Cemetery plot location: A-05-23
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| Classification: | POW |
|---|---|
| Identification number: | PWJA 100024 |
| Surname: | WATANABE |
| Other names: | Shotaro |
| Plate name: | WATANABE, SHOTARO | AKA (Also Known As): | None |
| Name in kanji: | 渡邉 庄太郎 |
| Grave location: | A-05-23 |
| Date of birth: | 1919-07-12 |
| Place of birth: | Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan |
| Private address: | Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan |
| Business address: | Not recorded |
| Military rank: | Superior Private |
| Unit regimental number: | Army, Artillery Ohara-Butai 3616 |
| Date of capture: | 1943-03-18 |
| Place of capture: | Bismarck Sea |
| Reason for internment: | Prisoner of war |
| Camp interned: | Cowra |
| Date interned: | 1943-04-10 |
| Health condition on arrival: | Suffering from malaria |
| Trade or occupation: | Farmer |
| Length of residence in Australia: | Not recorded |
| Date of entry: | Not recorded |
| Port of disembarkation: | Not recorded |
| Ship: | Not recorded |
| Personal effects: | Nil |
| Religion: | Buddhist |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Marital status: | Single |
| Next of kin: | Mioki WATANABE |
| Address of next of kin: | Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan |
| Relationship to next of kin: | Father |
| Father’s name: | Mioki WATANABE |
| Father’s occupation: | Not recorded |
| Mother’s maiden name: | Not recorded |
| Identification: | Height 5' 2", weight 130 lbs, sallow complexion, black hair, dark eyes |
| Movement report: | WATANABE was transferred to Australia by hospital ship and admitted to the 3 Australian Camp Hospital with malaria. He was interned in Gaythorne on 10 April 1943 and transferred to Cowra on 1 August 1943. He died in the breakout. |
| Cause of death: | Self inflicted wound/s to throat and neck |
| Date of death: | 1944-08-05 |
| Cremation or burial: | Burial |
| Date of burial: | 1944-08-07 |
| Place of first burial: | Cowra |
| Extra information: | In the interrogation records, WATANABE is recorded as being married, but he was recorded as single in his service and casualty record. His next of kin was not recorded in his National Archives of Australia file (NAA: MP1103/2). |
| Related images: | WATANABE’s Allied Translator & Interpreter Section (ATIS) interrogation report summary (pdf): |