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The move to Australia
Johannes Cornelis Simonis was employed by the BPM, Bataafse Petroleum
Maatschappij (the Dutch branch of SHELL), in the former Dutch Indies. At the
outbreak of war with Japan his family of four fled from Sumatra to Java to
escape the invasion of Japanese troups. The entire family however was caught on
the Java side of Sunda Strait and ended up in Japanese prison camps, such as the one in the picture below, scattered across Java.
"In 1942, in Indonesia, 70 000 women and children were captured and marched into prison camps
by the Japanese. Women and children were separated from the men and for three and a half years,
all liaison between loved ones ceased."
(see literature page for details on the following books: "The Forgotten Ones" and "Atlas of Japanese Camps 1942-1945")
Johannes Cornelis Simonis was employed by the BPM, Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij (the Dutch branch of SHELL), in the former Dutch Indies. At the outbreak of war with Japan his family of four fled from Sumatra to Java to escape the invasion of Japanese troups. The entire family however was caught on the Java side of Sunda Strait and ended up in Japanese prison camps, such as the one in the picture below, scattered across Java.
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