New Guinea Pow Covers.

Without going into lengthy detail, Rabual, New Guinea had a terrible war history with very few Australian troops stationed there surviving the war following the Japanese invasion. Initially letters to POW's were addressed to Rabaul, however it is understood that the Japanese Red Cross did not send any Rabaul addressed mail to New Guinea, but redirected it to Zentsuji Camp, Shikoko Island Japan, where the few remaining Australian troops were sent. Eventually all mail was addressed to Japan, as shown in the two covers below.

In an endeavor to finalise (if you ever do) my WW2 collection of New Guinea Prisoners of War covers, I'm asking if any members are able to help in that I'm looking for scans or proof of any covers plain or Red Cross types as below, that are actually addressed to RABUAL even though they did not go there.

In this auction lots 1449 & 1450 some history
https://stampauctionnetwork.com/US/us25773.cfm

Perf12-- thank you very much for your reply and the link, which refers to the auction of Lindsay Chitty's outstanding collection of WW2 Prisoner of War covers by Abacus Auctions in August 2024. I did partake in that auction and was lucky enough to win some.
Linday has been very helpful to me regarding the history of certain WW2 covers and events, and if you are interested you can not go past David Tett's books on WW2 Prisoner of War covers. They are a great source of information.

Starpez - Great topic! It sent me looking for these items and finding that it is no easy task. Cherrystone Auctions, which was my first choice in searching since these are right up their alley returned many Rabaul covers but all from circa 1917. Not a one from the WWII period.

The subject hits a personal note for me since my father was stationed in New Guinea with the Army Air Corps in WWII.

Maybe you have this one..
Oz WW2 Lark Force captured Rabaul interned Zentsuji POW Camp

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthope...ul-497785403

I wonder if it is possible to find an organization with less pull at the time than the Japanese Red Cross Society

The NAACP?

Perf12 once again thanks for your help and a very interesting link to Worthpoint. I see the source is ebay but I do not subscribe to Worthpoint, so if you subscribe are you able to tell me when that cover from NX70432 Chaplain V.S.Turner was sold , and what did it fetch..
There was another Chaplain with "Lark Force" who also ended up in Zentsuji Camp – he was TX6004 Chaplain J.L.May. Padre May survived the war and returned to Australia, where he was awarded the "Member of the British Empire" for his actions as a Prisoner of War in maintaining the morale of other Prisoners, which included his protection of Australian Nurses and wounded soldiers in the hospital at Vunapope Mission, Rabaul, before he was transported to Japan.
See below cover addressed to him in Zentsuji.

Rogdcam I hope that when your father was in New Guinea he regularly wrote home to mum and she kept them all for you.
Do you know where he was stationed?
And yes New Guinea WW2 POW covers are very hard to find.

As all the Australian POW had been shipped out of Rabaul some six hundred British Prisoners of War, who I think were mainly captured in Singapore, were sent to Rabaul and were used as labourers for various projects the Japanese had going. Very few of these prisoners are known to have survived.
Whether the Japanese allowed them to write home is unknown—but it would appear not. Likewise did mail from loved ones back in England get to them? – again maybe not but I'm interested to hear of any mail from the UK that may have been written to English POW's in Rabaul.