Gull Force: Australian POWs on Ambon and Hainan, 1941–45

The members of the Australian battalion of Gull Force endured some of the harshest prisoner-of-war conditions of any Australian during the Second World War.

In February 1942, on the remote island of Ambon in Indonesia, 1131 Australian soldiers were preparing for invasion by Japanese forces. Outnumbered and ill-equipped, theirs was an impossible mission. After their defeat, over 200 Australians were massacred. The survivors faced three-and-a-half years of harsh work, beatings, disease and starvation on Ambon and the Chinese island of Hainan. Along with the brutal conditions came a crisis of leadership, with Australian officers accused of devising their own systems of punishment and handing men over to the Japanese. The prisoners on Ambon were tormented by two catastrophic raids by ‘friendly’ Allied air forces. Over 800 survived to endure years of captivity; only 302 returned home.

Acclaimed historian Joan Beaumont tells the full story of this tragedy and its aftermath. A powerful account of suffering, death, endurance and memory, the story of Gull Force is one that must not be forgotten.

‘A compelling account of the tragedy and complexity of captivity by Australia’s pre-eminent historian of war.’ – Christina Twomey

‘Revealing afresh an episode in Australia’s POW history that deserves to be better known and understood.’ – Peter Stanley