John Miller interviewed by Alex and Annette Hood in the Alex Hood folklore collection [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 3361111
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Miller, John G. 1922-2010, interviewee
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, written permission is required for personal copies and public use during the lifetime of the interviewee.
- Description:
-
- 2005 Feb
- 3 digital audio tapes (ca. 193 min.)
- Series:
- Alex Hood folklore collection
- Summary:
-
John Miller born in Babinda, Qld., in 1922 talks about his family background; his siblings; his schooling; the 'depression'; early work on a railway gang; enlisting in the Army; being interned in a Prison Camp in Japan; American prisoners; joining the artillery and being sent to Malaya; 'Tokyo Rose'; the 'fall' of Singapore to the Japanese; the Japanese atrocities; Tanglin Barracks; Changi Prison Camp; the journey to Thailand to work on the Burma Railway; diseases; his time in Thailand; his initial journey north on the "Queen Mary" (1941); the ships in the convoy; the construction of the Burma railway; his recent visit to the railway; River Kwai Bridge; Tom Uren; returning to Changi; 'Weary' Dunlop; Sandakan March; "Project Kingfisher"; Macarthur; Judge Curlewis; War crimes trial; survivors of the death march; being sent to Japan to work in a coal mine at Omuta, near Nagasaki; mine, 2,000 feet under the sea, the working methods; the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki; book "Last Stop Nagasaki" written by Hugh Clark; experiences in mine after the atomic bombing.
Miller discusses how the American planes destroyed a lot of the camp; Harry Tillmey; conventional bombing; cessation of hostilities; characters he met during the War, 'Big Syddie'; the guards; story from the Burma Railway; Dan and Alan Borley; Max Harris; refers to book "One Fourteenth of an Elephant"; Tony Perera; 'Donkey' Dave Evans; Doctor Poo; the 'Argyles', Scots who worked with the Australians on the railway; Adam Baxter and John Kershaw; 'Chick' Ferguson'; returning to Burma railway with his wife, meeting some Argyle Scots there; re-union stories; refers to book 'The Railway Man' written by Eric Lomax; Interpreter Takahashi; Primrose; Rod Beattie; Kanjanaburi Cemetery; research done on a shooting incident; ex-prisoners attitudes towards Japanese; Japanese companies eg. 'Mitsui'; his attitudes to Japanese; story of a visit to Japanese resort to talk about his war experiences; finding the mine where he was working as a prisoner; his daughter speaking Japanese and teaching in Japan.
- Biography/History:
-
John Miller is a returned prisoner of war who spent years working on the infamous Burma Railway and later as a POW in Nagasaki where he was forced to work in a coal mine. He comes from a large family in Babinda, NSW and is one of three brothers who served in the army during the Second World War.
- Notes:
-
- Recorded on Feb 23 and 24, 2005 at Kingscliff, N.S.W.
- Digital master available National Library of Australia
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (13 p.)
- Subject:
- Other authors/contributors:
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Alex Hood folklore collection.
This collection contains 186 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2075 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2005
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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