The Allied troops surrendered unconditionally on 15 February 1942.
When looking at photographs and other visual materials, put your critical viewing skills to use!
Have a closer look at this photograph. Photographs of Lt Gen Percival negotiating the terms of surrender with Lt Gen Yamashita are interesting to analyse.
Here are some thinking questions that you may use to help you analyse these photographs and other visual materials in a critical manner, viewing them as historical primary sources.
Who and what is in each photograph?
What are the people doing?
What do you think happened before each photograph was taken?
What do you think happened after each photograph was taken?
Why do you think these photographs were taken? What do they tell you?
When do you think that each photograph was taken?
What might be happening outside each photograph?
Where do you think the photographer stood when the photo was taken?
Is there anything in any of these images that shows humour?
Do these images create an atmosphere of importance about the events they portray, and if so, how?
How do you think that the people in these images might be feeling?
What are some of the feelings you had as you looked at each photograph?
What details or information do you think are missing from these photos?
Are they important images or details? Why or why not?
Which photographs are action shots and which ones are posed?
How can you tell?
If you had to write a caption for each photograph for a newspaper article, what would it be?