James Gowing Godwin

James Gowing Godwin
Born(1923-03-12)12 March 1923
Blenheim, New Zealand
Died2 May 1995(1995-05-02) (aged 72)
Sydney, Australia
AllegianceNew Zealand
Australia
Service / branchRoyal New Zealand Air Force
Australian Army
Years of service1942–1946 (New Zealand)
1947–1951 (Australia)
RankCaptain
Battles / warsSecond World War
Other workColonial administrator

James Gowing Godwin (12 March 1923 – 2 May 1995) was a pilot of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War, who subsequently became a prisoner of war. After the end of the war, as a captain in the Australian Army, he became an investigator with the Second Australian War Crimes Section in Tokyo in July 1947 and developed the case against Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, the senior perpetrator of the Parit Sulong Massacre. He subsequently worked for the First Australian War Crimes Section, based in Singapore, then worked for the British colonial service. He died in Sydney at the age of 72.