World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseBritish Western Pacific Territories was established in 1877. It encompassed British colonies in the Pacific Ocean. It included the Canton and Enderbury Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Nauru, New Hebrides, Savage Island, Pitcairn Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and the Union Islands. During the war, many of the islands were occupied by the Japanese, some of which such as Solomon Islands and Gilbert Islands saw a number of major battles during the war.

ww2dbaseSir Harry Charles Luke was the appointed High Commissioner for the British Western Pacific Territories between 16 Sep 1938 and 1942. Between 1942 and 1945 the position was suspended as the territory was governed by the British military during war time. Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham was appointed the High Commissioner after the war.

ww2dbaseMost, but not all, of the islands were given independence by the 1970s, thus the British Western Pacific Territories was abolished on 2 Jan 1976.

Weather

WW2-Era Weather Data for British Western Pacific Territories

Photographs

Maps

British Western Pacific Territories in World War II Interactive Map