 AJRP update September 2005 |
Dear list member,
Thank you for your continuing interest in the Australia–Japan Research Project (AJRP) at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
If you would like to be included in a mailing list to inform users when the AJRP website has been updated, please contact us at ajrp@awm.gov.au
Changes to the project’s website since the last update are detailed below.
1. Human face of war
The AJRP has completed its Human face of war section of the website. The site is presented both in English and Japanese, and now covers all major campaigns in New Guinea. Recent additions include pages relating to campaigns in Bougainville, New Britain, and the situation in postwar Rabaul. We have also added summary descriptions to all campaign texts, and provided details of Japanese and Allied units which participated in major campaigns.
2. War history series translation
The AJRP has been working for some years on translations of sections of the Japanese official history of the Second World War. The Senshi sôsho (War history series) comprises 102 volumes published by the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo between 1966 and 1980.
The AJRP has completed a substantial translation of sections of two of these volumes, dealing with army campaigns from the invasion of Rabaul in January 1942 until the defeat of the South Seas Force in Papua in January 1943. These translations include the official Japanese account of the campaigns over the Kokoda Trail, and are now available with the kind permission of the National Institute for Defense Studies.
3. Allied Translator and Interpreter Service records
AJRP staff have completed descriptions of over 1,200 records from the collection of Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) records (AWM55) held by the Australian War Memorial. These records include reports of interrogations with Japanese prisoners of war, translations of Japanese publications, and reports written by ATIS officials based on intelligence materials. Unfortunately, work to complete further database entries will not continue as funding for this project has ceased.
4. Cowra–Japan conversations
The 60th anniversary of the breakout from the prisoner-of-war camp in Cowra was held in August last year. The AJRP took the opportunity to conduct further interviews for our Cowra–Japan conversations project. These interviews trace the special relationship that has developed between the rural town of Cowra and Japan since the tragic events of the night of 4–5 August 1944.
The transcripts of 24 interviews and an introduction by the interviewer, Mr Terry Colhoun AM, are now available on our website. These include a moving interview with three former Japanese prisoners of war who participated in the breakout and who travelled to Cowra to pay their respects to their fallen comrades.
Please remember that the main entry point for the AJRP and Remembering the war in New Guinea project, and the pages which should be bookmarked, are as follows:
http://www.awm.gov.au/ajrp
http://www.awm.gov.au/newguinea
Don’t forget that we are always keen to receive any comments about your experience of the AJRP website, your impressions of the contents of the database, or any other general remarks or feedback about the project.
Please do not hesitate to contact us by either fax or email.
Dr Steven Bullard
Australia–Japan Research Project
Military History Section
Australian War Memorial
GPO Box 345
Canberra ACT 2601 AUSTRALIA
+61-2-6243 4325 (fax)
ajrp@awm.gov.au
Previous updates: August 2004, September 2003, September 2002, April 2001, original updates.
The AJRP has wound up its activities at the Memorial for the moment. Please contact the relevant officer of the Australian War Memorial for assistance. Internet implementation by Fulton Technology and AJRP staff . Visit the Australian War Memorial home page. |
