Guide to the Papers of John Harrison

Searching...

MS 8756

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
John Harrison
Title
Papers of John Harrison
Date Range
1942-1958
Collection Number
MS 8756
Extent
1.54 metres (11 boxes, 1 folio box)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
NLA

Introduction

Scope and Content

The collection comprises diaries and notebooks kept in Changi Prison in Singapore, correspondence, personal notebooks, desk diaries, Federation of Malaya Police publications, photographs and Harrison's autobiography. An oil portrait and watercolours are located in Pictorial.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2011738).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of John Harrison, National Library of Australia, MS 8756, [series and/or file number]'.

Provenance

The papers were donated to the Library in 1994.

Located in Pictures Collection: Small oil portrait on canvas of John Harrison (c.1930); 22 watercolours and 10 pencil sketches depicting aspects of prison life in Changi (mainly 1944)

Biographical Note

John Noel Douglas Harrison spent 25 years in Malaya and China, surviving several years in Changi prison camp and a murder attempt by bandits, before settling in Tasmania in 1958.

Harrison was born in 1911. He left England at the age of 22 to take up an appointment as probationary Assistant Commissioner in the Malaya Police Service. In 1933 he was sent to China to study Cantonese for two years, and he was later to teach this language to fellow prisoners in Changi. He was a POW in Changi in 1942 and 1943 before being moved to Sime Road in May 1944 until his release in 1945. While imprisoned he used his talent for drawing, his sketches and paintings depicting many aspects of prison life. He was later to exhibit in the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon.

In 1948, at the beginning of the Malayan Emergency, Harrison was appointed Superintending Officer of Police at Tapah, one of the areas worst affected by Communist terrorism. Two months after his appointment as CPO, Negri Sembilan, in May 1949, he was ambushed at Durian Tipus and lost part of his right hand. For a year from April 1952 he was in charge of retraining all police officers and men, and then served two years as CPO, Perak. His final posting before retirement was to Alor Star, Kedah/Perlis in 1955 as Chief Police Officer. John Harrison died in October 1980.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. Changi POW camp, Singapore

Diaries (2 volumes), 1942-45; notebook (File 1-3) - Box 1

The first diary was commenced in February 1942 in cell 22 D 111 Changi Convict Prison, Singapore. For safety it was sealed and buried in the prison garden in early 1943 and disinterred on Liberation in 1945. The second diary was commenced in September 1945, a month after release. The diaries were later edited, and sketches, paintings, photographs and newspaper clippings added.

The notebook provides an overview of life in Changi. It was commenced in July 1961.

Changi Cantonese instruction notebooks, 1942-45 (File 4-9) - Box 2

Harrison was a prisoner from February 1942-May 1944 in Changi and then in Sime Road till August 1945. Prisoners organised classes amongst themselves and John Harrison taught Cantonese. These volumes, bound in Changi, were mainly written out in connection with his teaching.

(i) Chinese characters grouped under radicals - very detailed with some unusual radicals. Notes on Chinese account books.

(ii) Radicals of Chinese characters

(iii) Hokkien. Province of China dialect notes. Lists of trades, measurements, amusements etc.

(iv) Verse and prose (French and English), lists of identity disks by Nationality, names and addresses of people in England and Australia.

(v) A book of verse for boys and girls compiled by J.C. Smith.

(vi) Pink 'Jotter book'-used after volume 1 of the diary was finished.

Series 2. Correspondence, personal notebooks, diaries

Autobiography ('Autobiography of J.N.D.Harrison, ex Colonial Service. Title not decided') (1 folder) (File 10) - Box 3

Correspondence, 1947-72 (1 folder) (File 11) - Box 3

Names include: H.B. Langworthy, I.W. Blellock, Brigadier I.C. Harris, P. Townsend, Wan Ibrahim bin Wan Soloh, C.J. Brodie, Mohd Salleh B Ismael, Abdul Ranee Bin Yuncos, Che Wan, J. Chadwick, Leong Yew Koh, Tunku Ismail bin Tunku Yahaya, A.W. Morgan, D.C. MacGillivray, W.LW. Carbonnel, E.V. Peers, N. Gray, J. Nicholls, J. Mead, D. MacIntosh, and C.W.D. Hall. Letters to the editor of Malaysia and correspondence on War of the Running Dog by Noel Barber, 1972 (10 years war).Letter to The Bulletin-Malaysia on new Communist pressures, 1969.

Subjects include: transfer within Colonial Police Service outside Malaya; offer of post at Hong Kong; dinner by Chinese community, Alor Star, and letter of thanks from Chinese Community; appreciation success of Baling talks; retirement, conferring of the Kedah Commemoration Medal, the Kedah Distinguished Service Star and the Perak Meritorious Service medal. Letters to the editor of Malaysia.

Personal notebooks (1 folder) (File 12) - Box 3

23 May 1946-13 Dec. 1946; 14 June 1946-31 Aug. 1946; 24 April 1947-15 Nov. 1947; 12 July 1948-Dec. 1948(Routine); 11 July 1948-1 Sept. 1948(Information book); Feb. 1950-9 July 1952.

Certificates, awards, agreements(retirement), citizenship registration(copy), Lodge, etc. (File 13) - Box 3

Passports, 1946, 1951, 1958 (File 14) - Box 3

Desk diaries, 1947-1952 (File 15-20) - Box 4

Desk diaries, 1953-1955 (File 21-24) - Box 5

Desk diaries, 1956-1958 (File 25-27) - Box 6

Series 3. Federation of Malaya Police - Printed material

Federation of Malaya Police (File 28) - Box 7

The Federation of Malaya and its police, 1786-1952

Police handbooks

Commissioner's standing orders

Police ordinance with rules

Organisation of a police district

Organisation of a police contingent

Organisation of a special constabulary

Training programme

Peraturan Pekerjaan police

Annual sports

Federation of Malaya Police (File 29) - Box 8

The conduct of anti-terrorist operations in Malaya

Federation of Malaya staff list, 1957

Programme of Merdeka celebrations in Kedah, 1957

Ceremonial parade - confer the title "Royal" 1958

Maps; Malaya, 1950, Canton, undated

Typescripts on the Federation of Malaya Police, the Emergency and communist terrorism.

Malayan Police Magazine, 1937-41, 1951-52 (File 30) - Box 9

Malayan Police Magazine, 1953-57 (1 box) (File 31) - Box 10

Malayan Police Magazine, 1958-64 (1 box) (File 32) - Box 11

Series 4. Photographs

Loose photographs; Photograph Albums, 1934-58 (File 1)

Farewell retirement photos, 23 Aug. 1958; official portrait (File 2)

Special Constables farewell parade, 26 June, 1958 (File 3)

Alor Star, 1957, 1958 (File 4)

Kedah/Perlis police contingent athletic sports., 1958 (File 5)

Baling talks, 1955 (File 6)

Undated-Early Malaya (File 7)

1934- Malay opera, Gibralta, Tangier, Port Said etc.(1 folio box) (File 8)


Top