Charles Edwards

Introduction

Charles Arthur Mainwaring Edwards was a former Prisoner of War of the Japanese during the Second World War. This text will hopefully teach you more about this amazing person.

Profile

Name: Charles Arthur Mainwaring Edwards

Date of Birth: 01/04/1918

Place of Birth: Tintoldra, near the Murray River, in North-East Victoria

Age: 99 (as of November 2017)

Career: Soldier, Prisoner of War and baker

Family: Arthur George Edwards (Father), Agnes Rosumund (Mother), Ella May (Wife)

Timeline

1/4/1918- Charles Edwards is born to Arthur George and Agnes Rosumund

3/12/1939- War is declared on Germany and all of her allies (the Nazi’s)

24/6/1940- Charles Edwards enlists as a soldier aged 22 and begins the RRB army training

2/2/1941- Charles Edwards leaves his family and friends on Wharf No. 9, Sydney aboard the Queen Mary

7+8/8/1941- Japan launches attacks on Malaya and Pearl Harbour, bringing the USA into the war.

14/1/1942- Charles sees action and warfare for the first time in Endau

Unknown- Charles was captured by the Japanese Army, along with 140, 000 other men.

Unknown- All the men are taken to Maur and interrogated by an English speaking officer

Unknown- The men are transported to Kuala Lumper, and sent to Pudu Gaol, where Charles came down with dysentery as well as other diseases such as ‘happy feet’, tinea and ‘Beri Beri’.

Unknown- The captured men were taken to Changi, then Thailand to build the Thai-Bruma railway. It was on the way here that Major Reg Newtan and Charles managed to smuggle a radio into camp. Due to the hot and humid climate of Thailand, many men caught malaria and died.

Unknown- Charles caught malaria. He was put on very heavy drugs that rendered him temporarily deaf. As he recovered, he was put on light duties, such as sorting the workers’ tools. When he accidently put the wrong tool in the wrong pile, he was taken to the officer’s office and the officer forced him to stand Japanese attention. The officer drew his sword and advanced, but Charles refused to cry out or plead. Instead, he changed his attention to Australian attention, saying that if he was going to die, he another baker. Charles having completed a baker’s apprenticeship was given the job.

Unknown- Charles became ill and his chest swelled up. He saw the Japanese surgeon, who cut into him and then wrapped him up like a mummy, warning him not to see the American doctor at camp. Fortunately, a friend was able to convince Charles to see the American doctor, as the American doctor discovered internal bleeding and stopped it, saying in another 15 minutes, Charles would’ve been dead.

15/10/1945- Charles Edwards arrives home on Wharf No. 9, Sydney, where he had left his family 4 years ago.

War History

1. The way the Japanese army captured Charles’ battalion was extremely clever. They wore the distinct British ‘tiger shooting’ helmets. Thinking the British had come to rescue and back them up, the Australian walked straight into the Japanese soldiers’ trap.
2. When on board the train to Thailand, Major Reg Newton managed to sneak a radio into camp. It was very sneakily done. Reg and Charles swapped bags, seeing as Reg was in front of Charles to get his bag checked. Once Charles’ bag had been checked, Reg caused a decoy, allowing him and Charles to swap bags back. The Japanese then checked Charles’ bag again, without realising it.
3. Charles caught malaria. He was put on very heavy drugs that rendered him temporarily deaf. As he recovered, he was put on light duties, such as sorting the workers’ tools. When he accidently put the wrong tool in the wrong pile, he was taken to the officer’s office and the officer forced him to stand Japanese attention. The officer drew his sword and advanced, but Charles refused to cry out or plead. Instead, he changed his attention to Australian attention, saying that if he was going to die, he was going to die Australian. The officer placed his sword back.
4. While working on the Thai-Bruma railway, there was a very large rock that needed to be moved. It was a very large one, one that would need several men to move it. The guard kept beating Charles with one of the tools being used to build the railway. Since Charles had not carried out the guard’s order, the guard had the ‘right’ to kill him. Thankfully, 6 other men saw Charles’ struggle and rushed it his aid, saving his life.
5. Charles enlisted to the Australian army on the 24th of June 1940, aged just 22. He was trained with the RRB desert training, however, their first battle was in a jungle.

The Hiroshima Bomb

Charles Edwards is a witness of the historic dropping of the Hiroshima bomb. Charles and Bert (Charles’ baker partner and friend) just finished making the rice dishes for the Japanese officers. They headed towards the East door when Charles looked up and there was a white halo forming above Bert’s head. Charles thought he was dead, but that was not true as the halo disappeared after a split second. They walked out the East door and they were blasted by a wave of hot air. They looked over to the Eastern horizon and there was a mushroom shaped cloud, rising above the horizon, that cloud staying for 31 days after the initial bomb had been dropped.

5 Interesting Facts about Charles Edwards

• Charles is one of the last people alive who have witnessed the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb.
• He completed a baker’s apprenticeship, and one of his jobs with Bert was to prepare hundreds of rice dishes for the Japanese officers in darkness, as any amount of light could wake the officers or disturb the officers’ sleep.
• During the first period of the war, he was a runner, a messenger between camps. He is very lucky to be alive as runners are often shot down very soon, hence why they carry very lightweight weapons.
• When he enlisted, he thought the war would only last 6 months. He was very wrong, as he later found out.
• He was part of the 2nd/19th battalion

His Trip Back to Japan

It was 2013 when Charles Edwards returned to Japan, free of charge, as part of the friendship building fund the Japanese Government started a few years ago. In Japan, he realised that not all Japanese people were evil, but just the Imperial Guards who beat, starved and mistreated him during the Second World War. Here he had a photo taken on the rock that had nearly taken his life, visited the site of Ohama Prison Camp. It was here that Charles saw the Hiroshima bomb being dropped. He also shook hands with a Japanese citizen, the citizen saying that it was the greatest day of his life to be able to shake hands with people who were previously foes to his country.

Connection to Ringwood North Primary School

Charles Edwards visited Ringwood North Primary School in 2007, telling the Grade 6 students about his experiences as a POW. It was one of the 2007 highlights of the year for Ringwood North Primary School.