them as ‘real’ people. When we were trying to research 127 men whose names turned up on a pair of shorts found in New Zealand the one common trend amongst the dozens who telephoned us was that they didn’t know very much about their soldier hero as they never talked about their war experiences. When we went searching in records the one common problem was the total lack of information about the experiences these men went through.

Can we bring them to ‘life’ and show the world who they really were? We have already proved that this is possible so please look around and contact us with the names. We’ll get your ball rolling. As the months go by we will add and hopefully, you will add to the stories.

Hey, wait a minute who am I and who is my partner? I am Anthony Buirchell retired teacher, Deputy Principal, and Principal and son of William Roy Buirchell a signaller in the 2/11th Battalion. My partner is Deborah Johnson, a retired librarian-teacher whose father was a Driver in the Australian Army Service Corps.

20th December, 2021

We have had the privilege of researching and writing the life and times of my father, William Roy Buirchell. He was always an enigma to us as a family. A man of few words and little action. He was either at one of the two hotels in Kojonup sipping on a schooner (he could stay the whole day) or on the Nullabor trapping rabbits. The 5 years between 1940 and 1945 did not exist. Now we know he was putting his life, limb, and mental state on the line for King, country, and family,

His life to us thereafter wasn’t pleasant but he seemed contented with his lot. Read the full story at Buirchell; William Roy when it comes online shortly.

It was trying to understand who this person I called ‘the old man’ really was that was part of why I set out on this journey. The other part was based on walking around cemeteries in search of my partner’s relation so we could follow her ancestry. This arduous task was mostly in Queensland where we found that cemeteries were all located on hills…mountains in some cases (check out Toowong Cemetery where we found Grandmother Johnson).

We found all the important people and lots of the second-stringers but what got in our heads was the number of men who were recently deceased soldiers, Not one name of many hundreds did we recognise. Even going home and looking them up in memorials or lists of POWs shed any more light than name, rank and serial number.

Back in our home state of Western Australia, we were left with the same numb feeling. Men who had given so much were unknown to the general public. The relations knew a lot and were eager to share but there was no simple platform to allow them to display their man’s contribution.

Add to all of this our own inquisitiveness, work ethic, and philosophy set us down this pass. Hopefully, it will shine a light on many of the men who gave so much but silently wanted for so little.

So we shall draw upon our philosophy based on the belief that

“We shall pass through this world but once.

Any good, therefore,

that we can do or any kindness we can show

to any human being, let us do it now.

Let me not defer it or neglect it,

for I shall not pass this way again.”

A special thank you to the daughters and family of Reginald Owen Hambley 2/11th WX5842 who have kindly offered to put forward his story. Keep an eye out for this it is simply amazing.