World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1888, North Borneo, which had a history of trade with Europeans, became a British protectorate. The North Borneo Chartered Company ran the civil administration. When the Japanese troops landed in Jan 1942, its defense consisted only of the 650 men of The North Borneo Armed Constabulary, which did not seriously resist the invasion. The Japanese occupation administration on the island of Borneo divided the island in half; the western coast and the interior regions were collectively renamed the Sheikai Shiu, and the eastern coast (which was mostly part of the Dutch East Indies prior to the war) was renamed Tokai Shiu. The population suffered from rampant disease and starvation during the occupation. The largest resistance group was the Kinabalu Guerrillas, which was led by Albert Kwok in the west and Tun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun in the north; the Kinabalu Guerrillas were defeated by the Japanese on 21 Jan 1944. Australian forces invaded the island of Borneo in Jun 1945, and at the end of the war Lieutenant General Baba Masao of the Japanese 37th Army surrendered on 10 Sep 1945. North Borneo was placed under British Military Administration until The North Borneo Chartered Company sold the entire territory to the government of Britain on 15 Jul 1946, which immediately declared North Borneo a Crown Colony. On 16 Sep 1963, North Borneo merged with Malaya, Sarawak, and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia.

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