Fukuoka 17

Fukuoka #17 Branch Prisoner of War Camp was a Japanese Prisoner-of-war camp located at the Mitsui Kozan Miike Kogyo-Sho coal mine and Mitsui Zinc Foundry in Shinminato-machi, Omuta-shi, Fukuoka-ken, Japan, during World War II.

History

The Camp was opened 7 August 1943 and was gradually populated by about 1,857 prisoners of war of mixed nationalities, mostly Australian, American, British and Dutch. The British, Dutch and Australians were survivors of the Burma Railway construction in Thailand (Siam). The last group to arrive were all Australians, in June 1945; they had formerly been held in the Fukuoka 13-D Oita POW camp.

The site was originally the labourers' quarters built by the Mitsui Coal Mining Company owned by the Baron Mitsui. The camp was gradually expanded with further buildings constructed over the years.

Description

The camp measured 200 yards by 1000 yards and was surrounded by a 12 feet high wooden fence fixed with heavy gauge wire. There were 33 barracks, all one story buildings 120' x 16' with ten rooms to a barracks. Constructed of wood with tight tar paper roofs, and windows with panes. Officers were billeted three or four per room measuring 9' x 10', with four to six enlisted men accommodated in rooms of same size. There was no heating whatsoever, which was a serious problem in the winter months as the men were living on starvation diets. Each room had one 15-watt light bulb.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka (福岡市, Fukuoka-shi) is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan. It is the most populous city on the island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1, 1972, by government ordinance. Greater Fukuoka (福岡都市圏), with 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyushu zone as well as Northern Kyushu.

As of July 2011, Fukuoka is Japan's sixth largest city, having passed the population of Kyoto. Since the founding of Kyoto in 794, this marks the first time that a city west of the Kinki region has a larger population than Kyoto. In ancient times, however, the area near Fukuoka, the Chikushi region, was thought by some historians to have possibly been even more influential than the Yamato region.

Pre-history

Exchanges from the continent and the Northern Kyushu area date as far back as Old Stone Age. It has been thought that waves of immigrants arrived in Northern Kyushu from mainland Asia. Several Kofun exist.

Fukuoka (disambiguation)

Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.

It can also refer to:

Locations

Buildings and attractions

Fukuoka (surname)

Fukuoka is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: