According to Australian War Memorial principal historian, Dr. Peter Stanley, several hundred Australians surrendered at Laha Airstrip. At intervals for a fortnight after the surrender, more than 300 prisoners taken at Laha were executed. The government of Australia states that, "the Laha massacre was the largest of the atrocities committed against captured Allied troops in 1942." Of Australian prisoners of war on Ambon, Stanley provides the following description of their captivity: "they suffered an ordeal and a death rate second only to the horrors of Sandakan, first on Ambon and then after many were sent to the island of Hainan late in 1942. Three-quarters of the Australians captured on Ambon died before the war's end. Of the 582 who remained on Ambon 405 died. They died of overwork, malnutrition, disease and one of the most brutal regimes among camps in which bashings were routine." A total of 52 members of Gull Force managed to escape from Ambon. Of those captured from Gull Force, only 300 survived the war.