The War (POW) Years Diary (re-constructed) 1945-46
of
VX48828 Lieutenant Gillon Ronald Griffith
2/3 Motor Ambulance Company (MAC)

Lt Gillon Ronald Griffith VX 48828 (POW) DOB 20 Mar 1909
Enlisted 19 Aug 1940 - Discharged 26 Nov 1945

Finding time in plenty, in which one can work at individual efforts, I have decided to attempt
this, a resume of my wanderings, efforts and perhaps thoughts, during this period of fifty-six
months or so which have been spent away from our homeland and loved ones.
The 8 Australian Division, or, perhaps I should say the two Brigades, i.e., 22 Aust. Inf. Bde. and 27
Aust. Inf. Bde. and Corps troops, which comprised the Australian Forces in this very inadequately
defended portion of the world, together with the British Forces, have been for the last three and a halfyears, having the rather doubtful pleasure of being Prisoners of War, and under the very watchful eyeof the Imperial Japanese Army.
Perhaps, to say that the 8 Aust. Div. and British forces over here, would not be altogether correct, but
at least the remains of these forces are; although the numbers of each are rather staggering when one
considers them. To the best of my knowledge there was somewhere in the vicinity of 29,000 British
and 14,000 A.I.F. troops marched into this concentration area at Changi, immediately after our
inglorious unconditional surrender on Feb. 15th, 1942.
Since then, various parties have been moved to different places, and in Sept. 1942, some 12,000
British and 8,000 Australians were on working parties in Singapore or, to give the place its new
Japanese name, Syonan To. Two large working parties have been taken overseas, where, we did notknow, and yet another party had left for Japan. This latter force included in its numbers all officers
above the rank of Lt. Col. So it can be seen that we are now both British and Australians without our
Generals and their respective staffs.
Of the Indians taken prisoner, and they were considerable, we see very little as their concentration
area is situated on some other part of the Island.
The tropical conditions of this country have treated me kindly. Although, like countless others, I haveexperienced my share of minor disorders such as tinea, prickly heat and a mild dose of Singapore ear.
The eternal hot sun, which, by the way, shines 365 days in the year, and the heavy rainfall, makeconditions very humid; but this discomfort and difference to our usual living conditions have been
overcome by most of us in the course of our acclimatization, to such an extent that now, to me
anyway, it is just a succession of sunny days, and, when the moon is full, beautiful tropical evenings,
complete with palm trees, balmy air, quietness, and to the disgust and suffering of many, mosquitoes.
So much for a forerunner or preface, and now, with no set plan or layout for what I am going to do, I
shall get under way and see what my memory and lack of writing experience or ability can achieve.
To begin with, I would like to point out two things; and there is no parallel between the two. The firstis that owing to regulations that govern us, my personal diary which would be a great help now, waspassed into records in December 1941, and so lost to me for any reference and the second is thestrange way in which Sunday has been a day to remember on numerous occasions. To mention but afew; it was a Sunday we left our camp at Bonegilla on the first leg of our journey to Malaya; it was a
Sunday that the building I had occupied with my 2/3 M.A.C.(Motor Ambulance Convoy) section at
Malacca received direct hits from Japanese bomb s (we had moved out only a few hours before). It
was a Sunday that I received orders to proceed to Segamet to commence the evacuation of the firstAustralian war casualties from the Gemas show; it was a Sunday some time later whilst at Sukit
Panjang we received a direct attack of dive bombers that very nearly wrote finish to all in our unit,
and last but not least a Sunday, that our leaders for good or bad agreed to our capitulation.
February 3 1941 was the date of our embarkation for the grand experience and the unknown. Spirits
were high then but I feel sure that if we had only known how we were going to miss our wives,
mothers, sweethearts and friends in later days, then we may not have been so happy, our training days
had come to an end in Australia, and we had had some grand times under a popular commander in Lt.
Col. H.P. Summons (VX40219). Many had been the queries and desires of the men of the unit as towhen we were likely to be sent away, but speaking for myself, I was in no hurry to go, as I realized
we would be away a long time, and after all I had been married only a short time.
However, the day arrived for our leaving and great was the jubilation. A practice loading on to
M.T.(Motor Transport) for transport to Albury was carried out during the Sunday afternoon, and weleft Bonegilla to the cheers and good wishes of countless other troops who were remaining.
Gone now were our long weekend leaves, final leave etc., and the last few days were nothing more orless than a succession of parades for all kinds of reasons including various issues of clothing andnecessities, equipment, embarkation rolls, numbers, pay books were to be adjusted, men’s equipment
inspected and goodness only knows what else. Rumour was high these days. Was it to be Middle
East or Malaya? The Queen Mary was in Sydney, were we to travel on her? The men said “Yes”;
and although it was kept a close secret officially, we had come to take notice of the No. 3 seat,because more often than not, they were correct.

HM Troopship QUEEN MARY in Sydney Harbour,
May 1940
The telephones in the camp were being worked overtime each night, so great was the desire of most to
have as much conversation with folks at home, whilst still able to do so; and I was not far behind thebest of them. My leave taking of my dear wife, mother and both families I had done as casually as I
dared, mainly because I have no liking for tear-rending scenes, my embarrassment is terrible, so I rang

Moira quite often, as well as others including mother and Avon. I feel sure Babe felt it more than she
ever let on, and poor old Chic did not sound so bright when I rang her on my last night to let her know
we were leaving next day. My own feelings that night were very mixed, and I did not know whether
to be glad or sorry to be getting away at last.
Our advance personnel which included Capt. Now Major Searby (VX45273), Jack Sandell, and Jack
Lardner in one party, and Bert Campbell and Duschar in another, had been gone some days. They had
travelled direct by passenger ships through the N.E.I. (Netherlands East Indies). the former travellingon the “Ruya” and the latter on the “Tegelberg”. We did not know this at the time and wondered
where and when we would see them again. The place turned out to be Malaya and the time some 18
or 19 days later.
At first dark we left Bonegilla for Albury, and the entraining went without a hitch. Carriages were of
the usual N.S.W. type and not to compare with the Victorian Railways. Very few people were about
to see us off, in fact, I doubt if very many knew of our move. It was a great help for me that the lads
moved well and orderly during the entraining etc. as I was required to make numerous checks withembarkation rolls before we actually boarded our transport.
Well, we were away with a complete unit and a well-trained one, and all made what arrangements
they could for sleeping, or in other ways, passing the night. I shared a compartment with a few
officers, including Captain (now Major) Bruce Anderson (VX47449), Captain (now Major) Rosson(VX48629), Grant Forsyth and one other. Sleep was nearly impossible, so I felt very relieved when
we pulled into Moss Vale, and we learned we were to breakfast there. A slight rain did not deter theboys from piling from the carriages and taking a much needed constitutional up and down theplatform.
Sausages and potatoes with coffee and bread made up the meal, and I enjoyed it. Moss Vale was thenleft behind, the old station, from what I could see, was still intact, but I daresay the restaurant was left
counting its losses, for, on the train, in addition to ourselves, were the 2/10 Field Company
Engineers. The rest of the train trip was most uninteresting, and I was glad when the outskirts of
Sydney town came in sight. There was the usual straightening out of gear, jackets, etc., were donned
again, it was now quite hot, and very slowly we pulled into the docks amid the calls and brief
conversation of the railways employees.

Ron Griffth at Circular Quay 1940 or 1941

On the opposite side of the jetty, there was awaiting us a ferry, by which means we were to be takenout to the “Mary”, which was lying at anchor in the harbour. Thank goodness, we did not have far tocarry our gear, as it was considerable, so once more, we were checked and found correct. We werelater to be complimented by the higher authorities on all our movements from the camp to “TheQueen”, and it spoke very well for the discipline and training we had had. I had a personal feeling of
elation, for I had had more than a little to do with them in that respect.
My first sight of the “Queen Mary” (later referred to as H.T.Q.X. and Q.X.), gained as we rounded apoint and came under our wonderful “bridge” was something I will not forget, as up till then I had
never set eyes on a ship anything like her size, and she seemed to grow as we drew nearer. The
cheers, cooees and singing going on aboard the ferry were near deafening, and they increased as wepulled alongside, and the men already aboard “The Queen” added to the tumult. Another check wasmade as we went aboard, and were shown to our quarters. Our men were mainly on “C” deck withthe officers On Main. Here I was thankful that I had even the modest rank of Warrrant.Officer(W.O.), for I also found myself being shown to Main deck, and in particular to Cabin 86, which I
shared throughout the voyage with five other W.O.’s, Jerry Veitch, Osborne, R.S.M. Australian
General Hospital (A.G.H.), Gus Mayberry, R.Q.M.S. 10 A.G.H., Bert Saville, Provost (later Lieut.),
and Geoff Middleton (later Lieutenant).
The first impressions of the H.T.Q.X., as the boat was named, were certainly lasting, and I neverfailed to marvel at her size, appointments and comfort. It was not hard to realize what she must havebeen like pre-war, and I often wished that I had had Moira aboard with me and we were doing the tripsans war. Although I spent some time in the following days looking over her, I still left her at the endof 15 days, feeling that I had seen only a portion of her. Truly a marvellous boat, and the dining
service, which was still being run by the ship’s company, was excellent, and the meals themselves
beyond all expectations, seeing as how we were off to a war.
She was certainly a crowded little tub; we had almost a complete 22 Inf. Bde. aboard, totalling just on
6,000. The usual boat drill and boat stations was practised; the baths, two of them, one forward, one
aft, were made available at different times; the ship’s barber operated all for our use; and as aSergeants Mess, we had a large room aft on ”A” deck. Needless to say, there were many “happy”
nights spent there, as perhaps can be imagined. Our main trouble seemed to be to get enough beer
before our night’s quota had run out, which it did every night.
We spent our first night in the harbour, as stores and men were still coming aboard. The small craft
circling the Q.X. seemed endless, and were kept at a distance by the harbour police. All kinds ofideas were in practice to try and draw the attention of someone on board. The throwing overboard of
messages in any form was definitely prohibited, but this did not prevent many from trying. The water
seemed, and was, a long way below us as we stood on the upper decks and looked down. Truly awonderful experience, one’s first day aboard the “Queen Mary”.
Everything was in order by the following morning when we were lined up on decks to receive a visitof farewell from the Governor-General, who passed between the ranks wishing good luck and good
cheer to all and sundry, including officers, nurses (about 30 were with us), and men. It was abeautiful day, and just as I finished my midday meal, I felt the barely noticeable throb of our engines
which told us we were at last to move away from our homeland, knowing not how long it would be
before we saw her again, or what lay ahead.
Everyone who could be spared seemed to be on deck, bands were playing, ferries whistling, and these,with the cheers and singing of the thousands of men on board, were most inspiring. Small craft werenumerous and looked like midgets from my viewpoint, way up on the Sun deck, and it seemed as
though every vantage point in the harbour was crowded with people waving farewell. Our escort for
the first part of the trip had preceded us out, and as we started moving, I saw the other two transports,
the “Amsterdam” and old “Aquitania”, which were to form our convoy, leaving from Sydney. They

had a large number of New Zealanders on board and eventually left us in the Indian Ocean for the
Middle East.
As we passed through the Heads, we received the final wave and cheer from the people assembled
there, and I think our singing died down somewhat as it dawned on us that we would not be back here
again for a long time, if at all. My feelings once again were very mixed, perhaps a little sad, but I
think the excitement of sailing for the unknown, and as it was my first ocean voyage, I was not unduly
upset by the leaving behind us all we held dear. Even now, we had heard nothing official as to our
immediate movements, and when we turned south after clearing land, conjections were rife. We
formed up, with H.M.A.S. Hobart out in front, Q.M. on left, with the Aquitania on right, and in rear of
the Queen came the “New Amsterdam”. The sea was very kind, and in fact it was nothing else but
throughout the voyage, much to my disgust, for although I’m sure I would be very sick in adverse
weather, I would have given pounds to have had at least one heavy sea, even if it was only for theexperience, and also to see how this giant we were travelling on would behave. In a way it seemed awaste to have such a big boat for the calm weather we experienced with unceasing monotony. We
soon settled down, our speed was not great, as we could only travel as fast as the “Aquitania” could
manage. The “Amsterdam” looked a picture following us, she was a modern boat and had beautifullines and looked clean and, like the “Mary”, had turbine motors, which contrasted greatly with our old
friend on the right, which poured smoke from her funnels day and night, and being painted black,looked dirty compared to ourselves and the “Amsterdam”.
I was surprised to find how quickly sea travel can become monotonous, and can now understand whysome are sick of travel, a thing I could never understand prior to this trip.
Our Orderly Room, which was ideally situated in the “Cocktail Bar” on extreme rear of thePromenade deck overlooking the water, was shared by Orderly Rooms of 10 A.G.H.( Australian
General Hospital), 2 Mobile Bacterial Laboratory., 2/4 C.C.S. (Casualty Clearing Station). I soon go t
to know the shortest route from there to my cabin, but with so many passages, alleyways and decks,
I’m afraid I took many a wrong turn during the first few days when trying to find my way to suchplaces as the mess, which was on “A” deck, the dining room on “C” and the swimming pools, theforward being on “C” and aft pool on “F” deck. Perhaps some who know me, and this includes mywife, may be surprised that I lost my way to the mess of all places, but I can assure same I soon foundthe shortest route.
We were soon hard at work writing letters so as to be ready for mailing if we berthed at any port, andhere it was that our letters first started being censored. Censorship regulations were strict.
Photographs were practically forbidden, as was any news of our ship, destination or in fact any news
that would be of use to an enemy. In later days the men got to know what was allowable and what
was not, and so made the censors’ job easy, but at first I’m afraid there was many a letter mutilated
because they would not obey the instructions issued.
A ship’s newspaper was started and called the Q.X. Press, and by this means we learned a little newsof the outside world, as well as the doings of all the units on board.
My duties on board were not very severe, the detailing our share of the various ship’s duties and theparades being mainly the lot. Space for parades was, of course, very limited, and not very much could
be done in this respect. Quite often we had surprise boat drill exercises, and the boat seemed to bealive with the thousands of troops and nurses hurrying to their stations. The nights were always lively
in the mess where we had a grand piano, and often this was supplemented by concert bands made up
from the various units. All units were invited to write their own words to the popular tune of “Toodoo-loo-dill-i-addity”, and as these were sung each night by the groups of Sergeants responsible for
their origin, we never had a dull night.
Beer was of Sydney town, and the mess was only allowed a certain number of barrels per night, so, as
the mess was always crowded and waiters were few, it was always a tossup as to whether one couldget as much as one desired before the delectable amber gave out; and so with drinking, singing, andgood fellowship, we passed practically every night. In fact, there was very little else to do, although a
picture show was running, because cigarettes on open decks were not allowed, and all covered decks
were shuttered each night, as were all portholes which, of course, were blacked out.
Our meals were wonderful, and when seated at meals with white-coated stewards, printed menus andthe very best of foods, and each meal of at least four courses, it was hard to realize that we were
headed for a war. I’m sure that this part of the ship was being run no differently than if we had been
ordinary paying passengers. The officers also ate in the same dining room as we sergeants, but, ofcourse, after we had finished. Fresh bread each day, and fruit straight from the refrigerators was mostwelcome, the latter in particular, when we approached the tropics.
We passed many days in which we did not even sight land, but our course took us down round thebottom of Tasmania, they would not risk the possibility of mines in Bass Strait, and on the following
day we picked up the “Mauritania”, which had embarked troops from Melbourne, and she took up her
place in the convoy some half-mile astern of the “Aquitania” and in line with the “Amsterdam”. This
made our convoy of four ships rather a valuable prize for an enemy, as we totalled Lord knows how
many troops, and over 200,000 tons in shipping. As we approached the Bight I wondered if we would
get a “Sea”, but I was disappointed for all we got was a swell, and the Queen just continued on her
way with the customary lazy roll, and when a day or so later we found the sun on a different quarterof the boat, we all knew we had turned north and nearing Fremantle. We were soon proved correct,
for we saw land for the first time, and shortly were anchored from 2 or 3 miles off land in a calm bay
and a very hot sun.
For years I had had a strong desire to see the “West”, so one night imagine my disgust when we weretold that there would be no leave. This was bad enough, but when we saw the “Mauritania” and“Amsterdam” run in and tie up at the wharf, I, for one, and there were thousands like me, experienced
keen disappointment. They all had leave during the three days we rested there, but try as I might, I
could not work myself into any of the small official parties that went ashore daily from the Queen
Mary. And boy, was it hot! Next to no breeze, and the “Mary”, as we were to find out later, wasnever built for the hot climates.
Our cabin had a bathroom attached, and as cold sea water was plentiful, I had many a cold bath during
those days and others that followed. We filled in time as usual during these days of waiting, by
playing deck tennis and quoits, exploration, if one’s desires were still not realized by this time, andthen at nights before dark, it was always worth a visit to the upper decks right aft, to see the two-up
schools, and in fact all types of gambling that were always in progress. Two-up was supposed to betaboo, but the amount of money that changed hands on that boat was colossal. So passed nearly threedays, namely, from Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon, and it was then that I saw one of thesights that will stay clear in my mind for many a long day. The “Mauritania” was seen to leave herberth, and we were all on deck or at portholes to watch her as she came past us. She came quite close
to us, as we lay at anchor, and she, like ourselves, was well loaded. Her personnel were perched on
every available vantage point, with the nurses wearing their red capes lining the rail of her promenadedeck. The waving, cooees, cheering and singing that went on both ships as they passed was, I think,the most inspiring scene I had ever witnessed. I had often heard that one would never regret theexperiences gained by going overseas with a force, and certainly, scenes such as this and many others
will always live.
We moved out of Fremantle harbour a little after this, and now our escort, as far as we could see still
only one ship, was the H.M.A.S. “Canberra”, in place of the “Hobart”. The “New Amsterdam”
seemed to be late coming out, and we were still well out and formed up before she came up to us. We
were soon out of sight of land, and this was our last view of Australia, and the next time we saw land
was as we neared Singapore. Life on board soon settled down again to its usual routine, our mail hadgone ashore, and those of us who were fortunate had received letters that had come overland. Having
left Sydney on Tuesday, 4th February, we had now been on the water eight days, this being

Wednesday 12th. For the next six days the weather became hotter and hotter, and life on board was
not very pleasant, particularly at night with the boat closed up, and even in spite of the fan andventilators in our cabin, it was still stifling.
Whilst in Australia we had received various inoculations and one vaccination and, in my case, thevaccination had not taken. Some two days out of Fremantle I, with many others, were down again,
and this time it took. And how it took! After putting up with it for a couple of nights, I was put into
hospital with a high temperature by our Capt. John Park VX44998 (a great fellow, and one of the best,
later to lose his life (on 9 February 1942), and recommended by Lieutenant Colonel H.F.Summons
VX40219 for a V.C.), who happened along to the R.A.P. one night I was there for a sedative. The
arm was pretty sore, and it was very hot lying in bed, so even after a short stay in hospital, I wasallowed up and it was a relief to get up on deck, although I felt as weak as a kitten and had no interest
in anything. It was a pity really, and I often regretted that I was not feeling better at the time, for thatwas the day we left the convoy and came on alone, escorted now by the H.M.S. “Durban”.
It was a Sunday, and our leave-taking was another event that will stay in my mind. Without warning
we suddenly swung out of line, and after the days of straight monotonous sailing, even this was an
event, and turned about. For such a giant it took very little water to turn in, and having turned, we cut
across the rear of the “Amsterdam” and “Mauritania”, then turned left again and at advanced speed wepassed on the outside of the “Mauritania” and “Aquitania”. Once again the cheering, waving, singing
etc, went on and it stirred us to no mean order, and showed the wonderful spirit that prevailed
everywhere. Having passed the “Acquitania”, we gave a final wave and then swung off to the rightand headed towards Sumatra; the others continuing their way to the Middle East.
The weather now was extremely hot and we were getting our first taste of the hot humid tropicalatmosphere that we were to learn to dislike and curse in the not too far distant future. That was
Sunday 16, and we were getting near the end of our journey. During the next day we had occasional
distant glimpses of land which of course were islands. Excitement was high, purchases of tobaccoand cigarettes, which were very cheap were being made before it was too late; but, if we had known,
there was no need, for the N.A.A.F.I., which we were to trade with on land were just as cheap if notcheaper.
The next day, Tuesday 18, was our last on board and about midmorning we ran in through the boom,
and at reduced speed made our way up the Straits of Johore to berth finally at the Singapore NavalBase.
Out trip up the straits was the first real look we had of Malaya, for in most places, the straits, which
separate Singapore Island from the mainland are little more than a mile wide, and so enabled us toobtain a close view of the shore. Things and sights which impressed me most was the wealth ofvegetation and swamps reaching down to the waters edge; the bathing pagars or fenced swimming
pools at intervals as cruised along, and then back from the water’s edge and among the low hills andvalleys were the various types of houses and dwellings. Among the first of these were large white
structures on the left; these being as I was to find out, the barrack buildings of the British garrison
quartered on the Island. In contrast to these large white buildings, were the small dirty looking native
houses and occasional kampongs or villages. Everything was green and the rolling hills were covered
with trees, scrub, cultivated fields, or plantations of banana, pineapple or coconut palm. In fact thetall palms seemed to grow everywhere and looked exactly as I expected a tropical land would appear.
I think everybody was at some vantage point to see as much as possible of this country we were tooccupy for the next how long? The channel we had to keep to turned continually, which meant that as
the giant Queen mad her way majestically along, new panoramas were continually opening up aheadof us, and in spite of our slow speed, the screws were turning up the mud which we left in our wake.
We had lunch whilst in the straits and shortly after we ran into a wider expanse of water fringed on
the left with buildings, huge cranes and docks, and into one of the latter we slowly turned.

So this was our destination. This wonderful Singapore and Malaya, of which we had heard so much,and had travelled some thousands of miles to defend. How we laughed later. Everything we now saw
and did was something new, and the excitement and eagerness of all on board to get ashore and see
and do things was intense. We berthed easily with the help of dozens of black and brown skinned
natives, who chattered like a whole pack of monkeys; and who were ordered by white men. On thewharf were hundreds of people including men in various types of uniforms; British army, navy,
airforce, native police, who were mainly huge bearded Sikhs (afterwards so much hated for theirtreachery), officials in white ducks and topees, a British band, and last but not least all these Tamils,
Chinese, Malays, Eurasians, other Indians and what have you. The practice of throwing on to thewharf for the pleasure of watching the coolies diving for them, in spite of the efforts of the police tokeep them back, soon became popular and became more so when the lads decided to heat them over afire before throwing them down. The way they dropped the hot coins was just nobody’s business, andgreat was our fun.
Our unit was to be disembarked that afternoon so we were lucky as it was stiflingly hot, and we were
only too keen to get ashore after 16 days. A parade was held and all ranks received their first
Malayan currency all being on a fixed amount of:- Officers $20, N.C.O.’s $15 and privates $10. How
strange it seemed after a life of pounds, shillings and pence. The dollar was worth 2/11 (two shillingsand eleven pence) Australian, so all our transactions in the future had to be worked out on that basis.
The 2/9 Field Ambulance was the first unit to be disembarked although various individuals had
already gone ashore. I was one of the first few on to the wharf and there, loaded down with gear anda cut lunch, handed to us as we stepped off the boat, I fell the unit in as it came off. I don’t think I’ve
ever felt so lousy as I did that day, as I still had a temperature and feeling very weak after my few
days in bed; and what with that and the sticky humidity of the day, as well as the large amount ofgear, I did not get the kick I should have out of it all. The Department of Information was soon on the
job and a cameraman caught us as we came off. That picture in which I happened to be well to thefore, evidently travelled all over Australia at least; for a lot of people sent me the paper or magazine inwhich it appeared. Two people sent it from the Albury press, and once later on I came across it in an
American newspaper.
What a relief it was to get ashore and feel solid earth once more. The towering hull of our late homelooked larger than ever from down here and one felt very small standing beside her. However wewere not to stand there for long as we were told to pick up our gear and follow a guide off the wharf
to the railway some 400 yards away. To hear the languages spoken by the various types of Asiatics
and the Europeans in charge of them, fell very strangely on the ears, but we were soon to become
quite used to it.
Arriving at the siding at which our train was waiting, we were given about 15 minutes to purchasefrom a tented canteen which was handy, and this again was an experience I shall not forget. These
canteens, at which we were to deal in plenty later on were run by the N.A.A.F.I., (Navy, Army and
Air Force Institutes) and usually had a European in charge, with the serving usually being done by
Malays or Chinese. This was our first chance to spend Malayan money, and I’ll never forget thescene of the men buying beer, cigarettes, chocolates etc. and then trying to work out the cost inAustralian. As we had been paid in dollar notes, we were to be complexed by receiving the various
coins and smaller denomination notes in the change. The beer was on ice, and Cascade at 32 cents abottle seemed to me a pretty good buy, and it proved better than just a buy when we got down to it.
Tins of 50 Craven A at 45 cents seemed an unbelievable price when we worked it out, for that meant
only about 1/3 where the same at home when we left was priced at 3/9. This was to prove typical of
the N.A.A.F.I. and most everything was very cheap to us.
It was very funny to watch the lads trying to make themselves understood to the natives behind thecounters, and I got all the fun I wanted just by watching them. Everyone was in the best of spirits
enjoying this novel experience to the utmost, and this in spite of the fact that we were all wet throughwith sweat, and not feeling very comfortable from that point of view. Our brief opportunity at thecanteen was cut short however as the train was ready to leave, and we had to get aboard.
We were not to see Singapore worst luck as we were booked for a place called Port Dickson some 260
miles north. I did not mind personally how soon we got aboard for I was just about out on my feet.
The carriages were of a different design than any we had ever seen, and were quite comfortable. A
centre corridor ran through each carriage and seats were collapsible in such a manner that two made a
comfortable bed. The gauge of the railway in the F.M.S.R.(Federated Malay States Railways) is only
a metre but travel is very comfortable and although the engines look like toys, they are really very
good. We had other units as well as ourselves, and so had a long train drawn by two engines, andthey made good time. A number of Malay sailors were down to see us off, and the fraternising of ourlads with them was immediate, and all were good friends.
It was now late in the afternoon, and after our one last look at the H.T.Q.X., we left her to her fate anddrew away from the base headed for Johore, and the north. The usual storing of baggage and thesettling in of oneself followed and once settled down spent the last hour of daylight lapping up thescenery as it went past. Evidently our arrival had preceded us, for all along the line there were
thousands of natives out to stare at us in their usual unenlightening way, and dressed in anything froma loin cloth to a sarong. Many were the colours of their dress, and many were the breeds of natives
we saw, although there seemed to be a preponderance of Indians, mainly Tamils.
At the northern end of the island we ran on to a shunting line, the engines changed ends, and we thenran on to the Causeway, which is a road and railway some half mile in length crossing the Straits, andconnecting Singapore Island with the mainland at Johore Bahru. Darkness had fallen, worse luck, so
our view was practically nil, as it was advisable to keep the carriages closed up both to keep out thesoot and cinders from the engine, and also to combat our first and new enemy, the mosquito, who
seemed to choose the evenings in which to carry out his nefarious work.
Our brief halt at the station, where more natives were in evidence endeavouring to sell drinks andeats; but what a difference to the prices we were asked by the N.A.A.F.I. Things were almost twice
the price. I regretted not being able to see the country through which we were to pass, but all one
could see on that trip were natives of all nationalities who were at the various stations, which by theway were very poorly lit, that we passed through during the night. Still feeling terrible, and I think I
was overtired, I spent a very unpleasant night, sleeping in cat naps, and praying for the trip to finish.
We were all together, i.e., the sergeants mess, which consisted of Geoff Middleton, Ian Forsyth, Frank
Cartledge, Ted Jones, Bert Swabbs, Harry Cannon, Ron Churches, Bill Wishart, George Copeland,
Harry Frankland, Harold Winzer, Jerry Veitch, and Ted Waddingham. As well as these there were, ofcourse, Jack Sandell and Bert Campbell, who had preceded us. I was awake at Gemas, where wewere shunted once more, and put on the line for Port Dickson, and at about 3 a.m. we halted finally at
a wayside siding called Bagan Pinang, where, under rather dismal conditions, there being only two or
three arc lights burning, we disgorged from the train, to find a British R.A.S.C. there to transport ourheavy baggage, and guide us to our new camp. Most of trucks had Malay drivers, and I remember
marvelling at the fluency of a British sergeant when ticking off a few of the Malays or Chinesecoolies who were there to do the work. The personnel were to march some few miles, and, feeling as
I did, I was not looking forward to this in the least, but, evidently I was looking as I felt, for the C.O.
approached me and told me not to attempt to march, but to ride with the baggage. I was never sothankful for an order in all my years in the Army, and I obeyed to the letter as, after all, all goodsoldiers should.
After a certain amount of delay we got away, and it was not long before we pulled up alongside alarge white building, and there were met by Capt. Searby (Major VX45273 Medical Officer) and theothers who had left us way back at Bonegilla, and, believe me, it was good to see them again. They
had beaten us by some days, and had everything ready for us to move straight into our barracks. I was
given a room, so in went my gear, and after yarning with Jack Sandell for a while, the rest of the unit

arrived, and so good were the arrangements for quartering, we were able to move them by companies
direct to their sleeping quarters where all were allowed to rest for the remainder of the night, which
was not very long, for in no time it seemed, dawn was breaking, and we could get a good look roundour new home, and see the immediate topographical features in the vicinity. Our long trip was finallyover now, namely, this morning of the 19th February, which was just nineteen days after leaving
Bonegilla.
At daybreak, 6 a.m. I think most of us were up and about anxious to see where we were, what wewere in, and whatever else may be in store for us. As it turned out we were particularly fortunate, as
we were in part of the barracks usually used by the Malay Regiment, a battalion of which were stillquartered in other parts of the barracks. We were allotted two long double storied buildings and a
gymnasium which was turned into a hospital. The buildings were of concrete, plenty of shelter,without restricting the maximum of air; and each building was of four dormitories some 60’x25’, astaircase situated centrally, with rooms 10’x8’in each corner of each floor. Stretchers, pillow, sheets,blanket and mosquito net were laid out for each man, and barrack furniture of all kinds madeconditions for living fairly pleasant. My room which faced the west suited me admirably, for in it I
had lockers, chest of drawers, mirror, table and chairs; and from the windows I looked out over theStraits of Malacca some half mile away. Between me and the water was the parade ground of the
Malay Regt., then a Malay mosque, and from there to the waters edge a grove of tall coconut palms.
All this I overlooked from our high position on top of a hill. Attached to each of the buildings were
showers and latrines, baths here being practically unknown. Cookhouse and men’s mess were also
there, all in permanent structures so we were very fortunate. To complete our good fortune we had
within 20 yards of our main building, an open air picture theatre and another two-storied building
which contained on the ground floor, a canteen run by the N.A.A.F.I., two billiards tables, and therooms upstairs were used as Sergeants messes, the balconies of which overlooked the theatre. It was awonderful layout and I for one was very keen and satisfied.
The area taken over by the 22 Brigade (Bde) extended nearly a mile, and for those who could not fit
into the barracks there had been constructed long atap huts which were airy affairs and typicallynative in their structure; dried palm fronds laced together being used for both walls and roof.
Scattered within our area were many civilian residences that had been taken over by the army, andinto these went the officers and Bde. H.Q. Eight nurses who later came to the hospital from 2/4
C.C.S. (Casualty Clearing Station) also used one of these buildings and seemed very satisfied.
The terrain was interesting being hilly and everywhere flowers were blooming, wild orchids were on
mess tables, and the multi-coloured leaves of the various bushes and shrubs, to say nothing of the wild
flowers made a pretty sight and one far removed from what we came here to do.
Various A.S.C. (Australian Service Corps) units were either with us or in Seremban as was the 2/18
Bn. The units attached to Brigade were 2/5 Field Hygiene Section, 2/5 Mobile. Bacterial Laboratory,
ourselves and the other two battalions, 2/20 and 2/19 were in the area whilst 10 A.G.H. had moved
straight to Malacca being serviced there by the 2/2 M.A.C. who were some of the few Corps troops
sent across with us.
We settled down quickly although our program was not very strenuous in the early days, mainly
because we needed acclimatizing, our main enemy was the sun and the humid atmosphere which kept
us in a continual sweat. So to combat this, most work in the way of field training was done during themorning and an enforced siesta taking place during the afternoon until 4 or 5 o’clock, when once
more a little more work was carried out. Towards the end of the first week our transport section,
which had been left behind at Singapore, arrived with our vehicles, so once again we were nearlycomplete. The boys were greatly taken by the smartness of the drill carried out by the Malays, whowere officered by British, their parade ground work being the last word and a picture to watch.
For the first month or two I usually carried out an hour’s drill with the men and the sweat they lostmust have been gallons for I was always wet through just with calling out the orders. They soontoughened up, so I went on to route marches at first only small but later building up to 10 or 12 miles.
Usually we could arrange for a swim to finish up and they were popular.
Our evenings were filled in either in the quarters as we had electric light, in the canteen, or, in ourcase, in the mess where we had our bar erected, and we settled down to the important task of gettingused to this Malayan beer which went by the names of “Anchor” and “Tiger” the latter being by far
the better. Later we were able to purchase Australian and Tasmanian Beers and they were a whole lot
better. Beer we were warned was not the best of drinks in this country, so for the first time I went on
to Whiskey, which, with dry ginger, I got to like fairly well; and when the pictures were on it wasvery pleasant to sit in the breeze which always sprung up at dusk, on the verandah and have a noggin
or two whilst watching what was more often than not, an excellent show.
In April, to make more room, we combined our mess with Bde. H.Q. and so we became a larger
group; and as there was a couple of rats in their midst, I was not too keen, but did not worry much as I
knew that I would be leaving in the near future.

Our official opening night we celebrated by having a dinner, and to it we invited Sister Drummond(later Matron of 13 A.G.H.) and her girls, and also Brig. Taylor, of 22 Aust. Infantry Brigade. It wasa great night as we carried on the celebration in the mess after, and more than one was more thanmerry before we went to bed. Lofty had been presented some few weeks earlier with a python, a 15
footer, which we kept in a box in the mess, and when we put him out on the floor that evening, hecaused quite a stir. An amusing outcome of that night was Lou Atkinson’s love affair with Sister
Raymond, the beauty of it being that she did not know anything of it. Lou wrote rather a nice note toRay, the next morning, and it was intercepted by Copeland and Wishart, who, being practical jokers,
kept it and answered it themselves, and so had poor old Lou in a dither for weeks. The deception was
still going on when I left for Singapore some time later.
It must have been April some time that poor old Lofty lost his stripes. Lord knows, I had warned him
often enough and had protected him more than once, but he got a bit tight one night whilst Orderly
Sergeant, and after midnight I was awakened by Harold Winzer to do something with him. The place
was in an uproar. Lights were on, and Lofty was putting Frankland, who was drunker than he, underarrest. The guard was there as well as our piquet, but I closed the works down quickly, put Frankland
in the guard tent and waited to see what the morning brought forth. Sure enough they both came up
before the C.O., and Frankland got off scot free and Harry C. lost his stripes. It was most unfair, and I
felt genuinely sorry for Lofty, and that was not only because I liked him. He is one of the best natured
fellows I’ve met, and even now, in our P.O.W. days, we get together quite often and eat and yarn
together. The part I did not like was seeing a sergeant put back in the ranks to become the block for
all and sundry of the men who felt now that they could talk as they liked. Lofty took it all like a man
though, and I admired him for it. It was not easy for him, I’m sure.
The days slipped by, we becoming gradually accustomed to the conditions. Language classes started
up, and we picked up words here and there. The highlights were, of course, mail days, and leave
weekends. Mail was coming through very regularly by air, and I never missed a mail to speak of. If
for no other reason, I was glad to be married, for Moira was wonderful in all the letters she wrote andI can’t recall a mail she missed. I was receiving a large number, and believe me, it was quite an effort
for me, being such a poor and slow writer, to keep up with them. Our leave was either to the nearest
large town, Seremban (there was nothing much at all at Port Dickson), Malacca, some 60 miles south,or Kuala Lumpur, a similar distance north. Seremban, 25 miles away, was quite a good little place,and I made various purchases during the few visits I paid it, and found it quite reasonable in spite of
the bargaining system that sprung up, by our fellows continually trying to beat them down in price.
I’m sure we were the losers in the long run, for it only meant that these wily natives advanced theprice for a start, and so allowed for the bargaining. All towns in Malaya smell to high heaven, andthis was no exception, and one day passing through the market, I nearly passed out. From this town I
purchase piecers of Malayan pewter which I sent home.
I think I enjoyed Kuala Lumpur (K.L.) better than any place I ever saw here, and spent a few leavedays in this northern capital. Here the eastern and western elements and buildings and ideas stand out
in keen contrast to each other, and one is able to travel through one end of the town and be as nativeand smelly as could wish, and then to the other end where huge administrative buildings, banks,
cricket padangs and clubs and hotels were in evidence. Had a very fine meal at the air-conditioned
Majestic Hotel, before running out to see the Batu Caves one day. These were interesting, and one
climbed 186 steps to reach them, situated as they were half way up a sheer mountain face. Insidewere many interesting writings, and if one was lucky, a yogi or two may be seen sitting in his pitch
dark corner. They seemed to me to be nearly mental. That same day we were shown over a tin
dredge, and a noisy clattering thing it was too. Still, as such things are supplying a large proportion of
the world’s tin and profits are high, I don’t suppose they mind. Back to K.L., where I purchased a few
odds and ends including, I remember, a set of stamps for Pa-in-law, and after tea in the eastern end of
the town, we rickshawed some two miles to another quarter of the town and spent until 10 p.m. in thefun parks, called “Worlds”, in this country. Here they have all kinds of side shows, Chinese plays andpictures, pictures also in English, and in some a huge dance hall where one can, on the purchase ofchits, always obtain a dance from “taxi girls”. These are mainly Chinese or Eurasians, and they dressand dance beautifully. Generally speaking they are a very thin and flat-chested lot, and are
exceptionally light on their feet.’Kuala Lumpur, particularly in the European section, is more or less modern, and differed considerably
to Malacca, which is perhaps the oldest town, and still retains traces of the early Portuguese settlers,in her buildings and ruins. The drive in from the north follows the coast for the last few miles, and isa particularly pretty run, with the wealthy merchants’ houses, huge trees of frangipani, crotons, etc.,
gold links, and bordering the shore the ever present tall coconut palms. Our Artillery Regiment.,
2/10th, was in barracks here, as were the 10 Australian General Hospital, who had taken over acomplete wing of the Civilian Hospital. In later days I was to be sent to Malacca, and it was here that
I messed. At this time our 8 Div. A.I.F. H.Q. was at K.L., and we lost Capt. Bruce Anderson(Medical Officer) to them during April. These leaves were very pleasant outings, one was still seeing
new things and customs, and I generally managed to get hold of something or other to send home forone of the many womenfolk, to whom I tried to give something at some time or another.
One large scale training scheme was carried out when the whole brigade moved from Port Dickson to
Kluang, the practice being to move a large force and take up a defensive position and operate. The
whole move was b y Motor Transport (M..T.), and took many hours, but it was quite a break. On theother side of our life here, we spent some time at controlled sport, and had sports meetings and field
games on the padang within our area. Our lads, under the keen sportsman, Capt. Park (mentioned
previously) , did very well at these events, and later built up an Australian Rules Football team whichbecame famous. A big help here was having Harold Ball, of Melbourne Football Club as one of ourmembers, and he, of course, did a good job. Harold was later to lose his life with John Park, and it
was a sad blow to the unit in general.
I was very keen on Port Dickson, and did not relish the thought of leaving my comfortable quarters
here, when I was given, with Jerry Veitch, the opportunity of attending a four months course at an
Officer Cadet Training Unit (O.C.T.U.) at Singapore. Everything had settled down, and we werequite at home by this time, and I think the best thing enjoyed by the men was the fact that our washing
was all done for us by sending it out to washing contractors called “Dhobys”. At the same time, ourfirst skin troubles commenced in the form of tinea, prickly heat, etc., and Dhobys Itch, and I did not
use the privilege, but had Ted Hibbert, my batman, do it instead. I escaped with nothing worse thanprickly heat, but got the lot later at the O.C.T.U. when we had to use the Dhoby. Pontoon at 10 cents
a card was a popular game, and my usual card luck stuck to me even in this country.
On the night of May 8 1941 my stay at Port Dickson came to an end, and Jerry Veitch and myself
packed and left to catch the night train from K.L. which arrived at Seremban at approximately 10.30
p.m. We had a small send off from the boys and quite a few snorts passed over the tongue before we
got away. This was to be my first trip to Singapore for I had turned down earlier opportunities infavour of others who had not been, when we were supplying escorts with all V.D. cases from our area.
However here was my turn and I was a little excited as usual when I’m starting off on a new venture
or trip, and once again it was to be a night trip and so prevent my seeing any of the landscape. I guessthough it would have been exactly like the rest of the country, with miles and miles of rubber
plantations interspersed with padi and occasional cultivated fields or palm groves. Being of warrant
rank we travelled first class and had a sleeper which was a distinct improvement on the trip up on atroop train.
We went in by car and Geoff, Frank and Ian Forsyth came in for the run. The station, very poorly lit
was crowded with thousands of low class natives sleeping anywhere they could get either on seats oron the ground and I believe this was a common practice, for very few actually travelled on the train.
One or two others were also travelling on this train to attend the course, so after final farewells thetrain started and once having stored our gear we made our way to the buffet car where a bar was inoperation and there we sat and talked until nearly 2 a.m., when we made our way back to the car andwere just about settled in when we stopped at Tampin and in got a few more who were to attend theschool. These boys were from the 2/10 Field Regiment. Ron Beer had only half his moustache andthey were very happy, so it was easy to see that they also had had a send off. They took a while tosettle down, but finally we all slept and I awoke at dawn. Hopping out right away I washed dressed
and found we were nearing Johor Bahru (J.B.). The country was as I expected, thickly covered by all
manner of tropical vegetation and actually very uninteresting.
The others were up so we all went into breakfast and on the tables were copies of the morning paperwith the compliments of the C.E.S.R. A very good thought and something that our Railways might
easily emulate. As I finished eating we pulled into J.B. so I took a stretch along the platform and fromthere got a glimpse or two of some rather large buildings just on the edge of the town. These were the
new Johore hospital, a beautiful building, and the Sultans Palace also stood out. I was to see plenty ofthem later on as I was stationed in Johore for three months after the school had finished.
We crossed the causeway and ran the last twelve or thirteen miles to Singapore, and here it was liketouring in a different country for the rubber trees disappeared to a large degree and the vegetation was
not so thick mainly due to the fact that here we were nearing the hub of the universe and the
population was necessarily denser.
It was a nice fine day and after getting our goods and chattels together we were all ready. We arrived
at the Station, there to be met by a couple of English Sergeants who had come in a truck and vans totransport us out to the O.C.T.U., which was in Churchill Lines, some fourteen miles out at Changi
which is the N.E. corner of the island. Our view of Singapore was limited to the outside edge and thestreets through which we passed on our way out, but we passed a few well known places which wewere to see more of in the future. Such places as the Singapore Cricket Club and the famous“Padang”, the Administrative Buildings, St. Andrews Cathedral, Raffles Hotel and then on toLavender Street, Air Port, which is just outside the City, and then along the coast road to our new
home.
Arriving there a roll was called. We were divided into squads of six or seven and placed under thetender care of a British Sergeant who was to be our squad instructor in P.T., all field exercises andweapon training. He showed us our rooms, which were actually married quarters of the garrison in
ordinary times, so I saw straight off that we were to be more or less comfortable for our stay there. I
was to share an upstairs double room with a Fred Harvey who had come from the A.A.S.C., and heturned out to be a bright customer, a keen sport, particularly when it came to water polo. Our room
was excellent, bright and airy, having all shuttered windows at one end and an open balcony the other.
Furniture consisted of a wardrobe each, a table, chairs, electric light, and iron beds with mattressmade up of three horse hair biscuits. A Chinese “boy” was also detailed for each two or three rooms
and he did all cleaning, sweeping and bed making, and brought a cup of tea in at 5.30 each morning.
Our “boy”, a Chinese about forty years old, was a boon and many a laugh we got out of him when we
tried to teach him English. Our room led out to a lavatory and a bathroom which contained aporcelain bath and wash basin, shaving cabinet and shower. We were also to have a cadets’ mess, ananti-room furnished with tables and chairs and a library and canteen at one end run by the N.A.A.F.T.,
Asiatic cooks and we were waited on table by our “boys”. The meals were excellent and made life inthis respect very comfortable, in fact the whole course without exception was run on the very beststyle and the organisation and administration of the whole affair was perfect. It was run by all British
officers and N.C.O.’s, and later an officer from the 2/19 Bn. - Captain Thomas - joined the staff. I
have never enjoyed soldiering so much in all my life for we were never at a loss to know where orwhat we would be doing and/or why.
The course itself was very comprehensive in what it taught - organisation, administration, tactics andsupply being the main, and subjects such as weapon training, field engineering, map reading, all partsof A.A.S.C. Military law, M.T. etc. etc. helped fill the curriculum, and as well as these we covered
lectures and practice, where possible, on all other arms of the services. It meant solid work, buteverything was so well organised that it was almost a pleasure. The hours were long, being reveille
5.30, Parade (drill or P.T.) 0615, breakfast 0800, parades 0900 to 1230, lunch 1300, parades 1400 to
1545, tea 1600, free until 1800 when we went on parade again until 2000, dinner 2020 hrs. And thenthe rest of the day was our own. I found that all spare time was easily filled in keeping notes on ourmany lectures up to date, and quite often it took up some of our time Saturday afternoons and Sundays
when we were free and could, if desired, obtain leave to Singapore until 0100. I used the privilege ona few occasions only, preferring as a rule to get my letter writing done during these periods. Also,
after the long week, it was good to relax at the end and browse around in white shorts and shirt, andpay visits to the bar as desired, and, in the evenings, almost invariably, go to the picture theatre only aquarter of a mile down the road and run by the Garrison Royal Artillery.
This was the No. 3 O.C.T.U., the previous two were run for British units only, so we Australians wereunique in the fact that it was for the first time that A.I.F. troops had attended an O.C.T.U. abroad. A
school of 42 we were, and thirty were Australians drawn from all units but mainly from Infantry. The
English lads also came from various Regiments including Newman from the East Surreys”, Grounds
and Sharland from R.A.S.C., Calbeck from the “Gordons” and others from the “Loyals” “Argyles”
and Pat Jones from the Singapore Volunteers who was down to obtain a commission for the Malay
Regt.”We were a very happy family and all were generally on good behaviour for we knew that any
foolery, drunkenness or the like would mean only one thing, dismissal; and we were all too keen not
to chance that. On arrival everybody dropped their rank and became cadets distinguished always bywhite hat and cap bands, and white shoulder pieces. We were always conspicuous and had more than
one tricked as to what we were when we were in town, and one occasion I was asked if we were
special police. Our behaviour both in and out of barracks had to be just so and this meant that wewere always the temporary gentlemen, could not visit questionable places, (there were plenty of these)dance with taxi girls and such like. In other words we were to act as officers and gentlemen at all
times.
After the first couple of weeks, Tuesdays and Thursdays were lightened up considerably. The
afternoon periods being given over to free study etc. Usually we took these opportunities to play oursport which took nearly all forms-Water polo, cricket, soccer, rugby and hockey being the main ones.
It was marvellous the good teams we were able to field in all spheres out of our small band of forty,
and our water polo team in which I had the most interest did very well as we played every British
team in the area, and even ran out one night to play the R.A.A.F. at their own pool. This was our first
defeat, but it did not deter us for we arranged a match against the Singapore Soccer Club who, next to
the Chinese were the best in the country. They gave us a hiding but the day we had was worth it.
Usually we had played in the Selarang pool which was within a mile of the barracks, so when the
S.S.C. suggested we play at their pool and be their guests for the morning we did not refuse. The
Singapore Club was one of the places for Europeans in Singapore and I was very keen to see it. I was
not disappointed, and it was my favourite spot in the whole of Singapore later, and many were thewonderful meals I had there.
The pool itself was completely tiled, about 2½ times the size of an Olympic pool, chlorinated salt
water with the diving stand at one end. On the water’s edge it had spacious lawns and around the pool
were scores of tables both in the open and under large shade umbrellas of multi-coloured fabrics.
Later when made an Hon. Member I made many a visit when on daily leave for it was ideal to arrive
there, have the use of towels and spacious dressing rooms, have a swim and then, after using the highpressure showers on the edge of the pool, sit down at a table, and by the lifting of a finger have a“boy” render excellent service in the way of drinks and sandwiches. At dark another shower, dress
and then dinner on the softly lit balconies overlooking the harbour, was to my mind as near perfection
as one could wish. I never grew tired of that program, and although I came across other good eatinghouses, most of them very expensive, I always gave my vote to the swimming club. To finish off aleave we invariably, after dining there, went on to a show at the 9.15 p.m. session. This was also
pleasant for the theatres we patronised were all air conditioned.
However, we arrived this morning at the club were duly welcomed and made to feel at home, after
which we got on with the match in which they beat us 8 goals to 2. Our usual team comprising:Cornforth, Grounds, Harvey, Brennan, Quinlan, Lee and myself were there and they beat us on their
merits. It was good fun and after, although other scratch matches went on during the morning, wewere treated to drinks, eats and smokes, as we sat at tables on the edge of the pool. I was talking to aman during the morning who was leaving in two days time for Melbourne and Sydney, and I felt adistinct nostalgic pang when he told me. The S.S.C. was by far my favourite spot and I’ll never tire of
singing its praises.
Other good eating places I found were at the Airport where on favourable nights one dined on the roof
under individual softly lit table lamps, and at the Coconut Grove. A meal at the Cathay Cafe cost us$6.50 per one night, and I think this was the dearest meal I had. Of the picture theatres I preferred theCathay as it was cold inside, was new and modern in every way, and a bar was open all day on the
mezzanine floor.
We settled into the O.C.T.U. very quickly after the opening lecture by Major Denne the Commandant,
and we were divided into two platoons of three squads each of six or seven men. This madeindividual training easy for each squad had it’s own instructor sergeant and each platoon an officer.
The sergeant major, of the old traditional type even to the waxed moustache, kept us on the jump, andevery second morning took us for the before breakfast period of drill on the parade ground.
Smartness in drill was most essential, and by the time we marched out in August we were by nomeans bad. One hours P.T. every day either early morning or after six at night was done on the jump
and was of an advanced type. We were soon in good shape but lost a whole lot of sweat in themaking; and to get back to a shower after each effort was just what was wanted. In all our subjects
we were taken by officers who were especially picked for the job.
Quite a bit of our time was taken up in lectures and sand table exercises, and also later, work out inthe country behind Tampines Rd., where we put into practice what we had covered in lectures. This
included practical field engineering, and all infantry work such as schemes for advances, retreats,
patrols etc., usually working one platoon against the other. We also did quite a lot of night exercises
starting with the recognition of sounds, compass bearing marches and platoons in attack etc. I think it
was hotter working at night than by day and when doing our bearing marches at night over roughcountry covered with wire, creeks, jungle growth and mud it was dirty as well as hot. Usually we had
three “legs” to cover, contacting an officer at the end of each, and if one got lost then it meant a latetea for we generally had dinner when we got back, and this was usually between 10 and 11 p.m. To
get back after these hot sticky exercises to a jug or two was ideal as one felt more like drink than food.
On other occasions we travelled further afield by trucks to see at first hand various places and thingsof military interest. One such as this was an all day affair in which we saw a shoot by theHyderabad’s of the 3ʺ mortar, went to the grenade range and all had practice at throwing live
ammunition, had lunch which was trucked out from the O.C.T.U., carried out a scheme at the “Gap”
from which we obtained a wonderful view, and then on to the Base Supply and Ordnance Depot at
Alexandra, and this alone was an education. The amount of foodstuffs held in the freezers wascolossal; a complete bakery capable of supplying 70,000 daily, meat and bacon by the tons as was theflour. We were shown all over it before going on to the Ordnance section which included the baseworkshops and lastly to the huge arsenal which comprised several concrete structures built into thehills, and in them we saw every type of ammunition from .303 rifle to the large 15ʺ shells for the coast
batteries. It was extremely interesting and the day, which was fully taken up seemed more of aholiday than anything else. Talking of 15ʺ guns (2 naval and 1 land) which were situated not far awayfrom us at Changi, and they are colossal things when one gets alongside them. The land gun intriguedme the most as its arsenal and hydraulic power was all underground some 40ʹ. Everything below thesurface was electric or hydraulic and kept a crew of 26 busy when the gun was in action. Automatic
grabs place the heavy shells and charges on to trays which are sent by lifts to the surface, where acrew of 13 is used in the operation of the gun. It is wonderful to watch it in operation, and the easewith which the use of hydraulic power can move the giant about. A shoot we watched over 22,000
yards, ¾ charge only, as they were good for 28,000, shook the ground, and all atap buildings within amile of the gun literally shook. They have a tremendous blast, and the shell going away is for all-theworld like thunder receding into the distance.

My birthday, May 20, was one to be remembered, for, in spite of my move from P.D. only twelvedays before, every parcel and letter, with, I think, two exceptions, arrived, and were delivered to me
on May 19, 20, 21. Excellent staff work I thought, and I was very pleased everybody was so very
good, and their choice of gifts was the “pea”. Letters, cards and telegrams all arrived and made forme three great days, but did I get a headache when I saw what I had to answer in the way of letters inthanks to all these good people.
The school sailed along nicely, and our first exams came along in the shape of weapon training, whichcourse we finished first. Our written-up notes were withdrawn for examination, and shortly after thisa British cadet, Ledman, was quietly sent back to his unit. Everything was kept interesting as
possible, our field exercises carried on, we erected an assault bridge over the Changi Creek, playedaround with wireless telephones after receiving two lectures by an officer of Royal Sigs. We wrote
our letters, shopped at Changi village, where we soon became known, and in general were having agreat course. Fred Harvie (NX51618) was a character of a man, and anybody less like an officer was
hard to imagine. I think, when he was finally passed out, he was more surprised than anybody.
Time was slipping along, and either late July or early August saw the arrival of the 27 Aust. Inf. Bde.
Two of its three battalions, the 26th and 30th, were quartered for the earlier days only a few hundred
yards along the Changi Road from our line, and it was funny the feeling we had, somehow we felt
“old-timers” or veterans seeing them marching in with all their gear and pale faces, which wasevidently due to the fact that it was winter when they left home. They landed off the boat with some
sort of sickness, so were really in isolation in their camps, but this did not prevent us from asking all
the questions of home, etc., that we could think of. The 2/29 th were back at Katong, and the 13
A.G.H. was put into the R.C. School. Why in hell they ever sent another A.G.H. to service this small
force beat me but as the whole scheme of things in this country, right up to the running away of ourcommander, was just a joke, and if ever I go away with an army again, it will have to be a whole lot
different to what it is now. It is a common saying here now, to anybody running away from anything,that he is going a “Gordon Bennett”. What a reputation, thank goodness no one can apply it to me,
although I and many others had our opportunity prior to the capitulation. However, let me not get too
bitter about this business, for plainly it smells.
This new brigade was a composite show, as each battalion came from a different state. 2/29 were
Victorians and were in camp at Bonegilla when we left. 2/15 Regiment R.A.A. from N.S.W., andTom Smith arrived with this unit. Our corresponding ambulance, 2/10 th (Field Ambulance) , under Lt. Col.
Sheppard, and with whom I was to work during our days in action, were also New South Welshmen.
This country, by the way, can be thoroughly treacherous, as we full know, as far as rain is concerned,
and when it rains it does not play at it. I think more water falls here in five minutes of a shower thanwould in an hour or two at home. I mention this because of a very good laugh we had one day shortly
after the 2/26 and 2/30 moved in. After breakfast, all lit up in their full uniform, and including theirbands, they set off down the road in column of route, and it appeared obvious they were out to show
the English and Indian troops in the area how good they were. It was quite fine when we saw them goout, but within an hour down came the rain, and it was a good one. Sure enough, about half an houror so later back came the battalions, rifles inverted, band instruments under cover, and the men were
the sorriest looking batch of drowned rats I’ve ever seen. We, up on our balcony, and perfectly dry,gave them quite a barrack as they passed, and it was certainly, to us anyway, a darn good joke. I
suppose, like us early ones, they soon learned a thing or two about this “wonderful” country.
We covered one or two more exams before the 8th Aug. When the school, including nearly all the staff
and civilian employees, packed up and prepared for a ten day period at Mersing, where we were tofinish off the school with the exception of exams and the passing-out parade. Here we were to dojungle warfare and jungle lore, and it was not to be very severe in the way of work; and, indeed we
actually did have an easy ten days, nearly every afternoon being free for swimming or beach sports,
and this relaxation, after nearly four months of hard work (16 odd hours per day) was a great idea, andgreatly appreciated.

To help with the work in the actual jungle were a few Malay foresters, and many were the things welearnt from them. How to cut one’s way through on a compass hearing, keeping account of direction
and distance, and later on they showed us how to throw up a shelter made entirely from the materials
growing about. We built perimeter defences by day and defended them against the other platoon by
night, and the jungle can be an eerie place at night, believe me, with phosphorous leaves glowing
everywhere, the screeches of birds and animals, and the ceaseless chatter of the monkeys if disturbed.
We also did road defences, and defence of various villages, and in general covered a multitude ofwork, all of it, of course, was putting into practice what we had been lectured on during the course.
Our mess was operating, so many a pleasant evening was spent under the tents, and in spite of themany mosquitoes, mostly of the malarious type, which means malaria. It surprised me, seeing theforce in which these mossies attacked, that we did not lose more than one with malaria. But Pat Jones,of the Singapore Volunteers, was the only unfortunate, and he missed the last four or five days of thecourse. I saw him after the capitulation, and again in the P.O.W. camp, and he has had many relapses
since then.
The beach was no use for swimming, that is, the beach in our immediate vicinity, but was ideal forbaseball which sport Fred Harvie took in hand. Mersing, although we were only one mile out on theEndau Road, offered no attractions other than a rest house, so we hardly ever went in. Our truck did
the 100 odd miles run for rations, laundry and mail each day, so we were kept well posted. It wasthere I received letters and telegrams from Moira and home offering congratulations on our firstwedding anniversary. I felt very lonely that night, a beautiful moonlight one, and would have felt a
lot better if I could suddenly have been transported home to my darling wife, whom I’ve missed verymuch.
Excitement amongst the native “boys” one morning took us to the road, and there in the soft mud andclay were plenty of fresh tiger paw marks, and we could see where two of them had prowled aroundour tents and also the “Unique” buses in which the drivers were sleeping. Thank goodness they were
not hungry, for by the marks they were full grown, and the stride of one measured about seven feet.
Not a very pleasant thought, but all’s well that ends well, and it was written down as just anotherexperience.
Our ten days there seemed to fly and in no time we were heading back to Singapore and Changi; andit seemed to me as though we were returning home after a holiday when we arrived back at our
comfortable barracks.
On the way back we stopped occasionally to look at road defences and motor vehicle harbours, and I
gained the impression that a comparative few men could hold this road against a force, so well was it
mined and fortified. Unfortunately the situation on the west coast when the war came was such that
this road had to be evacuated to prevent the whole of the 22 Bde. being cut off. We also stopped at
Kota Tinggi later to be the war station of the H.Q. 2/9 Field. Ambulance, and carried out a scheme forthe defence of the town. We were told then of the plans for this town and the demolition of buildings
and the bridge across the Johore River which runs through the town, in case of a Jap attack; but, otherthan the bridge being blown when the time did come, I do not know.
Having arrived back we only had five or six days left in which to complete the course; and this time
was spent mainly at the remainder of the examinations and the final polishing up for the passing out
parade. We were examined in every subject that we had covered and it was just hard enough to makeone think. This even included P.T. where we had to take a class and put our stuff away in good style.
The actual examination, although one had to pass them all, did not mean so very much in the final
decision of our work, I’m sure, for we had been very closely watched, and reported upon by both
squad N.C.O. and platoon officer every week. The Commandant himself, a very shrewd man, wasalso always on the watch. This was, I believe, the main reason for his rule that the officers would
dress and mess with the cadets every Wednesday night, so that by the time he wrote our confidentialreports, he knew exactly what we were like, and as individuals at that. I received a “B” report, which
is what most of us obtained, although a few were down in the “C’s”, and I was surprised when I readmine, just how true his summing up of myself was. It was not that it was a wonderful report either,for I was never really keen about this Infantry work, and somehow or other he evidently knew of myinner feelings, for it was all down on my papers when I read and signed it.
We knew then that we had passed or failed in the course but would not know what was to become ofus, and this as late as the Friday before our passing out, which was the next day Saturday. During thecourse we had had high ranking officers from the A.I.F. H.Q., Indian Army and British Army; thelatter two, without actually asking us, were very keen to obtain our desire to transfer to theirrespective armies. The A.I.F. even went as far in extreme to state that, as far as they knew, we would
not be able to be commissioned immediately but very few really believed that and so applications
from the Aussies to transfer were not very many. British pay was terrible, so got one only; eight went
to the Indian Army with emergency commissions later, and the remainder of the A.I.F. stood fast.
On the Friday we had a dress rehearsal for the parade on the morrow, when Lt. Gen. Percival andothers were to be present. Our spirits were rising as we lowered the other spirits and all were keyed
up. Another Englishman was sent back to his unit as unlikely to make an efficient officer and it was
bad luck as he was quite a likeable fellow.
Saturday 23 Aug. Dawned as hot as ever and knowing the burning propensities of same, we were notlooking forward very much to the parade, for we were all lit up in jackets and long trousers andpolished up no end. Our webbing had been scrubbed white and the rifles shone, and being tall I
secured No. 1 of the leading platoon which suited me. A large crowd had assembled, including two
battalions of our 27 Bde. recently arrived in the country, all the heads of the various units, press
photographers and writers, and the cadets were marched onto the parade ground to the band of the 2Battalion The Gordon Highlanders, brass band, playing Waltzing Matilda. Cameras started to click
and a lot of them were our own which we had given to the staffs to take for us. I had purchased acamera in Singapore a couple of months earlier and although only five dollars, it took better snaps
than some of the expensive affairs that some of the lads had.
We formed up in line on the square, and after an inspection by the Commandant, we awaited thearrival of Gen. Percival. The sun was burning and it was hard work to stand perfectly still as we did.
He did arrive, inspected us, and then we did the usual march past in column, in quick and slow time,and once more moving to the centre of the square where he addressed us. The usual talk was put
over, complimenting us on making the grade, and warning us of our responsibilities from now on. He
was not long winded however, (the sweat was right through our clothes by this time) so he left after
we had marched off to our lines led by the full band. I believe we put up quite a good show, but I
suppose anyone would after being strictly drilled for four months.
Well it was over at last, and another phase of one’s life completed. We shed our wet clothes and got
into some nice cold beer. Major Denne came into the ante-room and in a few words he told us what
we had all been waiting to hear, that we were all to be commissioned as from that day, and on hearing,
great was the joy thereof. Everyone was shaking hands with everyone else and the noggins flowed to
no mean order. A great laugh went up when Norm Couch (NX46360 2/20 Bn), on seeing the
adjutant, Lt. Smith, going past the window, put his head out and called, “Howdy Smithy”? After fourmonths of strict discipline and respects paid, and the look in Smith’s eye when he swung round wasanything but placid; but he seemed to realize immediately that we had been told of our rise to his rank
and he laughed with us. He was a good fellow as were all the officers, in fact the only one of thestaff, of whom we had contact, and whom I had no time for was our squad Sgt. one Kenyon, aLancashire lad, whose egoism was nobody’s business. It was a pity really for I and others found it
difficult to learn much under him. He rejoined his Regimet The Loyals, on the outbreak of war, andin spite of what I’ve just said, I was genuinely sorry to hear later that he had lost his life. Killed in
Action.

A lot of the lads went to town on leave for the weekend, but I did not bother and spent a nice quiet
weekend in the ante-room, no notes to write up or anything, and it was a great “free” feeling. On the
Monday night we had a concert on the lawn outside the mess and it was a good show. Old Vic
himself and Blinky Bill Wilson put on a few turns, and Roger Cornforth and Norm Couch put over a
couple of good songs, words by themselves and applicable to the personalities and the course. It wasa perfect night and drinks were brought out at very frequent intervals. During that day the O.C.T.U.
had made available a truck for eight of us who went across to A.I.F. H.Q., which was then situated atJohore Bahru, and there we had our pay books adjusted and the £25 uniform allowance entered. Of
this I drew $150 and came back to Singapore where, with Fred Harvie, we made purchases of trunks
and other necessary gear. I bought a decent pair of shoes, and as I had an officer’s type cap and otheressentials I was saved some expense. We had been measured for uniforms by the regimental tailer of
the Gordon Highlanders, and I had $53 worth of goods, including shirts, shorts and uniforms ordered.
I had been instructed to report back to Port Dickson by the Tuesday’s train, and the others, with a few
exceptions, were to report to General Base Depot on the Wednesday. Couch went to Div. H.Q.,
Godfrey to Burma, eight others to India, and all the English boys left on the Tuesday morning to thevarious regiments to which they had been appointed. There was excitement in plenty as we said our
adieus and the cameras worked over time. Talking of Burma reminds me that during my time awayfrom the 2/9th, a force known as “Tulip” force had left secretly and quietly for there, and included in it
were fourteen of the unmarried men of the unit and Jack Sandell was one of them. I have often
wondered since how they have all fared, seeing as how things got rather sticky in that area and ournews of them was very limited. We did hear that two or three of them had received injuries and/or
diseases of sorts.
I went to town again on the Tuesday but was back early to pack up ready to be run in to catch the
K.L./express at 10.10 p.m. Once again the snorts flowed freely as I filled in my last hour, and as I
also paid a visit to the O.C.T.U. officers mess and there lowered a few more in the course of having ayarn and saying goodbye to the commandant and others. I was very sorry in one way to be leaving as
I had enjoyed the efficiency and comfort which was so typical of the whole school, to no mean order
and would willingly have done another four months. Jim Quinlan was to stay on for some reason orother and Stan Illig who had, through sickness, failed in his weapon training exams, and was to begiven the opportunity to pass out in this subject during the No. 4 O.C.T.U. which was due to startearly in September.
To offset my desire to stay was the keen excitement I felt at going back to the unit at Pt. Dickson(P.D.), and I could hardly wait to get aboard the train and get back among the people I knew and theplace I liked so much. What a disappointment I was to receive though; for when I arrived at thestation who should I run into but Grant Forsyth Q.M., who had later instructions from the C.O. whichwere to hold me and transport me to General Base Depot (G.B.D.)there to work for the time withMajor Roy Maynard who was down there with a detachment to do the medical work for that unit.
What a blow after all my ambitions and desires, but I was told that the unit was in the course ofshifting to their war stations which were the H.Q. at Kota Tinggi and A.D.S. in the Mersing area. I
never saw P.D. again and have not up to the time of writing, but perhaps, when our turn comes again,
as I hope it will, I may have the opportunity of looking over the old stamping ground once again.
It must have been nearly midnight when I arrived at G.B.D. and all were asleep not having been
notified of my coming; so with a minimum of delay I put up a stretcher in John Park’s tent and went
to bed.
What a place this was to land into; I disliked it the first day and was never satisfied until I got ourwhich was not until early December. Having Jack Park as a tent mate made things more enjoyable forhe was a great scout and I liked him a lot. I had never got along too well with Roy Maynard but wemanaged alright now. My job seemed to be nothing in particular and everything in general including
work as an Adjutant, Q.M. and permanent orderly officer.

The whole camp in those days was under canvas and of course not to be compared in any way to theconcrete buildings we had been housed in for months. It improved later with the construction of atap
hutments, but these were not inhabited until after I had left the place.
Lt. Col. W. Jeater (NX34992) was in command of G.B.D. and it seemed as though the country had
got him as he was recently out of hospital after having been relieved of his command of the 2/18 Bn.,and from all accounts was lucky (or unlucky) to be still in the country. The depot was organized intoa hospital and three training companies which were maintained by personnel either arriving in the
country as reinforcements, and others coming in from 2 Convalescent Depot on their way back totheir units after hospital. I believe there was always a howl from unit commands trying to get theirpersonnel back but somehow or other our Bill hung on to them as long as possible.
The rest of the lads arrived on the 27th from the O.C.T.U. when we were all lined up for a pep talk by
Jeater and then we were dispersed to the various companies in the depot.
Our mess was a lifeless affair, Jeater was the boss and he liked to show it in many ways. Evening
meal was not until 8.30 and after it, practically everybody left the place because of him. He used tostay on most nights - liked to play liar dice - there being only a few of us who would play with him,
and only then because there was little else to do. We occasionally did play cards mainly bridge, when
the opportunity offered and these nights I enjoyed. Perhaps it was because I played with him that heoffered me a few special jobs at first, but I realized that if I was once caught up in anything of a
special nature, I might never get out of the place, and at that time I still had a keen desire to join myold unit where I knew everyone. Lt Col Hedley Summons had told me that he was doing his best inthat regard so I was content with that. In those days there was quite a little juggling going on about
my outcome, for the original order marching me direct to the 2/9th from the O.C.T.U. had been
rescinded because it was contrary to establishments, but I finally did rejoin them at K.T. for a shorttime as a Q. Learner”, but actually I was doing “A” work. When I was transferred to A.A.S.C. as asection Commander of 2/3Moter Ambulance Convoy (M.A.C.), I thought I was finished with the
Ambulance, and it was not until the war was over for us, and we were P.O.W. in Changi that I wastransferred back to 2/9th at Col. Summons and Col. Derham’s request.
However, I’m jumping into the future. The jobs offered me by Col. Jeater were, firstly, to run and be
chief instructor of a N.C.O.’s school of forty-five men. I got out of it after he had approached me
twice about it. The next was a position of security officer for G.B.D., and although this would nothave been a bad job, I stuck to my original plan, and once more got out of it. A Gas school was his
next idea, but once more I talked him out of it, and a little later, when he started up all these various
special schools, it was practically all O.C.T.U. boys he used.
Jim Rutherford went in as assistant to the assistant Adjutant (very flattering), Roger Cornforth as
Amenities Officer, Roger McGee as Mortar officer, Bill Brown on Gas, and the remainder were given
platoons of infantry for training in general work. Evidently we had a reputation, but I managed toremain at the Medical Group, and so keep away from the infantry, which game I definitely did not
like. I fell for it later, however, when I was transferred over to “C” section, where every arm of the
Army was handled other than infantry who went to A or B. Everybody had to learn infantry work anddo weapon training, however, so I finally fell for a platoon of (Army Service Corps) A.S.C. andgunners, and helped train them in the use of weapons. Long route marches carrying all kinds ofweapons and lying on one’s belly pulling triggers leaves me cold, but having the responsibility of abody of men, I just had to do it.
A few changes were made in the Medical Section before I left it, and Roy Maynard was transferred to
10 A.G.H. and Major Harry Phillips took over from him. He was from the 2/4 C.C.S. in those days,
later to transfer to 10 A.G.H. as a surgeon, and he I knew from back in 1932 in the militia.
Reinforcements were arriving regularly and about mid Sept. Two M.O.’s arrived as reinforcements
officers to the 10 A.G.H./ These were Joe Vincent from Frankston and John Oakeshott from Lismore
N.S.W. Both were great fellows and although older than myself, we spent many a good days leave inSingapore. John Park left us to rejoin his unit and took with him all the 2/9 th personnel who were
replaced by men from 2/4 CCS. At least we had a good four for bridge, but both the M.O.’s werekeen to get to their unit, but neither of them ever did. Poor old John, a quiet man, who wasparticularly keen to get to an A.G.H., was finally taken into G.B.D. Staff as R.M.O., and he liked it
not at all. Harry Phillips was the next to go, and a little later Joe Vincent was transferred to Admin .
H.Q. where he worked under the Deputy Assistant Director Medical Services (D.A.D.M.S.)., Lt. Col.
Glyn White, just recently awarded the O.B.E. Glyn was doing a good job, and continued to do sothrough the scrap.
Things were changing at the Depot as far as the organisation of the place was concerned, and the atap
buildings were going up apace. Nearly all the heavy work was done, true to custom here, by the
Coolie Chinese women and the loads they carry is marvellous. They use the concrete mixers, carry
the bricks and timber and work really hard, and all for 50¢ per day. Many have their infants strapped
to their backs and it’s really wicked from our standpoint.
By this time I had settled down to the work in C Company and there lived with a very decent crowd of
young officers of various units such as Infantry, Sigs., Artillery and most were Lieutenants., and,
therefore, not as standoffish and full of ego as most of the A.I.F. Field rankers seemed to be. We hadmany good nights, both in the mess - if Jeater was absent - and in our tents if he was present. On one
particular night we brought the beer over from the mess and had the gramophone going until Alex
Hutton’s tongue got loose and from there on we had a royal time. He was a gunner from Queensland
and a funnier man I’ve never struck, always good natured and could tell a story better than most.
Chas. Chandler had a huge sack of small tinned goods which we got into and the mixture we ate anddrank that night should have put us in hospital.
I was still doing very well with mail and parcels and when Babe’s beautiful cakes arrived they werealways a huge success. Mail days never ceased to be a joy and the way in which they were looked
forward to would have repaid any of the good people who wrote to us if only they could have seen us
on such days.
In November I had a mild break from the usual routine when I had a week’s job, with five 3 ton trucks
and twenty men, constructing a vehicle park at the Signals and Engineers camp. The screenings andsand had to be carted some fifteen miles from a quarry out off the Koti Tinggi road and at least I had alittle running round as I kept an eye on both ends of the job. On other occasions, other than leavedays, I managed to slip up to Kota Tingi and see Lt Col H.F.Summons and the lads. The first time I
went up it was like going home again as it was by invitation by the Sergeants’ Mess to Jerry Veitch(also Graduated from O.C.T.U.) and myself. Arriving before dinner, (I had been able to borrow the
C.O.’s car for the 25 mile trip) I enjoyed a look around their very comfortable camp which had been
recently constructed for them. Mainly timber and atap and set in the rubber trees it was ideal. The
messes were comfortable and “cheery” after our dead and alive affair at Base. I received many acheery word from the boys, whom I had not seen for six months, and I really think a lot would have
liked me back as, from what I could gather. Frank was not making much of a hand at it. Not that hedoes not try, but he is lamentably weak on a parade ground and the men don’t really relish weakness
in this respect.
Before going up to the Sergeants Mess for dinner I had a drink or two and a yarn in the Officers’ Messand renewed acquaintances. It was a surprise to me to see the alterations in the mess. Sergeants’promotions, etc. had added quite a few new faces, due mainly, I suppose, to the going of myself and
Veitch and Jack Sandell. Among the new ones were Frank to A/RSM, Bert Swebbs to Staff Sergeantand Percy Jones, Bob Shelton, Hugh Arthur and Doug Merrie were all Corporals when I saw them lastat Port Dickson. Having had a few drinks we went into a very nice dinner. They still had theirAsiatic cook, and the usual little speeches took place, after which we adjourned to the ante room andyarned over old times and experiences. It was all very pleasant and I would have liked to stay a few
days, but as I was 25 miles from home we had to leave fairly early.

This is a peculiar country as far as climate is concerned. We are supposed to have our rainy season
and dry season, hot season and cool, but from experience over nearly two years now it’s all bull, andrain comes thick and fast at any old time, and it is always hot and sticky. Early November, and whilst
still at this Base Depot, I was in the middle of the worst storm I’ve ever encountered, and for the firsttime in my life had feelings more of fear than pleasure. We could see it coming like a black veil, andwhen the wind hit us I wondered if any tent would be left standing. This wind preceded the rain
which, with thunder and lightning, I’ve never in all my life seen it’s equal or anything like it. The
lightning seemed to shoot along the ground and quite a few were struck and we had them in hospitalfor a while. The rain fell in sheets, and in no time the deep channels around our tents had no hope of
coping with it. Putting everything up on beds, some half dozen of my fellow officers and myself
stripped off to a pair of canvas shoes, and diving out into it, and armed with picks and shovels, we had
the time of our lives trying to stem the young rivers flowing through our lines. One experience I’ll
never forget was as we were frantically digging, I was suddenly flung about three yards and flat in the
mud by a flash of lightning evidently catching the shovels. I felt a bit dazed, and looking around, saw
the rest in a similar position, and all had a most surprised look on their faces. We realized what had
happened, and had a good laugh over it, but we must have looked funny, naked as we were, all sittingin the mud, which was soon washed off by the heavy rain. As a storm, it was a pippin and much as I
enjoy a good thunder storm, I never want another like this one. True to form, though, it was spent inan hour, so we settled down to putting our house in order.
For leave, I could generally manage one day per week, and usually J.B. Oakeshott (Capt (MO)NX51618 - Executed by the Japanese Borneo 27 August 1945 (after the war was over)), Joe andmyself, taxied into Singapore later in the afternoon where we nearly always did the same things,
namely, a spot of shopping, on to Raffles for a drink, then to the Swimming Club, where we were
honorary members, and stayed long enough to enjoy a good swim, drinks and chicken sandwiches on
the edge of the pool, and later a first-class dinner in the upstairs dining room. It was generally 9 p.m.
before we finished dinner, so after booking seats at a show, we would taxi into town and enjoy the air
conditioned theatres, and, we hoped, the show as well. To finish off the day we invariably ran into
Raffles Hotel for a drink before going home, which we would do about 12.30 a.m., by hiring an o pen
tourer type of taxi, and so enjoy the cool night breeze on the 20 mile run back to Base Depot. They
were most pleasant days, and looked forward to no end, although they usually set me back anything
up to 50 or 60 dollars, depending whether I made many purchases.
On one occasion, I did a leave with Theo Lee and had my first studio portrait taken. Personally I wasvery satisfied with them (they must have flattered me surely), and sent them home to various membersof the family, and, of course, one for my dear wife, who has always wanted one. It was here I also got
the idea of the Xmas card with photo attached that I sent home.
I regretted never getting along to any of the Sultan’s Sunday night parties, but somehow always
seemed to miss. He was a gay old spark, liked the women and his drink, and was actually a D.O.M.
His parties were lively affairs, and always had plenty of refreshment and usually ran pretty late.
We had a sweep on the Melbourne Cup, run by the mess for a dollar in, but although I drew a horse, I
had no luck. On November 11th, the local ladies from Johore Bahru (J.B.) and Singapore came out
and sold poppies to all and sundry who were all lined up in their own company areas. As they had
lunch in the mess before starting out, I found myself detailed off to entertain one of them, a really live
wire of a girl, which was just as well, for I felt quite strange talking to a female European, the first I
had spoken to in ten months, and I had a horror of letting slip a wrong word or two, as one does get
careless when living solely with men for a long period.
About this time leave was granted to officers who were due for it, and it amounted to seven days. Len
Denney, a Queenslander from the 2/10 Field Artillery, was coming away with me, and our turn on theroster was from Sunday 7th December to 14th. I was looking forward to this no end, for I had had noleave, except daily leave, and to think of seven days at Frazer’s Hill was most enticing. It was always
to Frazer’s Hill or Cameron Highlands that Europeans went for holidays, for they were the two resortsespecially made for the tourist, much the same as Mt. Buffalo is at home. Both places are in highaltitudes, and therefore cool, and capable of growing vegetables, etc., on the same scale as could in
Sydney. Camerons would be the better place, but it was at the other end of the range and meant
travelling up as far as Ipoh instead of K.L., and so would take up extra time. We had wired forreservations, and a few days before we were due to leave, booked a seat and sleeper on the Sunday’s
train from J.B. I was holding about 60 dollars, so drew out a further $200, and was prepared to spend
the lot in a really good time. On the Saturday I packed, although the first rumours of leave being
cancelled were abroad. What a blow this would be, for I was as excited as a schoolboy by this time.
Sunday 7th dawned, and we were all ready for the train at 10.30 that night, when the disappointment of
disappointments came in the fact that all leave had been cancelled, and those away were to berecalled. In a way it was as well we had not just got away for we would have paid out all initial costsin the first couple of days, so at least it cost us nothing. I felt like having a real good bender in themess that night with the $200, but it all found its way back into the pay-book a couple of days later.
The reason of course was obvious; the little yellow man had decided to play and in fact at 1.15 a.m.
that night, Monday 8th December. He made his first attack up north at Kota Bahru. At 0430 hrs. he was
dropping his first bombs on Singapore and Seletar which was the main airfield on the Island.
I was wild at having to miss this leave for I had been looking forward to it for a long time, but ofcourse it was unavoidable and just another Sunday which I mentioned at the start of this story.
However, at last peace days were over and all the bluff and baloney put over about our wonderfuldefences etc. had failed to deter them. What a laugh they must have had, for I’m convinced that theyknew more about this country than we knew ourselves. Gone now were all the days of wondering if
and when and how he was to do things. The war was on for us although it was a few weeks later that
we were to do our first actual war work and see some of the horrors of it.
A series of air-raid alarms were immediately put into use and were usually telephoned through tounits who would put the alarm into effect as it were by the various gadgets they had at their disposal –the wailing sirens being the most used. According to the type of warning received, so the drill varied
to the extent of being down in a slit trench. Personally I found the system rather useless for more
often than not we would receive the warning after the planes had gone over. Anyway I could always
hear the cows and that was plenty of time to run for a hole if necessary. I never used slit trenches
myself, and was never in one until they started dropping them thick and fast on the Island here. At
G.B.D. we had many tryouts both day and night and quite often they were genuine, for the course
taken by their bombers on the way to Singapore seemed to be right over our heads.
To my great relief I was sent to the 2/9th a couple of days after the outbreak and it did please me well.
The 2/2 M.A.C. were clearing their A.D.S. to 2/4 C.C.S. which was in the same area as the basedepot, so I used a returning vehicle to transport me and my gear to Kota Tinggi (K.T.). I felt if there
was a war on, then I would sooner be with a field unit than stick back at the base, which was just a
dumping ground at best.
One could now take on a new lease of life, and it was a grand feeling I had when I arrived at K.T.
Geoff Middleton was one of the first I saw, and he also had received his commission when he waspromoted to take the place of Bill Dixon, the old Toc.O(Transport Officer)., who had been promoted
to captain and transferred to A.A.S.C. I noticed a big change in the officers’ mess, for there had beenvarious promotions and transfers other than Bill Dixon’s. Capts. Cade, Searby and Cameron were
now Majors, Maj. Webster had gone to take over 2 Convalesent Depot as Lt. Col. Marsh Henderson
had gone home and Roy Maynard to 10 A.G.H. Capt. John Park was still on deck, and new captains
in Frank Cahill, Colin Juttner, Frank Mills and Dave Hinder had been attached to fill the vacancies.
Rosson, the dental captain, had been promoted Major, for some reason, and a new dental unit was
now with the unit. Rosson, Max Street, S. Sgt., Cpl. Rossiter and Ford later transferred to 13 A.G.H.
Ken Burnside, with his Mobile Bacterial Laboratories, was also in the area, and he also had beenpromoted to Major. Capt. Greville and his 2/5 Hygiene Section, were still with us.

Col. H.F.Summons had been trying to get me back as an adjutant, but the powers that be did not feeldisposed to alter the establishment, so I actually came back as a “Q. learner,” and Jerry Veitch went to
2/10 Field Ambulane in the same capacity. I did very little of the “Q” work, however, and carried on
establishing myself as acting adjutant. Life was going to be good here, amenities were many, and the
comfort of the quarters and mess were O.K., although I had to sleep near the phone each night as all
messages were now coming through in code, the key to which, being secret, was held only by myself
and John Cade who was now 2 I.C. The concealed addresses idea was a wash out, and on more than
one occasion, generally after midnight, one would set up the key to decipher a long message only tofind half way through that we were not included as an addressee, and so were not interested. We wereseeing quite a few planes and even in those early days, it was more often theirs than ours, but had notbeen troubled.
The disposition of the unit at this time was, B Company at Mersing, a small detachment under John
Park also at Mersing and the balance with H.Q. were at Kota Tinggi where an M.D.S. (Main Dressing
Station) was well established just out of the town. Mersing area was fast being turned into a strong
Perimeter defence to prevent an attack either by air or down the road from the north there being only
one. The area occupied was considerable, and into it was put the 22 Aust. Infantry Brigade Group,
less one battalion in reserve, 2/19th, and one company at Endau. A large A.D.S.(Advanced Dressing
Station) was under construction by digging into the side of the hill, and “B” company were in at thistime. Each R.M.O., of course, had his R.A.P. well covered and John Catchlove, R.M.O. 2/20 th Bn.
was a very good effort.
I had been back with the M.D.S. only a few days when the C.O. sent me up to Mersing to step up thework that “B” Coy were doing in the way of building a road into their area from the main road. Timewas getting short, and this stretch of road was nowhere near ready, and it was the only means of entry
or exit from the A.D.S., situated as it was in the rubber and just beyond some coolie lines, thebuildings of which were in a clearing and therefore of no use to us as far as living in them wasconcerned. It was a nasty bit of ground, very flat and very wet and soft, which meant vehicles being
bogged as soon as they left the narrow track road. This road had been made by the sappers of 2/10
Field Coy and was an absolute wash-out and was so bad and boggy when I got up there that it waspractically unusable.
I was given control of all the men I needed, and the company transport of a 3 ton and various 30 cwts,
which I had running continuously with loading parties, carting in first large brown rock, and later blue
metal, and when this ran out, bricks from the demolitions being carried out in Mersing itself, where
the R.A.E. were doing a good job, flattening the whole town to the ground. Thus I put in a full week
working hard every day, and we completely relayed the road and ran a corduroy road off it to a goodvehicle park under the heavy rubber, with a turn-table at the end of the road. It was a good road, cars
could not travel up at the reasonable speed, and it stood up to its job until the unit moved out sometime later, when the whole scheme at Mersing had to be dropped and the Bde. moved back, when we
continually met trouble on the west coast.
During the job up there, one L/Cpl. Laurie Larson (maybe VX21370) a great strong fellow, had themisfortune to fall from the roof of one of the coolie buildings from which I had him taking iron. From
the roof to the floor was about 10 feet and he landed very heavily. His spine was injured and it isdoubtful even if he lives, whether he will walk again. I saw him some time later whilst he was at the
13 A.G.H., and he looked terrible; but at least he got away from here by hospital ship so I hope he isalright. It is bad luck to go out like that for after all one more or less expects a bullet or two and not
an accident to lay one out.
During the week up at Mersing we had our moments receiving mail and even parcels including a cakeor two, and as the town was being flattened (not a building was left standing when the Engineers had
finished) we were getting any amount of goods out such as clothing, toilet requisites, beer by the bags
full and even such things as money, jewellery, typewriters, papers, book etc. etc. A lot of this stuff

found its way back to Kota Tinggi as our supply vehicles went down. I never got to see the main
defences, but the artillery were at least allowed to fire practice rounds and this they did for hours, andwe would hear the rumble as the 25 pounders went over. On one occasion when I was down on thebeach trying to find more metal for our road, I saw a shoot of our 75 mm guns mounted there as beachdefence, and a role of stopping any landing parties from the sea, and for they would have made a mess
if required, for they were using them for point blank work and their hitting power was tremendous, as
their range was in the vicinity of 8000 yards.
About this time we were supplied with a Tommy Gun per company, and I carried out a few lecturesand demonstrations with the one sent up to us, so, with the permission of Brigade Headquarters we
fired practice rounds. It was here I first met Capts. J & M & H., as soldiers, I’ve never met a moreuseless batch of egotistical men. M. was really a good surgeon and did good work later, I believe.
Generally speaking, though, my eyes were being opened, as far as a majority of these medicos wereconcerned, and later, when in contact and living with a few choice specimens of A.G.H.
reinforcements, then I swore I would never associate myself with this branch of the service again.
How vastly different they can be when there is no half guinea about. Thank goodness, we had someof the other type, and men such as Col. Derham, Glyn White, Col. White, A.G.H., and later Major
Carl Gunther, who arrived here later in the piece as D.A.D of H., for these men did wonderful jobs,
and with others had my full respect.
I was withdrawn to K.T. again, after a full week at the A.D.S., and once more attempted to settle
down to the job. I took on the training of our guards and piquets ran through the sub-machine gun
with them, and impressed on the men the necessity of proper challenge by night etc. and now that the
war was definitely on, so their job was of more importance. Evidently they took me at my word, forso keen were they in their challenge, when the Orderly Officer did his rounds at night, that Fred Finch(WX11179) the Dental Officer almost refused to do his round for fear of being shot up which ofcourse was ridiculous. I was only too pleased to see that they were keen, and a couple of nights later
one of them put a couple of rounds into a native who was prowling around our vehicles and who
refused to stop when challenged. His action was upheld by the civil authorities after the post mortem.
Well it was getting near Xmas the officers mess was all teed up for a slap up dinner including poultry
which had been sent from Australia and was being kept in cold storage, and I was looking forward to
the day with pleasure and anticipation. Dec. 20 and 21 saw the arrival of many parcels and aboutsixteen letters and cards for me and great was my joy, although for some reason or other they were thelast I received and to this day I have never received parcels from Avon, Llew, Dot Taylor and motherwhich I knew must have been on the way. Parcels from my never failing wife and also from herfamily, Lesley, Shirl were some I did get however so, I did rather well, and I was looking forward
more than ever to Xmas Day, and I had also received the hamper from the A.C.F.
On the morning of Dec. 23 the C.O. came in to me with the news that another shift was ordered forme, and I was to report to Lt Col Glyn White at Base in Johore Bahru at 2 p.m. that day taking all mygear for I would not be back. It was one of the worst set -backs I had received and would have given
pounds to get out of it. After waiting all these months to get back to my unit, and then only remaining
for so short a period, to say nothing of the Xmas festivities made me feel very disappointed.
Saying my adieus after lunch I travelled by utility to J.B. and there learned from Glyn that I had totransfer to Malacca, there to take over a section of the 2/3 M.A.C. (Motor Ambulance Convoy)stationed there as the Lieut. who had been running it had drunk himself silly and was in hospital, andso had been relieved of his job. This section, “C” section, was detached from the 2/3 M.A.C., whowere further north, working under Command of 3 Indian Corps, and directly responsible toAdministration H.Q. I was to command the show which was, as I found out later, a decent little unit
in which I was the only officer and had under me 52 O.R’s, 25 motor ambulances, 6 motor cycles. I
got to like the job very much for I was more or less my own boss and made my own decisions in mostcases, and his is a whole lot better than being messed about by various others of superior rank, but notnecessarily superior in military lore.

In conversation with Colonel Glyn White, he told me I was the only one he could think of for the job,
although I had done nothing in that line before and it meant my being transferred to A.A.S.C.
(Australian Army Service Corps) as a combatant. However, this had already been arranged and I
went through the war as an A.A.S.C. officer and not A.A.M.C. to which I had been trained for many
years. We had a long yarn during which he gave me all the information he could and also quite a few
instructions re reports and correspondence once I got there. A sleeper had been booked for me on the
train that night, so, as I had plenty of time, I walked around G.B.D., which was in the same area,
having a yarn with people I knew, including J.B. Oakeshott, who was R.M.O. and not liking it a bit.
Dinner I had at Adm. H.Q. and a nice mess they had too with Asiatic cooks. Joe Vincent was there ofcourse and I yarned with him until time to leave to catch the train at 11 p.m. I went in a big car andonce aboard the train, which was late, I had a couple of whiskies and went to bed for, with the nearly
blacked-out conditions, it was a dreary looking train. The sleeping compartment was a two berthaffair and a British civilian was already in. As it turned out, he was also going to Malacca, so he left
the train with me at Tampin from which the Branch line to Malacca runs. More often than not there isno train running, so as I had an ambulance in to pick me up was able to give him a lift. It was stillquite early in the morning, and after dropping my guest we drove to my new quarters, met Lieut. Jim
Kelleher of 10 A.G.H. who had been looking after the section awaiting my arrival. As I was to messat the hospital and it was only quarter of a mile away, he took me up and we had breakfast in theirreally first-class mess.
I enjoyed the breakfast and had a long yarn with Kelleher who was able to give me a lot of
information in regard to the work in which the section was then engaged. Mainly the work was theclearing of patients from hospital to 2 Con. Depot, which was nicely situated practically on the beach
the other end of Malacca, and from Con. Depot to train either at Malacca or Tampin. These lattermoves were largely convoys of anything up to 20 vehicles and to catch the train with them we always
had to be up at 4.30 a.m. and have breakfast when we returned, which was usually about 8 a.m. The
Con. Depot were always very good indeed the way they always had their men all teed up and ready toload, the direct opposite to the A.G.H. where one would always be a great deal longer chasing up thepatients one was to transport.
After our talk, he showed me over my unit area and quarters, and introduced to the sergeants.
Actually I was pleased with everything as the area was completely enclosed by a tall iron fence andhad a garage to hold 16 vehicles, workshops, full store, other rooms for stores, sleeping huts for themen, a small NAAFI canteen, mess and kitchen, and three small 2 room houses of concrete each witha shower room and lavatory, one of which I used for an office for myself, and the other for thetransport Sergeant. and Medical Sgt. – both good men. The lean-to’s were there, one of these tohouse the motor cycles and the other my little car, an Austin 8, to which I was to become very
attached, for although I used it hardly at all or personal trips, I still covered about 8,000 miles in it
during the seven or eight weeks to the capitulation. As a matter of fact, that car finished its career in a
blaze of fire, if not glory, for we stopped a shell, at least the car did, for I had just left it thankgoodness, and it was burnt completely out including practically everything – all of my personal
belongings, suitcase, kit bags and clothes. However, that is another story.
It was Wednesday 24th the day I arrived, and I was surprised to hear that, being a Wednesday, it wasformal mess night which meant jackets and ties. I had to go right to the bottom of my trunk to getthem as I had placed them there long before never expecting to be dressing for dinner again until the
Japs had gone. I met many officers that night, a lot I knew, but had not met Col. Teddy White the
C.O., and of course many others.
Xmas dinner the next day was a grand success, for all ranks, excluding the nurses, sat down to a hugedinner in a large hall and we had plenty of pork, ham, beer, nuts, fruit cakes, and more beer. Many
were the speeches, but the lads were a little merry and being a long way from the head of the table
could not hear very much. Met once again the sergeants and W.O.’s, including Osborne and Gus

Mayberry from the Queen Mary. Os was all set for a trip home as he had never been fit in thiscountry. After dinner I suddenly thought of Avon’s friend Dot Paske, who was matron here, sothought it a good time to say ‘Hullo” to her. Avon had suggested I do so early and I’m very glad I did
for I found her a most charming person and one whom I, like countless others, held in deepest respect.
A wonderful personality and always very well spoken of by her girls, the doctors and the patients.
We had a great yarn and I was to see more of her later on, before and during their evacuation of
Malacca.
My lads had arranged their own dinner for 1700 hours in our own lines and had asked me to bepresent. They turned on a wonderful show, a beautiful meal of all the usual things, and in the
speeches later made me welcome to the unit. With two Xmas dinners under my belt I think I did
exceptionally well on my first full day with a new show, and then with Xmas day over, I settled down
to putting the section into better shape. It had been badly managed and nothing was being done in theway of war diary, returns, etc., and stores, supplies, clothing and necessaries were also wanted. Infact they were hardly recognized at H.Q. unit until I went down and asked for everything I wanted,
and by the time I left was on the distribution list of all the various departments.
The lads I had were not a bad lot, just the usual one or two trouble makers who were not too bad after
my first talk to them. The senior N.C.O., a Sgt. Reid, was a particular rat, not tolerated by the men, orby myself after 12 hours, so within the first week I had outed him to the H.Q. of his unit then at Ipoh.
Things ran along very smoothly then and at that time I had seven vehicles at Kluang, servicing the 2/4
C.C.S. in the Mekabol Estate, and one or two always with the Con. Depot, and a similar number up at
the A.G.H. One car had been written off due to it going off the road and into the river just prior to myarriving there, so that I had 24 cars in various places to be looked after. So one day with Norm Gray
(NX66410) my batman driver, we ran down to Kluang so that I could get a line up on the work being
done down there. It was a long run from Malacca, 132 miles, but we were to get quite used to this run
in the New Year for we travelled that distance and more each day as we shifted the Con. Depot to
Batu Bahat, and later the 10 A.G.H. to Kluang and Tampoi. During all these trips the lads did a great
job and I think they enjoyed the long runs in spite of the fact that in most cases, we were up at 4.30 or
5 a.m. and were lucky if we arrived back by 9 p.m. We usually made Batu Bahat by lunch time being
140 miles, so we seldom had more than an hour’s rest. I enjoyed the runs myself, the convoy work of
the men was very good and I always used 2 or 3 Don R’s who always kept me posted with the rear of
the convoy which I could seldom see owing to the dispersal of the vehicles. During these days we saw
quite a bit of Jap. Aircraft and we watched them pretty closely for a while but seldom had cause forworry although it was about this time that Tampin and Segamet received their first few bombs. Our
almost daily trips to the South had had, of necessity, to be made via Jasin, Tangkak, Segamet, Labis,Yong Peng to Ayer Hitham, where we branched one way for Kluang to the left, Tampoi straight on,
and Batu Bahat to the right. If we had been able to use the ferries at Muar and Batu Bahat, we could
have cut down the distance by half, but other than one or two times when I was in a hurry, and on myown, I never used this way. The roads were very good, and we could do an average m.p.h. 40 withsafety in a lot of places, and some of the scenery, especially between Malacca and Segamet, was very
pretty. Of course, there were always the rubber trees in their millions, but we were well used to theendless orderly planted rows.
On our return trips it was always a race against the light to make Jasin before dark, for the last fivemiles before reaching Jasin the road is very narrow and winding, and to drive through with only
black-out lights, and have the responsibility of the convoy, was something I did not like very much,for a lot of this area is under water, and planted in padi, and to miss the road meant possibly the lossof a car.
Things were starting to move a bit now. It was the first week of the New Year (1942), the Con. Depot
was gone, and the A.G.H. had started their move, for the Japs were travelling fairly quickly. A batchof nurses were sent down to 13 A.G.H., and they were followed from time to time by doctors andmore of the staff and patients, and by Saturday the 10th, the move was completed, and I followed themout with my section, we being the last unit out of Malacca.
The A.G.H. had worked hard, using every vehicle they could, including impressed trucks and cars. I
did most of the shifting of the patients who went to 13 A.G.H., and on the last day of the functioningof the 10 A.G.H., I had the balance of the sisters and the matron in a mixed convoy of patients to Con.
Depot and Tampoi. The nurses were put in at the Menkabol Estate, and as it was just on dark when
we arrived, I told the drivers to stay at their respective destinations for the night, sooner than drive
back under black-out conditions the 150 miles.
Dot Paske was greatly taken with my little car, and asked for a ride in it on the way down, so Norm,with a large blush, took his place among an ambulance full of girls and the matron rode with me until
we reached Segamet, where we made a brief halt at the rest house. The girls were a darn nuisanceactually, for on every ten minute halt on the way down, they would go along the road, and expect tobe picked up further along. However, they and the lads had a lot of fun that day, for the girls looked
on it as a day out or holiday, and they all enjoyed the run down.
On the Thursday morning we returned to Malacca, picking up the rest of the convoy at Ayer Hitham
at 0830 hrs, and that night after mess I put my foot down a rather deep narrow drain or gutter that runs
round the road, and received rather a bad sprain. I stayed in a bed at the hospital that night and thenext, and it was just my luck to have no pretty nurse to dress it. However, our work at Malacca wasfinished, and I was only awaiting orders to move, so the laying up for a day or two did not mattermuch.
Anticipating the move, I had my transport sergeant getting things fixed up and loading our 30cwt
wioth all surplus stoes and kitchen gear. We were always very mobile, and after loading the 30cwt, at
Kluang, we were even more so, as all gear that could be carried in the ambulance boxes I issued, andleft the rest. I hated to leave Malacca for I got to like the town very much in the three short weeks
there, although I had had very little time actually to do much in the way of pleasure. On one occasion
Jim Kelleher and I took two of the girls into town for a dance and a drink, but this sort of night was
hardly worthwhile for 10.30 was their lights-out, and they had to be in. New Year’s Eve must get amention, for we really had a grand night, commencing as it did with a fine cocktail party in the messat 5 p.m., to which the matron and the sisters were invited. A few of the girls being particularly live
sparks commenced to enjoy themselves, and as the drinks were many, and the savories, etc., also very
tasty and in plenty, nobody thought of stopping for dinner at 8 p.m., and so it continued on. A few
drifted away, and as the “lights-out” had more or less gone by the board for the night, I suggested to
Sister Singleton (VX48842), with whom I had scratched up an acquaintance, that, as I had my car
there, we might go in search of some fun elsewhere. The town, of course, was blacked out, so we ran
out of town to Palm Beach, where a dance and supper house used to run pre-war. It was a perfectnight, and I wished very much that night that it was Moira with me in the little bus. Arriving at Palm
Beach and driving in, it looked as though the house was closed, and we were about to drive out again
when a stream of cars drove up, and who should get out but the rest of the gang we had left at themess. We interviewed the proprietor, who opened up, and although could not supply much in the wayof food, soon had some “boys” in to run the bar, and the wireless-gramophone to which we danced.
We soon got going and had a lot of fun, and were able to cool off out on the lawns were small tables
and chairs were available at which to have our drinks. It was as near perfect as one could wish for so
far away from home. The moon was up, the lawns were bordered by some of the tallest coco-palms I
have seen, and to add to this, we could hear the almost still waters of the Straits gently lapping on thebeach which was only a matter of yards away. I think I danced with most, and really enjoyed a couple
I had with Dot Paske, who, to add to other talents, was a beautiful dancer. A great night, but was still
able to drive the “Moira Helen” home again about 1 a.m.
On the Friday, Col. Maxwell, who was commandant of Malacca area, incidentally an Australian, who
had been living in Malaya for some years, and a brother of Brig. Maxwell, 27 Aust. Inf. Bde., cameup to see me re the transport of official papers, etc., out of Malacca. These I took with me thefollowing morning, Saturday 10th, when, having received orders to move back to Kluang, the batmandriver brought the car up to the hospital, where I could hobble out with the aid of a stick and climb
aboard.
This was my farewell to Malacca, and we had an uneventful trip down, and apparently only just intime, for, as I found out later, from an Ordnance W.O. who was there a couple of days longer, on
Sunday 11th, no less than three big bombs had been dropped directly on the buildings of our little
camp in Mata Katching Road, and made a terrible mess, so I was thankful we had got away in time,
for it is certain that our casualties would have been very heavy, both in men and vehicles. However,we were not there, and that’s the main thing in these wars I have found, i.e. not to be where the bombs
and shells are landing.
We were now back in the Menkabol Estate and messing now with 2/4 C.C.S., clearing them back to
13 A.G.H., and 10 A.G.H., who had re-established back on the Island or were establishing. The
nurses I had convoyed down were still in the Estate as were a number of their Officers. My ankle wasgetting pretty right again although still swollen, so I enjoyed the let up which we had over the next
few days. One or two other 2nd and 3rd line units were also in the vicinity including a work shop, so
was able to have my vehicle serviced, also my ear? was overhauled. Air raids were common for wewere only a short distance from the Kluang airdrome where we had a few Brewster Buffaloes, not thatthey were much good against the superior Jap planes. True to form though they were soon bombed
out and I withdrew the vehicle I had stationed there. I now had 23 cars, having lost one when it
turned over on return from Johore Baru to Malacca some days before, and had all these at Kluangwith the exception of two operating from the Con. Depot to A.G.H. On getting the car back I decided
to spend a day by running to Kluang then on to Jemaluang where I’d heard John Park was with his
detachment, having taken over the 2/10 Field Ambulance then on to Kota Tinggi to see Colonel
H.F.Summons and having had lunch there to run on to Johore to see Glyn White about various
matters.
It would be a long trip and Norm had the car running O.K. but I never did the trip for at 10 p.m. thatnight I was ordered to get my section together and move to Segamet as they were expecting heavy
casualties through the 2/10 that night or the next, namely Sat. or Sun. 17 th, 18th . , by this time the restof the 2/3 M.A.C. had come back to Kluang less a section under Bob Weller who was still working
with an Indian Fd. Amb. round Muar way. This was the first time I had seen the rest of the show as
they had been under 3 Corps until this time. They had come back from the north loaded witheverything from extra motor cars, trucks, food and drinks etc., and a very talkative lot they were theheroes of the northern show, and I think most of the section were glad to get away from them after acouple of days.
Having received instructions re Segamet, I left all the heavy gear with H.Q. M.A.C. and now
completely mobile we pulled out in convoy to travel the 65 miles soon after midnight. I had been up
to Segamet to contact Col. Sheppard two days earlier so knew where to find him. He had moved up
with 27 Bde. a week or so earlier with a role to clear the forward battalions when they met the Japs.
A good ambush had been arranged by the 2/30 Bn at Gemas area and it was there that the Australians,
as a force first made contact, and though the ambush was fairly successful the Japs arrived two days
earlier than expected, and our lads went into action on the 14th-15th Jan. and bagged about 800 killedin their first show. Unfortunately, our communications from artillery in rear to forward company atbridge were cut, and the gunners did not go into action as planned, and so we lost the chance of
probably cleaning up a lot more at that first ambush.
It was on Sunday 15th they expected a large number of casualties, as they dropped back nearer
Segamet, which was the reason for my hurried trip with the section to that area, and within a few
hours of arrival we were seeing our first war wounded, some bad, some not so bad. I was given two
more cars to make up my number of vehicles, and early on the morning we arrived there, I
reconnoitered the road some miles to the rear to Labis, and established a car post on the Line ofCommunication (L. of C.), where I kept ten cars to replace the 15 up forward, as they moved backwith patients. The cars leaving on the evacuation back to Kluang reported into car post, and anothervehicle would come forward to replace it. When the vehicle had discharged its load, it would returnto the car post, and await its turn to go forward again. Thus I had a complete shuttle system working,and a practice I maintained throughout the operations. It invariably worked well, although on one or
two occasions when the casualties were very heavy, I had to keep vehicles up all the time and so moreor less suspend the shuttle system for the time being.
As the troops were dropping back toward us the work got heavier, and we were evacuating 24 hours
per day, and I was very pleased with the work my men were doing. They were getting plenty of work,as each trip meant 120 miles, and they never seemed to tire. It meant for me being up and down at all
hours day and night, but soon got used to it, for it was the same for all nights until the end. Aerial
activity became increasingly severe, although on one or two occasions we actually saw a couple ofour own, but these times were, I’m sorry to say, few and far between. The rattle of the Beaufors andother A/a fire, plus the scream and explosions of the bombs and machine gun fire soon became part ofthe programme, and the lads soon found out that it did not pay to be far from a trench depression
when these bombers came over.
Many were the stories brought in by the wounded of experiences seen and felt, and one of the firstlads I saw was George Makisack, a Lieut. I shared a tent with at G.B.D., and who was with his unit 4
Anti Tank. He had a minor wound in the arm and face, but was quite happy and excited. Another lad
had a lucky escape when a bullet pierced his tin hat, and parted his hair beautifully down the middle,
but one of the best was the lad who was treated for lip laceration, and burnt tongue, received when hecaught a Jap bullet in his mouth. Evidently it was practically spent, for he spat it out again, and all hesuffered was the above, plus two chipped teeth. These were typical of the things that happened all
through, and I daresay every man had at least one experience he placed above all others.
Well the Japs were coming on in their superior numbers and aircraft, and having also free sea
movement, were using this to advantage all the way down the west coast by running their troops inplace after place and always in the rear of our thin line. Having once forced us to retreat to save being
cut off, in would go another landing further down and cause us to drop back again. This went on
down the coast until the end and we could not prevent them apparently. A line was established from
Muar to Gemas with only one British Bde. on the coast or right flank, 11 Indian Div. in the centre,
and the 27 Aust. Inf. Bde. plus the 19 Bn. brought over in a hurry from the 22 Bde. front at Mersing,on the right. The main road south, which was about the only one, had most of the fighting and as theroad ran through Segamet shortly after Gemas, it was not long before we were sent packing and I
moved back to Labis with the 2/10 when they were ordered to do so. From then on our moves were
almost daily affairs, for either something was wrong with our tactics or we were unable to check theirinfiltrating, for they seemed to gain momentum as they came. To keep our line intact was essential,
and as their sea borne troops were continually coming in to the south there was only one thing to do;
and that was to retire. Our boys were doing a magnificent job up front and the Jap casualties werevery heavy. The 2/19 Bn. made themselves during these days and suffered severe losses when one
day they were cut off.
We established at Labis, and once more I set up the shuttle system moving the car post back only
about 2 m this time, and spent a little time carrying out reconnaissance still further back. We
remained at Labis not many days and once more had to move. We never saw a plane of our own
these days, they were a complete washout and the Japs were having it all their own way in the air; themorale effect as well as the material must have been as great for their men as it was injurious to ours.
I’m certain that if only we could have seen one of our planes, it would have heartened the men no end,
and would have definitely given them some feeling of security.
From Labis we once more established some ten miles back in the Johore-Labses palm oil estate“Socfin”, which was a tremendous place, over a million palms, which, in normal circumstances,
employed a small colony which necessitated their having a complete little hospital of their own. Itwas into these buildings Colonel Max Shepherd put his M.D.S.(Main Dressing Station), so I had
plenty of cover and dispersion for my vehicles, all of which I had with me at this stage.
Water and facilities here were in plenty, so I removed my clothes for the first time in days, had ashave and instead of sleeping in the front seat (she had two bucket seats) of the car, as I had been, I
had Norm put up the stretcher and mosquito net, and after a shower and a quiet sing-song and a yarn
with my men, I went to bed, hoping for a good night’s rest. I was not to get it, however, for I had
hardly got to sleep when I was hauled out to a conference with the C.O. of the Ambulances, who hadreceived instructions from Bde. H.Q. to be ready to move by 2 a.m. Quite a short stay in this very
nice spot, I thought, but such was life. Our move this time was to be a big one back to Kluang, infact, and all transport forward was brigaded that night and convoyed back before dawn. What a haul
our friends could have got that night with a little road bombing.
If it is at all possible to enjoy oneself at a war, then I was enjoying myself these days. Everything was
beautifully unexpected these days. I never knew where we would be each night, where the next meal
would be, or what was around the corner, everything was so “exciting”, and having once worked up to
the pitch at which we were all now living, it was definitely a good life. We were all on suppressive
quinine these days, and it must have done a power of good, for it was nearly impossible to use a net,
yet our malaria figures were not very high. To add to my “joy”, everything was sailing along nicely
with the section, every man doing a great job, and worries about movement were practically nil, for I
was so completely mobile; all spare personnel were allotted a car, and they, with the driver, always
slept in their vehicles, so that at any minute, day or night, all I had to do was wake the drivers, whothen only had to get into the front seat, and we would be gone, stock and barrel within a few minutes.
Norm Gray was invaluable to me, and worked well, always having the car and my belongings readywhenever we had to make quick moves. I think we both got a fright the day before, in the back of the“Socfin” estate when, well out to the rear of it in the bus, we rounded a corner of the track we wereon, and there about 20 or 30 yards ahead of us were six strange uniforms, and from that distance thefaces were definitely Asiatic. I instantly pulled my .45, and Norm his rifle, which was always in clips
between the two front seats. Lord knows what I had in mind, but it was too late to stop, so wasprepared for anything, but on getting closer, I saw a big fat smile, and to my relief it was not Japanese,so I pulled up, and it turned out they were a few of the Dutch troops from Java, of which I had heard
there was a small number of jungle fighters working here.
An experience I had about this area was a day or so earlier. Norm and I had been back along the roadsome miles doing further reconnaissance should it be necessary to move (this, of course, before wewere brigaded back), and on return he spotted a plane coming up behind, but fairly high. I stopped
and was ready to go for the ditch should I hear that ominous scream, but he passed over, so gettin g
Norm in again, he had dived for the ditch as he always did, we started on again watching the plane.
Shortly after passing us I saw him dive down and level out, and the climb again. I speeded up, as it
looked as though he had done something on that dive down, and when we came to the place a coupleof moments later, we could see where he had straddled the road with bombs and hit it only on theedge in one place in six bombs. Whether he was having a shot at any road transport, I know not, butwhen I saw the size of the holes and ground littered with huge pieces of jagged edged and razor sharpbomb splinters, I was glad I had been that mile or two back and not in the act of passing this particularspot. But definitely, it was these things and the unexpected happening all the time that made life goodfor me, and I don’t mean by this that I am any hero, because I wasn’t, and I’m sure it was only thetension of the moments in which we lived that made it seem so.
The cause for our big move back was on account of the success of the Jap at Muar and Batu Bahat.
Col. Webster and his Con. Depot had been shifted back in time, and the rate the Jap was advancing on
Yong Peng would have cut off the whole of the forces north of Y.P. had we not been pulled out. In
fact, the 2/19th, who were the rear Battalion, were cut off, and attacks by the 29th and 30th Bns. Driving
in to clear them, was only partly successful. I had had to send a sub-section of my cars to the 198th
Indian Field Ambulance at Yong Peng, and I was a bit anxious for them, but they came back and wereonce more at the Menkabol estate, and the 2/4 C.C.S. were moving out to establish themselves about
the 23 mile post, Johore-Bahru-Ayer Hitham road.
The 2/10 Field Ambulance was taking over their spot helped by a light section of the C.C.S. (Casualty
Clearing Station) who had been left to operate until their show was established. All other units had
left the estate including the H.Q. 2/3 M.A.C. who had gone back to a spot near the C.C.S. and I was
beginning to feel at home in this place having been in and out of it so often. I was now clearing backto the C.C.S. and A.G.H. with British and Australians, and to 5 Indian C.C.S. with Indian patients.
We were seeing any amount of work these days and all classes of men of all colours and creeds not
excluding a few Japanese on occasions; but why they sent these back I do not know. One lot I know
were the victims of a provost, who, when shot in both thighs off his motor cycle by these Japs,
retained his tommy-gun and got two of them and wounded a third who got away. I had a good look atthese Japs and the holes in them were typical of the .45 calibre sub- machine gun. One was an officer,
spoke good English and was very grateful for water which he asked for before he died. I guess I’m
hardly cut out for this war work, for I always had the same feeling on seeing the dead no matter who
they were; the utter uselessness of men killing one another because some stupid fanatical cow started
something that please God he can never finish. On one occasion I forced myself to stay and watch an
operation necessitating the amputation of an arm among other things and this was the first time I had
been able to do so in all my years with medical units.
From this point on, due mainly to our shortened L-of C., I seldom used the shuttle system, preferring
when possible, and dispersion and cover was available, to have all the vehicles together as we could inthis estate. We stayed here some days. Most days we were well in the forward areas trying to getmen out. I had definite orders not to operate forward of M.D.S. but when the pressure was on and I
had vehicles to spare it seemed wrong not to use them and the actual fighting was not far in front of us
these days. We always seemed to be only one jump in front of the Jap.
One day before we had to move on from Kluang I was in the township, which was fast being
evacuated, and in a small cold storage room there I was able to pick up all the fresh butter, game,
poultry, meats and fish I wanted to feed every man in the section and then some. Even in those times
one could see no apparent alarm in some of these Malays and Indians and these were possibly only a
few of the multitudinous 5th column in this lousy country.
I cannot recall now how long we were operating from Menkabol, but while we were there the usual
work went on, interspersed with plenty of air alarms, but although they knew we were there, we were
never troubled, but of course one never knew at the time whether we were going to stop anything or
not. All outward appearances the Jap had shown to date made it appear that he was respecting the
Red Cross, and one time I know of, his planes actually levelled off over some of my vehicles on theroad, and went on machine gunning vehicles in front somewhere. On only one occasion that I canrecall that we received a deliberate attack was on a single vehicle which by good luck or good fortune
was empty of patients, for the back was riddled and the roof, and the driver miraculously unhurt.
We left Kluang and moved out through Rengam to the 51 mile post Johore Baru – Ayer Hitam road,and there we were well forward, so far in fact that rather than risk all vehicles in one place, I resorted
to the shuttle system and after picking a spot for them some 5 miles back, I left 2 Corporals with 10
vehicles and kept 15 up with me. It was a hot spot and there was plenty of activity, we even had the
big guns behind us, and the infantry even were in our park. They were relief men of 2 Bns., 5 th and 6th
Norfolks, and it was not hard to see that they had not been in the country long. They looked very paleand uncomfortable, and in fact they had only landed a few days before and were shot straight into theline. I didn’t like the way the Indians were clearing out, but they were always first to run, as I took no
notice. It was here that we picked up a lot of 2/19th lads who had split up in small parties and madetheir way back after being cut off. They looked terrible, whiskers over a fortnight old, no boots orsocks in a lot of cases, old wounds still with the original shell dressing, and all were matted of hairand caked with mud, where they had had to crawl and swim. In spite of their very bad time, it did one
good to see the spirit of them, their tails, after a hot drink and cigarettes, were well up, and I felt

definitely proud to be part of the same force as some of these fellows. They deserved anything they
may ever get for their job in this losing campaign. I made vehicles available and we took them rightback to base, in spite of the fact that we were very busy. I did not sleep or have a wash for two nights,
and the two cars I had left at Kluang to help out the rear party turned up, just when I was up against it
for vehicles, and was thinking of sending the Dispatch Rider (D.R.) back to H.Q. for more Ambulancecars. However, came a lull, and we were ordered back once more, this time to 41¼ mile post.
These moves were done at night, and it was not always easy to get vehicles into the rubber without
lights. On this particular move, we were all worn out after the last few days. I succeeded in tellingthe 2nd I/C of the 2/10 Field Ambulance what I thought of him, his boss, and his unit, although the unit
was doing a wonderful job. I had wanted to leave a sub-section at the 51 mile post. Boy, was I wild, I
almost refused him the cars, and take the consequences, but that would not help the patients, so I let
my tongue go a little. Poor old Major Rayson nearly fell off his seat, but recovered himself, to say I
could not talk to him like that, so I had a damn good try instead. I hated to rouse the men again, but I
sent a Corporal and his section back and then tried to get some sleep.
I was not very successful however, for they sent me up more vehicles which had to be fitted in andtwo messages for me during the remainder of the night did not tend to let me sleep too soundly.
We were soon on the move again, and this time we dropped back to about 20 m. from Johore Bahru,
the road which we have travelled over had received a few bombs and the Indian sappers were very
busy laying road blocks and preparing demolitions. We had now started to advertise our position, i.e.
the M.O.S. of the ambulances, by laying out on open ground in the vicinity a Red Cross. We actually
stayed in this place for some days and although news of show outside our own particular job waspractically nil, I was hoping all the time now that the line way be established and so hold these Japs.
It seemed feasible to me, seeing we were all dropping back to the narrower base of the mainland, butof course they still had the sea and we never a plane of own, worse luck. It would have bucked themen no end at this stage. The boys of my show and the Ambulance were doing excellent work thesedays, as were the M.O’s and one Dick Parker in particular worked long hours day and night in the
M.O.S.
On one night whilst here, I saw and had a quick talk with Tom Smith who was with 2/15 Field
Regiment and was going back with malaria. He seemed very pleased to see me, and asked Moira,etc., and what news I had of home, but the latter was beyond me, as I had received nothing in line
since leaving Kota Tinggi? to go to Malacca. I would have given pounds around this time to haveeven a few of the letters that must have been around somewhere.
I had, on two or three occasions, whilst at this point, to run back to J.B. to see about matters ofevacuation etc. so one day, after hearing that the 2/9 Field Ambulance were only eight miles up the
K.T. road, I ran up to say hello and see how they were faring. They all seemed quite happy; after all
had had very little of the fighting on their side compared to the west coast who had been continually
under fire and what is worse without relief since 14 January (1942); and it was now nearing the end of
the month. Our trucks were busy these days carting back to Singapore, thousands of cases of tinned
foods ? the Johore factories, and every time I passed the place I pulled in and put on a couple of cases
for the boys. We ate tinned pineapple till we looked like it these days and I for one enjoyed it. I lost
another car about this time when another car ran into him on his return from a trip.
The main fighting was this side of Ayer Hitam, but we never knew just how things were in any otherpart of the country than our own immediate vicinity and it was nearing the end of January. We were
down as far as the 16 m stone and from there we received orders to move back to the Island, all troops
to be across the causeway by midnight Jan. 31st. This was certainly the beginning of the end and themove was one I never expected, for surely, I thought a stand would be made from Johore Bahru.
However it was not to be and I contacted the H.Q. 2/3 M.A.C. and reported back to them on reaching
the Island. On the night of Jan. 30 therefore I bought my section down and across the causeway sosaying goodbye to the mainland for some time at any rate.

The other two sections of the M.A.C. were already back and were established at the 9⅞ mile postfrom Singapore, at a place called Bukit Panjang, and in the rubber just off the Bukit Timor Rd. We
could not go very much farther now; only nine miles of land left, and then -- what? Within a small
area around the town we now had beside ourselves, 2/2 M.A.C., 2/9 Field Ambulance., 2/10 Field
Ambulance, 2/4 C.C.S., the 9th having come down the east coast road with 22 Bde.
The only vehicles I now had out were five with the 2/10 and these I changed about thus giving themen as much rest as possible which all deserved and we actually did have a good rest for thisarrangement went on until Sunday 8th Feb. Our forward troops had gone into defensive positions on
the Island overlooking the Johore Straits, and the causeway had been blown up. The 22 Bde. had
been given the task on the left of the causeway and the 27 Bde. with whom I had been all along wereon the right. Their planes were, constantly over us as they had no opposition, and field and heavy
artillery shells were coming and going continually. The let up from work and continual moves was
greatly appreciated, and during the eight days I had plenty of time for everything, and spent a lot oftime writing, especially to Moira, for it was clear that we were getting near the end, and the Lord only
knew how things would be in a few days. I received only one letter here, my first for weeks, so
goodness knows where they all went to, and I would have given pounds for them these days.
We employed natives to dig holes for us to shelter in from the planes, and Bob Weller and I had our
spot marked out, but because the boongs wanted too much money, we went without for a few days,
and sheltered in another occupied by Major Dick (NX70970), Ken Parsons, Des Brennan (NX71022)
and Hamilton (NX70505). In not having this hole dug, we undoubtedly saved our lives, for on
Sunday 8th, that very spot received a direct hit by a 1000 lb. bomb, and left a hole in which we could
have buried easily eight cars, and if we had gone on with our scheme, we would certainly have been
in it when that particular bomb arrived, and it is certain also that we would have been blown into verysmall pieces.
During these days, though, I did a little running about with a daily run up to the 2/10 th to get a reportfrom the vehicles there, also to renew acquaintance with 2/9th and bear their stories, and on two or
three occasions went with Robert Weller to Singapore and to 13th A.G.H. to see a few sisters we knew
who, I am sorry to say, were still with us. They should have been evacuated home long before this,but they were a wonderful log of girls, no praise can be too high for them, and even when the last
were put on the boat only three days before the capitulation, they tried all they knew to be allowed toremain. Goodness knows, they were needed, for by that time things were very sticky and every
hospital, army and civilian, was overcrowded, but it was horrible to think of the position we were
slowly being pushed into, and it was no place for a woman, no matter what her calling. I also ran out
to see Jack (John) Park (referred to earlier), who had an A.D.S. well forward near the Tengah
aerodrome, now untenable. We made arrangements that if he could get away for a day, we would use
my car and run into town for a dinner, but it never eventuated, for within a couple of days, the Japs
crossed to the island, and poor old John lost his life with Harold Ball, young Woodman, and another,a reinforcement to the ambulance who had only just arrived. I did not know of this until a lot later,
and it was sad news, for a better man one could not wish to meet. He was always so popular, and anumber of people, other than his family, will mourn his loss when they hear. I believe Hedley
Summons later recommended him for a V.C., for the great job he was actually on at the time, which
was shortly after Feb. 8th.
February 8th, a Sunday, and one I will never forget, for by all laws of life we in the 2 M.A.C. should
nearly all have been killed, but although we lost any amount of vehicles, our casualties were only two
wounded and a few shell shocked or, as it is called in this war, bomb-happy. We were about to sit
down for breakfast when we heard the planes, and dived for Bob Dick’s hole. They passed over andcame back, but at last we came out and made another attempt to eat our eggs, but the lads were justcooking them when down we had to go again. I grabbed a sandwich, but never ate it, for this time
down came the bombs, and it was impossible not to think they were for us. The scream of these big
fellows was the most horribly fascinating noise I have ever heard, and many was the time I said

goodbye under my breath. We lost quite a few vehicles on this first raid, and the blast punctured
many others, and smaller pieces of shrapnel went right through the cars. What a din, and by this time
no one felt like breakfast! As soon as the smoke had cleared, and before the smell of cordite had
floated away, Major Campbell, our O.C. transport wing, was in his car and out of the area in double
quick time, presumably, according to him anyway, to arrange for our next spot if we had to retreat
again. He was a colossal beer drinker, the best I have seen, and would drink all day until late at night,
and even then take a couple of bottles to bed with him to keep him going during the night, yet one
never saw him drunk, a hell of a man to have as a boss, and how his men knew him.
The raid had been so severe, they had got the road where we drove in, trees were down, motor cycles
on fire, that I took the opportunity of the lull to get in my car and slip up to the 2/10 th to see if any of
my vehicles there had caught much of it, (they were only 1/8th mile away), but all were OK. Had only
just arrived there when over they came again. Having no hole I flattened out on the ground, and boy,how I hugged it. Once again, I thought it was all over, but just before one of the planes passed
overhead, all was quiet again. They had been very close, and returning to our area, when they passed
over, I found things in a shambles once more, and they had received their second going over for theday. Our third and last bomb raid for the morning came shortly after, and by rights we should have all
been killed. The nearest to we officers, who were all in the one big hole, landed only a few yards
away, and the edge of the huge crater it made just reached the corner of our dug-out. It was too close
for my liking and this was the shell that had landed exactly where Bob and I had marked out ourshelter. Thank goodness, it was never dug. The smell of cordite almost stifled us, so we came out for
air, and we were all a bit white on it when we saw how close it had come. Speaking for myself, I
never at any time experienced actual fear, although I was convinced on more than one occasion that it
was the end, but I suppose that was accounted for by the high nervous pitch at which one was living inand was to be living in for the last nerve shattering week.
After this third lot, we sent all our men who were not actually working, back into the hills about halfmile and the two bottles of Johnny Walker that Ken Parsons produced did a lot of good work andwere soon emptied. Shortly after lunch, their artillery, which for two days had been ranging on a hillbehind us, started up and in place of the planes we started to bet shells into the area. It was certainly
our sad day; and when we were told to gather what vehicles we could and get out, we did not need asecond telling. Major Dick had to go on and I waited till last, in case we have forgotten anyone. One
of my lads was completely bomb-happy running all over the place and falling in the mud, but I got
him onto the last vehicle, poor devil, and then I got an officer who decided
When I ran out to the road where he was waiting (indecipherable for a number of lines)
We left quite a lot of stuff behind there and went back after midnight to get out what we could. We
had moved back to the corner of Holland Road about six miles out from town. What we were goingto do when we could retreat no further I wondered, for it could not be long now. I was up all night ofMonday February 9th /- 10th. Reinforcements were going forward all night, and it was about this time,
it looked as though all we A.A.S.C. were to leave our vehicles and go into the line as infantry too.
That was as it should be, and although some were sent up we were taken out at the last minute andordered on with our own job. The Japs were still coming through though. The 10 A.G.H. had moved
some of its people back to the Cathy Theatre right in the city. On the Wednesday we were slammed
again; I was losing a man or two now with nearly every bomb and the tension was great. Personally I
was thankful to have the responsibility of men and vehicles for it helped me keep a hold on myself,
for I felt it was up to me to set an example for them to follow.
We were forced to move again in the afternoon and were to proceed to the St. Andrews
Cathedral, down North Bridge Rd. Practically on to the beach. As I was the only one of thethree section officers who knew the route, I led the convoy of all the cars we had left and did
not mind going at all although I knew that this would be our last move, as we were back to thewater and there was no navy. The Prince of Wales and Repulse had gone off course so thatwas that.
The next day I had to use my section and get the nurses out, and as Glyn White told me things were
bad at the 10 A.G.H. and because of the shells we could not get in the quickest way (they were atManor House, on the Dunearn Road) I took 8 cars there and sent the transport Sgt. Dave Griffin(NX65235), with 8 more to 13 A.G.H. at Katong to pick up their nurses.
I ran out through Serangoon Road and came into the A.G.H. the back way, and loaded on the 34
sisters, including Matron Paske, who were left. Even then they did not want to go and by the look of
their eyes most had had a weep, and Paske did her best to be allowed to remain. They were a great lot
and I only hope they arrived home, but if accounts one hears are true then there are not many of them
alive today for they are supposed to have been captured in Sumatra and badly treated. However, I got
them out as fast as I could and returned to the Cathedral, and shortly after the 13 A.G.H. convoy
arrived. After a check over by Glyn, I then had to run on with all of them aboard a boat at H.M.S.
Laburnam. There were hundreds trying to get away, everybody travelling as light as possible, and I
thought at one moment that we were to have a raid for 9 planes sailed over, but were kept high by theA/A batteries on the wharves.

The above letter is requesting surrender of the Allies from the Japanese General YamashitaI was glad to see those girls on board for at least it seemed they would get away. I had given Shirley
Gardham and Dot. Paske, Babe’s address and phone number in case they got home, for Dot Paske
lives in Melbourne. They were all at the end of the River boat that was to take them out to their ships
and did their best in song as the boat pulled away. Singleton sang out to me that there was something
particularly good in the drink line under the stairs at Manor House but I never got back for it.
So passed Thursday 12th. I had sent a cable to Babe but never knew whether it got away or not. Our
work was still going on but very much disorganized, and we were nearly finished for the strain had
been and was terrific, and I hated like hell to have to send them out. All other medical units werecoming in to the Cathedral grounds and the 2/9th and 2/10th Field Ambulances opened up the building
for a hospital, and for the last few days treated thousands of cases, many dying, and they included all
soldiers of any colour and civilians, many horribly shattered by the serial bombs which were being
rained down on the town and wharves. It was terrible to see some of the poor little native kids, somestill babies in arms, with shrapnel wounds and parts of their little bodies blown away.
The Artillery, also driven back now to the beaches, were operating all around us, anti aircraft batteries
were in S.C.C. (Singapore Cricket Club?) padang just across the road and how we missed being hit
more than twice in the church grounds is more than I could understand. With our A/A and artillery
going out, and theirs coming in, life was a nightmare, and the continued whine of their shells as theylanded all around us, to say nothing of the pom poms after planes, the bombs screaming down andtheir machine guns when they dived down on our guns, life was just one roar and rattle. The firstshell to land in the ground landed in an Ambulance and got a couple of 2/2 M.A.C. boys, and on the
Saturday one set fire to four or five 2/9 vehicles and killed Roy Kelly who was a very decent lad. A
shell also got my car and others of the M.A.C. that day setting them all on fire and here again I missed
getting mine by a fluke. I had left my car less than five minutes when it was hit. As I stepped fromthe car I saw Roy K. leaning on his truck and as I had not seen him for a long time I was walking overto fill in a bit of time yarning to him when Bob Weller called out from the opposite direction, wanting
to know if I was coming back to the building where we were housed for safety when not actually on ajob. I hesitated then and decided to go with Bob, so telling Roy I would see him later, I left the spot.
We had only gone 50 yards when we heard one coming so flattened on the ground, as it seemed to
explode in our ears. It had landed only three yards from my car and Roy Kelly who, still conscious,
had his stomach practically shot away and he died shortly after. The car with all my belongings waswell on fire, so I lost everything I had with one or two exceptions, one being my writing case and a
few clothes I had out in a pack. I lost many a thing I valued in that car but I had my life which I
would not have had if I had been a half minute or so later in leaving the thing. When it cooled down
and I was looking over it later, and had I still been sitting in it when the shell landed, I would havereceived at least six pieces of shrapnel in the legs, one through the stomach and two in the chest, for I
would clearly see the holes in the body and through the back of the seat which would have assuredly
got me. It only goes to show how useless it is to worry and just how lucky one can be, and I suppose
every man could tell of a similar time when some small thing has cropped up to make him dosomething different to what he intended and so just missed trouble.
The Adelphi Hotel was narrowly missed and in there was 2/9 and 2/10 Field Ambulances personnel
not on duty. The M.A.C. was in the municipal building in rear and here we were safe for it was all
concrete and some floors high with us on the bottom. It was like an inferno outside and things could
not keep going on at this rate for long. The last perimeter was put up round the town and all troops
were inside, but over on the other side of the town the 13 A.G.H. being full up and no chance ofmoving, was actually outside but as the whole show was over by the next day, it mattered little.
The Jap aircraft was playing merry hell on the Sunday, Bob Dick was almost refusing to send men out
with vehicles, and one could hardly blame him when one saw the state the men were in; for evensome of the stronger ones were going bomb happy. True to form, our Major and his precious S/Sgt
whom I had shifted from Malacca never showed their faces on the job but stayed strictly indoors andsafety while, in the case of the Major anyway, his junior officers, of which I was one worst luck, andhis men carried on with the job. What apologies for men I thank goodness nobody can say this aboutme, no matter what I might have felt.
Glyn (White) whispered to me that a cease fire would be ordered for 4 p.m. but by five it was still as
bad as ever but by 8 o’clock it was all over; and after the unceasing din of the last few days thequietness was particularly strange. I can only talk for myself, but the relief I felt was my first thought
and then a little later, evidently then realizing the end had come, it struck me forcibly, the uselessnessof all this bloodshed and tears, that a reaction of the strain got hold of me, and I felt I had to get awayfrom everyone for I felt like sitting down and crying like a kid. I fought the feeling all I knew but it
persisted and got the better of me in the end. It was a strange feeling indeed but I felt better
afterwards, and that night went to sleep without the music of explosives and airplane drones.
The following morning Jap guards were placed round the town, and my humiliation grew as I realized
fully how everything had finished and these little fellows had charge of things. Although the fighting
had finished, the medical services were still going flat out and the row of graves in the Cathedral
grounds grew as time went on. The Major and the S/Sgt. were now out in all their glory, but if they
had only known what was being said about them, they would have in all probability have gone back totheir holes.
The Jap had taken over the municipal buildings, so we moved back to the Cathedral grounds opposite,
and the officers moved to rooms in the Adelphi Hotel for the night, and the following morning, I was
wakened to the sound of marching and on looking out, saw the first long column of British
commencing the long march out in Changi, where our concentration was to be, and they appeared ingood spirits.
The 9th and 10th Field Ambulances moved from the Cathedral on the Tuesday, 17th, and opened a
hospital at Barrack Square, where six triple storied buildings, the late property of the Gordon
Highlanders, were. Back in town we saw practically nothing of Jap troops. They were evidently
being kept outside, but on the Tuesday afternoon a column of their tanks drove through. Column after
column of our troops were marching out to Changi, and a few were being used for the cleaning up of
the city and the filling in of bomb and shell craters in the roads. Our hospitals were being establishedout at Changi, and the M.A.C.’s, who were operating from the Cathedral grounds still, were flat out
from morning to dark.
Thursday and Friday Bob Weller and I, using anything up to 50 vehicles, started clearing theSingapore General Civil Hospital, and what a job it was too. The place was a huge affair, great longcorridors, and wards, crammed full of soldiers and civilians of all colours and creeds. The Japs
wanted the place for their own wounded apparently, so it had to be emptied. All the native labour inthe Hospital had cleared out, and very few doctors and nurses seemed to be about, which meant that
all the drivers had to carry stretchers to the wards, load patients and carry them back to the vehicles.
Some of the sights I saw there, I’ll never forget, and the smell of blood and unattended wounds neverleft my nose for days. We shifted the Australians first, then British, Indian, Malays, and then thecivilians, finishing up with the children, who were all orthopedic cases or idiots. We got them out lastthing on Friday evening, thus completing the job, and when Bob and I went back to the main building
where we had two cases of Whitbread’s Ale hidden away, we found the Jap had taken over. Hating tomiss out on this, I said to Bob “Wait until I try it anyway”, and then, putting on a bold front, went topass the sentry they had on the place, but he greeted me with “Ugh”, and a bayonet point, so I said
“Damn the beer, I didn’t really want it anyway”. Much!
Anyway, we were at last shot of the place, and it had been a couple of days’ hard work. The next day,by I.J.A.(Imperial Japanese Army) order, the numbers working had to be cut down to about 50, so
Perc Watson and I came out in Changi the following day in charge of nearly 100 of our men. We
were being allowed practically no transport, so the amount of gear taken was a minimum. We had tomarch the 14 miles and it was a very hot day. I had many memories on the way out, for I had often
done this route by taxi whilst at the O.C.T.U., and I would have given quite a bit for a taxi then. The

truck that had taken our gear doubled back after unloading, and commenced to ferry the men a few at
a time. It was certainly welcome, but I was as far as Bedok by the time I was picked up. It was arelief to arrive and take up our new quarters in the buildings formerly occupied by the Gordons. The
A.I.F. area was fairly extensive and contained, beside the six three-storied barrack blocks in thesquare, 44 other smaller buildings which had been used for various things, including officers’ marriedquarters, NCO’s quarters, N.A.A.F.I. etc. etc. Wire barricades were erected round our boundary, but
we had all the room inside to move about, which must have been nearly a mile by half a mile.
The British were in the areas further along the Changi road, and separated from us. 11 Ind. Div. wason the right of the road, and nearly opposite us, 18 Div. round further in parts of the old Indian camp
opposite the old O.C.T.U., and the R.A. (Royal Artillery) lines; 13 Ind. Corps at R.A. Officers Messarea, and Southern area opposite and down to Link Road. Later on the combined general hospital wasformed, and all patients were housed there in the barrack buildings of the R.A. in the area of thecinema. Arriving here was a relief in one way, but once in, we never knew when we would ever getout again, but hoped I would not be as far away as ever, the popular saying now being, “You’ll never
get off the Island”, but let’s hope it is wrong and that the time is not far distant.
It was now just over a year since we landed in this country, in fact, the capitulation on the 15 th wasvery nearly the anniversary being only three days too soon.
On my arrival here in Changi, I found that the troops who had arrived before us had been allotted thebuildings, and all units were being kept separate under their own officers so it did not look as though
we were to be segregated from the men as is usually the case. In fact by the time we settled down, it
was hard to tell we were P’s O.W., for the various divisional staffs were operating and, under orders
from the I.J.A. we were doing our own administration. Church parades were started, impromptu
concerts and popular talks also for the passing away of time in the evenings. We needed something
like this at night for the electric light like the water had been cut off. Lamps of a sort were available
but the fuel was practically non-existent. Water had to be drawn from the water carts that wereallowed in these early days, by units and rationed accordingly.
The men’s ingenuity was given wide scope too, for in a number of cases the men could not all fit in to
the accommodation allotted, so humpies sprung up like mushrooms and were made of anything and/or
anything. Beds also were put together and in fact anything that would add to comfort was done, for
we had nothing except what we had been able to carry out with us.
Without the water the lavatories could not be used and we started the trench digging. These were notvery successful owing to flies, but were improved upon a lot later, when we obtained earth augers andcould sink holes up to 20 feet deep. There was certainly plenty of work to be done, but it was notlong before things took shape and we started to settle down to the life of P’s O.W.
I saw plenty of people I knew as I moved around, and was now able to check up on particular friends
from other units whom I had not seen since before hostilities started. It was as good to see those thatwere here as I was sad to hear of the losses, for out of the O.C.T.U. lads Bill Brown, Pidg. Homer,
Roger McGee, Lennon, Quinlan were some who had paid in full. I saw the 2/9 th one day and they
were busy running their hospital.
Wednesday 25th saw everybody on a full parade lining the roads of the camp for a Jap inspection, andsomehow or other I did not feel very proud when I saw them, for there were thousands of us three
deep on both sides of the roads everywhere one looked. They drove past in cars and even had a large
camera photographing one side of the road as they drove through. On Sunday 1 st March I wastransferred back to the 2/9th from the A.A.S.C. and started up again as an adjutant with them, and was
doubly glad of the move, and secondly because it got me away from that fat pig-mannered Major.
Our diet was not too plentiful nor good, and after the personal stocks held by the men ran out, we had
to settle down to what they allowed us and this was rice, salt and sugar in minute quantities, meat

once and later twice per week (and then only a few ounces) and biscuits and very little else. The rice
was the main item and varied from 16 to 18 oz. per day, which meant we had it for three meals a day
and we have had rice thrice a day every day since, and it is now nearly eight months since we arrived.
Amenities were very few, there was a bit of sports gear, and classes were started up by an Education
Centre, and after a while there was hardly a subject that could not be tackled. In an Army there seems
to be men of every calling, and so good teachers were found for every subject from primary education
to Higher Maths, Commerce, Book-keeping, Languages, Agriculture, Architecture, etc. etc. On
March 12, I started on shorthand and commerce, but after a couple of months I let the former go andspent more time on the book-keeping.
It was decided about this time to concentrate all hospital cases at Roberts Barracks, so we had a busy
couple of days transferring our two floors, which were then occupied by 2/15 Field Regt. who had
been brought over from across the road. Our men were then in tents and humpies outside, but later,when the Regiment were moved out on working parties in Singapore and overseas, we moved theminto the building. I was seeing a fair bit of Tom Smith, and he, like everybody else, was getting veryhomesick, and wondering how long it would be.
On Sunday 15th, we held a memorial service for the 2/9th and 2/10th losses, and the wreaths made by
the boys were wonderful. It was a good service officiated by Padre Jones.
We were starting to get browned off as regards the diet, for rice three times a day, and with cooks that
had no initiative, can get very monotonous. Milk was a thing of the past, and sugar getting very
scarce. Diarrhoea was becoming a serious problem as was the dysentery, and for week around midMarch I had an attack, but it was not very serious. Later we were to become well and truly
accustomed to the diet. Meat days, which were once and sometimes twice a week, were something tolook forward to, although it was only a few ounces per head. We were receiving no pay in these days,
but the money brought in by individuals originally was still hanging out, although petering out fast as
the “black market” got under way. The “black market” was our only means of obtaining extra foodand flavouring agents, and the goods were smuggled into the camp by the more venturesome whowent out through the wire at night and did their buying from the natives who came out also undercover of darkness. The prices were terrible, for we paid as high as $3 for condensed milk (8/9), 12 oz.
tins of jam, cheese, bully beef, meat and veg., etc. I was in the unfortunate position of having next tono money when I came out, and only managed to borrow $10 from Joe Vincent. A few months later
when the canteen, run by our own people, started up, prices dropped considerably, and the black
market slowly died out. We were able to purchase now with pay allowed us by the I.J.A., andalthough it was very little, it was certainly acceptable. This started about June, and rates were –Officers, 25 cents per day, N.C.O.’s 15ȼ, and men 10ȼ, out of which we paid over to the hospital one
day’s pay, and to regimental funds two day’s pay, and this was used by the Q.M. for the purchase of
extra foods.
The days were passing with remarkable rapidity, but the nights always had me properly homesick, andI did a lot of thinking of all those dear to me at home. The lack of lights made them very long, andoften I spent the time out on the lawn in front of the M.I.R. (Medical Inspection Room) with Lofty
and Frank and many and varied were the subjects and discussions we had. On the nights of the fullmoon we played cards to its light. Rumour was rife as to what was going on, and when we would be
relieved, but none had any foundation so all we could do was hope for the best.
Work was very light, and I played a fair amount of chess and cards, particularly in the evenings, andan occasional challenge would be issued or received to or from other officers’ messes for teams toplay these two games, and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. For quite a long time we had talks byvarious interesting people on practically every subject, from sports, as Mavor on golf, he himself
being a plus one player, to travel trips to all parts of the world. I enjoyed these evenings quite a lot, as
I did the “concert nights” in which our lads, i.e., A.I.F., entertained us with a full hour’s programme

of really good variety, and a change of programme every week. These were outside concerts andwere fully appreciated by the men.
Days were nearly all alike and taken up by “trailer parties”, working parties and education and/or
sport. Cricket competitions were started up, new classes on all kinds of subjects, and in fact, anythingthat would help to keep the men doing something that was interesting.
So the time slipped by; we were always hopeful about getting home, but time was flying, and mybirthday followed quickly on our engagement day, which in turn was just as quickly followed by mydarling’s birthday and our 2nd anniversary. Poor Babe, she has certainly had a rotten married life up todate, two wedding anniversaries, and I have not been home for either.
Around Good Friday we heard that the rolls had left here for Australia, and later the I.J.A. let us senda card, which, though brief, we all hoped would not be long in arriving, and so relieve those people athome who were, we felt sure, worrying about us.
Towards June our numbers in Changi Camp were decreasing rapidly for all the Singapore working
parties were in full swing, and they accounted for a few thousand, working on various jobs from roadmaking to work on the wharves and go-downs. An overseas party, ‘A’ force, had gone we knew not
where and on July 8th another similar force, ‘B’, left for an unknown destination overseas. Captain
Greville of the 2/5 Field Hygiene Sect. went with ‘A’ force and I did not regret his departure. Frank
Mills (Medical Officer NX70671) and Jim Kelleher left to go with ‘B’ force. Later on again we wereto lose our third party when a force, which included all senior officers from the Generals down to andincluding full Colonels, left for Japan. This, of course, necessitated a big change round, and Lt.
Colonel (Blackjack) Galleghan of 2/30 Battalion. took command A.I.F. and Lt. Colonel Holmes was
O.C. British and Australian troops.
June 13th we received our first Jap amenities pay and it was very welcome though small. Working
parties in Syonan-To, as they had renamed Singapore, had been receiving pay for some time, and ours
was for work done in the camp area. Officers were paid at the rate of 25 cents, N.C.O’s 15 cents andmen 10 cents per day, and out of this we made compulsory donations of one day’s pay to the hospitaland two to regimental funds. The former was to buy extras for the patients and the latter to give theunit Q.M.’s a chance to purchase and so liven up our diet which, by this time, was certainly in need ofit.
A canteen had been started, and with its cheaper prices the black market slowly went out of business.
Prices were still very high, however, and our pay did not go very far. We were all becoming vitaminminded, and eggs, coconuts, oils, etc. were in greatest demand. We were paid in ten day periods andthe deductions took place at every pay.
On Monday June 15th I started what, I suppose, was something unique in a P.O.W. camp, and that wasan N.C.O’s school. Had forty men to start with, actually finished with thirty-four owing to sickness
and transferring of a batch of 2/9 personnel to A.G.H. for duty, and these included nearly all the
N.C.O’s and a few keen privates. It was a huge success and all enjoyed it for I made the hour’s drill
each day very strict and in full detail. Lectures were mainly by the M.O’s – John Cade, Frank Cahill
and the C.O. I gave a few lectures on military law and orderly room procedure. It ran for nearly five
weeks when we turned on a parade and a march past for the ADMS. The General was to have taken
the salute but he was ill and could not get along. Colonel Derham was very impressed and hecongratulated me on getting them so efficient in their bearing. They were all examined and all passed
fairly well. I had Dave Milne (could be VX53415) handprint certificates for them for which they
were grateful, and later presented me with a copy signed by all the class they could contact. I think it
was Jack Lardner’s idea and I was pleased to get it.
Friday 19th June was a good day for we were all given a card on which we could write a simple
message to home and do you think we were excited and keen. This was our first opportunity and weall hoped they would get home quickly, for as far as we knew our people still did not know what had
happened to us. I had taken on contract bridge and we played almost daily and/or nightly and found it
a good game and streets ahead of auction. Life was getting very monotonous, our fifth month of
captivity, but the education centre was a boon for one could put one’s mind to something practical.
Ron Churches took over our commerce class when Les Coates went to the A.G.H.
On July 6th I went to bed with dengue for a week which is very prevalent these days. The diarrhoea
and dysentery were not quite so bad as they were. Sickness in this country is so easy to get and hardto get rid of and it is very hot in bed that I was very glad to get up after a week.
Mid-July saw a party of Dutch prisoners arrive in camp from Sumatra and Java on their way to Japan
with our party when they leave.
A new Major-General arrived as C. in C. P’s O.W. and a huge parade of all troops took place on the
11th Indian Div. padang. As a matter of fact it was on Moira’s birthday and I thought of her quite a lotthat day. I was very sorry I could do nothing about it. Perhaps next year.
The end of July and we had lost Hedley Summons to A.G.H. as C.O. and he promptly proceeded todisorganize his old unit by taking thirty of the best N.C.O’s and men and replacing them with thirty of
the worst from the A.G.H. Certainly a great thing to do. Somehow I did not expect it of him. The
rest of his unit, which he had gone to such pains in the past to hold together, have been dumped andthe incapable Burnside has been given acting command.
Early August and a celebrity concert was staged at the Con. Depot being men from 18 Div. It was amarvelous turnout, and the performers were absolutely first-class. By October I had seen three
concerts by them, and each seemed better than the last. Frank Cartledge was not too good these days,in fact, he is becoming quite anaemic, and was sent to hospital for a week or so for observation.
A few more prisoners were brought in to the camp, this time two naval men who had been picked up
in the Indian Ocean. One was able to put on an eagerly awaited lecture or talk on events in Australia
up till June, 1942. How we lapped it up, for all were in the same boat when it came to news fromhome. As far as he knew, no news of ourselves had reached home, and I hated to hear that, for it
meant that all at home would still be worrying as to our safety, etc. Poor old Ma, I wonder how sheis?
The evenings are very long and drawn out, and I hate them, most nights being filled in by sitting out
in the evening breeze, yarning with Cannon and Cartledge and Winzer, or a game of cards up in themess where we have a few small lights of mosquito cream. Saturday evenings I usually listen toclassical recordings at Con. Depot. August 10 came and went, our second wedding anniversary, andhow lonely I was for you that night, Babe. Had a rotten meal of rice, which was worse than everwhen I remembered our breakfast of two years before.
Sunday, 16th August, we lost all our high ranking officers, i.e., all of rank of Colonel and above, ofboth A.I.F. and British, who left the barrack square amid many a handshake and cheer at 7.30 a.m.,their destination being Japan. Our forces here are very much split up now, and rumour has it that thisparty is to be put into an International Red Cross camp in Japan, where I daresay their treatment will
be good, and the Nippon can show them off to the world as an example of how his prisoners are being
treated. If so, how different the treatment of the main bulk which we at Changi, and working parties in
Singapore, are receiving. All officers were assembled at Con. Depot to say au revoir to General
Callegan and others who were leaving us from A.I.F., and the day they left was exactly a year sincethe 27 Aust. Inf. Bde. arrived in the country, and six months of being prisoners of war.
A Red Cross shipment had arrived, our first extras, and how welcome the food was, for it co ntained
mainly food such as maize meal, flour, jams, caramels, etc. A later ship arriving early in October waswell loaded, and besides tons of food stuffs, there was also boots and clothing, things which were
becoming very necessary.
Lieut. Col. Galleghan was given command of all A.I.F. troops, and I wondered how we would fare at
the hands of the Japs under his control, as he is a bit of a tartar and goes after what he wants. He
slowly built up his staff until he had about twice as many at H.Q. administering our command, thanthe General had at any time either during or after the show. August 22, and the party that had left for
Mersing as a working party returned to Changi after being away for some months. Not hearing fromthem whilst they were away, we were all wondering how they were and how they had fared; but weneed not have worried as they had had quite a good time. Mainly, their job up there was the delousingof all our mine fields, and during this work, three were killed by exploding mines. I knew only one,
Wally Manning of the 2/10 Field Company (Engineers). It was bad luck losing one’s life after going
through the main stoush and I felt very sorry for them as I do for all these fellows dying off these daysin hospital. At the moment the trouble mainly is diphtheria and dysentery, and the British cemetery,in particular is growing in bounds.
Time I am glad to say is flying and I notice large gaps in my diary in no time, but usually there is sovery little of interest to put in it these days. Lofty bet me one night that I would be nearer 14 stone
than 13, so I weighed at the supply scales and was surprised to find that I was 13st. 6 and so just won
the bet. (5 cigs). He was very unlucky though, for during the next few weeks I kept increasin g andwent to 13.11, where I remained for some time. I’d never been so heavy in all my life.
Our first serious clash with the Nip had its commencement on Sunday 30 (another Sunday), when
they wanted us all to sign a certificate stating that under no circumstances would be attempt escapeand placing us on our honour. It was turned down flat by commands British and A.I.F., and althoughoffered to individuals, nobody signed it. What the repercussions would be we did not know but felt
he would do something, and sure enough he did and quickly too, for on Sept. 2 all troops, both British
and Australian, were given until 1800 hours to move to the barrack square and be prepared to staythere. It was a most hopeless position, for it meant that close on 15,000 troops were to live in an areasome 250 yd. by 150 yd. It is impossible for us to describe the chaos that took place; the Black Holeof Calcutta was not in it. The men were pouring in bringing all their gear and rations on trailers andpersonal carry. Maj. Carl Gunther started immediately with working parties working night and day onhuge pit latrines in the centre of the square, for they wired us in, mounted machine gun posts, and no
man was allowed to set foot on the road that bordered the square. We were so crowded that it wasestimated that at least half the force would be dead or dying of disease inside two weeks, and I will
hand it to all officers and men for the way it was tackled, and never a moan was to be heard. Our unit
was given a small area of the square to live in, and we were very lucky in that we did not have far tocarry all our goods. A small party of recaptured escapees were shot on the beach that morning, andwe were told that that would be the future penalty for anyone attempting escape. Poor devils!
On the fourth day, after numerous negotiations with the Japs, our confinement was lifted, and we
slowly moved back to our areas, when Col. Holmes, in a special order, instructed all ranks to sign the
sheet, which had been altered slightly. All signed, but I doubt very much if anyone will take any
notice of it if, and when, our turn comes, for it was certainly signed under duress. Our food supply
had been cut two-thirds, to say nothing of the conditions in which we were living. It was likereturning home from a trip to go back to our building, and I slept like a log the first night back. So
ended one of the most sticky positions we had ever been in. We soon settled down to our old routine
again, although it took a few days to clean up the square and fill in all these trenches that had beendug, and which smelt so badly.
3 Ind. Corps moved into a building on the square on the 7th September 1942 so the area had lost its
appearance of desertion, that it had had since nearly all the 6th Battalion who had occupied it earlier
had moved to Singapore and overseas parties during the previous few months. The tattoo roll call at1900 hours daily was quite enough, and all ranks had to appear, the threat by the Japs being the deathof not only the man, but all officers concerned if someone was absent and not reported. Tom Mitchell(may be VX43577), whom I’m sure is not too sound in the head these days, made a complete fool ofhimself and the unit, by making the platoon, for which he was responsible, appear in hats and salutehim as their names were called. Lord knows how he came to be attached to us at all, but he was afriend of Burnside’s, which accounts for it, and to see men in all stages of dress, some wearing only a
towel, wearing hats, was too absurd.
Mid September I started this book, and spent many hours on and off in its writing. Life continued inits usual style, plenty of cricket, lectures and schooling filled in days, and yarning, cards, chess orwhat have you at night. An interesting two-day lecture by General Heath on the Eritrean campaign, in
which he served with a division with some success, was well worth the listening. Sept. 18 saw 25
Australians, taken prisoner in Timor, arrive here from Java. They were of the 2/40 Bn. (they arrived
at Bonegilla as we were leaving), and were followed a few days later by 500 British also from Java.
Men were still receiving pay as usual, but an alteration took place with officers. We were from now
on to be paid at the rate of 15 dollars per month after various deductions had been made for hospitaland extra food for the men. This meant a big lift for us and vastly better than the 5 dollars odd that wewere getting. Owing to some tie-up though, we did not see any for over a month, and it was sadly
missed. We were advanced 3 dollars per officer, however on Sept. 22.
On Sept. 30 the Japs inspected all our private gear. In the evening eight of us from the unit visited theCon. Depot and beat them at contract, and whilst there all officers had to sign yet another form forpay.
October 1st saw me transferred to No. 2 Coy. A.A.S.C. for duty, and although I did not mind thechange (life at the 2/9, especially the meals, was pretty bad these days) I did not relish the way inwhich it was done by that fellow Burnside; whose excuse for having me shifted was that his nature
clashed with mine and he could not work with me. This I found hard to understand as he was never inthe office although he was in command, he did little but sleep upstairs. I think the mad Mitchell wasat the back of it somehow, and it was only being put out of my old unit by an outsider and in anunderhand way that I objected at all.
I had quite an easy life for a while then, doing the ferry one day and a few walks with the trailer. We
were a small unit of three officers and about 90 men, and a few days after my arrival a Capt. Collins
from A.G.H. came in with us building our small mess up to five. Our pay was well overdue so wewere unable to purchase many extras in the food line. Lieuts. Tweedy, Gray and Horden were theother officers.
October 6 and we saw the arrival of all Aust. Prisoners from K.L. who were mainly men from theMuar show and they were glad to be back with us, for sickness had hit them pretty hard. At K.L. they
had had next to no medical attention, resulting in the loss of quite a few as well as a lot of British.
The Red Cross goods were now at Fairy Point and parties with trailers were many in bringing the
A.I.F. portion up to the supply store. It certainly boosted up the rations and we enjoyed the extras noend.
On Thursday 8th a large Singapore working party marched into Changi from town. They had toMarch all the way as a punishment for the stealing of cement whilst on the job. The racket was to sell
it to the Chinese who were only too keen to be able to buy, so the boys were making a good thing out
of it.
Once more a Sunday was to alter my life a little, for on Sunday 11 th I formed part of a working partyof 1,000 for Singapore. I was not very keen about leaving Changi, but having no option I left with theadvance party of 300 after a talk by Blackjack. We came in my transport, and I spent some time
before we left the square in farewells, for when one leaves for town on a working party, it is very
doubtful if one will ever get back to Changi. Glyn White, with his usual good nature, slipped me adollar before we left, and it was an action I will not forget in a hurry, for money these days was nearlynon-existent, although it was expected daily. We were run direct to the wharves and set to work
before even seeing our camp, and this surprised more than a few, and it was 6 o’clock before wearrived at our camp off Havelock Road.
We were organised as an infantry battalion, and quartered in atap huts which were in only fair repair,having been built pre-war as evacuation areas for the native population of Singapore. I was placed incharge of 11 Platoon in C Coy. under Capt. Linscott, whom I knew from G.B.D., and 36 mencomprised a platoon. Straight away I appreciated the better diet which, with the Red Cross comforts,
made a big difference from Changi, and for days following I ate next to no rice, seeing how we were
getting plenty of vegetables, stews, and a few roast dinners. Will I ever forget my first roast dinner ofmutton and various types of vegetables, my first for over eight months. Although work was plentiful,
I quickly came to the conclusion that this was far better than Changi, and now that I had got started on
the new life I was glad to have been sent in, and my early objections were soon wiped out.
The working parties that went out daily were many and varied. Mainly we were round and about thewharves and go-downs, and it was vastly different from Changi’s prison life, and the feeling of
freedom and moving around the town and seeing the sights again was very different. Not that we
could ever move about at leisure, for we were always under the Nips, but generally speaking on all
working parties we had with us ordinary Jap soldiers who, if worked properly, were not too bad,although an occasional one or two were inclined to use their hands a bit in face-slapping if the lads did
not do just the right thing. Goodness only knows what will happen to them, and particularly the
Sikhs, if we ever get the chance, for it is most humiliating to us as a race to be slapped and have totake it, from these fellows.
After a week or so on the ordinary work jobs around the town, Bill Smith and I were given a job with
50 drivers and mechanics at a garage close handy to the camp. It was a good job and personally I had
little to do for the men were out driving the trucks all day, and the mechanics worked on the trucks
that needed it, in the garage. On a few occasions whilst on this work I made it my business to be on
good terms with one or two of the Nips, and was able to obtain extras for myself and the lads in theway of sweetened coffee two or three times a day. One Jap in particular, when he decided that I was agood driver often called for a truck and off we would go for a drive somewhere and he would buy me
coffee and cigarettes. On these trips I often got the opportunity to purchase various things including
eats and smokes. Generally speaking though we were forbidden to speak, or have any contact withcivilians, so to be able to get a few things through the Nips was very handy, and for this reason it paid
to keep on the right side of them. On one occasion I was able to get a tin of Murray’s Scottish pipe
tobacco and do you think I was popular among the officers that night when they found out; for it wasa gift of the gods after all this boong tobacco that was all we had had for months.
Unfortunately this transport job only lasted a week when Bill and I were taken off, the men still
carrying on daily under N.C.O’s, whilst Smithy and I went back to ordinary work parties.
Roughly speaking about 800 men were asked for daily to work, officers being sent out in charge ofthem but under the Nip just the same, in the proportion of about one officer to 50 men. This meantthat we were fairly well off for generally we could expect a fair share of days when we did not have togo out. These days were generally spent with a fair amount of O.T.B.D. and card playing or in fact
anything that one desired. We had free movement round the camp but of course not outside and we
had deck tennis courts and a football ground for those that felt that way. Soccer also was played quite
a lot.
I wrote to Lt Col Glyn White on Oct. 30 enclosing the one dollar he had given me when we left
Changi, but I knew not when it would be delivered for our connection with Changi was practically cut
off and our only hope was that the doctors would be able to run in for supplies or some such thing.
With this in view I gave the letter to Major Kevin Fagin and hope he can get in before long. John
Oakeshott is with Kevin as M.O’s for the camp.

Our sick parades are pretty heavy, mainly skin troubles due to lack of vitamins, so the Japs, I suppose
to keep up the numbers of working men, had another 200 sent in from Changi on Oct. 30. C Coy.
only received one officer from these, one Bill Clack, but we don’t mine for it means more days incamp as he will be able to take his turn.
Today is 1942 Dec. 1, another month has slipped away remarkably quickly, Xmas will be on us
before we know it and one wonders what Xmas will be like as a P.O.W. If it could be half as good aslast year in Malacca even I would be satisfied, but what I would give to be home for it.
November 1942 was not uneventful although as far as working parties are concerned, they are still thesame monotonous days as ever, with jobs of all descriptions at the wharves loading and off-loading
ships, road building at Kings Rd., at oil dumps, food and clothing go-downs at Alexandra, and the“specialist” party at a Jap H.Q. at the corner of Anson & Robinsons Rds, being but a few of them.
Saturday 7 saw a further 200 men arrive in from Changi so our camp is getting to be quite a large one,and on 26th the two camps here were reorganized, so that all personnel as far as possible were moved
around so that men from each unit were together in the one company. This meant that changes took
place both within our own camp here and the River Valley Road camp across the way. The GreatWorld had closed down, and all men from there had moved to River Valley so they also were in the
re-organization.
I left C Coy and joined 5 Coy. under Capt. Soloman, which company was now all A.A.S.C. I also had
to move to a hut across the “Yarra” which is the tidal creek that runs through the centre of the camp.
The quarters are not quite so good but the meals are better and I am settled in now and sharing a bay
with one Aubrey Yeo, who is to come over from A camp in a day or so.
Friday 13 far from being unlucky was one of my best days in one respect, for I had a party of only 20
at Syme Darby & Co. go-down, and all men were treated fairly well with presento’s in the way ofeats. A tin of cocoa, 2 tins of milk, 5 tins herrings, Cadbury chocolate, and good Craven A tobacco
being amongst the hand outs. It would be a great place to be turned loose in for it is well stocked withgood tobacco and edibles of all descriptions. Hand-outs these days are becoming few and far
between, so, when they do appear, they are very welcome.
I had a pleasant surprise on return from a job on Wednesday 25th, to find that our long overdue
October pay was available and in addition the outstanding pay from August, thus making a total of$27.91. It was very welcome for I had no money left and the rations as issued were far from adequate
for my big appetite, and usually I purchased such things as sweet potatoes, eggs, bananas, peanuts,
etc. to help the plain rice meals on their way. The formation of a Bn. Mess was a good idea and atpresent we are paying $5 month for extra messing and the meals are greatly improved thereby.
Social amenities are improved by way of boxing and wrestling every Saturday night in our new ring,
and we have had one concert. Every night between tea and check parade, there is a game of footballon the padang, and although it is usually Soccer, a few games of Rugby and Australian Rules havebeen played. As regards the Soccer there have been two excellent matches played between the A.I.F.
and the Dutch from A Camp, which were well worth watching.
The “north, east, west & south” is particularly good, and seems to improve daily, particularly in North
Africa and U.S.S.R. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end, and no one hopes that it is more than I.

1943
Jan 1st, 1943, and all are in good spirits still, although I think we all hope or believe we will not behere this time next year.
Once again the month just passed was not without event, for, among other things it saw our return toChangi and this did not please me very much. I was very content with Singapore working party life,
and was loathe to leave the excellent good fellowship and conditions of Havelock Rd.
Working parties ran smoothly until 13th, and then we heard the first rumours of the cessation of themby P’s.O.W. in Singapore. One reason was that the civilians were complaining of the lack of work
open to them as long as we were doing it, although it was little better than coolie labour, but I am
hoping that their reason for massing us all at Changi again (some 6000 of us all told return from Syme
Rd., Adam Park, River Valley and Havelock Rd) was on account of the military situation.
Around the period 10-15 Dec 1942. various officers with working parties were receiving theattentions of some Japanese and bashings took place. On a lime job on the 12 th a Jap got himself intosuch a temper because Johnny Gray could not find rope for the Jap to tie up a Chinese whom hecaught stealing, that he drew his bayonet. Saying, “This is no place for Gray”. John went for his life
down Havelock Rd. toward camp with the Nip chasing him on a push bike. Trying to get through thewire he was caught by the Korean guard and held until the Jap arrived when they proceeded to do him
over. He was returned to the job, and about an hour later, the same Jap brought him a feed of Mah mee eggs etc. which only goes to show that one never knows what they are going to do next. My turncame the next day whilst I had a party at Patterson, Symonds go-down. A particular little hatemerchant let fly at me for absolutely no reason, and when he found that he could not reach my facewith his hands, produced a round pole some 4’6” long by 1½” diam. and proceeded to do me up.
Luckily I was able to protect my head and face but took a few on the shoulders and legs. It is aterrible experience to have to stand there and take it from a little rat that one could smash through thefloor, but it would be disastrous if one did anything. Perhaps I may see him again when things are
running our way and it would be a very pleasant meeting.
We in 5 Coy. were having a fairly easy time, for our quota of officers for working parties was only
one per day which meant with five of us, we were inside a lot more than we were out. Pontoon was afavourite pass time and my usual luck held. A bridge tournament was held, Lloyd Boreham and I
winning only seven of our eleven games. Football of all brands was a daily event on the Padang andsome of the soccer games were really good, between the Aust. British and Dutch.
Aub. Yeo came over from River Valley, and he and I shared a bay and lived and ate pretty well one
way and another. The canteen got better and a fair variety of goods including fruit was plentiful.
Altogether I was enjoying myself more than I ever had since becoming a P.O.W., so that when on the
19th we were told to prepare to move back to Changi on the 20th I was not pleased. The move
however was put back to the 21st and as no food stuffs were to be taken with us, we all lived very
highly, even to prawn suppers on the last two days.
Luckily our gear was being transported and personnel were carried to Geylang cutting which saved
half our distance and we then marched the remaining 7 or 8 miles, arriving on the square shortly after
lunch. The usual excitement, the cheerios and meeting of friends took place but after a day or so thenovelty wore off, and so once again we settled down to the uninteresting life of Changi. I remainedwith the A.A.S.C. for a week or so quartered in house 17 with Capt. Solomon, Lloyd Boreham andpersonnel of 8 Div. Ammo. Sub Park, M.A.C. and Field Bakery. The organization was foul; we were
put into this empty building and spent days in a vain attempt to procure essentials in the way of
cooking gear, firewood, furniture etc. Our Xmas dinner was a pleasant surprise for the lack of rations
and gear was hardly conducive of a first class meal, and we finished up with fish rissoles, baked
vegetables, rice, plum pudding without plums, and cake. The officers served the meal and ate withthe men, and in the evening we had a decent meal of tinned curried chicken, vegies., coconut andtinned fruit which I purchased at the Roberts Barracks canteen the previous day.
25 December 1942 - Xmas day was a holiday and a very pleasant day too. Everyone was in goodspirits and a real carnival spirit prevailed in and around the Con. Depot where a sports program wascarried out, where events such as wood chopping, running, jumping, kicking of football etc. etc. were
decided on the west and they even had a coconut shy. Altogether a great day and it was hard to
realize that we were in a prisoner of war camp. Lights out was extended to 1 a.m. Midnight church
services were held as well as carol singing in various places including the square. On my way home
at 11.45pm I dropped into the Engineering mess and played pontoon until 12.30.
Football and cricket are still in vogue but rather seriously challenged for popularity by the
introduction of baseball, evidently started up by the Americans (gunners and sailors, the latter
survivors from the Houston) who arrived here during our absence in Singapore. With them also aremen from H.M.A.S. Perth which ship did such a great job before being sunk. I heard a talk by“Tiger” Lyons of the Perth a few nights ago which was very interesting and bore out some of theremarks mentioned by Maj. Smidt and Capt. Carpentier-Alting, two Dutch officers, who gave us anaccount of the fighting in Sumatra and Java whilst we were in Havelock Rd.
I had seen Glyn White and let him know I was keen on an “A” job somewhere, and although I did not
expect anything until the New Year, I got rather a surprise on Dec. 28 th when I was transferred to 2
Con. Depot as Assistant Adjutant to Reg. Farndon. This suited me, as the quarters are good, handy toeverything and above all have electric light, which at the present time is only on to a very few
buildings outside the hospital area.
New Year’s Eve was, of course, fairly quiet, lights out being at ordinary time 10.45), but singing, etc.
was kept up in the square until midnight. It was in bed by 11 p.m., and, I suppose, like many others,
my thoughts were of home and how I missed everyone, for a long time before I went to sleep. How I
hope we will all be together this time next year.
Feb. 1943
Feb. 4th, and a long two years since we left Australia, and almost 12 months as prisoners of war.
Everyone is properly fed up, and the common desire is to see the finish and get back home once more.
The news these days is very good, and the general opinion centres on the hope of being home at thelatest this time next year. With our second anniversary of leaving, my thoughts have been more thanever of all at home, and the bouts of real homesickness have been very acute. With January gone weare well into 1943, and, in spite of it all, time is slipping past fairly quickly. As I have very little work
to do at the Con. Depot, I took on the voluntary job of putting our lawn and garden in order, and as it
was sadly neglected, and the tools at our disposal leave much to be desired, it has taken a few weeks
of hard work to make a show, but it is now looking well, and we are starting to see the fruits of ourlabour. I spend nearly every afternoon at it, dressed only in a very abbreviated pair of underpants, so
if I keep it up, I should very soon become browned “practically” all over.
Also to help pass the time, I started attending French classed under Capt. Les Greener (NX15946),
and on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we have an hour’s lesson. I thought of Lesley on the 15 th, andwondered what kind of a birthday she had and how she was getting along with the W.A.A.A.F’s.
During the month we once again, the second time actually, sent a message home, but this time, we are
told, the messages of 20 words are to be broadcast over the air, so we all hope they keep to their word.
It is a terrible thought to be here, and, having heard nothing of home, to think that our people have not
had their minds put at rest as to whether we are even alive or not. As far as I am concerned, I know I
could more willingly endure this life if only I could be sure they had received one message from me.
How great is going to be the reunion one day, and, believe me it can’t come too soon.

The training of all men is going on apace, and the barrack square is a hive of industry. The 27 th Bde.
put on a very good ceremonial parade last month, and a competition between companies of thevarious battalions is in progress.
My evenings are spent in various ways from concerts, boxing, talks, lectures and music recitals.
Spend a bit of time on the roof of 2/26 Battalion where we pass the time after mess in yarning, etc.
Meals are still bad, and even getting worse for we now see no meat, and only occasionally an ounce offish. All stocks of the last Red Cross ship are finished, as far as the individual is concerned, and eventhe supplies kept for hospital are now nearly finished. Perhaps there is another on the way so here’s
hoping. I see quite a bit of Ron Campbell although not particularly friendly with him. He, of course,
remembers Moira and Jean, and, in fact, the family, and he told me Jean was practically his first
customer.
March 1943
Yet another month behind us, and time is still slipping by with remarkable rapidity in spite of the factthat I spend many an hour, especially after lights out, in thoughts of home and all whom I love.
Particularly so this last month, as we had more than one anniversary date to remind us of the past.
The 4th saw the passing of two years of our leaving home; the 15th one year as P’s.O.W., and the 18th
our first two years in this country. Certainly we never felt like wishing one another “many happy
returns”, but hope that by next February we are either home, or back on the job once more driving theNips out of this country.
It has been the policy of Command to get a mail service of some kind under way, but the I.J.A. do notseem over-keen to play. In fact, they refused again this month to allow us another card home, andthen quite suddenly granted permission for a 20-word message to next-of-kin. They are certainly
funny customers. However, the opportunity was taken eagerly enough, so once more I’m full of hopethat they eventually reach home. We wrote them on Feb. 21st.
Rations are still particularly light, in fact lighter than ever, as even the rice, which forms 98% of ourdiet, has been cut down. A few vegetables, an occasional few ounces of fish or prawns, and no meat
whatever, is our diet from our friends, the enemy, these days, and the remainder is made up by theindividual from the canteen providing he has money. As from this month our autocratic B.J. hasdecided that subalterns will receive only $14, a reduction of $1, and an increase of $1.50 for officersof his own rank and under. It does not seem to count with him that the Lieutenants are doing nearly
all the work that an officer is required to do in the way of wood and ration trailers, and long walks,etc. with all other kinds of parties, and, if anything, are more in need of the extra food that that money
could buy. He seems to thrive on unpopularity, and is certainly causing discontent amount the“sniffling subalterns” one way and another.
As far as work is concerned I am doing very little indeed, and spend a lot of time during the day in thegarden which is now looking fairly respectable. Gabb and I have done a lot of transplanting of
bushes, shrubs and lawn. The gardenias are flowering in profusion at present. All I wear on this job
is an abbreviated pair of underpants with the result that the body is practically brown all over, and I’mfeeling pretty well and don’t seem to be losing much weight in spite of the fact that the sweat literally
pours off. Some mornings I spend on Alan Carrick’s (NX71121 - Captured Timor- Post War Memberof Parliament) balcony where I get a little sun whilst talking and reading.
I have taken up French and do an hour’s class every Wednesday and Saturday. It helps pass the time.
Evenings are the worst to fill in, but generally something turns up to go and see or listen to. Tuesdays
are filled with lectures and talks on “Government”, with Sgt. Downer (father of Liberal MP Alexander
Downer) in the chair, and I find these interesting and instructive. I have not been playing very much
bridge but last week had a game at the Engineers with Bob Strawbridge, Chapple and John Brindley,an another night at the Ambulance with Carl Gunther?, Alan Rogers and Frank Cahill. The A.I.F.

concert party also fills in a night, and so time passes. In spite of it all though, I have some bad boutsof homesickness, especially at nights, but I, like most others here, are full of hopes for this year.

April 1943
I guess March must go down as the most important month we have had as P’s.O.W. for, at long last,that all important “letter from home” feeling has been realized and great has been the excitement. On
March 5, we first heard that some 40,000 odd letters were at the jail for the A.I.F. and no time waslost in sending down sorters with nominal rolls to separate then into units. The Japanese then statedthat they would be censoring them all, and our hopes dropped a little for that would mean a long tieup. I think they actually did do some, but must have given it up, for, by the end of the month it had
nearly all been delivered. My big moment arrived at lunch-time on the 24th, some 8 months after they
were written, but that did not detract from the thrill and enjoyment of receiving word for the first timein 14 months. Two from Moira Helen (July 2 and 31), two from other, and one from Avon,
completed my pile and life did not seem so bad after all although I lost my appetite for the meal I had
just started, and ate up those letters through the meal, the news, and a meeting which followed.
Although letters were restricted to one page, it was certainly a long way better than the miserable 25word messages we were allowed to send. Lindsay Orr’s (VX39029) people evidently did not stick
strictly to instructions for he did the best of anybody in receiving 21 letters (lucky fellow).
“D” force of 5,000, including 2,500 A.I.F. left here for places north by 18th, and their mail was mostly
through before they left so they were lucky. That split the force practically in half, so things are
getting a little quieter around these parts with the going of these parties, and the 22 Brigade is now
practically non-existent. The 2th saw a further 500 leave here for overseas, and there is talk of afurther lot going in the near future. If this keeps up there will be very few left before long, and I havemixed feelings about being moved. At times it would be very welcome if only to change themonotony, but is doubtful if living conditions would be as good as here. Certainly the food could not
be much worse.
On the night I received my letters I went across to A.G.H. with Scotty Uroe (QX12576 “F”Force
Thailand) who was lecturing there, so was able to look up Ted Jones and tell him that Thelma wasdoing well, He had not heard at that time so was grateful. Frank C.(maybe Cahill) received a letterfrom Dot the same day.
One of the main medical troubles these days is the eyes, mainly due to lack of essential vitamins in
our food, and on the 23rd I reported to Robin Orr about mine and was placed on no duties andtreatment which consists of the taking of yeast, rice polishing (vile things) and a little marmite, and nosmoking reading or sweating. It makes it hard to fill in the day.
With the going of the last parties from here a surplus of officers is now offering, so they have beengathered in House 20, and although B.J. likes to think of them as an officers’ training coy., it is more
popularly called other names such as, Old Men’s Home, The Waxworks, etc.
So much for the outstanding events for the month. It is marvellous how something always seems tohappen although if one spoke in broad terms it would seem as though nothing was happening torelieve the monotonous life which is the lot of a P.O.W. The usual entertainments are still offering intalks, lectures and concert parties, and this week I re-started book-keeping with Lindsay Orr, and I’mon the look-out for someone to run through some Maths with me, for after a talk I had with Harry
Gibson this month about a job at some Government office, I am going to try the Repatriation Dept. on
return, and it is with this in view that I want to do some studying if possible. I feel that browned off tothe army that the A.I.C. does not hold so much for me these days.
Was glad to hear from the letters that Les is doing well and that Llew is in it again, and would like toknow what unit. Guess Mother is feeling proud.

May Day, and Joe S. is promising all kinds of good cheer in the next six months. Hope he can carrythem out.
My thoughts this last month have been very much at home for it saw the passing of our engagement
day whether it be April 1st or 5th (the way I feel now I’m almost inclined to give in to Moira Helen andcall it the first), and then Mother’s birthday on the 5th.
Things in general have quietened down considerably for on the 18th a further party of 7,600 left here
for places unknown, half of them being Australians, and it practically cleared the 27th Bde. from thesquare. Gus Kappie i/c. I was very sorry not to have gone too for a number of very good friends ofmine from the 26th Bn. went, and as I had been spending a lot of time with them, I’ll certainly missthem. Scotty left on the 20th, fully intending to “go thru” so I hope he succeeds. Towards the end of
the month the square commenced to refill with English and Dutch from Southern area, and quite a few
changes in the housing and organization took place. 2/9th had now come under the Con. Depot, andnow, after nearly three months doing nothing I have a company of 120 men to look after, but as mostare on special jobs, I still have very little to do. I was very glad to shift my quarters from No. 1
building to Alan Carrick’s and Charles Huxtable’s (QX22801) room, and feel a different being awayfrom the Bagman & Co. We now have a proper mess, and the food is a lot better although our friends
have not bettered our rations much. From 20th to 27th I was attending a series of D.C.M’s (maybe
District Court Marshalls) at House 36, and learnt quite a bit of procedure. Two of them pulled 120
days each for trading in M. & B. 693.
Rumours were flying around re our future movements, the main one being that the Jap navy had takenover the Island, and that we would all be moved shortly. Another that the hospital is to absorb mostof the Con. Depot, so I suppose we will know before long.
22nd saw the last concert by the celebrity artists who left for the north next day, and I was sorry to seethem go, for their concerts were way above the average. We gave them supper afterwards, and had a
few farewell speeches by B.J., Col. Webster and Padre Foster Haig, Dennis East (he was No. 1
violinist London Symphony Orchestra) Reg Renison (pianist) George Wall (baritone).
I have spent a lot of spare time, nude sun bathing on the roof (quite the fashion), and have a good tan
these days, but how I wish I was getting the tan on a good old Melbourne beach, even Middle
Brighton. My eyes have improved a lot, and at present am deciding on an operation to remove mytonsils. The risk is far greater here than at home according to M.O.’s, and as ether is running out andchloroform being used, it is hard to decide what to do. I would like to have them done so may decidein a few days.
June 1st , and I little thought I would be writing this month’s doings in Thailand. I am though, having
finally arrived at our destination, Lord knows where, in company with 67 other Aust. Officers andabout 200 British and some Dutch which comprise “E” force, party 6.
“J” force was also formed about the same time as ours and left before we did for overseas. In view of
the rotten time we have had getting here, I wish I had copped that one. There was quite a little
shuffling of Con. Depot before I left, and I took over Alan Carrick’s Coy when he left with “J”, so I
was very surprised when nominated to go away. After thinking it over for a day or so, I decided not
to try and get off the force, but if I had only known what this trip was to be like, I would have.
May 1943
We were to leave Changi on May 15, and were glass-rodded, inoculated for plague, and tested for
malaria by that time. We actually left on Monday 17th, at midday, and were transported to the station
to be packed into closed iron trucks 17’ x 7’ x 6’6”, 26 officers and baggage per truck. This was ourhome for just on four days, and three nights, and believe me, 26 mighty sore tails detrained at
Banpong, Siam. It was as hot as hell all the time, and sleep was nearly impossible, and any time thetrain halted we made the most of it.

Fortunately we were able to trade at some stops with the natives and the fruit we purchased wascolossal, it is a wonder we were not all sick. We arrived at Gemas at dead of night, and had a meal on
the station. This was to be the general arrangement for the trip, although we had to carry a meal ofrice and fish now and then.
North of K.L. the natives seemed more open in their greetings to us and traded on better terms than in
the south. We had many halts but only at some were we allowed to alight, and finally reached Padang
Besar, the border town. We changed engines and were soon in Thailand and straight away one would
notice the difference. The country became more fertile and padi was being grown extensively, but thepeople seemed more primitive, and as we were to find later, the biggest thieves ever.
It was a pleasure to leave the train, and after a line up and count (this went on interminably), wemarched about ¾ mile to a rest camp where we stayed for two days. The camp and site wereshocking being under mud, but as we were able to purchase food and fruit and so get away from theendless rice, we did not mind. Big fresh hard boiled eggs (8 for 50 cents) were popular as were themah-mees, etc. They would only allow 50 cents for each Malayan $. We lost no time in trading oursurplus gear to the Nips or natives who would buy anything from gold to clothing. I sold a fountainpen for $10 or “Tickles” and so Alan de-Little, Vic Mentiplay and myself ate like lords. A mah-mee
of four eggs, tomatoes, meat, paste, onions and spices was very tasty, and much appreciated after 15months of Changi fare. Our heavy gear was transported from there, but we had to march 30 miles in
two nights, resting during the day. I will never forget those days and nights as long as I live. I still
had a fair bit of gear and my back and hip joint went on me, which together with the poor state wewere in physically, caused me to collapse the first night about day break. There were many others inthe same boat, and the following night we could not see it out and slept on the road. There never was
such a sorry bunch.
We rested three days at the next camp and were able to swim each day. At this camp were odds andends of various other parties that had left Changi earlier and here I learned of the deaths of Ellis
Follbig and two other M.A.C. boys through dysentery and cholera. The natives here were expert
thieves and even took kits from under the heads of sleeping men. Laurie West lost all his. On our
second day there we were marched to the hospital and all treated to another glass rod, malaria slide,inoculation and vaccination.
Leaving there on the afternoon of the fourth day we were loaded on a train again, only this time onflat cars, and the weather being good, we have a scenic tour. For traction they used a large diesel
motor car which, by removing the wheels, can run on railroad. We were soon in the hills, and on therailway built by our chaps. It was a character of a line too, all ups and downs, but we arrived safely.
The scenery in places was beautiful. It was dark when we reached our end and, loaded with gear,
heavy as well as light, we had to walk about a mile along a so-called road deep with mud, and it was anightmare. My leg gave out again. We slept in the open by a fire that night, and the following
morning walked again about five miles to our present destination, which is well up in the hills andwhere we are to work.
The ground is terrible, under mud, with the first shower, and as the monsoons are starting now, we arein for a picnic. The I.J.A. here confirmed Blackjack’s farewell speech to us that we were only to beaway for three months and then return to Changi, and I, like all others on this job, will be mighty glad
to be back there again.
We received the usual messing about when we arrived and moved in to two positions before settlingin where we are now. Under canvas and no flys on the tents, water supply is good with a wide creek
flowing through the camp, but the good up to date is terrible, being plain rice, and if we are lucky alittle jungle stew. Perhaps it will improve. On Monday, 31st, we started work, being a fortnight since
we left Changi. I did not go out on account of my back and leg.

July 1943
I was not going to write up June’s doings, as there has hardly been a single feature to redeem it frombeing the worst yet. The call now is “You will never get out of Thailand”.
Food for the greater part of the month was absolutely foul, rice and thin stews, breakfast, lunch anddinner. Later we were issued with a thin small piece of dried fish. No pay arrived, so things werevery tough, especially as the work was heavy, and hours long. Mainly we were clearing cuttings forthe railway, and felling and cutting timber for bridges. Speedo was practically always the order of the
day with face slappings and heads beaten with sticks thrown in for full measure. Our “shoko” party
was certainly the outlet of Japanese hate, specially “Monkey Brand”. I would not like to be him if
ever we catch him up at a later date.
Sickness was rife, bad food and conditions being mainly to blame for complaints, as debility, tropicalulcers, diarrhoea, dysentery, etc. It was terrible to hear of all who died from the latter, but worst was
the cholera which claimed some hundreds, mainly Tamils, but a few British O.R.’s and A.I.F. Heard
later that Roly Oakes’ party further up is having a rotten time with cholera, having nearly 300 casesand 82 deaths at the start of early July. I certainly hope I miss that, and we are taking all precautions.
Towards the end of June I returned to camp with a fever and throat. The throat was the worst, being a
bad tonsillitis which the Dr. thought may develop into quinsy. Thank God it did not, for at TonchinSouth here we are many kilos from any hospital. It is nearly right again now, as are my ulcers.
If talk is correct, we will be back in Changi by the end of August, and nobody hopes that more than
we do. This living amongst death and disease is not my idea of living.
August 1943
Well, we are still in Tonchan, but due to many being transferred to other places, we are very few thesedays. About 33 to be exact, and we are not doing so badly as earlier. The main bulk of H.6 have gone
further north, and I would have been with them had it not been for tonsillitis. Only the fit went up,
and the last party to go had their baggage transported by river barge. This suited them for they had
about 25 kilos to march, but unfortunately, the barge over-turned and all gear was lost. Some of themwill be in a bad way for clothes these days, as a result.
Later in the month nearly all the sick (or the worst cases anyhow) went south to Camburi(Kanchanaburi). In a way I would have liked to go for, if nothing else, it would have meant getting
away from this cholera infested place, but for other reasons I was as well pleased to stay, for rations
had improved, and we were at last, and for the first time, getting meat. We had seven cows in acorral, later increased to thirteen, and as we killed twice weekly, we were not doing too badly.
Vegetables were practically non-existent. Local purchase also was fair, so we were doing well,particularly as June’s pay quickly followed May’s.
Diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera were still with us, and amongst others. We lost two of our four Lt.
Cols, (British). Among the lads who went north we lost Hec. Davidson, 2/29, a very nice chap, fromcholera. We had a letter from Bill Harrison at Hintock, and they have lost 130 out of 600, so it looks
as though the boongs have taken the disease up with them. We are almost free of them here now,
thank goodness.
I have done very little work this month, three days I think, after my throat cleared up, but as the ulcer
on the leg broke down again, I got the Dr. to treat it with M. & B., and I have been spelling it eversince. A little cow herding at night was my only occupation.
July 21st I did not forget, and by way by celebration I had a tin of herrings for dinner, and a hope thatnext year would see us having a real treat.

The railway is down and well north of us now, and although we are sending out small parties eachday, it is fairly easy, generally speaking being maintenance work, as packing the sleepers and raising
the line, etc.
September 1943
August, up to the 24th, was a good month, for I laid up most of the month to allow the ulcer to heal,
and in the meantime we ate like lords. Plenty of meat and sugar, and even had a sing-song cum
concert on two occasions. Local purchase is good, and I now have sold all my spare clothes, andbelongings, so as to buy extra food. On the 16th we received a surprise gift from the I.J.A. in the
shape of 60 cigarettes per man, white P.T. shorts, and a quantity of milk, sugar and Vit. B tablets. On
the 17th the Nips found a deer staggering down the road, which had been mauled, I suppose by a tiger,
and killed it. I was fortunate in acquiring quite a bit of it when cooked, and it was an absolute treat,
for all the world like poultry.
Unfortunately, these good times came to an end on the 24th when nearly all the fit moved north toLord know where. We were supposed to be travelling by train and/or barge but, true to form, allarrangements fell thru’ and we walked for five out of the six days we were in reaching our destination.
On the other day we travelled some 60 kilos by train.
The walk was an absolute nightmare, and never do I want to experience anything like it again. For themost part the road up was up to knee depth in mud and slush, cut through jungle, and the result waseither very hot sun and no wind, or rain, and I do not know which was the worst. Water was the big
problem, as all had to be boiled before use, and it was always around midnight before we received
water and food at the end of a day’s solid march.
The day’s train travel was a relief, and we trained from Hintock to the end of the line. At Hintock wepicked up two other parties of H force, including the men we sent up from Tonchin some time earlier.
They had had a rough time, and all had lost weight. Alec Hutton had died (18 Aug 43). Bart
Richardson had a rotten ulcer, and Maurie Felsch was a shadow of his former self.
On the second last day we came over (straight over) a mountain and it nearly laid the lot of us out; forwith all our kit on we were practically exhausted. One of the B.O.R’s died on the track from cholera,and his was not the only dead body to be seen just off the track these days. Human life is as cheap as
it possibly can be especially among the coolies who are coming up in their thousands.
On 29th we arrived at our destination and had to hop in straight away to clear the jungle andundergrowth to make a camp. It was solid after what we had been through but it was done, and forthe following few days it was gradually improved upon. There was plenty of rain and mud, the meals
practically all rice, but this should improve as time goes on. I have a touch of beri-beri in the arms
and legs and also on the last few days a bout of malaria. Plenty of quinine keeps it down however.
September 1943
On about 15th of the month, John Tidby, an English lieutenant and I, moved in with our gear to a Jap
kitchen of all places, and for a time I was glad to have had the chance, for the beri-beri was rather bad
and I think would have been worse, if I had had to go out on the bridge building. The job itself kept
us going for at least 16 hrs. a day and the Nip was anything but decent. He had his moments however,
and a few presentos in the way of pomelo, cigs, biscuits etc. came our way once in a while. The food
was worse than we were receiving in camp, and in the five weeks that we were there, had fresh meatbut three times. The No. 2 Nip cook was a mental case and one had to watch him when he had his
moments. Each day we had half a dozen Indian coolies in to do the gathering of wood and water, but
on 17th they contracted cholera in their camp and so were replaced by P’s.O.W. On that day we also
had our first burial from this camp; an English lad with cerebral malaria.

Towards mid-September rumour was rife that we were all to travel south inside a month so I hope it isright, even Camburi would be welcome and Changi would seem like home. They can have this place
Thailand all to themselves. A batch of sick was evacuated to Camburi toward the end of the month.
October 1943
On October 3 the second sick batch went south and 70 odd replaced them on the 7 th. On the same day
I noticed my Omega was missing and felt certain which Nip had it. I kicked up a fuss and let it be
known that I would see their Officer if it did not turn up, and later that day this same fellow very
conveniently found it in a spot that I had searched well. I said no more about it for I was glad to get itback at all.
The monsoons seem to have finished and have had no rain. It is very hot and the river is so low thatthe barges cannot get up or down with supplies. This is bad luck for we received a well needed pay
on 11th of $30, a rise of $15, and now there is practically nothing to buy. On the 5 th, the railway went
through for the first time, so perhaps the stories of us going south are true, for they will not need us
here much longer now. Work on the railway has been rather speedo, but now has quietened down
considerably. By 22nd Jack and I were fed up and were replaced in the kitchen by O.R’s when we
moved back to the camp. We enjoyed a two day rest before going out on the road again and it was
lovely to just lie around and do nothing.
After this Tidby stayed in with bad legs and I joined Dowie’s (Don Dowie RAAF and post war tograduate as a doctor) parties out on the bridge. It was a real break and I almost enjoyed it. Work was
not too hard, the weather not too hot, and by 31st we had only half day to finish the thing off. We
were able to have a swim after work each day and that was a boon.
The 25th saw the arrival of Sept. pay, so I now have about $70 but there is nothing to buy; and am
hoping for the trip to Camburi in the near future. Rumours of a move are very strong but I doubt if
anyone knows when we are to move. On the same night a Dutch lad with his guitar, came into ourtent, and we had quite a musical evening.
November- 1943
As all the work on the line was now finished it was only a matter of when we moved; and on the 5 th
the first party left. We, the last party, left on 8th and had five kilos to walk to the siding, to which we
had to walk first with the heavy baggage and then return for our own. Train arrangements were bad(as usual) we finished up sleeping on the siding that night, and left the following day after fuelling andwatering a steam engine that had been lying there for weeks. Travelled slowly all the way down due
to danger of derailing, spent the first night at Consio (could be Kinsaiyok - about 170 Km from
Banpong), left shortly after daybreak and arrived at Camburi at 1 a.m. the following morning, hungry,
as we had only the one meal in the three days. We were met by trucks and run to the fit camp where
we stayed until 19th, and gorged ourselves on canteen goods. George Mansfield (could be VX63707
Lieutenant 8 Division Signals) and I spent $63 in that time, and to be able to eat plenty of fish, eggs
and fruit again was great. We received October pay.
On the 19th 500 of us left by train for Singapore, and great was the joy to be leaving Thailand. The
casualties had been tremendous, a list of “H” force dead at Camburi totalled nearly 900, which was
about one-third of the force. “F”. force casualties will be close to 2,000. For five days we lived on
the train, but it was a little more comfortable than the trip up as the weather was cool, and we had a lot
less kit. Eats became dearer as we came south, and the misery and lack of activity in Malaya wasmost apparent – no traffic on the roads, and the villages and kampongs very dead. A lot of new
ground had been opened up for the growing of padi and vegetables, but otherwise the country looked
the same.
Arrived Singapore at 6 p.m. Nov. 24th, transported by truck, not to Changi as we expected, but to thecamp at Syme Road which was quite good in spite of the bugs. Plenty of huts and well spaced, wecould move rather freely. We now had Italian prisoners quite close to us but, of course, had nocommunication with them.
After two days the second 500 arrived from Camburi, and on that day, 26 th, all officers weresegregated from the men, and we moved over to other huts about ¼ mile from the troops. This
compliance to International Law, after all this time, seemed strange, but it should be better. A
canteen, run by the Malays, came into being, but the prices were terrible, and I kicked myself hard for
not bringing more foodstuffs from Thailand. Eggs were 40 cents each instead of 10 or 8 cents.
Bananas 7 cents – 1 cent. Sugar $1.20 per lb. and Guala M. $1.60.
At the present time it looks as though we will not be working except for ourselves, we have to run a
pig farm, fowl run and vegetable gardens, so here’s hoping. It’s about time anyway. Sunday 28 th we
had Church parades, and we are settling down to yet another phase of P.O.W. life.
January, 1944
Another year has passed, and one wonders just how much longer it will be. I feel my poor old mothermust be feeling it, to say nothing of my Moira Helen. It is a lot harder for them.
Quite early this month mail arrived out from Changi, and I received only three, one each fromMother, Babe and Avon. They had taken up to 15 months to arrive, but were none the less welcome.
All were written August and Sept. 1942, but some were more fortunate than I, for some letters weredated as late as Jan. 1943.
The month has passed very quickly, and we are settled down nicely. The camp is now a few thousandstrong, due to more parties arriving down from Thailand. Some have gone straight to Changi, a lot
are still sick, but it appears all P’s.O.W. are to be out of Thailand by early New Year. I am having a
lot of trouble with inflammations on the body, due to blood disorder, but I suppose it will clear up oneof these days.
Early in the month we received 500 ducklings (day old) from the I.J.A. but they all died within a few
days. The chickens which arrived later are doing alright however. The garden also is taking shape.
On the 8th, the anniversary of the outbreak of war, all officers were paraded and listened to a talk by
the Japanese officer in charge of the camp. He appears to be not a bad sort, and has shown his
willingness to help us in many ways since we arrived. We also received our Nov. pay, $30, the sameday.
The following day, 9th, we were once more allowed a 24-word message to our next-of-kin, and one
wonders if they are arriving home O.K., and, if so, if they are any quicker than home letters to us. It
is hard to write 24 words when one could easily write as many thousands.
Things went smoothly and quietly, every p.m. free, until Xmas, and on the 25 th we had a really goodday. Tim Keagan and I had been brewing our liquor during the month, and had some good pineapple
wine during the day. We have a really first class cook in Lt. Cameron-Smith, and he and the cooks
did a great job. Xmas dinner at 6 p.m. was a revelation, considering our conditions. We had soup,
fish, meat, sweets (2), savouries and sweet coffee and milk. Ronnie Horner turned on a concert
during the afternoon which was quite good, and in the a.m. we went to church.
After our dinner, which was set outside and at which we were waited on by the batmen, we waited on
the boys while they had theirs, and as there was plenty over, they had a royal feed, and then started asing-song which continued for a few hours. Altogether a successful day, the rain, which is almost adaily affair, having held off.

My thoughts were very much of home during the day, especially early morning when I pictured thescene in the Wenborn’s front bedroom, and I would have given £’s to have been there. As for the
midday dinner, well!!
On the 28th we received Dec. pay, which is very prompt, let’s hope they keep it up. A Red Cross ship
is in, so in the New Year we are hoping for all kinds of good things in the edible line, to say nothingof drugs and hospital gear, which is badly needed.
Feb. 1st, 1944
Three years now since we left Bonegilla and said goodbye to everyone. Poor old Moira, it must be adarn sight longer for her than for me, for although it is very monotonous these days, at least I’ve had
experiences that helped pass the time earlier.
Well, our Red Cross ship did not turn up, or if it did, they are a long time getting goods to us, for wehave had nothing yet. Something must have arrived, however, for the Americans received theirsecond parcel a week or so ago. (As yet we have received no parcels).
The camp seems to be running fairly smoothly now in spite of it being very much over-organized.
Prices are very high in the canteen for the goods that we can buy, and when the Chinese New Yearcame round last month prices soared even higher. Ronnie Horner has a concert party under way andwe have a variety show every Saturday night. Props are the main trouble, but these will come I haveno doubt. Last Monday we had a musical with two very good pianists. Last night, Jan. 31 being
Princess Julianna’s birthday, the Dutch put on a concert after having had the day off. The “Flying
Dutchman” our cafeteria cum snack-bar, is well patronized and it is very pleasant to wander down
after check parade for coffee and what have you.
For the first couple of weeks I was working the mornings in the garden, but a double cyst that wasworrying me sent me over to Kevin Fagan (Medical Officer NX70643). He gave me a local and cut
them out at the same time opening a nasty boil in the middle of my back. Since then I have had aseries of boils and with the lack of supplies to dress them with, they are taking their time in healing. I
think they are on the mend now however and I won’t be sorry when all these small troubles come toan end. It is nearly all a matter of the blood being in such a filthy condition, which a run of good foodwould, I feel sure, clear up in no time.
The weather is very good, and in spite of the last two months being the wettest of the year normally,
we have had next to no rain. At the present time the moon is on the make, so each night after lights
out, Bob Bowman, Wally Cliff, Mick Waters, Sam Olsen and myself sit out on the veranda and yarn
till all hours. Every night I travel home and wonder how everyone is; and sometimes wish that “M”
could be here with me. Tropical nights certainly take a lot of beating, and now after nearly three years
even the climate generally seems really very good.
Lesley and Jean were both in my mind last month when their respective birthdays came round, andwith an ounce of luck I hope to be home for their next. What an experience it will be to get back. I
never get tired of thinking about it.
Rumours are rife in the camp re affairs in Europe. But it is very hard to know how much credence to
put on them. There is more mail in, however, which we should get shortly, and they are certainly
worth the waiting for, in spite of the fact that they take so long in arriving. Let’s hope these are more
recent.
Our pay arrived on the 28th, and very welcome too. A change this month, for we received the full $40
with no deductions for C.M.F., that source being now derived from officers’ bank balances. It is avery good idea, good for Col. Newey, for not only do we receive more as individuals, but the C.M.F.
receives nearly twice as much (some $8,000).

Educational classes are also starting up, languages mainly, and occasional evenings popular talks takeplace in various huts. Have had a good lecture by Wally Cliff on his P.O.W. experiences in Germany
1917-18, and Ron Wait last Wednesday on Japan. I personally have been filling in a lot of time
playing chess. Opponents are plenty for the Dutch are keen players.
Feb. 15 th, 1944
Two years P.O.W. , and it certainly does not seem so long. There is a great feeling of optimism
throughout the camp, due to all kinds of good tidings from the other side. Furphies are rife, and seemto emulate from things said and done from the Green House. Lord only knows if they are true. The
main thing to happen this month so far is a letter from Moira (No. 4). I was very pleased to see that it
was fairly recent, being written June 30, 1943, but why had they still not heard officially that I am
here? There is now a big gap in the letters, for none of my others were written later than Sept. 1942,
but they may yet turn up.
At long last I contacted Hector Cowell (a nephew of Mrs. Gillham), his cousin being at Blacka Mati.
H.C. is quite well, and we had quite a yarn one afternoon.
On the 8th I went down with malaria again, and this time had a proper go. Seven full days of aburning fever, sweats, rigors, and what have you, so that yesterday, when I could get up withoutnearly passing, I felt I was made. As it happened, yesterday was the day the eye specialists came overfrom Changi, so in the hopes of seeing Joe Vincent, I strolled over. He had not come out, however.
Called in at the M.I.R.(Medical Inspection Room) on the way back and had my back dressed, and it iscoming along no end. The Dr. also gave me 15 Atebrin to take for the malaria.
On 13th we signed the pay mandate for Feb., and were also given orders by the I.J.A. that all ranks had
to write an essay on one of various subjects, viz.,
Britain’s aim in the war
Experiences on first meeting the Japanese.
Point of view of war
Any battle in which a comrade was killed. And one or two others.
They are funny people. One never knows what to expect next. Some of these essays will be funny, I
bet.
Feb. 16 th
Have just finished a beautiful meal – very tasty. Due, no doubt, to the percentage of meat that weseem to be getting these days – even a few ounces per person makes all the difference. Feeling awhole lot better today, the fever seems to be gone, and my back is just about right again. Boughtsome sugar, $2 lb. Prices are terribly high. Last night I received a note from Major Glyn White at
Changi. I would like to get out there for a few days and see a few of my friends again.
Today I took delivery of an oil colouring picture of Moira which I had done by one of the boys, andwhich he took from a couple of snaps which I have had all along. It is very good considering. At firstI thought it rather severe, and made you look a little old, Babe dear, but after a while it did not seemso bad at all.
Thurs. 17th
Listened to a very interesting lecture last night by Ken Luke, a F.M.S.V.F.(Federated Malay States
Volunteer Forces), on an experience he had when a ship on which he was travelling to England on
leave last Feb., 1941, was sunk in the Atlantic. Canteen prices are getting worse, and today had topay 50 cents lb. for bananas and 45 cents pipe tobacco. Our pay will not be much good to us shortly.
Sunday 20th
A wet Sunday afternoon, and doing little else but sleep. I spent the a.m. making up a frame to takeBabe’s picture, using the celluloid from my cap as a glass front. It really looks very good now, and I
like it a lot. Yesterday I had my shorts and jacket repaired and patched so am set up for clothes once

again. Have just finished reading “Insanity Fair”; but much prefer “Inside Europe”. After reading
such books there is no doubt that our own country is something to fight and stick up for. Hungry as alion these days, and the appetite never seems to be satisfied.
Monday 21st
Today I went down to the garden to do a little work, this being the first time for some five weeks. I
was cleared from the Dr., and I’m hoping it will be the last time I have to see him. Still receiving
dressings for my back, however. Was so hungry by 4 p.m. that I went down to the Flying Dutchmanand spent a half dollar on myself. So nearly broke now that I’m dwelling on pay day. Ralph Sparkapproached me today re taking the job of welfare officer for No. 6 Area, but after thinking it over, I
refused it. I don’t feel like going back to living with the medical profession again. The nights underthese black-out conditions are terrible, there being little else to do but think of home and when we areto get out of this, and although this is pleasant in some respects, it makes one very discontented, andtime seems to hang so.
Wed. 23 rd
It has been raining most of the afternoon and evening, and so the check roll-call was cancelled. Spentthe evening listening to a very interesting talk by Lt. Kompe on a trip he did through the Sikkim
Himalayas. He is a geologist in civil life. Had a great feed tonight as I got among the lagis, and forthe first time in days felt satisfied after a meal. It appears from the Shonan Shimbun of recent date,seen by one of the Dutch officers, that activity is now around the Carolines as well as the Marshalls sothat is good. Prof. Roberts’ show, “Cinderella and the Magic Soy Bean”, commenced last night at the
new Barn Theatre and is quite successful. I will see it before Saturday, as that is the last day.
Friday 25 thNothing out of the ordinary the last few days. Very wet, rain every afternoon and night. Was
stranded at the Flying Dutchman this afternoon on account of rain, and it cost me 45 cents for eats.
Purchased a season ticket for the theatre (1 dol. for ten shows). Unfounded rumours are flying thickand fast, dealing mainly with a move of P’s.O.W. to various places such as Japan, Africa, SouthAmerica, etc. The funny thing is that people believe them. Walked up with Tim Keegan, and had ayarn with Harry Bowell of the Indian Army Ordnance Corps.
Sunday 27th
Last night being the last night of “Cinderella” I went along and enjoyed it. An absolute burlesque, themain theme being the same, but characters such as the King of Camburi, Groucho Marx, Hitler’s
Brown shirts, etc., being brought into it. It filled in the night very well. Today I went to church, thefirst time for weeks (Moira will be very surprised when she hears of all these church-goings, I guess),
and after lunch passaged down to the Flying Dutchman to take part in a simultaneous chess match.
Two Dutchmen, Lts. Smitts and Van Koorst, each took on twelve players and they did fairly well,
Smitts being the better. I was one of the 12 playing Smitts, and forcing him to resign quite early. I sat
on for a couple of hours watching the other games. An interesting afternoon. Went down after messagain to see the drawing of a raffle that was run for a set of chess pieces and which were hand-carved
by one of our sappers. I was not the lucky winner, however. Had a snack, and returned to the hut toread. Pay day tomorrow, I hope.
Tues. 29th
Another month gone, and time going very quickly. Yesterday, by way of a surprise, a quantity ofAmerican Red Cross supplies arrived in camp, and was distributed today. The Americans here were
given one parcel each, and the rest divided. It was mainly food stuffs, milk and Vitamin C tabs and a
few other items went direct to the hospital, and most of the rest we voted to our cook-houses so that
we should have more tasty meals for the next few days. Such items as cigarettes, chocolate andbutter, we took as individual issues. The taste of a good cigarette again, oh boy! Have smoked halfalready. This evening our pay arrived, so if anything comes into the canteen, will be OK again for a
few weeks. Unluckily, due to lack of firewood, the Dutchman cannot make anything to eat. All we
can get now is coffee without sugar, and tea. This, we hope, is only temporary.

Wed. 1st March 1944
After tiffin we drew our individual ration of chocolate and soap from the Red Cross, and theexcitement it caused was rather strange. Everyone laughing and talking, and perhaps an outsider
would consider it childish to become excited over such a small thing. It was, I suppose, a
psychological reaction on coming in contact once again with the outside world. Anyhow, the taste ofchocolate once more was a pleasant experience. Being Wednesday, we had a lecture in the hut, thistime by a Dutch Dr. Betes. This afternoon I went down to the canteen to purchase sugar and peanuts prices are terrible.
Friday 3 rd
Getting plenty of rain, usually every afternoon, and the garden is looking well. Played solo last
evening, and all finished fairly even, lost only 8 cents.
A big squabble is in progress at present. Although we, as officers, increased our donations to CM.F.
by some $4,000, it is being spent in a little over half the month, and it looks now as though they aregoing to come on us for at least another $4,000 per month, Roly Oakes taking a dictatorial attitude,
which quite a lot do not appreciate. Big meeting of representative officers due on Sunday.
Personally, I hope to see quite a few changes, both in the purchasing and administrative directions.
The best thing for the whole camp would be if all these spare Lieutenant Colonels were sent off toChangi, and left Col. Newey to administer the camp without the underlying enmity of the others. It israther amusing to see how these so-called seniors carry on. The day brightened at our evening meal,
however, when Bob Hughes did a really good job, and we had a particularly tasty meal. Two or threeof our Red Cross items had been included and it made all the difference, (cheese, coffee, bully beef).
Yesterday I played my first game of chess against Smits in a small tournament we arranged between
six of us, and he beat me after a fairly good game. They are all good players so I do not expect to getvery far.
Sunday 5 th
A quiet afternoon – have just finished reading a book and as they are as scarce as anything else, it ishard to find something to read. Food supplies are also getting worse, and one has to queue up thesedays if one expects to get anything. This morning I took along a book and waited an hour before
opening and all I could buy was one packet of cigars and 1 lb. of bananas. Spent last night at the“Barn” and saw a really first class show in “Man of Destiny” a short play written by G.B.S. Onceagain the moon is on the make, so we are often up till all hours yarning in the white moon light.
Wednesday 8th
Have done very little since Sunday. The weather is beautiful and I really enjoy the couple of hours
work in the garden. Played solo on Monday and Tuesday nights – having a bad night on Monday, butlast eve took Ben Olson’s place at 10 o’clock, and by lights out had most of it back. The lecture
tonight is on the Battle of Britain by some Flt. Sgt. so should be interesting. Today I finished readinga book “Love in the Sun”, and enjoyed it no end, probably because it reminded me so much of Moira
Helen. A better book than the title suggests.
Saturday 11 th
To the “Barn” last night for the Variety Show, but most of it was old stuff and not too good. Played
chess on different days during the week, beating Alan Carthew and Sweep (Dutch), and being beaten
by Peter Brotchie. The camp is a hive of industry these days for, beside the main gardens, everybody,
including O.R’s, are hard at work on private ones. Personally I’m too lazy, or is it that I think we may
not be here by the time they are ready to crop. Have been thinking of investing in a couple of ducks(an egg or two would be very welcome), but $15 to $20 is a little steep, even week old chicks are at$2.50.

Sunday 12thWell, I spent a very pleasant, although expensive, day today. Morning quiet, but in the p.m. played ina “gong” chess match at the “Dutchman”. We had 24 players, knock-out and ten seconds a move.
Smits won eventually from Van Voorst, and so won a bottle of camp brewed gin and a tart. Second
prize was a bottle of ditto wine, and Brotchie, third, won ten free cups of coffee at the “Dutchman”. I
got as far as the second round only. Played solo in the evening, trying to win back the money I had
spent in eats during the afternoon. The Syme Road Turf Club ran a book on the tournament, and thefellow I booked would have paid $7.60 if he had won.
Thursday 16 th
We have had no rain for days now, and the garden soil, being mainly clay, is now set hard, and a fairterror to work. Have had the electricians in, so now have the fans working as well as lights. Light isstill a problem though, as globes (if obtainable) are $15 to $20 per. I came up from the garden on
Tuesday feeling OK, but within ¼ hour went down with another bout of malaria (6th attack). It
certainly takes on suddenly. Ran a temp for the rest of the day, and sweated nearly all night, and all
the time had a vicious headache. Don’t feel so bad today, but still light-headed. Ferguson was tohave given a lecture last night on the bagpipe, but nobody turned up, so we had a discussion on postwar problems until lights out. Orchids are in full bloom again, and there is a large bunch on the tablein front of me now.
Saturday 18 th
The fever is on the wane once more, but have had headaches and light-headedness still. Yesterday alarge parade was called for a new Japanese General who came to inspect the camp. Gave the usual
short speech about mutual co-operation. The lads had 3½ hours standing in a very hot sun, but, lucky
Ronald, my waning fever prevented me from making a personal appearance. Tonight I’ll be off to see“Journey’s End”, at the “Barn”, and, by all accounts, it is very good. Sugar has gone up to $3.20 perlb., and weed to 75 cents. It won’t be long now.
Tuesday 21st
One week to pay day, thank goodness. I’m nearly broke. Last Saturday’s show was really good.
Spent all Sunday afternoon and night playing solo – lost $1.30. Played again tonight with Ralph
Spark, Micky and Le Vine and lost another $1. I’m getting as bad as Moira H. at gambling. PlayedPeter chess (ladder) and he won.
Thursday 22 nd
Tonight I went for a walk to No. 6 Area to see Alex Galvin. He is set for Changi within the next few
days. Called in at the “Dutchman” going, and coming, and spent a few of my last cents. Last night
listened to a lecture on oil by Lt. Kompe, but as he tried to cover too much ground, it was not sointeresting.
Sunday 26th
Went on weekly visit to the “Barn” and saw a first-class vaudeville show, “Rag Bag Revue”. Today
we signed pay sheets because of the new idea of the I.J.A. Apparently the fact that we officers arepaying some $8,000 per month to C.M.F. is considered an insult to the normal rations, so that now it
seems we will not be allowed to pay anything in this respect. Also Hut 44 has to be vacated to allow
more I.J.A. guards in. Perhaps this is a good sign. I’m playing rotten chess lately – lost a laddergame to Vern Carn on Friday and only just managed to win from Judge Bidulph ce soir.
Friday 31st
Pay arrived promptly on the 28th, and as usual was very welcome. True to form our “seniors”
deducted $10 and $5. This time for canteen capital. However, this time it is only on loan. Went
down to the “Dutchman” with “Taffy” Jones in the evening, and succeeded in lowering quite a few
trilets (cakes). Yesterday we had another visit from the I.J.A. General i/c when everybody had to beworking, etc. A few of us were in the hut, however, when he came in. Questioned Willie Easen andthe Judge about our rations and treatment in Thailand, etc. etc. During the afternoon I went downwith another dose of Malaria, but this morning I feel not too bad.
The digging of beds for the planting of castor oil seeds has started. (Every man has to plant 2 seeds
and maintain them). At 2 p.m. we are expecting a batch of Italian prisoners in, and this time they will
be close to us, and a mingling of the clans will be permitted.
April, Saturday 1st
Five years ago tonight, and somehow or other I seem to recall a nice warm evening on the bench at
Middle Brighton, and if I could only be suddenly transported there again, I guess I’d do exactly thesame again. This year though I’ll be sitting in the “Barn” seeing a play called “Hope”.
Yesterday some 16 Italians moved in to Hut 2, and this time were allowed to mix with us and appear
on our roll-call parades. They are all naval people and looked quite smart and clean in their “whites”.
So very different from our lads after two years and Thailand thrown in for good measure. They are
joining our Mess and have already contributed a supply of their tinned rations. N.S.B.
Tuesday 4 thAfter five days my 7th Malaria attack seems to be broken –have lost quite a little weight again, butwill soon put it back I hope. I was disappointed at having to miss last Saturday’s play “Rope”. Was
rotten with fever instead, so had a pleasant anniversary of our engagement. Yesterday we had anothercollect for the kids in the jail, and raised quite a few dollars. I hope it does them some good, poor
devils! It is bad enough us being shut away for years, but why it is necessary to lock children (newborn and otherwise) up in a jail is beyond me. There is something wrong with the world when things
like that are allowed to happen. A new work party of 6 officers and 200 men went out for the firsttime day.
Good Friday, 7 th
I was thinking a lot of all at home on Wednesday, being the birthday of the Omega, Mother’s birthday
and Avon’s wedding anniversary. Listened to a lecture in the evening on “Tibet” by Maj. Cable
I.A.O.C.(probably Indian Army Ordnance Corps). Yesterday Bob Bowmen had an audition for one of
our shows and will play the hostess of an In, in a play now in rehearsal. He is being barracked no end.
All work parties are having a holiday today, and there are no roll calls. Of the two work parties thatgo out daily, one lot is working at Krangi off loading stores, and the other is at the station, handlingtin and other metals, so evidently the I.J.A. is getting as much from the country as they can still.
Sunday 9 th
Easter is over one again for us. Work parties are out again tomorrow after a holiday on Friday andtoday. I went to Kirk both days, and tomorrow will start in the garden after my last malaria. On
Saturday we had a proper “Sumatra”, and boy, it was cold! Spent most of the day under my net. In
the evening saw another good show at the “Barn” in “Music Thro’ the Years”. Bruno brought insome good stuff last night. Finns finished? Ninety thousand?
Wednesday 12 thAnother Sumatra today – cold as the devil. Yesterday saw the segregation of the various areas, andwe now parade at the “Dutchman”, and orders and numbers are in Japanese. In the near future a partyof 1,000 is supposed to be leaving here to work somewhere or other, and the “bore-hole” is that whenthe men are gone the officers will be shifted “Somewhere overlooking the Sea”. Wally Cliff’s
birthday.
Monday 17 th
Beautiful thunderstorm at present. Have been a daily event for the last few days. More rain falls in
one shower than would in 6 months at home. Went to the “Barn” on Saturday to see “Nuts andWine”, and liked it not very much. The rumours of 1,000 party a week or so ago appears to be true
although it is not known for what or where. The O.R.’s appear to be for Changi, and the Officers

(200) sometime after, but our destination is as yet unknown. Personally I don’t mind whether I go or
stay, but as only the fit are to go, it makes one wonder if it be a work party or not.
Thursday 20th
On Tuesday I went down with another dose of malaria (my 9th). Was playing Dr. Bates a ladder gameof chess when it came on. Dr. Dixon came up after roll call and decided the best thing was for me to
go to hospital and receive a proper treatment course. Moved over to hospital on Wednesday morning,and on Thursday received an intramuscular injection of quinine. In the same ward was Judge
Bidulph, Tony Trench, Bowring, Wisdom, Dudgeon, Bateman and Maj. Davis, so we were quite
happy. A party of 700 for Changi was to leave today, but was cancelled, and as far as we know there
is a similar number due in from Thailand with some infectious disease.
Saturday 22 nd
A party of 700 other ranks left for Changi today and were replaced by a similar number of light duty
personnel. Officers had to go out on wood trailers to make up the numbers. Yesterday we had our
first meal of maize meal which is to take the place of soya bean. Meals here in the hospital leave
much to be desired, and I’ll be glad to get back to the lines again, which should be in a day or so now.
Will go to the show tonight to see “Bird in Hand”, where Bob Bowman and Doug Forbes make theirdebut.
Tuesday 25 th
Anzac Day and the Japs have given the A.I.F. a half holiday. This day last year in Changi, Blackjack
all but promised the boys that they would be home by this time this year. Returned to hut 8 from
hospital yesterday and glad to be back to the better cooking. I feel OK but the treatment there waslittle better than if I had not gone in. Rumour last night (and it seems it may be true) is that within
fourteen days we will be changing places with the civilians in the Changi Gaol. Not a very brightprospect but if it is the only means of the women and kids there getting even to here, where there ismore freedom, then I won’t mind so much. Two years in a place like that must be warping those kids’
minds no end. We are led to believe there are twenty bags of mail for the A.I.F. in Changi – hope it istrue.
Thursday 27 th
Preparations are in full swing for our change over. Tents are being erected in ‘6’ area and high fences
are going up throughout the camp separating the various areas. Pleasant weather and I am feeling fit
again, but as we are expecting to have to give up the garden in a day or so I decided not to go down
and work but to have a rest in the hope that the malaria will not return. Last night listened to aninteresting talk by Major Harrison, British M.P., on “Twenty one years of British Politics”. Pay due
tomorrow, and as usual am broke to the wide.
Monday May 1st
Another month and the air is alive. It has just come in that we are to be ready to move at a moment’s
notice to Curran Camp as a prelude to going to Japan. Actually everything was teed up for us to moveon the 28th April, and we actually did move from out huts to another area, but no sooner had we
moved than the order was rescinded, and we dragged everything back to our hut 8 again where we areat the moment. Civilian internees arrived here from the jail this a.m. so it really looks as though amove for us is imminent. Pay arrived on time, and once again we had a subscription for the kids at
the jail. I have had a nasty cold for the last few days. Today it is a little better, but I still have a nasty
sore on my heel to keep me going. Sometimes I wonder if there is any end to all these complaints, as
I seem to have had a moan practically continuous for 11 months now. I am properly fed up and will
be darn glad when it is all over, and even that seems as far away as ever.
Wednesday 3 rd
We moved on the afternoon of the 1st, but only to another Hut 41, where we are now cooped up likefowls. The male civilians have arrived, but as yet no women. We are due to go to Changi any day, so
our cramped quarters are only temporary.

Friday 5 th
We moved from Syme Road this morning, and by 11 a.m. we were in our new quarters, this time right
into the Changi jail, behind the bars. The civilians are still coming into Syme Road, the women andkids being still here. I have a berth in one of the hospital blocks, and it is N.T.B. We believe that thisis also temporary, as the officers will probably be housed just outside the jail wall shortly, leaving thisto the O.R.’s. Guess if one is here for long a short stretch once in a while when one gets home will bechild’s play.
Sunday 7 thThings are still at sixes and sevens, but slowly settling down. The women and kids in the other half ofthe jail began moving yesterday, and from one second floor building in our block, we can look over
into their yard. It was good to be able to just see them for none of us had as much as seen white
people for so long. They looked well, but it is hell to think of them having been cooped up here forover two years. Our messing is sadly lacking in bulk, the meals to date being a pap for breakfast, avery watery stew or soup and rice for the other two meals. A little meat in the soup makes it tasty,
however. Blackjack and others from Changi were in for a look around yesterday, as all the people
from there are supposed to be moving in before the 20th. Officers went out into the gardens for the
first time yesterday, and also a canteen was started up. Only cigars and smokes are available, andprices are scandalous. I played a modified game of pontoon on Friday night, and won $5.
Wednesday 10 th
At 10 a.m. yesterday we were suddenly told to be ready to leave for Selarang by 2.30 p.m., and about
3.30 p.m. 180 officers moved over and a large number of O.R.’s replaced us. It was for all the world
like returning home to be able, after just on 12 months, to see and speak to all again. I returned to theCon. Depot, and all is altered here now, as everybody is in this area together. I saw Joe Vincent for a
few minutes, and after a good meal saw quite a lot of the 2/9th N.C.O’s. Walked with Harold, andlistened to the music at the Con. Depot for a while.
Thursday 11 th
A bright day today, a letter and a photo from Babe. The fact that the letter was 20 months old did notseem to matter much, and never was I so pleased about a photo. Just to see familiar faces was a tonic,
and I could not stop looking at it. I like the new swim suit. Spent yesterday looking up old friends,
including a few in hospital, and after the evening meal walked over to 2/26 Bn. and said “Hello” tothe boys there. All of them came through Thailand OK. Listened to music at the Y.M.C.A. later, but
can ’t say I am over keen on the latest jazz stuff from America.
Sunday 14th
Spending a nice, quiet lazy life here at the Con. Depot. Up on the roof sun bathing quite a lot, andstill meeting old friends. Max Winchester (NX76610 Dentist) and I went for a long walk last night,
saw Scotty Uroe, and then went up to the A.G.H. mess, listened to some gramophone music, and had
a yarn to Charles Huxtable (Medical Officer).
Wednesday 17 th
One year today since we left for Thailand, and it is good to think that that is behind us. In themeantime I am having a good old rest, spending a lot of time on the roof sub-bathing and feeling very
fit. Meals are a bit light, and I am always hungry, so if I had the cash I would be into some of thesefowls and ducks that the people who remained here seem to have plenty of, and boy, did they stick tothem. Weighed myself yesterday, 13½ stone, so I am keeping much the same. A further 18 bags ofmail in, and distribution has commenced. As yet have had no luck. Have seen Ted a few times, andam going over to their quarters to listen to a lecture tonight. He is going to Krangi when the hospitalmoves next week.
Sunday 21st
I had a very quiet birthday yesterday, being without money could not even have a cigar. There arecertain to be some big celebrations made up when we get out of this mess. Spent most of the day onthe roof, and after dinner went up and had a yarn with Bernie Quirk. He looked well and just thesame. I just missed two birthday presents, which, however, arrived today. No. It was Babe’s January’43 letter, and a very bright spot it was too. She had just heard after 11 months that we were OK
which possibly made her write in a more light-hearted vein. My second present was another dose ofthis blasted malaria, after I thought I had tossed it.
Monday 22 nd
Received another letter from Moira Helen today, my seventh, dated August ’43, and glad to know all
is still well especially as Max Winchester, after waiting over two years, had word that his child wasstillborn, and nearly lost his wife. I am glad now that we decided the way we did. Malaria not too
bad today, but sweated gently all day, and had the usual vicious headache.
Thursday 25 th
As Moira says in her last few letters, time is flying, and nearly another month is gone. All Selarang isa hive of industry these days, buildings being pulled down and carted piecemeal by trailers to the jailarea, there to be rebuilt. Permanent buildings are slowly emptying of furniture, beds, etc., and being
dumped at the jail. Personnel are starting their packing in preparation for our move back there, andsome of those officers and men who have never left Changi had everything but the kitchen sink. My
bout of malaria seems to be OK today, thank goodness. Had a good day yesterday, received anothertwo letters from M.H. (her Feb. and March ’43 letters), and like her January one were very bright.
Reading between the lines of those three letters it is easy for me to see a very relieved mind, after
having had to wait for so long for news of my whereabouts, etc. I only hope that it is not true thatnews arrived home re the horrible thing that was Thailand, for that would start the anxiety over again.
I have been toying with the idea for a holiday for us both when I get home, and, Moira willing, had
decided on the Barrier Reef. Speaking to Ted yesterday, he happened to mention a holiday forhimself and Thel and he has the same idea for a holiday as I have.
Friday 26 th
Col. Webster left today for Krangi as C.O. of the hospital to be established there. I received what I
think will be the last letter of this batch, a very nice Dec. ’42 letter from Moira. Strange that all letters
received this time were from her, and none from either Mother or Avon.
Saturday 27 thContrary to my forecast of yesterday, I received two more letters from Moira today. These were Oct.
and Nov. ’42, and so filled another two gaps, a photograph (they are worth a whole letter). I havenever seen a better photo of Babe, it is great to see familiar faces. A nice hot day and I spent a few
hours on the roof sunning the body. Later in the day we received May pay, $24, compared to $40 in
Syme Road last pay. Further movement to Krangi has ceased until further notice. These fellows are
the limit, they never seem to know what they are doing from one moment to the next.
Monday 29 thThings are all upside down, the whole place is disintegrating. During the last couple of days about
100 truck loads of personnel and gear have gone to Krangi, a whole heap move to the jail, and it looks
as though only the A.M.C. details will be left here in a few days. I was given a job today by Col
H.F.Summons., who is o/c, as Coy. Cond. to move 150 unfit British O.R.’s. This means I will not begoing to the jail until the hospital moves, and that suits me.
June 2nd
All who are going to the jail have now gone, and we who are left (i.e. the hospital and non-comb s.
1600) are now in the barrack square, and wired in. Things generally are very quiet after all the
movement.
June 3rd
Our now small mess of nine is functioning very well and new cooks in makes all the difference.
Tonight, it being a meat day, we had what very nearly approached a civilized meal. Soup, a slice ofroast meat, baked vegs., boiled greens, boiled rice pudding and sauce, pineapple and tart. I had notseen a slice of roast meat since July last in Thailand. In the evening listened to recorded music.
Friday 9 thEverything sliding along nicely these days – very quiet and nothing much doing, but that is just how I
like it. We were beginning to think that we would not be moved to the jail by the 15 th, but yesterday
the Japs reaffirmed it. As yet they are far from being ready down there though. Have played a few
games of bridge lately with Reg. Hill R.A.O.C. and last evening played him chess. Had a hot bathyesterday (scabies) my first since 1941. Today we heard what we have been waiting three years tohear. Published in the Shimbun a brief account of the invasion forces in France. God speed them. I
hope it means the shortening of our stay here, and that we may be home again in the not too far distantfuture. Another bout of malaria.
Monday 12 th
I have had a lousy three days with the fever, and as I have not had a rigor today it seems as though I
may be finished with it for another couple of weeks. Feel very weak at the moment though. Joe
Vincent took the first batch of sick to the jail today so it looks as though the move is on. Have had nofurther news of Europe, but I would give £’s for the Melbourne Herald for the next week or so. I
certainly hope they are doing alright. Since hearing of the landing Helen darling, you seem nearer tome than you have for a few years.
Tuesday 13 th
Received word that I move with most of the Coy of B.O.R’s to the jail tomorrow a.m. Reg. Farndon
goes as well. Guess I don’t mind very much but I would have liked a couple more days to get overthis bout of malaria. Swallowed one of my gold fillings yesterday, hope it is not too rich for me.
Thursday 15 th
At last now everyone is out of Selarang and either settled or settling in the jail area. Once again I’ve
fallen on my feet and have quarters in a room of a concrete building, electric light, tiled floors and allmod. cons. There only three such buildings, the rest being long atap roofed huts. Went back to thesquare today to fetch down 250 O.R’s. Everyone working flat out to get the job of moving finishedby tonight. Everything is upside down here of course but will soon straighten out.
Tuesday 20 th
All are settling in nicely and things are pretty quiet. The drome parties are going out each day butotherwise all men are at work about the camp. Have played a couple of games of bridge. Saw Maj.
Clarke (QX22806) yesterday re my skin trouble and he said that he would put me into hospital for
proper treatment when he gets his ward going. I certainly hope the M. & B’s and violet ray treatment
has the desired effect.
Saturday 24 thWork around the camp is progressing slowly these days, otherwise it is very quiet. On Thursday eve
Joe V., Bill Scollin , Reg Farndon and I went and listened to a talk by Lt. Col. Dillon (British Officer)on the Official Escape Party, and their experiences, and it was very interesting. Last night played
Mahjong with the lads over in the lines. The mess here is terrible, I doubt if I’ve been in a worse, andI have been hungry for days. Let’s hope it improves soon.
Wednesday 28 th
For the first time since we became P’s.O.W. we today had some excitement and it gave us our firstconcrete evidence that there is a war on, for this afternoon a party (mainly Dutch) were brought insuffering from various types of wounds, etc. They were part of a boat load of P’s.O.W. beingtransported from Madang, Sumatra, to here, and had the misfortune to be torpedoed by one of our
submarines. It was darn bad luck, but at least we know that our boats are on the job in these waters.
At the moment Bert Nairn (WX11168) and Kev Fagan are flat out in the operating theatre. Pay day

tomorrow, and once again not before it is wanted. Our mess is still a minus number, but is a little
improved in the bulk line.
July 44– Sunday 22ndWell, Llew’s and Avon’s birthdays have come and gone once more, and I celebrated Avon’s bygetting another relapse of this cursed malaria. I had a terrific sweat last night, but today feel a little
better although washed out.
Monday 3 rd
I heard today that there was another large batch of mail in again, which is very good news indeed.
Wish I had them now, as I feel I need something cheering, as I’ve felt lousy all day with the fever.
Tinea and other skin trouble has been worrying me for some days, so tomorrow I go to hospital where
I hope to get some better treatment. God knows it is long overdue – in the form of marmite andperhaps if Maj. Clark is prepared to give me his promised treatment, then a course of sulphanilamide
may also be forthcoming. Reg Hill was up to see me tonight, and he is kept busy with the boiler at thejail.
Thursday 6 th
Have been in hospital for a couple of days, and the fever has gone again, and I’m on marmite and ricepolishing for the S. It is very sore at nights for some reason, and the last two nights I’ve slept but
little. They have started to sort the mail, whacco!
Monday 10 th
Still in hospital, and the tinea is not much better, so I’m spending a very quiet life just lying about.
Thursday 13 th
Had the sirens wailing last night, so we were left in the dark from 9.30 p.m. We don’t know whether
it was a try-out or genuine, but hope for the latter. After a week in hospital, am beginning to get used
to the lazy life. Played chess nearly all afternoon with Alan Collins, 5th Norfolks.
Sunday 16th
Life these days is very quiet, just lying in hospital, but had a slight diversion last night when first
McIntyre R.A.F., who is very weak with fever, fainted whilst using the bottle and spread-eagled
himself on the floor spilling the contents of the bottle over the patient in the next bed. Meanwhile, anasthmatic was causing the Dr. a certain amount of anxiety, and was wheezing like a broken down
horse. Quite a little excitement! Last Thursday night I sneaked out to a concert and enjoyed it. Mailis being distributed daily after Jap censoring, but as yet have received none. It looks very much as
though Avon and Mother had ceased writing. I guess the family is too keen to do the right thing, asothers have received around 100 letters.
Tuesday 18 th
For two days now I have been receiving ultra-violet rays on the skin, and should see improvement in a
day or so. We were to have received a visit from the Jap general today but he did not turn up. Instead
I received a very pleasant surprise by getting a letter from Auntie Vone, undated, but as she
mentioned Babe’s holiday at Macedon, I guess it was written late in 1942. Incidentally, it was thefirst I knew of Moira being at Macedon for, although she told me of her holiday, I did not know
where. Plenty of optimism amongst the crowd these days again, probably all false though.
Wednesday 19 th
Two very pleasant surprises in the form of two more letters, both from Moira Helen, her April andMay 1943 letters, and they fill up the gaps to August 1943, with the exception of July. How I could
use the hamper mentioned in the May letter. Have been continually hungry for weeks.

Sunday 23 rd
For the life of me I cannot remember whether Babe’s birthday is today or the 21 st, but Many Happies
whichever the day, dear. How I wish I was home to do something about it! Will be next year though.
Believe there has been a change in the Jap cabinet, which is possibly a good sign. Yesterday I moved
upstairs to allow Bob Kelsey (QX6461) to take my bed. He is back again with his leg. Played
Mahjong with Bowman, Collins and Morelles, and then went down with yet another bout of malaria,
which was not so bad this time although the temperature was 103. Had a good meal too, which I had
to give away. Col. Newey has taken over representative officer from B.J., which I think may be agood move. He inspected the hospital today. Had a swine of a day – malaria.
Wednesday 26 th
At last this attack of malaria has lifted, left me as weak as a kitten, a really bad relapse this time. Hada yarn to Maj. Cameron this morning, however, and this time he is going to give me an extended
progressive course of atebrin. Perhaps that will fix this thing until I get home which, we believe, may
not be too long.
Later – Have just received Moira’s July ’43 letter, and Dec. ’43 card. They certainly lift one out ofthe dumps. The letter was the only one I required to complete the sequence, so now have all lettersfrom July ’43 to Aug. ’43, when, as far as we can gather, letters were replaced by cards. I echo yourhope, dear, that I am home for all next year’s birthdays and anniversaries.
Saturday 29 thBoy, am I happy, have just received another 30-word letter from the one and only dated Nov. ’43, andit contained a wonderful snap. They are worth ten times their weight in gold. I liked it a lot, so muchso that I showed it round the ward and Maj. Arthur Home (WX11151) made the remark “How funny
it was that girl like that could marry a fellow like me”. I quite agree, it certainly is one of the world’s
wonders. Am going down to listen to a debate tonight. W.O. Williams, 2 Con. Depot, died yesterday
and was buried today. Dysentery, poor fellow, and it is bad luck to go out now that things seem to belooking up, as they are.
Monday 31st
Left hospital yesterday and we moved to a hut. It is quite a fair billet. Received 32 tabs Atebrin today
to last me for two months. Went for a swim, was in charge of 300 men. Received a message from
H.F.Summons (H.H.S.) just now to take charge again tomorrow. Not so good.
Wednesday August 2 nd
I wonder where Dud had his birthday this year. Hope it was not New Guinea. I went swimming
again yesterday, and it was quite good in spite of the mud bottom and tepid water. Having no swim
suit it makes quite a sight to see the first rush for the water of some 400 to 500 bare tails. Saw Maj.
Clark when I returned, and he has given me pills to take for my back. Mess meeting after lunch, andLieutenants. now pay $5 mess fees in lieu of$6.20. This will help a lot. With a few others I havespeculated in a sitting of eggs, and hope to hatch out a few birds. It means six months before we reap
eggs, so I hope we are not too pessimistic, or optimistic as the case may be.
Friday 4 th
I have fallen for the job of O.C. bathing parades for officers and O.R.’s of this group. Was definitely
detailed this morning by H.F.S. and Glyn White, so it looks like a daily swim, except Wednesday and
Sunday, for me. Today we caught countless whitebait at the water’s edge, so will have quite a feed
tonight. Played contract last night with Capts. Fonk, Wilkinson and Hill. Do a spot of gardening eachday and feel rather fit again.
Tuesday 8th
Listened to an orchestral concert last night, and it was an excellent performance, just on 30 pieces andthey are good. The weather is very hot these days, and am making the most of them by almost livingin the sun, either gardening or swimming, and am feeling the benefit.

Thursday 10 th
Celebrated our 4th anniversary today by sending off my fourth card home. Would not be at all
surprised if I am home before it. It rained nearly all day, cancelling the swim parade, our first goodrain for weeks. I went to the Road Show last night, and tonight Reg Hill will be up for bridge.
Sunday 13th
Have had a sore throat the last few days, and by yesterday it developed into a beautiful cold. Stayed
in bed today and feel a lot better for it. Tonight I received a 30-word card from Avon dated Dec. ’43,
and more or less surprised to hear that Shirley was to be married in the New Year. I hope not too
many more decide the same way, as I would like to be home for them. Really thought I would haveheard of Les before Shirl. Making another effort to give up smoking as everything is getting so dear,
and one just can’t afford it – cigars 20 cents each, Java tobacco $2 an ounce.
Thursday 17th
The no-smoking idea is working well, and I don’t miss them so much. Played McIntyre chess in his
quarters the other night, and last night listened to a quiz between a team of British and one ofAustralians. The rain drove us out before it was finished. During the afternoon a cricket match
between England and Australia was held on the padang, and the Australians won by a few wickets.
Was to collect a hen from Joe Vincent to sit on eggs for us last night, but she had gone off the broodapparently. They are very hard to get.
Saturday 19 th
George Marsh secured another hen, and we should set hen with 15 tonight. In the meantime our firstbrood have hatched, and this morning the first seven chicks were there. Even hatching chickens is
excitement these days. Am still taking the swimming parades, and do gardening for exercise andworms in the meantime. Jerry Veitch and five O.R’s of the anti-malarial squad poisoned themselves a
couple of days ago by eating a type of castor-oil nut, but luckily they got over it O.K.
Monday 21st
Last Saturday night went to a very good entertainment in “News of the World Magazine”, in which
six speakers gave graphic descriptions of some experience or happening of interest in their lives.
Before going down played “Housey” for half an hour, and won $2.50. N.S.B. Also last night I had
another T.B. injection and have a dysentery to come. I should like a pound for every needle I have
had since Nov. 1939. Swimming parades continue, and this week are in the afternoons. Our area forswimming has been fenced in with poles thus restricting the distance out, and it is no good in theseshallow waters.
Wednesday 23 rdWell, I am 12 days overdue with my usual three-weekly attack of malaria, and I am feelingparticularly well these last few days. Bed has no fascination for me at all, so my usual day of late has
been all gardening and swimming. Yesterday I started to lay out a deck-tennis court and may finish it
today seeing that there is no swim. Played “Housey” last night, won $1.80, and then bridge as on theprevious night. A sudden Sumatra last night ended all entertainment outside.
Friday 25 th
I finished the court yesterday and obtained a ring from Ferguson. The swim in the p.m. was terrible,
the weather being extremely hot, the water following suit, and it was not the least bit refreshing. We
hatched out another 7 chicks yesterday, and last night I borrowed another hen from Joe to sit on athird setting. It is damned hard to raise chickens here.
Monday 28 th
Joe’s hen did not sit, so we are rather in a hole at present. Anyway it is beginning to look as though
we will not need hens. We have had extremely hot days lately, and, as a result, I am as brown as canbe, as I am out in it nearly all day, dressed only in a G string. Went to church yesterday for the firsttime to hear Padre Duckworth in his new chapel, and he gave a very good sermon. He is only a smallman, cox of Cambridge crew for a few years, but has a very strong voice, and he thinks very quickly.
Actually I went twice, both morning and evening. A beautiful moonlight when I went to bed, but avery heavy rain storm blew up during the night.
September 3 rdFive years of war, let us hope it is the last full year. What I would give to be back where I was five
years ago. It is a day very similar too. I have had another cold the last few days, but it is N.T.B.
today. Yesterday the Java party, who were torpedoed arriving here some weeks ago, were warned tobe ready to leave for Sumatra again at any time. Listened to a very interesting talk at night by a
C.P.O. of H.M.S. “Prince of Wales” on the ship’s activity and its sinking.
Wednesday 8th
Had an excellent swim yesterday, a very high tide, probably the best we have had. Actually,
everything was of the best yesterday, the Dutch particularly were in fine fettle. It would appear thatthe setting of eggs we put down a few days ago will not net as much. I hope they don’t. My own
small garden is coming along slowly, and I am endeavouring to bring it along as fast as possible.
Friday 8 th
Spent yesterday and today in bed trying to shake off a bad cold. As well as that the mouth and throat
are very sore, due to lack of vitamins and tonsillitis. Started taking some grass extract today to help
make up the lack of vitamins.
Tuesday 12 th
Went to Coconut Grove last night for the weekly band concert, and as usual, it was goodentertainment. The night before there was the usual road show. Was thinking, as I listened to themusic, that if we were only receiving food of a more nutriment value, we would have little tocomplain of these days. There seems to be more freedom outside the wire, for every day one may see,down on the padang the boys playing either cricket, baseball, hockey, basketball, golf etc. Swimming
parades are still to be had almost daily, and last night we in the wards here got together and had alaugh over the telling of a few shaggy dog stories.
Tuesday 19 th
Still in hospital, but really not very bad, should be out soon. Went down to the Grove last night, andreheard Wally Cliff’s lecture, and when I returned, after having supper of two doovers and tea, withReg Hill, I found a letter-card waiting me from Dudley. I was pleased to hear from him, and should
get a couple more, as I believe there is quite a lot of mail in. We heard a story last night of alliedbombings of Camburi, Siam, and such is the irony of war, a lot of our lads, who escaped death bydisease up there, have now been killed and wounded by our own bombs. It would appear thatsomewhere between 70 and 90 were killed, and a similar number injured. Our last batch of chickens
are due out on Thursday, so should add a few more to the eight we have already.
Thursday 21st
Another red letter day yesterday, for I received another card and photo from Moira. She certainly
looks good to homesick me, so I showed it round as usual, and felt a proud boy. Plenty of rain thesedays, but sitting up here in hospital worries me but little. Reg Wilkinson came in yesterday, and is in
the next bed.
Friday 22 nd
The mail is coming through nicely, and I received another card dated Dec. 14, 1943, from Moira
Helen. Played “Housey” on Thursday night and collected $3.
Tuesday 26 th
Discharged from hospital today after 17 days. Looking forward to more mail and photos, as I believe
there is still a good number to come. Later – have just received two more letters from Helen, both
dated January, 1944, and containing a snap of Ronald and Jennifer – how the kid has grown, andJennifer looks as though there is nothing wrong with her. I am getting quite a collection of photos
these days, thanks to Moira, and quite the envy of a number of people who are not so fortunate.
Sunday, 1st October 1944
Yet another month has passed, and it is marvellous how we keep on hoping and wishing it will be thelast. The moon is coming to the full again, and it is always a hopeful time, in spite of the fact that
nothing ever eventuates. Still spend a lot of time in the garden, and do the various forms ofentertainment round about. Had a mock trial Friday at the Coconut Grove, and last night went to see
the first show at the new theatre in the jail. They have been a long time in the making and rehearsals,
and it is quite an elaborate affair considering what we have to work with. Unfortunately, last night it
poured with rain after the first set, and had to be postponed. Mail is finished again for time being.
Thursday 5 th
To save a lot of work in the garden carrying water, I dug a large sump hole, which filled within a few
minutes with a shower this morning. I went down to the oval in the afternoon to see a ball game, andthe way the Americans play it, it certainly is a rowdy game the way they chatter. Last night we went
up to the jail to see the concert and enjoyed it as usual. Judy Garland’s effort at aerobatic dancing was
exceptional. He should do well.
Monday 9 th
Went to church last night to hear Padre Duckworth. Last week, like all the rest, went like one thing,possibly because these days I am in the garden nearly all day. The latter is becoming more interestingeach day, and we are getting quite a lot from it, which is probably just as well, for the rations thesedays are very light, and canteen is getting more hopeless. I would like to raise a loan from somewhereand buy half a dozen hens, for I think they will be worth their weight in gold before we get out of thisplace. I would give a lot to know when that will be, for it seems so hopeless just wasting time
hanging around and knowing next to nothing.
Friday 13 thSomething was bound to happen today, and it did. My 13th attack of malaria hit me before lunch, andhere I am back in the hospital. Have been playing a fair amount of bridge lately with Reg Wilkinson
with medium success, and last eve we played in a competitive game on set hands to see which four
sets of teams are to play 18 Div. next Sunday. The garden is coming along nicely these days, andMoira would be quite pleased if she only knew.
Sunday 15th
The fever seems to be on the wane once more, but still feel sick and light-headed, as a result of eachdose of quinine. The church outside is having a harvest festival today, but it is a sad affair only
having green shrubs and flowers in place of vegetables and fruit. The Japs have cut out all forms ofentertainment until further notice, and no one seems to know just for what reason. It does makethings rather dull at night though.
Sunday 22 nd
How the weeks slip by! It seems only a day or two since I last wrote in this. Came out of hospitalyesterday, but as supplies of Atebrin are so low, all suppressive treatment is cut out, so I daresay I
shall be back here again early next month. Everything is very quiet these days as far as entertainment
is concerned, but it is hoped that it will start up again in a modified form soon. Air raid practices arequite frequent; at least we think they are practices.
Tuesday 24 th
We are well into the monsoons, and for the last few afternoons it has done nothing but rain. Today is
no exception, and we have all been in bed since tiffin. Talk about a lazy existence, this P.O.W. life
has got everything beaten to a frazzle. The rain is excellent for the garden, however, and saves many
hours’ work. Harry Silman, R.A.M.C. Northumberland Fusiliers, and I planted out another small
patch this morning with Ceylon spinach, tomatoes and mint. As a green vegetable this Ceylon

spinach is O.K., one of the few things I would not mind when I get out, and today when Max
Winchester decided to uproot his, I had it cooked and enjoyed a big lunch, but what I would give forjust the normal meals of home. A Wenborn Sunday tea is an unbelievable luxury, and almost a mythfrom the past. Last night I attended a performance of “Autumn Crocus” at the jail theatre. It was the
opening night, and a command performance by the I.J.A. and seems 120 or so Jap officers attended.
It was very well acted, and the scenery was also very good. Received Babe’s early March letter withsnap of Noel. It was a very pleasant surprise, for there is only one bag of mixed mail in, so I hardly
thought I would be one of the lucky ones.
Saturday 28 th
Pay day once more, and the usual thought arises “How many more”? Another 70 bags of mail in, but
unfortunately only about 10 are A.I.F. as far as I can make out. Have been busy in the garden, andyesterday finished off another sump-hole and channel to carry the water. Played bridge once or twice
this week, and playing with Harry Wiley F.M.S.V.F. took 30 cents off the Northumberland Fusiliers
on one occasion. Should be issued with tobacco, soap and paper today.
Wednesday, 1st November 1944
Well, there is very little of this year left, and once more we seem doomed to spend Xmas as P’s.O.W.
On Sunday we had our usual mess meeting, and a few fireworks took place. We now have a new
cookhouse, officers and staff, and we should be better off. I was voted into the job of Canteen Rep.
Officer vice Capt. Snell, so am quite a busy boy these days with the book-keeping it demands, andalso the gardening. I completed my third large water tong on Sunday. It was hard work. I believethat members of “A” Force who have been in River Valley Road Camp awaiting transport to Japanare now likely to be returned to Thailand under whose administration they still seem to be. Things
generally are still quiet in the entertainment line. Harry Wiley and I took 3 pts. off the North.
Fusiliers last night.
Sunday 5 th
I suppose yesterday saw the result of the V.R.C. Derby, and a possible new favourite for the
Melbourne Cup. At one time I thought I might be home to see it but – instead, however, I spent anawful day in bed with malaria. Do not feel so bad this morning, but the last three days have beenrather bad. With the possible exception of a couple of hours each morning, the temp. has hardly been
below 100 deg and it has been very trying. I must have sweated pints each night. At 11 a.m. we had
our first real excitement, and something that we have been waiting nearly three years to see, and thatwas nothing less than our own planes overhead. The sirens started, and in no time sounds and sight ofA.A. bursts on the west of the island came to us. We counted some 20 or 30 large planes, and as amorale booster, it was terrific. Everyone ducked promptly when we heard the ominous whine of ashell or bomb. It landed 3 or 4 huts away from us, and did no damage, but it was only a nosecap of an
A.A. shell. Great stuff! Perhaps we are not forgotten after all?
Wednesday 8th
Just as I start to write this (12 noon) the sirens are wailing, and A.A. fire is heard. Looks like oursecond raid is coming. We all get very excited, and although under cover, take up vantage points tosee what goes on. It’s a great feeling to think after all this time that our lads are somewhere near.
This a.m. received a radio message from Moira undated, but as she mentioned Shirl’s marriage, I takeit, it is fairly old, as I had received this good news in letters months ago. I replied, so hope it getshome quickly. Have just got over my 14th attack of malaria, and once again B.T. plus, but this timeArchie Barbour has ordered me suppressive quinine for a month, so I hope it will do some good.
Saturday 11 thArmistice Day, and 1000 days as prisoners of war for us. They say the first 1000 are the worst, but if
I thought we would have to do another, it would be enough to send one silly, that is if one survived it,which I doubt. Received our paper, soap and tobacco, and the last-named was more than welcome, astobacco is fast becoming extinct, in the canteen, and when there is some in, it is almost too dear tobuy. Things in the food and luxury (??) line are going to be mighty though before long, so I hope ifanyone is going to get us out of here, they will not be too long.
Sunday 12th
Received a rather belated letter from Babe today dated Sept. ’43, and she was pleased to receive acard from me. A combined church parade is being held at the jail tonight, a commemoration service
for Armistice Day. There have been no further air raids since our first a few days ago much to
everyone’s disgust. In our ever hopeful state of mind, I think we more or less expected one per day,possibly followed up by a landing somewhere or other. God, how fed up I am!
Thursday 16 th
Received yet another short letter from Babe dated exactly one year ago. I was glad to get it, for I’ve
never been so miserable in all my life as I am now, and have been for weeks, due mainly to lack offood, have been hungry day in and out, and even after a meal am never satisfied. Lord, how much
longer, even if only to a Red Cross ship with decent food.
Tuesday 21st
I thought I was in for more malaria yesterday, but OK today. Had a hectic 3 hours last eve, as, after along spell without anything to smoke, a load came in to the canteen, and as they decided to issue pro
rata to units and groups, I had the job, as canteen officer, to draw and disburse nearly $400 worth ofsmokes. Talk about a rush, and in the middle of it, about 6.30 p.m., an Allied B24 came over for alook round. The A.A. let off a little steam, but no result. In fact, the plane had come and gone before
the first siren went off. It’s a great sight to see them, and gives us more heart.
Sunday 26th
Have just had another 4 or 5 days with malaria. A bad lot this time, and dragged me down quite a bit.
After all this time, and relapses still occurring every 20 days, I am at last getting a little sympathy
from the Medicaal Profession, and thanks to Bruce Hunt (Major WX11177), Col. Huston and Archie
Barbour, it looks like a bit of decent treatment this time for a change. This morning I had to see BillBye (senior physician) (Major NX70581), and he has ordered me a month of prophylactic Atebrin,and Archie says he can get a little plasmoquin, so with all that, plus my own few Atebrin, I should
give it a good kick in the pants this time. Entertainment, etc., still very few, and things generally are
quiet – starting to prepare for Xmas dinner, and if rumour of Red Cross ships are true, then it may not
be so bad. Food at the moment is getting less and less, the bulk of it beside rice, is in the greens fromour own gardens. May we soon be relieved, if only to get a square meal again and lose this perpetual
hunger.
December 1944, Friday 1st
Another month, and we are very close to yet another year of captivity. The treatment for malaria
turned up this time, and after a week of quinine, five days Atebrin, five days plasmoquin, and then amonth of prophylactic Atebrin, it should make a difference. This job of canteen officer is developing
into a full time job, and in two days have handled over $1000 in individual purchases besides
purchases for the cook-house.
Thursday 7 th
Yesterday took over the job of messing officer at our point, and have started straightening out a few
things that should have been done months ago. We had a practice black-out last night, and what with
one thing and another, there seems to be a definite flap on at the present time. Everyone is wondering
if we will see our planes again tomorrow, as the anniversary of the war out here seems to us as good atime as any to let off a few fireworks.
Sunday 10th
All our hopes for the 8th went for nothing, as it was just the same as any other day. In the evening I
drew a ticket for our Xmas pantomime, “Twinkletoes”, and it was a first-rate show. The principal
parts were played by Australians, and Stan Garland, as a girl, is improving with each performance.

Played bridge last night, and lost only five cents. Had a very pleasant surprise today for I received acard from Moira H., which she had written on my birthday this year, thus showing that mail is being
considerably speeded up these days. Instead of 18 months or so, six months seems to be the usual
now. LATER – just received a card from Avon dated May 20th, 1944, and all the talk of roosters andfatted calves, made my mouth water for, over the past few years, these things have been unheard ofluxuries.
Friday 22 nd
It is some days since I last wrote, but there is practically nothing worth recording. Xmas is nearly on
us, everyone is in good spirits, and looking forward to the day. All messes have contributed extra
money for Xmas dinner, so in these days of our perverted taste for good food, we should do alright. I
guess none of the food that we will get, however, would be tolerated at home. Last Monday went tosee “Twinkletoes” again, but rain washed it out so went last night. As it was a command performancesome 30 or 40 Japanese were there, and we had an hour’s vaudeville before the main show. A very
good night. It was Harry Silman’s birthday, and I returned in time to join in a party of a dozen or so,
and we had a beautiful, big vegetable pie, plus cigars and coffee. Prices are so high these days, andrising higher, that the night must have cost him a month’s pay, which is a big item these days. I haveslung my bed from the roof, and now enjoy a little more room in the hut. Being the time of year it is,
my thoughts are more than ever with all at home, and I can well imagine the hurry and bustle goingon, and my one wish is that I could be at home to join in. Next year looks a good bet.
Tuesday 26 thWell, we’ve had it, and what a day was yesterday! A beautiful day, everyone is cheerful, high spirits,
which was good to see after three years, and by the time the last meal of the day was served, all were
as full as boots. Food for the first time in my P.O.W. existence was to spare and could not be given
away. Harry Todd and his boys did us proud, five meals during the day, and altogether we had 19
efforts (doovers), mostly fried, besides rice, whitebait, greens, sauces, sweets, etc. A beautiful large
cake was made for tea at 4 p.m., and was a winner. At 3 p.m. I had Reg Hill, Bob Bowman, Alan
Collins and Winters up for a cup of coffee and cigars, and in the evening went over to “Suburbia” tofriends and had a sing-song and a few bottles of home-brew. Altogether a delightful day, never acomplaint, and all I wished was that I could have shared the day with someone else.
January 2 nd 1945
We started another year, and pray God it is the last. Everybody is full of hopes, and the spirit
displayed by practically all is something to wonder at. That this is the last Xmas and New Year tospend as P’s.O.W., seems to be the accepted thing, and all, in spite of nearly three years, are happy.
Yesterday we had another fairly big day in the eating line, and it is good to have that full tummy
feeling again, although some paid the penalty during last night and this morning. I saw Bert Nairn
today re a few nasty cysts active on the body, and he has decided not to cut them, but to have a serum
cultivated from them. I certainly hope I can clean up this skin of mine before we get out of here.
Thursday 11 th
We had the first big day’s bombing of the Island today, and it has livened us up no end. We saw threeplanes come down, and it appears that one of them was ours. It lasted nearly an hour, and was very
encouraging. Had my first injection of the vaccine, and finished the course of atebrin that I have been
on for over a month.
Friday 12 th
Yesterday we were to have held a swimming carnival of sorts during the usual swimming parade, but
owing to the air raid, it was cancelled. Held it today however, and I swam in one of the A.A.M.C.
teams of four, being beaten very narrowly in our heat. We had backed ourselves, so went out for a
win on the 26th Bn. in the final, and they won easily. It was a great morning, and all enjoyed it. Great
activity round the drome today, with I.J.A. bombers, it looks as though they have been bombed out of
their usual place, probably Seletar.

Wednesday 24 th
The air raids have not been kept up as we all more or less thought they would, although we have had
one or two more alarms. Over the last week or so, I have been out to dinner in two occasions, once to
Scotty Uroe at the 2/26, and once to Reg. Hill. Last Sunday had Reg up here, and had a good meal.
Still filing in the days with gardening when not busy with the canteen, and the latter looks like being
very slack for a week or two if the stories one hears of Takahashi closing it down for that period istrue. Things are heading along nicely, and everyone is in good spirits.
Sunday 26th February
It does not seem anything like a month since I wrote anything here, time passes so quickly. Things
generally are getting a lot more interesting these days, for quite often now we see our own planes
overhead. On the 15th a widespread formation were over, presumably for photographs, as we heard nobombing, and yesterday it was followed by approximately 105 large bombers, which did Singapore
over, mainly with incendiaries. It is all a good sign as far as we are concerned. Played in a chessmatch yesterday, and then on to see the play “Pygmalion” at the Coconut Grove. Personally, am
doing nothing these days, for Bob Dick (NX70970), the M.O., has ordered me a complete rest in aneffort to beat the malaria. It still lays me low every three weeks.
March 10 th
The third month of the year well under way, and things are tightening up somewhat. A couple ofweeks ago we had a 10% cut in the rations, meagre as they were, and now today we are cut down
again by half, and it’s pretty grim. To offset this, however, there is a food ship in Singapore, andalthough it is now unloaded, we have not seen any of it’s contents as yet. Let’s hope it won’t be long.
They have also closed down the theatre, and we are beginning to think that perhaps things are going
our way at last. Commodities in the canteen are still rising in price, and it is impossible to buy
anything worthwhile. We, as individuals, are still paid the same amount in spite of prices being raised
nearly 250%. The sooner we get out of this mess the better. Have had one or two good air raids, but
the last week or so has been rather quiet in that respect. On the last raid a few of the boys in the huts
just up from us received minor wounds, nothing serious, thank goodness.
March 29 thThings are all agog again. Working parties are once more on the move, and no one seems to know
their destination. Word has it that some 5,000 will be gone before the end of the month, 500
Australians left yesterday, and a further 400 and 600 British were to leave today. This was knockedon the head at 7.30 a.m. today, possibly due to our first night raid, which happened last night (a fullmoon). I am fed up with work parties, so hope I can dodge this one. Food is very scarce, always
hungry, and as yet we have seen nothing of the Red Cross supplies which we know have been in
Singapore for two or three weeks.
April 1st
Another month, and six years since one of the big days of my life. Once again my thoughts were verymuch of home, and hope was running high for today was an excellent day, and I celebrated with our
first issue of Red Cross food. It was beautiful, and Harry Todd once again did a very good job.
Although each man’s issue of everything amounted to only 4½ ounces of extras, it was unbelievable
the difference it made. I will certainly be easy to please when we get out of this hell. Have been
having a little trouble with an abscess on one of my front teeth, and J.O. Rosson is doing his best to
save the tooth at the moment, and am having daily treatment. Sold out my interest in the chickens
yesterday, and drew $40 as my share.
April 11th
Last Sunday saw another issue of 6½ ounces Red Cross food, and once again the difference was mostwelcome and noticeable. Unfortunately for me, my 17th attack of malaria hit me in the morning, andalthough most of the good food makes its appearance at the evening meal, I did not enjoy it as I
should.

April 14 th
Today being Wednesday we will receive another small dose of Red Cross food, and this, we believe,
will be continued each Wednesday and Sunday. That, believe me, is good news.
April 17 thAnother good meal of Red Cross food yesterday, great stuff! Feeling OK again after the malaria, saw
Bob Dick yester after a week’s quinine, and as we now have some Atebrin via the Red Cross, and I
am now on another course, so should go nearly two months before my next attack. Everything is very
quiet these days next to no entertainment, and only an odd reconnaissance plane over now and again.
How much longer is it going to be, I am fast losing hope of being home for our anniversary.
May 10thLife these days is so very much brighter and interesting in all respects. Shirley’s birthday inparticular. Red X food once again is making a great difference and is something to look forward to
twice a week. Last night we had a change of food from Canadian parcels, and for the first time tasted
bacon and tomatoes. It is unbelievable the difference these flavours make. Also I have been luckywith the mail, for over the last week or so, have received six cards and one letter including Avon’scard dated Aug. 10 1944, and Babes letter containing Ian’s photo. We have also had three draws of
Red X necessities and I drew firstly a pencil, then a handkerchief and lastly a cake of good soap
which was more than handy, as soap like most everything else these days is almost unprocurable.
Prices are just ridiculous.
May 22nd
Another birthday has slipped away and time is flying. How mad I get when I think of it – all thiswaste of time. On the 20th Stewart Phillips and I had quite a fair meal for it was a Red X day andtherefore a tasty meal; but in addition I fried tap-root, a pan of brindjels, and a sludge. The belly was
full for the first time in many a long day. That is the one big trouble – trying to get enough to eat, as I
am always hungry. Three weeks since my last malaria, but as Doc. Phillips is getting me a few
Atebrin tabs I should hold it off for a little longer this time. Suffering a little with ber-beri these days
– not badly, but a couple of days running around swells the feet and ankles no end. The sooner we getout of here the better for everyone is fed up to the back teeth. My hopes for Aug. 10 th have practically
faded now I’m afraid.
June 10 th
We are reaching the end of our Red X food now, for as far as we know there is now only two moremeals left at the usual rate of 6 oz. per. It has been very nice though and has given us something tolook forward to twice each week. A couple of weeks ago two parties of Dutch and British arrived
here from Palembang. They were in pretty bad shape and had done it tough for some time. One of
the Dutch M.O’s living in our hut created a diversion last Sunday by committing suicide. Quite adecent looking fellow too, but from all accounts was guilty of some shady business in Sumatra. I wasable to send a wireless message to Moira yesterday so I hope it will not be delayed. Life in general ismuch the same; damned monotonous and with only one thought i.e. when are they going to get us outof this place. Play chess once per week as a member of the area team and having moderate success.
Yesterday played in a simultaneous match with nineteen others against a champion of the N.E.I. He
won 16 games lost two and drew two. I was lucky enough to get a draw with him. We have also
entered a darts competition running in the officers’ area, and play our third game today. Roy
Mannion (QX25481 Dental Officer), Jock Emery, Alan Bush, Pat Moss, Murray Griffin, Fred Parke,
R.A.F., making up the team. Stewart Phillips celebrated his wedding anniversary a few days ago, andwe had a small supper and a yarn in the evening. Harry Witherford, Fitzgerald, a B.O.R., and Padre
Sandys being present. I have definitely given up all hope of being for our this year.
June 26 th
Have been well down in the dumps for the last week or so, due mainly, I suppose, to yet anothermalaria attack. Things that we want to happen seem to be as far away as ever, and a more boring anduseless waste of time than this life is hard to imagine. However, yesterday I received three cards from

Moira, and was cheered up considerably. Surprised to hear of Avon’s second daughter, and will havea lot to see when I get home again.
July 1st
Yet another month, and once again am in high hopes for the next thirty days. Surely something must
break shortly. All manner of events are taking place which, we hope, are pointers. Parties are leavingfor other camps, presumable round the Island and J.B., and there is rumour of others, including an
officer’s party of 500. It is also rumoured that Lt. Takahashi is to go, and that may be so good. Oneof our O.R’s decided to make a break a few days ago, and as a result all entertainments are closed
down once more. If he even had a slight chance of getting away, it would not be so bad, but as it is, itis next to hopeless, so it looks as though we have to pay the price of his foolishness. Since the arrivalof the recent Java and Sumatra parties, we have been inundated by these blasted Dutchmen and if everI have been fed up with anything before, this language of theirs and the way they chatter when they
get together beats it hollow. I’ll certainly be glad to get away from it all. It is almost impossible tobuy anything unless one is in a racket of some kind, tobacco is just on $10 an ounce and anything
edible costs more than a month’s pay. Whitebait $28, sugar $33, and even cigars are now $1.40 each.
July 21stWell, I think today is Moira’s birthday (Changi memory is a terrible thing), so last night celebrated
with a very tasty supper of tapioca root and curried whitebait. Roy Mannion’s wife’s birthday was
yesterday, so we turned on the supper between us and invited four or five others. Raised $100 theother day so am eating a little better as a result, although, with prices as they are, it does not go very
far at all. Have had a bad attack of rheumatism the last couple of days, but it seems a lot easier today.
A couple more small parties left today, so we are gradually being split up, good sign maybe. Looking
forward very much to getting out of here and back home before long.
Monday, 31st July
Down again with my 25th bout of malaria, and until a few moments ago was feeling terrible.
However, a letter from Moira dated Feb. 1945, and enclosing a snap of Shirley’s wedding, arrived andcheered me up no end. It is great to get them, and know that someone still loves one and is thinking
of one, as it seems to us, rotting away in this dump, that we have been well and truly forgotten and let
down even worse than we were in the actual campaign. Great will be the day of release and reunion,although, if they don’t hurry, there will be a lot more who will never get out owing to disease andmalnutrition. The walking skeletons around here these days is terrific.
####################
The following was written in the form of a letter to Moira, in the hope that it may be able to be
forwarded home at short notice:August 12 th

Changi P.O.W. Camp,
Singapore.
S.S.

What wonderful NEWS! What joy!! After all these years, months, and days of waiting, hoping anddespairing, at last we can now consider our souls our own, and at last look forward with a large degreeof certainty to a speedy reunion with all our loved ones at home. What a time we have been through,just as you have, darling, only with us all through, the past we have lived on rumour and hope, neverknowing what we could believe or not believe. Now at long last we know it is all over, and our oldenemy of space and time has now been reduced to space along, i.e., the space that separated us fromhome.
I was thinking of you all day on the 10th, as you may guess, and reliving through every minute of theday. That night over the air we heard of Stalin’s declaration of war, and that the Japanese people weretold to stand by for a special announcement. I could not have had a better present. On awakening on
the morning of the 11th, the first news of the end of the war filtered through, and the strain of having
to suppress our feelings was tremendous. We, of course, had to do this, as the Japs had not said

anything, and as officially we had not a wireless, it would have been the height of folly to have kickedover the traces, and so possibly have created some nasty incidents.
We have always had this underground wireless, but as the penalty always has been death if found out,
or at least a long term of imprisonment, we have always had to be careful. However, it is impossible
to suppress our spirits altogether, and the satisfied smiles on all the faces, the handshaking, and above
all, the talk of theories and ideas of when we would be released, and how soon we would start for
home, spoke for themselves.
To me it was unbelievable. Although I believed the news we had received, the thought that it was
really over seemed somehow too good to be true, and when I got down to thinking of you inparticular, and home in general, I experienced what I guess your bubbly feeling used to be at certain
times. I guess perhaps you may have had a similar feeling when you heard the good tidings, darling.
By breakfast time we all knew, and I would not have minded if I had not eaten at all, and many others
felt the same way. All through the day news kept filtering through, it kept on getting better all thetime, and for once the days seemed interminably long. Analogously the days in the past have passed
very quickly. We received stories of the terms, and stories of more food being issued, and all hascome true today, the 12th, when extra rice was issued, and we went to town properly on our messgarden. I only hope that we still have sufficient reserves of proper food for issue to some of the poor
fellows in hospital, some of whom are so sick that they are starving and wasting away for want ofenough of this type of food.
In the p.m. I was so excited internally that I could not rest, read or do anything, but let the mind run
riot, it being useless to try and control it. The evening meal was a real filler, due to our garden, andmost acceptable. The news which was given out immediately after was awaited with rare impatience,for of late, with the exception of the Japan bombings, it was most disheartening to us rotting away
here with only one thought in our minds. We were not disappointed, for we received officially what
we had heard during the day, and when we heard of the rejoicing in England and Australia, we knew
then that the finish was on.
That night, like many others, I could not settle my mind to sleep, and so spent a truly awful night.
It is now afternoon of the 12th, and we are still getting news through of instructions to the Japs thatconcentration of our troops was to be proceeded with, and that our Navy was on its way, etc. etc. In
the meantime all are pulling up their private gardens and parties are the order of the day, comprisingof their proceeds, bolstered up with tins of fish, milk, bully beef, and so forth, that many individuals
have miraculously kept all these years. Don’t ask me how! If some of them had been in Thailand
with us, I am sure they would not still have them. Lindsay Orr was in today with sugar and a tin ofmilk, and we all had a cup of hot, sweet milk for afternoon tea, and thought we were made. This will
be hard for you to understand, darling, but after feeding on rice, rice, rice, for over three years, threemeals a day, believe me we knew it for a treat. That has been the main thing detrimental to our life
here, for all other commodities were always issued ounces or parts of ounces per man. However, allthat is now in the past, tomorrow we are expecting to see something concrete in the way of relieving
operations.

Issue of new clean clothes. 12 September 1945

How I am longing to see you again, sweet, in the past there has hardly been a single night passed that
I have not gone home in thought to you, and wished you goodnight, and now just to think that I’llsoon be seeing and holding you, and telling you some of the many things I’ve felt and wanted to overthese three and a half years. They have been terrible, darling, just as they have for you, but I haveplanned such a wonderful time from now on. I am terribly impatient, but it won’t be long now. My
only thoughts which are contrary to happy ones, is my anxiety over Mother. I received a horrible
premonition nearly two years ago that all was not well, and in subsequent letters from your dear self,
you have never mentioned her personally, and this has led me to imagine all manner of things. I do
hope I am wrong, for I am so longing to see everyone fit and well, that any disappointment in that
respect would be terrible.
After a good sleep, my first for a couple of nights, I awoke to what, after the talk and expectations of
the two previous days, turned out to be very quiet and orderly, expecting almost hourly to hear of the
final decision. We are eating a whole lot better now, that is as far as bulk is concerned, and it is a
strange feeling to feel the tummy full again. Our friends blew the air raid siren early in the p.m., andit created a little mirth, but, of course, our pessimists immediately took it up as a point in their favour.
The news we received after tea was what I more or less expected, and it would appear the world is justawaiting the word. The Japanese rather ludicrously informed us that in the near future we would b eable to send another of their wonderful cards home to next-of-kin. This created great laughs, as you
might imagine.
Our news on the night of the 14th savoured of an anti-climax, but on the 15th we heard officially thatthe “Cease fire” order had been given, and that is what I was waiting for anyhow. I expected to see
signs of our people any time from then on, and then --?? We expected to be moved almost
immediately, but where we did not know. There are many stories, all rumour, some say India, someKandy, others straight to Australia, and speaking personally, I hope for the latter, for Asia for the
Asiatics is my motto from now on.
Everyone is outwardly very calm, our usual two hours sleep each afternoon from 2 to 4 is still goingon, and one would hardly think that the news for which we had so longed to hear for 3½ years exactly,
had only been received only a matter of hours before. I suppose the fact that we had been getting it
piecemeal since the 10th rather prepared us for the ultimate.
On the 19th we were still waiting for the relieving force, but the Japs, true to form, were still messing
around with the actual signing. Yester, the 18th, the Koreans and Japs were told by their people forthe first time that the show was over, and Gen. Shito informed our people of the fact, and promised us
anything we wanted within his jurisdiction. Red Cross food, which had been withheld, is, we believe,to be issued, and all working parties are arriving back in the camp. We expect to see things in a dayor so now, so perhaps that will put an end to all this wild speculation as to what is to happen to us in
the immediate future. I hope it is straight home, but I guess it won’t be.
From 20th to 24th the general situation had not changed, the handing-over had not taken place, butduring those days nearly all work parties were back, (and great was the joy thereof and meeting eachother again), also food stuffs, stores of clothing and smokes were pouring into the jail. We have hadsome excellent meals, the usual hunger has dropped right into the past, but the pity of it all was that
we have been going round half-clothed, and others have died by the dozens, when all the time thisfood, etc., that they have been storing in town would have saved their lives. The same applies todrugs. I hope they are made to pay for it one of these days.
On the 28th we had the thrill of seeing for the first time one of our planes, and great was theexcitement, especially when he flew low over the camp and dropped leaflets. That, to most of us, wasthe end of the war, and very shortly now we expect to see further activities in the way of landings andthe taking over of the place, and we finalize our release.

As it has turned out, I will not now be sending this, as we have received proper air-mail letters.
Sunday, Aug. 26th
Combined commemoration service, which was most impressive. 17 padres, headed by the A.C.G.,
who gave the address.
Monday, 27 thEntertainments are all on again, lights on, cigarettes, and good food.
Tuesday, 28th
Our first sight of an allied plane, a Liberator, which dropped pamphlets. Great Thrill!
Thursday, 30 thPlanes over again today, dropped half a dozen personnel, etc. Nightly concerts and broadcasts,
mainly All-India wireless, New Delhi.
Monday, Sept. 3rd
At 12 noon the Union Jack was broken and flown at the masthead of the jail. It was a great sight after
the Jap flag of the past.
Tuesday 4 th
Fleets in Singapore. Had a walk over the cemeteries, the ‘drome and the Barrack Square.
Friday 7 th
R.A.P.W.I. still invading us. Wrote first letter home on the 6th. Yanks left for home yesterday andtoday.
Sunday 9 th
Malaria again. All Australians fed up absolutely. No sign of us moving yet. New meaning for
R.A.P.W.I. “Retain all prisoners of war indefinitely”, and S.E.A.C. “Supreme example of Allied
confusion”.
Monday 10 th
Second letter home, plus a cable. Visit from a Flt. Lt. Watson, of Mary St., Brighton.
Wednesday 12 thAnother letter home. For the last two days have been aboard H.M. ship in the harbour. Grand time.
Surrender ceremony at the municipal building was a good show.
Tuesday 18 th
Expect to leave shortly, but took a chance and went to town with Mick Woodruff. Wrote to Moira.
Wednesday 19 th
Went on board “H.T. Arawa” at 3 p.m. Wrote Babe in a.m. Slept and ate like human beings for the
first time in 3½ years, clean sheets and civilised food, boy, oh boy!
Thursday 20 th
Said goodbye to Singapore at 1 p.m. Picked up the “Duntroon” and escort, and away. What a thrill!
Thursday 27th
Arrived Darwin after lunch, good welcome. Left “Arawa”, and spent the night at a P.O.W. reception
camp.

Friday 28 thRang Moira last night. Will never forget the great thrill of hearing her voice for the first time. Went
on board the “Duntroon”. Spent previous night at Major Jones’ mess with Arch Landells.
Saturday 29 thSent wire home. Left Darwin aboard “Duntroon” at 8 a.m. bound for Sydney and Home, Sweet
Home.

This is the end of the diary as kindly provided to me
The following images are relevant to this story -Gillon Ronald Griffith 1909 - 1997
On the 10th August, 1940 Gillon Ronald (known as Ron) married Moira Helen Wenborn at
St.Cuthbert's Church in Brighton. At this time Ron's occupation was with the Permanent
Defence Forces. Shortly after their marriage, Ron who was enlisted left Australia to assist his
country in World War 2. He was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and spent over 4
years in Changi and worked on the Burma Railway.
Post War Years....
After his return from Singapore, Ron worked at the Wool Exchange in Melbourne, andtrained as an accountant at night school. His work continued as an accountant until his
retirement. He and Moira set up home in Brighton, building a house on the block of land
Moira had purchased whilst Ron was away. They had 3 children, Susan Helen b. 13/8/ 1946,
David William Tracy b. 1/8/1959 and Geoffrey Ronald b. 20/5/1952, on Ron's Birthday.
They lived in Brighton all their lives, moving only once from the family home to a smaller
unit. Ron and Moira had interests in square dancing, playing cards with friends and apassionate involvement in lawn bowls. Ron was a Carlton football supporter as are one of hissons, grandsons and great greatson. Ron died peacefully at home just prior to his 88thbirthday, leaving his wife Moira, 3 children and 8 grandchildren. He was a great man, loved
and who loved and inspired his family and friends.

LEST WE FORGET