Winston Ide
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Winston Philip James Ide (17 September 1914 – 12 September 1944) was an Australian
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player. Ide played two Tests for the Australia national team in 1938. He was among the Allied
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
(POWs) killed during the sinking of the ''Rakuyō Maru'' in September 1944. Ide was a member of the Australia team sent to tour Great Britain in 1939. The outbreak of World War II saw the tour cancelled the day after the team had arrived at
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
. On return to Australia, Ide joined the
Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...
and was sent to
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
with the 2/10th Field Regiment. He was captured during the
Fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...
in February 1942 and interned in
Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...
as a prisoner of war. Ide was later forced by the Japanese to work on the construction of the
Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...
. In 1944 Ide was boarded on the '' Rakuyō Maru'' – a Japanese "
Hell Ship A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of w ...
" – to be taken to Japan to work. The ''Rakuyō Maru'' was sunk in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
by a torpedo fired from the USS ''Sealion'', an American submarine. The Americans were unaware the ship was transporting Allied POWs. Refusing to climb aboard a life raft, Ide assisted in the rescue of many of his fellow POWs. Responding to requests to save himself, Ide was reported to have said "I'm staying here ... In any case, I can swim to Australia if I have to". Ide was not seen again and was presumed drowned - one of 1,159 POWs aboard the ship who died. Only 63 could be rescued. Ide's father, Henry, was a Japanese silk merchant who migrated to Australia in 1894 and was
naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in 1902. During World War II, Ide's father was for a time placed in an internment camp at
Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...
in southern New South Wales as a suspected enemy alien.


References


External links

*
Roll of Honour: Winston Phillip James Ide
at the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
1914 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Sydney Australian people of Japanese descent Sportspeople of Japanese descent Australian rugby union players Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Australia international rugby union players Burma Railway prisoners Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Sydney Queensland rugby union team players New South Wales rugby union team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-1910s-stub