page_title: Featherston prisoner of war camp
section_title: Featherston Incident
hierarchical_section_title: Featherston prisoner of war camp / Featherston Incident
caption_attribution_description: English: Memorial plaque at Featherston WWII POW camp.
context_page_description: Featherston prisoner of war camp was a camp for captured Japanese soldiers during World War II at Featherston, New Zealand, notorious for a 1943 incident in which 48 Japanese and one New Zealander were killed. The camp had been established during World War I as a military training camp and had also been used as an internment camp from 1918 to 1920, when 14 German internees remained there.
context_section_description: The camp's most infamous event was on 25 February 1943 during a sit-in of about 240 prisoners in No. 2 compound, who refused to work. The exact sequence of events is disputed, but Japanese Sub-Lieutenant Adachi was shot and wounded by the camp adjutant. This led to the prisoners either charging or appearing to charge the guards, who opened fire with rifles, sub-machine guns and pistols. A burst of fire of 15–30 seconds (accounts differ) killed 31 prisoners with a further 17 dying of wounds (total 48) with over 70 wounded. On the New Zealand side, a ricochet from a burst of the gunfire killed Private Walter Pelvin, and several other soldiers were injured by rocks.
  A military court of enquiry put the majority of blame for the incident on the prisoners, but found that cultural differences contributing to the incident needed to be addressed. Among the issues was that the Japanese did not know that under the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, which Japan had signed but not ratified, that compulsory work was allowed.
caption: Memorial plaque at Featherston WWII POW camp
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