Once orders had been issued for the commencement of recovery operations, the Allies dropped leaflets in an effort to inform Japanese troops, camp guards, the local population, and of course prisoners and internees that the war was finally over and the Japanese government had surrendered. In southern areas these drops went under the codename BIRDCAGE; the operation started on the 28th of August, was completed by the 31st. In line with earlier plans and in order to prevent unnecessary conflict in camps, the drops were carried out in two stages. The initial drop was primarily aimed for the Japanese in both camps and towns with concentrations of Japanese troops. The leaflet carried instructions for guards, who were told that they should remain in their guardhouses, and in an effort to maintain the safety of prisoners, camp commanders were informed that they would be held responsible for the safety of the men. This was followed by a second drop, one hour later, containing information and instructions for the prisoners. The leaflets intended for prisoners stated that they should remain in their camps, and promised that relief supplies would be sent as soon as was possible; information was also provided on the subject of the needs, and warnings in connection men’s dietary with the dangers of overeating. The men were also cautioned against accepting gifts of food from the local population. In addition prisoners were requested to provide a list of any special requirements with respect to medicines and food, and asked to prepare of those in the camp in preparation for the arrival of Allied recovery ‘nominal rolls’ teams or the local authorities. Although some of the information contained was undoubtedly valuable, warnings with reference to accepting food from locals was a source of amusement for prisoners who had survived by eating anything which walked, flew or crawled to remain alive. The personnel involved in Operation BIRDCAGE flew a total of 77 sorties dropping leaflets on 90 camps and towns thought to contain large numbers of Japanese troops in Burma, the Andaman Islands, Siam, French Indo China, Malaya and Sumatra. An additional news was also printed and dropped onto the main towns in the ‘daily sheet’ Singapore, Kedah, Perak and Selangor areas. The fact that two separate drops occurred demonstrated that, although Japan had surrendered, the Allies were effectively powerless to deal with the situation in individual camps at this time. Although in some areas clandestine forces were breaking cover and beginning to
Once orders had been issued for the commencement of recovery operations, the Allies dropped leaflets in an effort to inform Japanese troops, camp guards, the local population, and of course prisoners and internees that the war was finally over and the Japanese government had surrendered. In southern areas these drops went under the codename BIRDCAGE; the operation started on the 28th of August, was completed by the 31st. In line with earlier plans and in order to prevent unnecessary conflict in camps, the drops were carried out in two stages. The initial drop was primarily aimed for the Japanese in both camps and towns with concentrations of Japanese troops. The leaflet carried instructions for guards, who were told that they should remain in their guardhouses, and in an effort to maintain the safety of prisoners, camp commanders were informed that they would be held responsible for the safety of the men. This was followed by a second drop, one hour later, containing information and instructions for the prisoners. The leaflets intended for prisoners stated that they should remain in their camps, and promised that relief supplies would be sent as soon as was possible; information was also provided on the subject of the men’s dietary needs, and warnings in connection with the dangers of overeating. The men were also cautioned against accepting gifts of food from the local population. In addition prisoners were requested to provide a list of any special requirements with respect to medicines and food, and asked to prepare ‘nominal rolls’ of those in the camp in preparation for the arrival of Allied recovery teams or the local authorities. Although some of the information contained was undoubtedly valuable, warnings with reference to accepting food from locals was a source of amusement for prisoners who had survived by eating anything which walked, flew or crawled to remain alive. The personnel involved in Operation BIRDCAGE flew a total of 77 sorties dropping leaflets on 90 camps and towns thought to contain large numbers of Japanese troops in Burma, the Andaman Islands, Siam, French Indo China, Malaya and Sumatra. An additional ‘daily news sheet’ was also printed and dropped onto the main towns in the Singapore, Kedah, Perak and Selangor areas. The fact that two separate drops occurred demonstrated that, although Japan had surrendered, the Allies were effectively powerless to deal with the situation in individual camps at this time. Although in some areas clandestine forces were breaking cover and beginning to