Jim Kerr

Today we remember Jim Kerr, who enlisted in the Army at just 15 years old and was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese. While working in a labour camp he was sent to hospital for treatment of a bad case of malaria.

Jim Kerr audio file (MP4 23.88 MB)

Jim Kerr audio script

75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War

Audio actuality

“Fellow Citizens, the War is over” — (The Hon J B Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia)

August the 15th marks the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. Around one million Australians enlisted form a population of just seven million. Many more on the home-front rallied to the cause.

Australia remembers Jim Kerr, who enlisted in the Army at just 15 years of age, and was taken POW by the Japanese.

While working in a labour camp, he was sent to the hospital for treatment of a bad case of malaria.

Jim Kerr

I was next to the ulcer ward. And the treatment in the ulcer ward was, that the orderly would come around in the morning and his treatment was a sharpened spoon. So with a sharpened spoon, he would, scrape away all the bad flesh down to the good flesh, and you could hear these blokes screaming as this orderly was going on his rounds. So, you imagine if you're next in line waiting for this fellow with a sharpened spoon to come down, until finally there was no other action but they'd cut the leg off. A lot of men lost legs because of ulcers. The Japanese never supplied any treatment for that sort of thing, so the doctors had to improvise with what they could.

Saturday, August 15 marks the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. Let’s pay our respects to that amazing generation of Australians.