| Fukuoka POW Camp #5-B Omine (Kawasaki/Soeda) |
| Fukuoka #5-B
Omine Furukawa Kogyo OMINE Kogyo-Sho, FUKUOKA-ken, TAGAWA-gun, SOEDA-machi, [Kawasaki] Satellite map Aerial (Mar. 1947; courtesy of Japan Map Archives) Area map Time Line: 22 Jan 1943: Established as OMINE Branch Camp 1 Mar1943: Renamed 5-B 1 Dec 1943: Renamed 8-D Aug 1945: Renamed 5-B Sep 1945: rescue effected Caution: Fukuoka #5 is not Hiroshima #6. Though both were called "Omine camp", Fukuoka #5 was in Fukuoka Pref. and Hiroshima #6 was in Omine-machi, Yamaguchi Pref., Honshu (near UBE). It's very easy to confuse the two camps. In Fukuoka #5, 8 British died by drinking methyl alcohol (45.09.07), 1 Australian and 12 Canadians died. Hell Ships: Taiko Maru; other not verifiable yet.. From the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society: "In early March 1945 a group of
British POWs entered the camp. They
came from Taiwan on the hellship Taiko Maru
and remained at Omine 5B until the end of the war. POW Albert William
Martin, 80th Anti-Tank Reg't. R.A. (see below) was among this group of
men."
Article about POW's rescue- Montreal Daily Star (no longer published) Limited records of the camp activities can be found at the National Archives, Record Group 389 [Records of Provost Marshall General, American POW Info Bureau], Box 2123. Most comprehensive material found in Record Group 331, Box 922. The rosters are located in Record Group 407 [Records of the Adjutant General's Office] known as "The Philippine Collection." The rosters are listed by camp name, e.g. "Fukuoka #5 Omine." These records are multiple in nature and have to be correlated for each camp. There is a roster prepared by the "Rescue Teams," one by the ranking allied commander, and one supplied by the Japanese. Photos: FUK-05 Omine mine aerial fuku 5 overview fuk-05 living quarters fuku 5 bathtubs fuk-05-mine or shelter entrance fuku 5 mine entrance fuk-05 mine entrances inside fuk-05 mine workers fuk-05 camp birdseye view fuk-05 POWs with priest fuk-05 men in dispensary01 fuk-05 men in dispensary02 fuk-05 guards |
Slave
Labor: Coal mining, Furukawa Mining Company (photos of ruins). See translation of Japanese provisions for handling of POWs in this mine (employment as slaves). Source: RG 331 Box 922, transcribed by Vince Lopata, Secretary, HKVA 'C' Force Project POW Labor, Injuries, Payment, Supervision (original documents, PDF) Japanese staff (original, PDF) - includes a list of wanted Japanese for other camps as well; very interesting nicknames. Rosters: Total = 688 POWs (341 British, 152 Canadian, 130 Australian, 44 Dutch, 21 American; 21 deaths) Canadians - See book by Palmer (below) and HKVCA page Original rosters - includes death roster FUK-05 Rosters 1946-02-16 Deceased: British, Australian and Canadian as list in Japanese records- External link-pdf file Van Allen affidavit - Canadian men who died after drinking poisoned liquor... after V-J day (Transcription courtesy of Scott Proudfit) Original roster Affidavits: (original archival documents) FUK-05 Halton affidavit FUK-05 Hitchen affidavit FUK-05 Earl Mossman affidavit FUK-05 Fred Rutherforth affidavit FUK-05 Ishida, Takamiya, Kawahara case analysis FUK-05 Satoru Matsui deposition Sandford Garland, Royal Army Ordinance Corps - British POW captured in Java and interned in Tanjongpriok, Glodok (Batavia), Fukuoka #14 and finally at Omine #5. Short bio (courtesy of son, Robert). “Did you talk about your
experiences to anyone?”
“Not really.” “Didn’t you want to?” “Not really. Besides people weren’t much interested.” Not much interested! Books: 1220 Days in Hell by Robert C. Daniels - tracks experiences of U.S. Marine Edmond Babler. Excellent description of hell ship Noto Maru and this camp. Worth price of purchase. Sole defect is major error in his description of Palawan massacre. Dark Side of the Sun by Michael Palmer about his grandfather, George T. Palmer, Royal Canadian Rifles - A remarkable memoir, worth twice its price just for the many illustrations and excellent reportage of the Canadian's experiences. Old website with photos of camp. "The Last Phase" at Omine by Geoff Tyson - many sketches of camp life; rare booklet Archival Documents: FUK-05 Camp Report by Japanese FUK-05 Document list Labor-Security-Death Reports FUK-05 Map Buildings FUK-05 Camp blueprint |
