WW2 returned to sender cover. Cancelled Exeter May 1942 and addressed to a Soldier with 239/77 (W) HAA Regiment RA APO 1515 - this would have been a deployment/convoy address.

Paid at the 1s 3d Airmail rate, cachet 'Air Mail fee 1s 3d refunded' and boxed:

IT IS REGRETTED THAT

THIS ITEM COULD NOT BE

DELIVERED AT THE 

ADDRESS STATED

To reverse Army Post Office cancel and return address.

Gunner Reginald Percy Medway was killed as a POW on the Japanese Army Cargo Ship Suez Maru. 

On November 29th 1943 US submarine USS BONEFISH (SS-223) sinks the Surabaya-bound Japanese army cargo ship SUEZ MARU, 300 miles NE of Kangean Island, north of Bali. 

Unbeknown to the submariners, SUEZ MARU has on board 415 British and 133 Dutch POWs. 69 Japanese are KIA. Escorting minesweeper W-12 rescues some 200 Japanese and Korean survivors. 

Only after the war, the fate of the POWs was revealed: Kawano Usumu, commander of W-12 had instructed his gunners to kill all (200~250) survivors. 

At 14:15, the massacre begins, the Japanese fire with their machine guns from a distance of 50 metres and continue until the sea around turns red with blood. More than 2 hours later, at 16:30, the W-12 moves away from the scene, having carefully verified that all were killed prisoner of war had been killed. 

Condition as shown

ID: SI 44716