Summary heading
Identity cards for Prisoners of War
Function and purpose
The cards were issued to identify the internees as Prisoners
of War (PoW) whilst attending work release for various registered employees in
the local vicinity of the Prisoner of War Control Centre.
The series only relate to inmates from Stanthorpe (Q1);
Nambour (Q2); Gympie (Q3); Gayndah (Q4); Kenilworth (Q7); Kingaroy (Q8); Monto
(Q9) and Boonah (Q10) Prisoner of War Control Centres. There are only 200 cards
in the series, although these centres were responsible for many more Italian
internees between 1944 and 1945. Either not all were given cards or the
remainder were lost or destroyed.
The identity cards when folded reveal 4 numbered pages.
Page 1 displays the card holders name, prisoner of war
number, nationality, date and place of birth, next of kin, name of parent
prisoner of war camp (which in all cases is recorded as Internment Camp,
Gaythorne, Brisbane), date of entry into Australia and the signature of
Gaythorne’s Camp Commandant, 2 Australian Prisoner of War Guard Company.
Page 2 contains a physical description, photograph and
finger prints of the PoW.
Page 3 includes the internees work history.
Page 4 gives instruction on what to do with the card if
found.
Related legislation
Using the series
Language of material
Physical characteristics
Folded cards
System of arrangement and control
The series is controlled by a single number, which may have
been imposed by the Department of Defence at some stage. The cards are also in
a single number sequence with ‘PWI’ (Prison of War Italian) prefix order – PWI
57067 to PWI 60239 (with gaps). These numbers were issued consecutively to the
Prisoners of War names, after their surnames were arranged alphabetically by
date of arrival to Australia.
Relationships with other records
Finding aids
Access conditions
Series history
Provenance
Immediate source of acquisition
Custodial history
This series of cards were held by the Queensland
Police Museum, where upon passed them on to the National Archives of Australia,
Brisbane Office in 2004.
Quantity in agency custody
0.27m held by CA 8553, National Archives of Australia,
Brisbane Office
Disposal history
Publication note
Additional information
End notes
Sources