The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Small, handmade, bare metal, receiving only radio. The radio is constructed from sheet metal and scavenged parts. Mounted at the front are five black bakelite control knobs, an on/off switch and a single headphone jack. At the rear there are terminals which can be wired to a power source. The aluminium on the top of the radio is impressed 'THE CROWN PURE ALUMINIUM MADE IN ENGLAND'. 'MALAYA SINGAPORE' is also scratched into the aluminium.
This radio was improvised from scavenged parts obtained by NX71306 Signalman Sydney Sim during his imprisonment at Changi Prisoner of War Camp during the Second World War. Born in Sydney in 1920, Sim enlisted in March 1941 and was assigned to 8 Division Corps of Signals. He became a POW after the Japanese captured Singapore in February 1942. Once he had made this radio, news from the broadcasts he was able to receive were typed onto paper and circulated in secret to his fellow prisoners in Changi. His enterprise was risky, as POWs found in possession of a radio by the Japanese were summarily executed. Sim was awarded a British Empire Medal in 1946 for his 'valuable service and devotion' in operating the radio while in captivity.
Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX71306 Signalman Sydney Sim, 8 Division Corps of Signals, Singapore, 1945. Wallet 1 of 1 - Collection contains transcripts of news broadcasts r
Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX71306 Signalman Sydney Sim, 8 Division Corps of Signals, Singapore, 1945. Wallet 1 of 1 - Collection contains transcripts of news broadcasts r
Gilded metal brooch showing Britannia above a boomerang. Britannia holds a laurel branch in her right hand and a trident in her left. The trident's fork has broken off at the shoulder. Next to her is
Right below knee metal artificial leg with wooden foot. The calf is made from five rivetted pieces of aluminium scavenged from wrecked aircraft. The main part of the leg is made from two large pieces
Pacific Star. Impressed reverse with recipient's details. NX56258 Herbert Wardley Almond was born on 5 July 1914 in Sydney. He was a storeman living in Oyster Bay, NSW when he enlisted on 4 July 194
Red cotton Japanese fundoshi, or loin cloth, with two self fabric ties across the top edge. The fundoshi bears the autographs, written in indelible pencil, of the surviving members of 8 Division Signa
