Prisoners of War - A Chaplain's Portraits

The Amphitheatre | 3 May - 16 November | Free

Posted to Singapore with the 55^th Infantry Brigade, Army Chaplain Fred Stallard was interned as a prisoner of war from 1942 – 1945, initially in Changi Prison in Singapore, before being moving to Formosa (known today as Taiwan).

During his time as a prisoner Fred created drawings of the Japanese guards who in return gave him pencils and paper. Using these materials Fred produced sketches of many of his fellow prisoners.

More than 190,000 British and Commonwealth service personnel, thrown together by the circumstances of war, were interned as prisoners of war in the Far East. The portraits of ten of Fred's fellow prisoners feature within the exhibition. The personal story of each of the sitters, captured by author Charlie Inglefield, give a voice to the portraits, as both the realities of life as a prisoner of war, and what happened next to each of the men is shared.

Image features a group of people holding newspapers with the headline Germany Quits, taken on VE Day in 1945. Image is licensed from the Imperial War Museum.

The Year Was 1945...

Prisoners of War - A Chaplain's Portraits forms part of the Arboretum's The Year Was 1945 programme, a series of exhibitions, events, services, talks and tours that mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

Image: IWM (65948)

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