The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Tin with hinged lid. The lid is engraved with a memorial stone and cross with the letters 'AIF'. In the left corner is engraved '1941 BURMA' and in the right is '1945 JAVA'. Both place names are underlined. Along the bottom edge are the words 'MALAYA/THAILAND'. The bottom of the tin is engraved with 'L/CPL. H.BEITSCH. NX66750 2/3 RES.MT.COY. THANBYU ZAYAT BURMA'. The sides of the tin are engraved from the front around to the right 'POW/1942/2/3 AIF/1945'.
Tin engraved by NX66750 Hector Beitsch during his internment as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. Beitsch, a mechanic from Bankstown, enlisted on 6 January 1941 after reducing his age by one year to appear 39. He joined 2/3 Reserve Motor Transport Company, serving as a Lance Corporal. After serving briefly in Singapore he was sent to Java on February 1942 and posted as missing in April. He was confirmed as a prisoner of war in September 1943 and spent time in camps in Java, in Burma and Thailand. He returned to Australia in November 1945 and was discharged on compassionate grounds on 20 March 1946.
The tin was originally a "Vetlapdoos" which is a Dutch term translating to 'grease-rag-box'. The aluminum box was used to store the cleaning kit for a rifle and was originally issued to soldiers of the Netherlands East Indies Army, the "KNIL".
Complete carved chess set made of dark and light woods using a lathe and hand carving. Chess set made by NX66750 Hector Beitsch during his internment as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. Beitsch, a
Aluminium, rectangular mess tin with hinged metal handle. The end opposite the handle has engraved '(SCOTTY) / J. WILLIAMS / 2/3 RES M.T.' and on one side is a tropical island scene. Engraved on the b
Small aluminum tobacco tin with hinged lid. The lid has been engraved with the rays of an Imperial Japanese flag superimposed with a Returned from Active Service badge. Engraved in one corner are the
Complete carved chess set made of dark and light woods using a lathe and hand carving. Chess set made by NX66750 Hector Beitsch during his internment as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. Beitsch, a
Small aluminium tobacco tin with separate lid. Engraved on the four sides of the lid is, 'BURMA MALAYA THAILAND SINGAPORE'. The sides of the tin are also engraved with, 'W WALD NX58914 8 [illegible]
Large rectangular mess tin with a hinged one-piece metal handle designed to fold over the top of the tin for compact storage. Stamped at the hinge point is, 'C & B LTD 1939 [broad arrow symbol]'. The
Rectangular tobacco tin with rounded corners. The removable lid is slightly concave. All surfaces of the tin have a coating of surface rust, which has obliterated any markings which may have originall
