Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

(See also "Seeking names for the POW memorial at Ballarat"

In all the wars that my country, Australia has been involved in, a total of 34,737 servicemen have been captured and spent time imprisoned as Prisoners of War.

It is intended to build a Memorial to mark their service in the Botanical Gardens at Ballarat, a country city in Victoria.

Each name will be engraved on a granite wall, and the incredible total of 34,737 is made up as follows:

Boer War 104.

WW1. 4044, of whom 307 died in captivity.

WW2. 30,560, of whom 8,292 died in captivity.

Korean War, 29, and 1 died in captivity.

The Melbourne Company Tattersal’s, who conduct a regular lottery across Australia, have donated one Million Dollars to this appeal, which will now bring this Memorial to fruition. 

I was recently asked by the Project Director, Les Kennedy, if I could supply the names of the crew of the WW1 Australian Submarine AE 2, this is the Submarine which was the first to penetrate the Dardnalles on the 25th. of April 1915, and then to be subsequently sunk, and her entire crew taken prisoner by the Turks, and so these crew members all became Prisoners of War, and qualify to be included with the names to be inscribed upon the walls of this intended Memorial.

Fortunately I did have this list and was able to help, the next challenge is to find the 18 names of Royal Australian Navy DEMS gunners, who, in WW2 were sunk in the ships in which they served, were taken prisoner, one presumes by the Imperial German Navy, to serve as Prisoners of War.

Should any one reading this article have any information about these 18 sailors, I would be most grateful if you would take the time to E-Mail me at ahoy.weblog@gmail.com