Hakodate Camp 4

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Hakodate Camp 4

The POW camp established in Ashibetsu was built to house the prisoners from a number of camps around Hokkaido. As the war entered its final year, bombing raids became more frequent on the northern port cities of Hokkaido. There was a real concern that the POW’s would be freed during such a raid and cause problems from the local forces.

To prevent this, a amalgamated camp was established in the heart of the island where all the POWs could continue to work without the risk of escape during a raid. Camp 4 was one of the many established in Ashibetsu. It held 52 US servicemen who were mostly veterans of Wake Island, 45 Australians who had been captured in Rabual and 3 British.

All the camps located in this area contributed labour to the local Mitsui Company who ran a coal mine there. Their servitude in Ahsibetsu was short lived, as the war ended within two months of the move there, and they were rescued in September 1945.

Australian POW's

Colonel John Joseph Scanlon - T253518, New Guinea HQ

Major James Roland Purcell Clark - TX6041, Coastal Defence

Major James Edmonds-Wilson - SX9608 - 1st Independent Company

Major Norman Bennington Watch - NG4054, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles

Captain Peter Handley Brown - Q185172, Ordinance Workshop

Captain Alexander Fraser - QX6470, 1st Independent Company

Captain Albert Edward Goode - VX44549, 1st Independent Company

Captain David Chadwick Hutchinson-Smith - NX70289, 17th Anti-Tank Regiment

Captain Ronald Alexander McDonald - VX70590, 2/4th light aid detachment

Captain Douglas Benjimin Millican - Qx6471, 1st Independent Company

Captain Stuart Gordon Nottage - SX11407, 1st Independent Company

Captain Henry Alfred John Tozer - Q366, Army Pay Corps

Lieutenant Robert Irving Allen - NX70253, 8th Div Supply

 Lieutenant Eric Richard Meade Almond - VX48548, 2/22nd battalion

 Lieutenant James Clarence Archer - NGX458, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles

 Lieutenant James Robert Badham - VX24728, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Phil James Bateman - VX44398, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Edward Wallace Best - VX44505, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant James Hugh Bowring - VX15946, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Jack Lusby Burns - VX39159, 1st Independent Company

Lieutenant Gordon John Bussell - VX46451, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Albert Arthur Chandler - T136, Fort Engineer

Lieutenant Gordon William Chinn - VX44909, 23rd Anti-Tank Regiment

Lieutenant Alfred Clark - VX43797, 17th Anti-Tank Regiment

Lieutenant Stanley Hilton Cooper - T30071, Coastal Defence

Lieutenant Donald James Alexander Dennis - VX48779, 1st Independent Company

Lieutenant Henry Esmonde Willoughby Dowse - VX45195, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Robert Alan Edney - VX44356, 2/22nd Battalion

Lieutenant Harrold Surrey - VX44912, 2/22nd Battalion

Lieutenant William Gordon Grant - VX44911, 2/22nd Battalion

Lieutenant Douglas Richard Hass- Q194547, Ordinance Workshop

Lieutenant Roy Thomas Hoffman - Q481, Australian Service Corps

Lieutenant Claude Geoffrey Kilner - NGX457, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles

Lieutenant William Henry Larkin - V50812, Fortress Company

Lieutenant Robert George Lord - VX45983, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Noel Joseph Lyons - Q302572, New Guinea HQ

Lieutenant Clive Walter Marshall - VX55482, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant George Alfred Charles Milne - VX44781, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Cyril Claude Victor Nielsen - QX90832, Ordinance workshop

Lieutenant Robert John Bruce Parkhill - NX12531, 17th Anti-Tank regiment

Lieutenant Kenneth Rogers Robertson - S14101, Rabaul Heavy Battery

Lieutenant Colin Norman McLeod Stirling - VX45126, 2/22nd battalion

Lieutenant Raymond Thomas Tyrrell - VX129331, Coastal Defence

Chaplain John Lovett May - TX6004, 2/22nd battalion

Chaplain Victor Spiro Turner - NX70432, 2/22nd Battalion