Australian tales of Changi Prison published seven decades after intended release
Some 70 years after its intended release, a collection of essays written by Australian prisoners of war (POWs) at Singapore's notorious Changi Prison has been published.
The collection, released as The Changi Book, was published by the Australian War Memorial (AWM) and edited by historian Lachlan Grant.
The book of essays was commissioned in the dying days of World War Two to ensure a firsthand account of the prison's horrors, and the Australian soldiers' experiences, was kept.
But a printing strike in 1946 delayed the book's publication and public interest in the essays quickly waned to the point where the project was shelved in 1948.
They sat forgotten in the War Memorial's vast archives for more than 60 years, until they were discovered in 2012 by Mr Grant.
"It was obvious that they'd been put together as a collection, and looked to be put together for a book," he said.
"These were stories that painted a rich picture of life in Changi prison camp... They painted a complete scene of what it was like being a prisoner of war and surviving Changi."
Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson said the essays in the book illustrated the experience of Changi, from capture to release.
"At first you'll find in the essays there's a naive sense that they would be well treated and honourably treated by their Japanese captors... they very quickly learned that that was not to be the case," he said.
"We can't imagine what these men went through over three years, but then finally they're liberated at the end of the war, and returning to an Australia that doesn't know how to deal with them."
Memorial giving overdue recognition to plight of Australia's POWs
Dr Nelson said part of the reason for low interest in publishing the essays in the 1940s stemmed from Australia's attitude towards returned POWs.
"In a sense the War Memorial... was reflecting Australia's attitude to these men who were returning," he said.
"Yes they were respected, but there was ambivalence, and not sufficient priority placed upon them... to actually get them published.
"We can't fix everything that's been done in the past that we haven't got right, but we're fixing this one."
Dr Grant said the dwindling public interest in the POW experience in the years following the war would have had an impact on the men who wrote for The Changi Book, but that the new publication saw their efforts recognised.
"It must've been quite saddening when this book didn't eventuate," he said.
"Increasingly in recent decades the prisoner of war story has been getting much greater recognition."
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