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How to Start Researching
I am often asked how to start researching a loved one, I hope this helps
Step 1
The first step to to find his service number and regiment, there are various ways to do this.
Look up his name in the British FEPOWS, this is a complete list taken from all Japanese Index Cards added to the FEPOW Family. be aware over the years some could have been lost.
 British FEPOWs
Step 2
Check to see if he has information in my web sites by inserting his name in the ‘Search’ at the top of the FEPOW Family home page. This searches all seven of my sites. If you do not find anything try the Christian name initials then full surname.
 FEPOW Family Home Page
Step 3
Next step find if he has a Liberation Questionnaire
Because of the age most of the LQs are written in pencil so are not, with age, easy to read.
Step 4
The next step is to pay subscription to obtain his KEW records. These are government records which contain information of service personnel. I use the following.
FindMyPast
 Forces War Records
Fold3
Step 5
I find a good place to to get started is with his Japanese Index Card, which are obtained from a subscription service as in ‘Step 4’.
This is my fathers, I can check it is his by his parents names and home address. This then gives me his service number, rank, regiment and unit. Also where he was captured by the date:-
17/02/15 = 1942/02/15 - Singapore surrender
17/03/08 = 1942/03/08 - Java surrender
16/12/25 = 1941/12/25 - Hong Kong surrender
There are variations but these are the main dates to look for.
The first number is the year of the emperor:-
16 = 1941
17 = 1942
18 = 1943
19 = 1944
20 = 1945
The reverse of the card:-
This tells me a date at the top of the card 20/01.
In this case I know he was transported January 1945 to Saigon, French Indo-China. Another hint is the date 1945/09/12, this date was used for those liberated from French Indo-China.
Step 6
This step is the most painful
If the person died in World War II, use the Commonwealth War Grave Commission to obtain information. Using the persons name could take a while, the service number is a lot quicker. The Cemetery is a good clue to where the person was buried and therefore the place of death, memorials are different as there was no grave (no body was found).
Conclusion
I hope this is of help in your research. There are many websites which offer information, use them, it all helps find the missing pieces of the jigsaw.
I did start adding a site to help unite and find these sites, as below, which has some excellent sketches by Des Bettany.
 Far East at War
Being a member of the FEPOW Family Facebook group is also a big help as the members care and share.
‘Keeping their Candle Burning’
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