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 New Zealand Army 1943 |
Location Featherston POW Camp was located at Featherston in the South Wairarapa District, Wellington Region of the North island of New Zealand. Located to the southwest is Wellington. Wartime History During the Pacific War, Featherston POW Camp was established at this location to detain Japanese Prisoners Of War (POW) detained in the South Pacific. Prisoners were assigned to work details in the area. During February 1943, tensions in the Featherston camp in New Zealand increased when a large contingent of prisoners captured after naval battles in Iron Bottom Sound north of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Among the prisoners, several Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) junior officers from Furutaka led other hardliners in the camp plus other more moderate prisoners in a strike over labor conditions. Featherston Riot On February 25, 1943, Japanese Navy officer Lt(jg) Adachi Totaro led a sit down protest to oppose work details. Frightened New Zealand guards opened fire on the protesters and one of the Japanese officers was shot by the camp’s deputy commander, Lieutenant Malcolm. A melee broke out with 240 rebellious prisoners rioting. When it ended, a total of 48 Japanese POWs were killed and many wounded. Several New Zealand Army soldiers were wounded including Private Walter Allan Pelvin, 496685 who died three days later. Aftermath The Japanese government protested the “massacre” of unarmed nationals at Featherston – without directly referring to them as “prisoners of war” – the New Zealand court of inquiry cleared the camp authorities of any blame, though it did feel the “extreme action of Lieutenant Malcolm” was the immediate act of provocation. Adachi Toshio survived, was repatriated to Japan where he was to become a minister and visited Featherston in 1986 on a missions of remembrance and goodwill. Memorials Pvt Pelvin died February 28, 1943. He buried at Geraldine Cemetery in Geraldine, Canterbury, New Zealand. References Wairarapa Times-Age "A view from inside the wire - The Featherston Chronicles A Legacy of War" via Wayback Machine August 20, 2004 CWGC - Walter Allan Pelvin FindAGrave - Pvt Walter Allan “Wattie” Pelvin (grave photos) The Featherston Chronicles A Legacy of War (1999) by Mike Nicolaidi details Featherston POW Camp Contribute
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