IN JAPANESE HANDS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 166, 15 July 1943, Page 5

IN JAPANESE HANDS

31,800 British War Prisoners Of All Services OVER 24,000 STILL MISSING Rec. 9.30 a.m. LONDON, July 14. The names of 31,800 officers and other ranks of the navy, army and air force had been notified as prisoners in Japanese hands, said the Secretary of State for War, Sir James Grigg, in the House of Commons in reply to questions. He added that over 24,000 were still recorded missing and a large majority of them were thought to be prisoners. The number of civilians in Japanese hands was not known, but was believed to be about 40,000. All efforts to secure Japanese agreement to the regular transport of relief supplies for the Far East hitherto had been unsuccessful and it had been possible to send such supplies only on Japanese ships returning to Japan with exchanged Japanese prisoners Definite information, had been received that supplies shipped had reached prisoners and internees in Japan, Shanghai, Hongkong and Singapore. Efforts to arrange the dispatch of relief supplies were still being pursued.