ROBERT SHORE on WW2 PRISONERS OF WAR

Often the experiences of Prisoners of War are forgotten or not talked about. Robert Shore set out to record and transcribe many of these stories before they were lost. In many cases the families had not even heard about the experiences these men and women had been through. Robert retells these stories and the conditions that the POWs had to face in the different theatres of war and in the different POW camps. Included are stories of survival in Changi and on the Burma Railway, in Japan when the Atom bomb was dropped, airmen shot down and captured in Europe, nurses taken prisoner when their ship was sunk and one Australian prisoner held captive in Mongolia until drunk Russian tank drivers drove through the walls of their prison camp.



 WORLD WAR TWO PRISONERS OF WAR

More than 30,000 Australians became prisoners of war (POWs) between 1940 and 1945.  The Germans and Italians captured 8,000 in the Mediterranean and Middle East campaigns, in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans or shot down over Europe and North Africa. The Japanese captured 22,000 Australian soldiers, sailors, airmen, nursing staff and civilians.

After publishing a book on the experiences of the people of Narrabri during World War 11, Robert received diaries and letters from ex-POWs from around Australia. He set out to interview, record and transcribe the amazing experiences of men and women who had been captured and imprisoned during the war. Though most of the 60 people interviewed were fighting in the Australia Defence Forces he also included POWs who fought for other countries, including against Australia, but who have since made Australia home.

Robert will talk about the experiences of some of these POWs, often using their own words. The experiences of these men and women should not be lost to history and form a valuable record of the time. Because of the number of interviews two talks are available. Suitable for ANZAC meetings, Armistice Day or any meeting.

ROBERT SHORE

Robert Shore trained and worked as a history teacher for the NSW Education Department. He has an interest in history, military history and oral histories. He wrote a book: We All Did Our Bit for the Australia Remembers celebrations. He continued to record and transcribe the stories of POWs from WW2. He later recorded stories of people's experiences in floods in the Narrabri area. He also, with Ian Freestone produced videos documenting migrant stories and stories of people impacted by the Eugowra floods.

Robert is currently a member of Batemans Bay Rotary Club and will be District 9705 Governor in 2025-26.

CONTACT:                     Robert.                  0427 627244                   shore.rob@hotmail.com







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