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The plaque commemorates members of the 2nd / 21st Battalion who were prisoners of war on the islands of Ambon in Indonesia and Hainan, an island off the south coast of China, during World War Two.

The plaque location is indicated by the red poppy in the second image.

Gull Force lost 15 men killed during the defence of Ambon, and another 309 men at Laha who were either killed in action or murdered by the Japanese in mass executions which occurred on 6 February and between 15–20 February. Although several small parties managed to escape Ambon and return to Australia, at least 791 men of the former garrison were captured. The survivors subsequently went into captivity as prisoners of war for the remainder of the conflict.

Conditions for the prisoners on Ambon were poor and they suffered the highest death rate of any group of Australian prisoners of war during the conflict. Meanwhile, some members of the battalion, including the majority of medical personnel were transferred by the Japanese to camps on Hainan Island in October 1942. Following the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the survivors began to be evacuated on 10 September 1945, with those on Hainan following two days later.

The battalion was disbanded later in 1945, having lost 661 dead and 12 wounded. 

Note: This plaque was dedicated on 1 May 2009 at a ceremony held at the Australian War Memorial. Note that the dedication ceremony for this plaque was rescheduled, and as such differs from the date as inscribed on the plaque.

Location

Details

Dedication