Published
A newspaper article regarding Nelson Joseph Hefferman, P.O.W. Kampong Makassar in Ujung Pandang, Indonesia. It was titled 'Died in Jap P.O.W. Camp'. Hefferman served on the H.M.S. Encounter which was sunk in the Second Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942 and he with most of her crew were rescued by a Japanese ship the next day. His parents were led to believe that their son had gone down with the ship. However a broadcast from Tokyo, Japan, announced that he was a POW in Japanese hands. His parents received no communication from their son throughout the whole period of his captivity. He was one of about a quarter of POWs who died in captivity before the end of the war in 1945. Nelson Joseph Hefferman (1923-1945), Service no. 68576, Rank Able Seaman, South African Naval Forces, Unit H.M.S. Encounter was the son of James and Annie Hefferman of Port Elizabeth, Cape. There is a commemoration in the Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia.
Schauder/Abratt Family