New Zealand in the Second World War

Prisoners of War

Further Reading

General Accounts

W.W. Mason, Prisoners of War (1954) detailed account – one volume of the Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War series. You can see a digitised version of this book at the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre website.

D.O.W. Hall, Prisoners of Germany, Prisoners of Italy, Prisoners of Japan, (all 1949), Escapes (1954) - series of small booklets published by the War History Branch

D. McGill, P.O.W.: the untold stories of New Zealanders as prisoners of war (1987) - unofficial account of prisoners’ experiences

D. Filer ‘Prisoners of War’ in Ian McGibbon (ed.), The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History (2000), pp. 430-3

Personal Narratives

John Broad Poor People, Poor Us (1945)

Ernest Clarke Over the Fence is Out (1965)

George Clifton The Happy Hunted (1952)

Jim Henderson Gunner Inglorious (1945, but often reprinted)

Malcolm Mason The Way Out (1946)

F. N. Millar The 'Signor Kiwi' Saga (1993)

Arch Scott Dark of the Moon (1985)

W. B. Thomas Dare to be Free: one of the greatest true stories of World War II (2001)

R. H. Thomson Captive Kiwi (1964)

Peter Winter Free lodgings (1993)

Biographical Accounts

James Caffin Partisan (1945) about John Denvir

M. Elliot Vasili: The Lion of Crete (1987) about Dudley Perkins

J. Sanders Venturer Courageous: Group Captain Leonard Trent V.C, D.F.C. (1983)

K. Sandford Mark of the Lion: The Story of Capt. Charles Upham, V.C. and Bar (1962)

Accounts of POWs of the Japanese

James Bertram Shadow of a War (1947)

Claude Thompson Into the Sun (1996)

Lionel Hudson Rats of Rangoon (1987)

The National Library of New Zealand Catalogue lists many books with references to the experiences of prisoners of war and may be accessed online at www.natlib.govt.nz

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