in southern Formosa and flown to Japan, Pusan in Korea, and from there by train to Manchuria. Manchuria and liberation The new camp was Chen Cha Tung POW Camp, located about northwest of Mukden on the edge of the Gobi Desert. The party all signed the usual form promising not to escape, having long ago decided they were worthless and resistance was futile. Despite the cold and bleak surroundings, the conditions were in some respects better than in previous camps. Blackburn stopped keeping a diary soon after arrival, as he had run out of ledger paper and was in deep depression. Due to the cold, there were few activities, and most of the prisoners refused to volunteer to work growing vegetables as they did not trust the Japanese to give them a fair share of the produce. In May 1945, the party was transferred to the Hoten POW Camp on the outskirts of Mukden. Blackburn considered this camp the best of all those he had been held in during the war, with showers and hot baths, although the latrines were always overflowing and the food was poor. Blackburn had received no letters since arriving in Manchuria, and this contributed to his depression. On 15 August, the POWs were told that the war was over, and a few days later, a Soviet Red Army tank drove through the camp fence and they were liberated. Searching the offices afterwards, the POWs found thousands of letters and three months' worth of Red Cross food packages. Within days of liberation, Blackburn was on an aircraft, returning to Australia. Return to Australia Blackburn's return to Australia was circuitous. He first flew to Sian then Kunming in China, where he spent 36 hours in hospital. The next flight was across the Himalayas to Calcutta in British India where he was hospitalised for another 36 hours. The next destination was Colombo, after which he flew to Perth, Australia, arriving on 13 September. On the same day he was flown to Melbourne with a short stop in Adelaide, as he was required to report to Army Headquarters and deliver official documents he had kept during his internment. His family travelled by train to Melbourne to meet him. They met at the railway station, and were shocked at his appearance. At this point, Blackburn only weighed (88 pounds). After a week in Melbourne, the family returned to Adelaide, and