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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:40 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 74:

WED JULY 7: Just work for the past ten days mostly carrying baskets of stone. No rest from Nips. When not working, all time taken by check & mess parades. 8 men escaped from next camp & Nips are holding strict check parades each day. The Army Auth check us out to work with the camp Authorities & then we are checked into the camp after work. Checked again after evening meal & then we have to supply net all night to see that no one goes through. Officers have been paid but Nips have taken most of their money from them in case they go through. We have to be paid soon. I don’t know how soon. Food very fair. Dysentery again this evening after work. Don’t know if they do anything about it when they have finished. There are 21 deaths in camp now. No Cholera but Cerebral Malaria seems to be dangerous. 4 cases & 4 deaths all very sudden. First 2/10 chap died of Jaundice after Cholera. Name G. Cuckson.

WED JULY 14: Have just had 4 days in camp with sore feet. The boots are falling to pieces & the mud & granite chafe the soles of the feet & take all the skin off. We are in a very bad way for footwear & in a month’s time most of us will be bare foot. The rain is almost continuous & work is always in mud & water. We are keeping the road through to Burma from Niki open just enough to feed ourselves. 1 truck only has come through from Bampong end & that took 5 weeks to do the 100 miles journey. More Nips have been going up to Burma. They evidently drag their 2lb guns as far as Niki & then they are loaded on the ration trucks & taken as far as the next camp. Our chaps are driving which is of course contrary to the P.O.W. Laws. I have counted 8 sections of M.G. going up & seems very good material. We have had a complete change of guard here & things have tightened up considerably. We are now fenced in & a guard is on continuously with also an armed moving picket. The new guard are about 30 in number. Each morning & evening they go through a religious ceremony facing the Imperial Palace & chant what we term their Hymn of Hate. It seems to be some sort of prayer to Buddha. There are not so many sick in hospital now but men are more sick on job. They are getting very weary & all of us are praying for a speedy end to the war. There are the most horrible ulcers in the hosp & the bad flesh smells very bad. There is talk of taking them in carables away but do not place much faith in it. Nothing heard of the men who escaped 2 weeks ago. Nips very strict with us now. We are double checked out to work & in. Armed guard to each party & usual check parade after evening meal. Number of deaths 22.

WED JULY 21: Admitted to hosp. sore feet. Boots worn out & gravel & dirt has taken skin off soles of feet. Very sore indeed. Boots are a problem & although the Jap keeps promising them nothing is ever done about them. Well over half have no suitable footwear now. Hosp on much lower scale of rations & will be hungry for while. Scale has improved for workers only. Think that last few days we have done better in quality. Little more beans very little more meat, dried. Tea each night & once we had coffee. Japs have tightened up considerably on checking of numbers & we are counted at least 6 times each day. Only small party on road now. All rest working on railway. Hours have been increased to 10 hours each day & a demand of 100 men each day. Very hard to place 100 fit men & large number unfit. Things must get worse. Lot of stealing going on in lines & I have had my woollen pull over taken. Will miss it badly especially on the job for rain is almost continuous & it does keep me warm. Most of work on railway putting up bridges & wet through & in mud & water all day. Conditions of work very bad now. Officer made trip to Niki to see what they could buy for us. I managed to get 2$ Malacca but am finding it hard to get him to go with it. Lot of men got tobacco but money getting scarce & only Thai money any good so many will get nothing. Nips have not come along with pay yet although they promise each day.

Chapter 19

WED JULY 28: Back in hosp again after 4 days on railway. Feet trouble – boots not being able to keep sand & water out result being skinned with danger of infection. Quite an eventful week. Did work on pile driver for 3 days & 1 day on survey party which were looking for new way for track. So now all work on railway we have done since we have been here has been abandoned. New track although it has the advantages of being higher & dryer & missing all the swamp country seems quite crazy being just a series of hair pin bends & steep graduations. A large number of men moved into camp today. Kappe in charge. Supposed to be all Con men. They certainly seem to have had a very bad time & are very thin indeed. Noticed some of the lads I travelled up with among them & will be pleased to speak to them again. Afraid camp will become very hard now with so many coming in. Numbers not available yet but think will be about 1000. Sick men who are supposed to be going away to Tan Besar have not left yet. There are 50 leaving here some of them very bad cases indeed. Many ulcers here look frightful & to look at them one would think that it would be a relief to cut the limb off. Japs supposed to have said that railway must be finished by Aug 31. They say that Japs are giving their lives for Country & Prisoners must be prepared to do same. The increase in hours per day has been in force & the working day seems endless. We start at 7.30 & finish at 7 pm. We were paid on the 25th July for period from June 21 – July 20 & I got 5$.85. No pay while off work sick. Pay is 25c per day & 10 cents for camp duties. Sergeants & Corps get 40 & 30. The hospital staff who look the only fit men in the camp on account of food they are able to obtain are paid by Red Cross about 9 – 10$ a month. The Sergeant in Charge draws 60$ a month. I feel very bitter on this point for most of them are only parasites.

FRI JULY 30: Still in hosp with bad feet. Coming along good. Large hosp now with new arrivals & will be much bigger when rest of new crowd come. Lot of them suffering from anaemia due to starvation. Parties passed camp this evening evidently bound for next hosp at Tan Besar. Mostly cooks, hosp staff etc. to get things ready. New work going on just at back of camp on railway & is not 100 yds from away from where I lie. They have been grabbing trees which fall anywhere & we have had 2 alarms. The Nips are very careless of danger of life especially in that type of work & blasting in the quarry nearby. We have often been treated to showers of rock & it is marvellous that no one has been killed. The only accident thank goodness was a Nip who had his leg blown off. Since then they have been blasting with battery. Food has suffered badly since the new arrival & we are in a perpetual state of hunger. We have less than half rations of the workers. Japs do not believe in feeding sick men. According to them we should not be sick.

SAT JULY 31: Japs disinfected hosp & Cholera ward today & let the patients all out except 1 who was neg. They sprayed the place fairly well. It is good to see the last of the Choleras & this can be put down to the needle & our own personal cleanliness. Our dead total 27 now & this is a very high percentage out of 400. Work going on the railway apace & we are supposed, so rumour has it, that we will have to finish it by the end of Aug when we will go back to Changi which is just so much bullshit. The weather has eased up past two days & it is very delightful to bask in sunshine again.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Mon Feb 22, 2016 9:51 pm

'His Life Worth Living - Page 75:

TUES AUG 2: Lot of activity all day. About 70 patients went through by truck for Tan Besar. Seemed very rough trip for sick men. Canteen staff ordered from Niki came in & will be distributed tomorrow. Large party of English from 112K camp came into our camp. Seem to be staying here too. Rained for last two days & whole place very boggy. Cholera patients now with us in hosp as com patients. Most of them look well. Supposed to be very good news from Ch & Curt. Seems that all will be over by Xmas. Hope so.

WED AUG 3: Work again tomorrow. Will last about 4-5 days without boots I suppose. Got sugar for my issue today. Late last night another party came in from Maj Hunt’s camp. Some were in a dreadful state. About 12 stretcher cases among which were some of the thinnest men I have ever seen in my life. They were just skin & bone & would weigh about 3 stone. It was shocking. They were mostly suffering Dysentery, Beriberi, Spinal Malaria & general starving. They were horrible to see & made a lasting impression on my mind. It has rained continuously for past 3 days & the surroundings are in a very bad state. Latrines are over used & the place smells. Last night we were packed in as thick as we could lie & I fear a big outbreak of Dysentery if things do not rapidly alter. Later in evening today 400 more came in from Niki. There are 1400 men in the camp now & we still have only the same kitchen utensils. I think we are in for a more hungry time than we have yet experienced & I have been hungry for a week. We will be very crowded again tonight I am afraid.

TUES AUG 9-10: Went to work again on 4th. Started on new part of railway but all was confusion from start & after 1 hrs work we sat down for 3. No work again before lunch & then we were taken back to original railway & worked there. Next day we were taken up to slight hill & started to dig a cutting for rail. Nips have made us do contract work. 2 metres each day. Fairly good on surface but when the cutting becomes deeper it becomes more & more impossible. The Nips do not worry us so much out at work as the guard at home but we have to stay out until 2 m is finished & some of the boys come home well after dark. I have been fortunate in getting home about 9 – 9.30 each night. Frightfully long day. Now 6am & off to work 7.30. Don’t see our camp at all in daylight now. Since this guard has taken over things have become very hard in camp. New huts are still being built & all the light duties have to work on the railway so Nips just walk into hosp & take 100 men from their beds to carry bamboo & fire wood.

THURS AUG 12: Been in hosp for last couple of days with fever. Not bad except when rigor is on. Yesterday went up to 105o for 4 hours. Feel much better today. Suppose I will have to carry bamboo for Japs tomorrow. They order about 50 from our ward each day so those who have no fever have to go out. Very crowded here, about 2’ allowed for each man. Stifling at night & pestered with bugs & lice. Cholera has broken out again. First case after lunch yesterday. Within 2 hours Japs Doc was down & segregated all suspects from last camp (No 1). The wards & men have been isolated & patients have had glass rod. Later in evening we all had Cholera needle. Japs seem more concerned than ever they have before which seems to point that there may be some truth in the rumour that we have to be out of Thai by end of month. All Nips have the same story & some are trying to change Thai for Singa dollars. We are getting about 2 hours sun each day now & things are much more bright. The intervening showers are more heavy & there are a lot of bad colds going around. We have had 3 deaths night before last & 1 of Cholera yesterday. Eng have lost 2 yest. A run through the general state of affairs in the camp now. 34 Officers who are doing very well for themselves with their big pay & availability of rations, about 500 Aust in hosp, ½ of which are in isolation for Cholera. About the same or little more applies to English & 500 go to work each day. The Officers have batmen of course & to stop these going to work & seized by Japs they wear Red Cross brassards. Most of the Orderlies are doing a good job & these are the usual few who are on guard of course. The whole camp is frightfully congested & in a state of mud most of the time although a little has been done along main paths to latrine in way of bamboo paths. 1600 men are still using the same latrines that we were using since we came here. Results can be better imagined that described. The kitchens have been enlarged very little & the cooks work 3 shifts to feed 1000 men in the camp. The Japs have been forcing the pace in regard to new huts & have made these double deckers. They are now on a hut for themselves which should finish the building for a while. As I have said the rumour is very strong that we will be out of Thai by end of month but do not place much faith in it. The reason why we are being pushed along on railway is that it has to be finished by end of month but that is impossible as I see it for there is a tremendous amount of work to be done yet. They may possibly get the natives in to do it as they have done in other places. The buying party to Niki is off the excuse being that bridge is down again.

SUN AUG 15: Still in hosp but feeling much better. Blood slide showed negative but I am certain it is Malaria. All symptoms are same as before. I am not getting quinine so will not last too long outside. Cholera still with us. Only 1 case Eng last night. Carriers defined with glass rod have been moved to isolation & includes Capt Jutner MU, about 6 medical orderlies & 80 others. We have all had another Cholera needle & this should check it. There has been 1000 coolies moved into camp & with these on the railway things should move very quickly. The rumour is still very strong that we are leaving here for Changi in a fortnight but I do not think we will leave until the railway is completed. The food is now very bad & we are getting just a little rice & few peas & beans. The hosp would not be getting 8 oz rice each day but the outside workers are getting all they can eat. The water problem is acute & the creeks & well have been placed out of bounds for all washing purposes. As we have no containers it is very difficult to get a descent wash. Boiling water is almost impossible to get & I boil my own in the fire before drinking. The accommodation is impossible & we are just lying shoulder to shoulder. Sometimes during the night there is not room to turn over. We are still being dragged out of bed to do odd jobs around the place. I had a temp of 104o day before yesterday & yesterday afternoon I had to get out of bed to carry bamboo. I got caught in a heavy shower & was soaked to the skin.

SUN AUG 22: One of the worst weeks we have ever put is as P.O.W. There are about 2000 natives mostly Tamils in the camp now & all P.O.W.s are crowded into one line of huts. We are sleeping shoulder to shoulder & it is impossible to get a good nights rest. The Nips have begun building double tiers in the bays so that the same space will take double the number. The whole place is frightfully congested & with the result that deaths have been very numerous. Cholera is rife & we have had 3 glass rod tests. All the carriers have been isolated. The work parties have dropped to 400 & sometimes the Nips do not take them all. One day only 200 went out. Today with the glass rods the work party did not go out until 11 am. I have been in the newly formed con light but have been carrying bamboo for the kitchen for the past 5 days. It rained almost continuously so I have a nice cold out of it. We have been re-classified this morning right throughout the hosp & I have a feeling that there is a move on in the near future. The rations for past week have been ghastly living on rice & white beans. The rations have been coming in day by day & a few occasions the men had to go to next camp & carry the rice & beans in packs. The railway is certainly getting done but at a high cost. The Japs in clearing the line of trees blew up one which fell across a Tamil hut which had some sick in, killing 2. Life is cheap with the Nips. Rumour has it that the 29 are already at Bampong & I think we will be there before long. This place has been a grave yard for a lot of us here.

SAT AUG 28: Off to work today. No boots & very hard walking. Work about 2 miles out. First half over metal rd which cuts feet about & then through jungle track. Very hard & don’t think I will last too long on the feet. ¼ of men without boots now so I am not on my own. Was given easy task for 2 & was finishing early & home at 5 pm. Went over to see Jack Foreman who is over Cholera ward as carrier. They are living in very leaky tents about 12 to tent. They are doing the cremation besides other duties but do not come in contact with us. We have had 3 Cholera tests & am lucky to be neg. There were 50 deaths in No 1 camp for past 6 weeks. We have lost a lot of men in past 12 weeks. Do not know number. Boong hut fell down couple of nights ago & buried about 500 natives. Was not a stick standing for the whole 80 yds. Do not know how many were hurt but they were grieving for half the night. Lot of our fellows from 1 & 2 camp going off to Burma Hosp & we have 60 standing by. Rumour has it that we will go away when railway is finished & that should be about month’s time. Today the remains of Brian Dale was buried. I only met him on this job & he was a very decent fellow. Another good man murdered by the Japs. The supplies of Med gear are very short now & it is very difficult to make the ulcers heal up so the M.O. has had to resort to drastic treatment. The badness has to be scraped away & it is agony for the patients. They have to be held down forcibly by orderlies. Very weak cases get shot of morphine to help them.

MON SEPT 6: Still on the cutting & have been on it for past 10 days. Only couple of days work in it now & we will be off somewhere else. Have been on contract & have finished early for past 2 days & have had time to get clean again. I had a run of bad tasks & could not get time until nearly 9 which makes evening meal about 10. A very long day. I was badly in need of a shave & now feel the benefit of it. The clothes are always dirty of course but it is good to get the old sweat & mud out of them. The track to the job is terrible & with no boots I am striking quite a bit of trouble with my feet. Got a nasty twist in left instep which is sore. The arches are strained & I have beriberi up to the shins. Still I hobble out for there are some very bad cases in hospital espec pleurisy & pneumonia. We had a bad accident out on the job today when a fall of earth caught a couple of chaps. They had to be carried home. One with fractured collar bones, prob fracture of pelvis & internal injury, the other had dislocated leg. Later in day another hurt 1 more man. The camp is in a horrible state with muck & mud everywhere. It is not safe to walk about too much first thing in morning. The food is very poor the last few days but is supposed to improve. Today has been a little better. Yesterday we had 2 meals of plain rice. I am fairly hungry these days yet I am eating between 6 – 8 pints of rice each day. The English officers who attempted to escape have been caught & brought to this camp & are supposed to be publicly shot. Nothing has been done yet about them. 3 had died & 4 more in a very bad way with fever & ulcers. We were paid last night & I drew $2.50 less 15 cents for hosp. Got an issue of 10 packets of cigs & if I had done a few more days work for past month I would have had 20 pkts of 10. Sold 6 pkts for $3. There is supposed to be a Red X issue of Jap food but we have not seen it yet. I think it will prove the food we left behind at Bampong.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:45 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 76:

THURS SEPT 9: Finished 2nd cutting in heavy rain & everyone pleased. Nothing to be pleased about for we had to work in another cutting with the English today & it is a damn sight worse. Was lucky to strike good task & finished before 4 pm so was able to have good rest. This is 13 days without break & am beginning to feel tired. Some men have been out 30 & 40 days without a break.

Chapter 20

SUN SEPT 19: It is almost impossible to describe the past 10 days. The line now has passed through our section & I understand will be completed in the next few days. 4 days previous to yesterday the working hours were increased to almost unbearable hours to finish the bridges & embankment for the line. The first 3 days we had but 6 hours rest in camp & everyone was exhausted. We were working under electric light & fires at night. There were thousands of natives on the track at night, the scene looked like Luna Park. Working with no boots in a rocky cutting upset everyone’s feet & left a lot crippled. My feet swelled up like balloons & it was agony to walk about even without working. The Nips increased the ration & made a few additions which enabled us to do a bit but mostly we were too tired to eat. Yesterday the line laying gang came along & passed through the camp. They lay 4 – 5 kms a day so they are soon out of sight again. The natives laid the sleepers & lines & A force mostly Arty & 2/10 were doing the spiking. Unfortunately I was sent home from work with sore feet so I did not see them. Today all men rest & then is an issue of cigarettes & supposed to be good food. Rest very much appreciated by all. I am on N duties. The natives have been driven hard beside us. Each morning the overseers go through the huts with a stick & belt the occupants out to work. Saw a very amusing sight one morning. 10 of them were supposed to be sick & wouldn’t come out to the parade. They were brought out & given 3 whacks on the behind each. Some sick parade. The rain for past week has been constant, making things very bad underfoot. We have not much clothing to get wet & what we have is always wet & muddy. Supposed to be a big International Conference on, which may end the war. Hope it soon stops it. Our men are dying too quickly here. I was told that the Burma party which went up to the hosp has had 180 deaths.

TUES SEPT 28: Very easy out on rd now. Just improving & mending & shifting landslides. Start work 9.30 & finish between 6 – 8. Think we are just putting in time. Line will be linked up in next 2 – 3 days. We are to move off in next 14 days to Changi by rail. Thank Heaven we will not have to walk as we came. I think we would all collapse on way. Main trps going up by rail & rd. Rain seems to be taken up after wettest period we have had. Think it rained most of 24 hrs all this month. Sun is wonderful after 4 months of wet. Was paid up to 10th of month. Have missed 1 day since & was given 1 day by Japs. Smallpox broken out among natives. We have been vaccinated. Japs tell us if we contract disease it will mean long period of isolation, just when the camp is due to pack up. Was shocked to hear that 280 of the Burma Hosp party had died. Also Padre Foster Hay & the other tenor & baritone of the Concert party. The violinist has ulcers all over his hands & is in bad way. Bad luck for such talented men. We have an ever increasing death rate but do not know the exact number. Food has been very poor but hopes of improving.

WED OCT 1: In camp today. Work started in quarry for ballast yesterday & it played up with my bare feet so had my day off today. Only 25 men each day so should have every other day off. This makes 3 days off since the 20th Sept. Bit of trouble this morning with the guard. Couple tracking with natives through the night & ran away when seen by Jap. They demanded the men this morning & threatened us with starvation. Kappe got up on parade & made an ass of himself. Should be going soon if rumour is right. Several amputations in Hosp of ulcer cases which have proved quite successful. The operations take place in the open 10 yds with plenty of onlookers.

WED OCT 8: Home 4 pm this day for some reason. Still working in quarry on ballast. Have been very lucky to get hold of 2 boots which protect the feet. My feet in very bad state with little festers. Have been paid today for 10 Sept to the 30th & also 3$ for the march up. Still rumours of going away & think we will be away in a week.

THURS OCT 14: In Hosp with ulcers on foot. Have been in for past 4 days. Will have 8 days pay coming to me this pay I think. Ulcers have all cleared up except one which looks as if it will give a lot of trouble. Hope it does not get as bad as some of my bed mates which are as big as plates. The smell in the ward is frightful with rotten flesh & I have been living outside day & night. Practically no medical supplies & all I can do to mine is bathe in hot water & put Ersol dressing on which is very weak. Food very light here & in a state of semi-starvation all the time. Still lots of talk of leaving for Changi but do not think we will go back there but some other place. Men still working in quarry. Work not too bad. Line not linked yet & rails & sleepers still going down. Large numbers of Nips going up in open trucks. Issue of cigarettes yesterday. I had 8 pkts & should be able to sell them for $2. Will have good roll to go back with if it is not taken. Many men bring tobacco tins with money in. Slight improvement in food but no quantity of it for a hungry man. Prawn stews are favourite. With box yak now & again. The prawns are very good, although like the meat very maggoty. They are pickled in a mixture of a little salt & plenty of chillies. Japs have also come forward with some clothing – all Dutch stuff – but very handy. Will fit men with wasp waists 36” – 28” so not much good for the health Aust. Officers showing up very badly on this turnout. They made their own mess a few months back when things were very poor & yesterday they started to play officers mess on bugle the boys made demonstration which aroused attention of Jap G.M. who made a few inquiries. The call is not made on the bugle now. A talk is given almost every evening in the ward which helps to pass the time away from tea till dark. Most of them very interesting.

FRI OCT 15: First steam train went through today evidently testing the line.

MON OCT 18: Men have day off today. Don’t know why. Still feeding us on prawns & rice. Japs put on a surprise search which took whole evening. Got quite a bit of gear, dagger & compasses & binoculars.

THURS OCT 29: Foot much better. Actual treatment in Hosp useless. Happened to get hold of M & B tab which checked & started to heal in 2 days. Have now 5 days dressing on which comes off next Mon. Work in quarry finished & new lot of Engineers in. Just filling in time now with odd jobs. Have to supply roll by the 1st Nov & looks like move in next week. Japs put on turn few days ago. Some argument as to who should hit the men & who was in charge of them between Korean Guards & Jap Eng. Ended in stand up fight. Life in Hosp very slow. Food up & now & never very good. Very little Med supplies & men just waiting to get out. Men dying at rate of 12 – 14 each day & well over 300 in cemetery now. Very bad now for we will lose more & more as time goes on, men are so weak. Have seen men die all round me just too weak & tired to carry on. We are very hard for they will die while we are eating & it will make no difference to us.

FRI NOV 12: Welcome news in camp at last, we are to move from here on 17th. Am still in Hosp, foot refusing to heal. Will be going with first lot I hope. 11th Nov observed with 2 mins silence. Boys not working very hard. 250 each day. Was paid $2 for pay of last month. Still living out in open & have been lucky not to strike many wet nights. Have only lived in Hosp 2 nights. Place is lousy & bug ridden. Nips building lot of new huts about place & think they are for own trps. Bad news. F. Gartude died of dys at 2 camp. J. Foreman in bad way here & am doing what I can for him. Very few Nips in place. No traffic on line for past 48 hrs. Felt an earth tremor on 7th about 10 pm. 1 Eng officer died of ulcers. Still very heavy death rate among trps. Food just so.

FRI NOV 19: Started to march to Niki. Have been standing by for last 5 days & had several false starts. Last night supposed to move by truck but something went wrong with organization. Had 3 false starts & 50 men ended in rain & got wet through. Had to march to No 2 camp today & rested. Had first descent wash for 9 months near bridge which must be most expensive in world. Cost 850 lives mostly Cholera. We left about 450 on hill & about 500 in Hosp. 300 in our party. Foot giving little trouble & will know it tomorrow. 4kms today but 13 tomorrow. So ends this terrible time in this awful camp. If we had to stay here another wet season we would all pass out. Food very poor now, rice mostly.
Chapter 21

SAT NOV 20: Away 10 am walking 11 km to Niki. I was in sick party but others soon caught us up. Only got 2 miles & car came along & told us we had to be there at 2 pm so no rest. Very hard walk but long wait at Niki. Saw Jerry & Eric Bretnul in a camp along railway line. Look very well but have had hard time. J.Burnetts in Hosp. Gave Jerry his glasses. Very pleased to see each other. Had swim in river. Most enjoyable. Still here at 8 pm. Most think we will go tonight.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:48 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 77:

FRI NOV 26: Train journey frightful. Hard on fit men so am afraid many of sick men will die. Had day at Nikki where Jap officer in charge showed up. Had derailment which took 3 hrs to fix. Was lucky for other trains have up to 12. Line very poor job & train was 3 days going 150 miles. Very tired on arrival at Kamburi & had to walk 1 ½ miles to camp where we were when we marched up. Here is open & very cold at night. Sold lot of clothes for money to buy food & living very well. Foot breaking down again & got dose of fever. Fairly well now. Plenty of eggs, bananas, fish & doing fine. F. Force keep moving in each day & think we will be here 2 more days. Bates sent over 10$ for us & I got 1$. Berry appears to have shown up very bad in Burma party. Our death roll very high. Chick Phillips helping us a lot with water & food & this has ceased to be desert camp for us. Was on picket one evening during check parade & boongs threatened me with knife. Had to sing out for help. Am mucking in with Shorty Sorrels & Peter Wilkenson & doing very well.

WED DEC 1: Had some wet weather here which has given me a bad cold & touch of fever. Are moving tonight to Bangkok Docks, destination unknown. Think I have been eating too much after starving for so long. Court Marshall yesterday on man who stole blanket from his mate. He got 9 mths hard labour. J. Freeman has died & many others who one would have thought were quite strong. Have lived very well here, too well, but there is always fear of tomorrow & what it may bring. Food in camp just ordinary & if one had no money to buy then it would be no good.

SAT DEC 4: Moved from Kamburi Thurs & was in train until Fri 3pm & travelled 50 miles. No doubt about Nip trains. Arrived at Bampong wharf where we camped in the garden. Nips gave us mats to sleep on. Had 1 meal on Friday having to set up our own cookhouse. Today food much better. Got little fruit from natives but officers got pick of everything. River nearby & swift here. All buildings new except the houses. Did not see much of Bangkok but saw the outskirts of the palace where double sentries every 100 yards. Big moat & high walls & railings around it. 2 royal statues very spick & span marble flooring etc. Good to see little civilization again after jungle.

TUES DEC 8: Still in the garden on Bampong wharf, very restricted. 2 Jap trps ships have come in & reloaded about 2500. Very new. Dirty. Getting very boring & food just last couple of days, have been very hungry. One man died of Cardiac Beriberi and all supposed to be fit men. We bury grave this man in swamp.

MON DEC 13: Very rough trip for 30 – 40 mls down river to an anchorage. I like rest, felt a bit sick & was glad when we reach anchorage. Our ship still loading rice & about 1 am when we had got nicely settled we had to move aboard where we became deck cargo sleeping 120 men to a hatch cover. 250 to the forward well deck & 250 in rear. Moved away on 14th 11 am for, presumably, Singapore. Nothing of interest happened until now. Food regular & as good as we have had since being P.O.W. Had fruit etc which managed to buy at Bangkok & although very cramped for space & no exercise, the rest are doing us good. After leaving port, weather very cold with strong wind blowing. Most of us under blankets. Now getting warmer & tomorrow expect to be very hot, when we are due in Singa. Rained this morning & soaked us all for except a tarp over middle we have no shelter & if it rained very much & was cold we would suffer from exposure. Food good being little pork, little beef, some Jap seaweed, fish & usual rice. The ship very heavily laden with rice about 3 ft over mark & sluggish in water for seas not too rough although occasional sea over weather side soaking men there. Ship itself very old being one built by Americans in ’26 & in very bad state now. Supposed to have new engines which run very smooth. Sanitary conditions good, being 4 on each side made like little house & kept clean by crew. Carries two small naval guns. Capt supposed to have lost his last ship.

THURS DEC 17: Here at Changi at last. Nothing of note happened until the last night when Col Kappe discovered lost 1 of his boxes. Went raving mad for while & put a search on. Complained to Japs, said contents were his personal property which he had bought. Approx $120. Cooled down next morning & changed his story. Said it was our property stolen as he was bringing down rugs for rich men. Afraid he is in for it now. Here in Changi he has been relieved & think a petition has been put in against him. Will have a lot to answer for. Anchored off Changi port for night then pulled in Keppel Harb. where we had to stay day & night. Food got very light. Taken off on 16th & put in trucks, taken to Changi 18 div Area. Quite a relief to be back & get clean again. Black Jack nearly raised cheer when he hove in sight. Good organization on our reception & we were soon moved into huts & settled down. Occupants of Selawang were concerned with our condition & sent rissoles etc over to augment our rations, which here seem to be very light. Dutch cooking for day & evening meal very satisfying. Canteen operating & everything very expensive about 3 times price. We are isolated for week which is just as well for we are pretty dirty.

SUN DEC 20: Changi has certainly given us a wonderful welcome. Everyone is overwhelmed with the news, casualties & are doing everything in their power for us. First night they gave up their Doevres for us & quite a lot have given clothes etc. We are getting extra rations & are doing very well. I had a bout of Malaria & have been off my food but seem alright again today. We are still in quarantine & had dys prod & malaria test today. Yed Boagman came over today to see us & he looks very well. Got a list of dead which is amazing. Total figure not yet to hand. 2nd party came in last night. Came down by train in 4 days & had bad trip. 8,000 H force in town. Was able to get my name on list to be broadcast. Also am sending a Red X card.

WED DEC 23: In Hosp again for birthday & Christmas. Malaria BT & food very good. Enormous number of F force in here. Had beautiful hot bath on arrival & all clothes were de-loused in fumigation. Place has changed since we have been away. All S area here & everyone concentrated in Selarang. Hosp in buildings in square. Thousands of fowls & ducks. Most of fit men working on ‘drome nearby. 9 am – 6 pm. B.L. on all buildings & quite a business in hot coffee. We are being mostly on towgay beans, soya beans & rice most cooked in palm oil.
THURS DEC 24: Xmas Eve & very quiet. R.Andrew gave me an egg. Much appreciated. Air raid warnings making devil of noise. Supposed to treat all aircraft as hostile. Brown out restrictions. Bought loaf of bread & is excellent. Rice bread but very good. All men in Hosp given 20c yesterday for pay. Don’t know why.

SAT DEC 25: Very quiet & hungry Xmas Day. Lot of visitors to ward yesterday visiting friends. Small carol service in ward. Buck & Dick Turner came around & had yarn. They look well. Very light breakfast of bean gruel. Com A.I.F visited to ward. Nips gave us pkt of cigs each. English had a problem in an effort to raise a cheer & smile. Music in ward. Lunch 3.30. Had to wait until pork was cooked. 2 mouthfuls each man. Food excellently cooked. Peas, beans, pork, sweet potato, seasoning, gravy, soup, ginger pudding & sauce. Was still hungry when finished. Tea 7 pm a cold colation of rissoles & a tart. Yed came up & had yarn. Hope I do not put another Xmas here. Tea was excellent. All fried rissoles, 5 types very tasty but painfully light. Unit came to rescue with roll & piece of pudding. Lights & water failed so had enforced blackout. Much singing & fooling in English lines. They are a happy lot considering adverse conditions. They have suffered 3 times as heavy as us but they are far more cheerful.

JAN 1ST: 1944: Have had very good rest past week & think I have put on weight a little. Still in isolation on W & G area because of Smallpox. Diphtheria in square here but not serious. New year came in very quietly here but lot of noise in lines. Went to Eng Pantomime Aladdin & enjoyed it. Present of bananas from Unit today. Very acceptable.

SAT JAN 15: Came from Hosp 12th & feeling fairly well. Weight 9.7. Back with Unit. Still under isolation. Japs made inspection, reason unknown. Promised us increase in race issue. Large numbers of Chinese & natives working on ‘drome’. Think we will be working there soon. Food very good here but will feel hungry if we have to work on ‘drome’ on it. Had Spleen test & was Pos 1. Think it may mean more treatment. Have not been issued with clothing yet. Still very large numbers in Hosp. About 400 in special Mal Hosp on this side. Time spent in few fatigues & resting, playing cards, chess. A real holiday.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Thu Feb 25, 2016 10:11 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 78:

SAT JAN 29: Have been doing slit trenches & gardening for past 2 wks. Slit trenches in case of air raid. The gardens are ours under the I.J.A. & is about 18 acres, mostly potatoes & greens. This forms 25% of our rations from I.J.A. Work is not forced & we are only doing ½ day until further notice. We are being broken in very easily. Went to see our piggery which has been coming on since we have been away. They have about 200 pigs of all sizes & we should be reaping benefit in another 2 months time. They are a China breed & very sway back. Feed on rubber & coconut meal, very ugly & sway backed. We are feeding as well as anyone here now & although we are not getting abundance, the food is tasty & good. We get as rations 10 ½ oz rice & 5 oz beans & veges from garden. We are all looking very much better now & with couple of month’s rest will pick up well. Red X mail is in again after silence of nearly 12 months & I had one from Eva dated 27 August. It was wonderful to hear again from you Eva & although 2 yrs old seemed just as good as yesterday. I would have been very disappointed if I had missed out. Lot of trouble with thieves in garden & ration thiefs. These when caught are strictly dealt with & there is another court martial on now trying some chaps from 29 for unlawful possession of rice.

FEB 10: 1944: Am feeling in between Malaria headache. Malaria Centre continually full of relapse & fresh cases many of whom are only out for 3 days. Work down at garden occasionally, the produce of which is a great help in feeding the camp. The food good now although still not enough, so we are continually looking forward to the next meal hoping is of better quality & we are all looking much better than we did. I have to get skin treatment for ring worms each day. They do not worry me they look so ugly. The routing of the camp has much improved in past twelve months & the standard of living & of playing has improved out of sight. The Plays that the Eng & Aust concert parties put on for our enjoyment are really excellent. Among some which are outstanding is “Hay Fever” which is equal to any one would see at a first class theatre at home is running for a month & “Good Morning Jim” runs for a fortnight. The Education Centre is not doing a great deal of work owing to most of available men having to work on the ‘drome’. Their best effort is the Changi Union Bureau which sets out to help all those who intend to set up in business or any employment whatever when they reach home. Some of the lectures given by practical men are very good. I was delighted to receive another letter from Eva the day after I had the last. It was dated June ’43 & I had to guess at a lot of the news therein. I hope I get my nephews names right when I get home. They seem to be increasing like rabbits.

THURS FEB 25: Jap puts on Medical inspection. Maybe checking up on classification. Picked 47 out of 400 & I was picked. I am feeling very fit but not too pleased at being picked for maybe Jap working party. Malaria still rampant. Had meeting last Sat night where everyone that’s counted was present. Was surprised at people here who know things.

MARCH 21: 1944: Have had Malaria again. Just about 1009 for whole of F Force & new cases in Selarang area. We are still using Mal Centre over here which holds about 350 & is always full. Treatment is 7 – 14 days. About fortnight ago had issue of Red X food sent to Yanks in parcels. Amounted to 1 lb each man but made wonderful difference to food for week. Also got pkt & half of Camels & Chesterfields. I sold mine for $2. Have had good luck with 2 Up lately but cannot spend much. Nothing to buy except bananas twice each wk. Cigarettes in gaol but Nips will not issue because smoking is of an offensive nature. I suppose they are V for Victory cigarettes. Went to 4 good meetings month ago & heard good lectures. Going in for gardening a great deal more now under directions of Col Jester whose object is 1 lb of greens a day. Don’t think he will do it. Too many men on no duty. All fit men go to ‘drome’ & half fit go to garden.

APRIL 4: 1944: Re-organization in area. All Arty together again. In G.W. area under Jester. 10th & 15th in separate huts. Cookhouse feeding 750 – 800 which is too many. Hope to get our own. Nips taking over the place recognizing Col Dillon & Maj Wilde. Seems to be very strict Nip Gen in charge & is starting new schemes in place. They are taking several houses in Selarang area & 250 will be housed & roaming the area. Have taken a guard hut near main entrance & closed others so we have to salute & hail them in Jap as we pass. Big scare about birds in area who will not chirp. Green nets given out to try & check Malaria but it is still as rampant as ever. More men going down to garden & have started morning & evening parties besides all day parties. Cannot buy anything in canteen at my price which is eatable.

MAY 9: Big outbreak of Dys month ago. Had Mal & day after I came out rest of Hosp with it. Soon was freed up with M&B tabs. Coughed up worm so was given worm treatment. Was in for 2 weeks. Party went into Syme Rd & same number of fit men came out to work on ‘drome’. Cleaned up all the rds round our hut. Kamburi men are all back here now. They are looking in wonderful condition & have been four mths on good food. Hard to recognise some of them with the extra condition. Lost another 4 of our men up there. Col in charge seems to be getting anxious of our safety. Placing us in closer confines & having his men guarding us more closely. New guards on rd & we have to go across rd in formed bodies. We have to salute the Nip & use the Nip words of command. 2 wks ago came the news that we must all be in gaol by certain date which seems to be each day. No room in gaol for all of us so altop huts which we are living in have to be pulled down & re-erected outside gaol, leaving one working very hard & we are now supposed to be moving out on the 10th. The Civilians are in Syme Rd & soldiers of Syme Rd already in gaol. Think there may be some happenings of importance in world affairs they are keeping such a close guard on us. ‘Drome’ workers have been increased & there are 3 parties now A.M., P.M. & all day. Work does not seem hard but sun seems to be worst. Food here very good now & we are getting sufficient to eat for first time since we have been P.O.W. Only because we are eating reserve rations. Large number of our chaps who went to Syme Rd in Hosp with Dys & Mal. Main Hosp will be going to Kranji but understand there will be 2 Hosps in & out of gaol. Japs have increased our rate of pay to 45c but we only draw 19c. Rest goes to A. & M. 5c in Hosp which is what I had last month. Went to farewell concert given by Porter & A.I.F. on Padang in front of old Con depot. Very good show.

END OF RED BOOK
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Fri Feb 26, 2016 9:42 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 79:

Chapter 22

MAY 13: 1944: 3rd day in Changi gaol. First day within walls I felt very depressed & felt very sorry for any poor unfortunate who had a life sentence. It has double walls 15’ – 25’ & I should think it would be almost impossible to escape. Between 5 – 6000 here now arriving in parties of 1000. Syme Rd being first in. We are quartered in small try bad quarters which normally would not be fit to live in. Looks like a store room & now holds 90 men. Holes have had to be let into concrete wall to let the air in. Even so sleep at night is almost impossible & most of men sleep out wherever possible. The last of the internees left the day we came in & if they can stay here & put up with the conditions for 26 mths we should. They must have had a very bad time. One message on wall read was slapped on Good Friday for not bowing in proper response to guard. What indignities our women would have to suffer if they were in possession of our countries. Everyone are very busy doing very little. Bore holes are being sunk everywhere. Scores of huts are being erected outside the gaol & more are erecting wire fence around the whole area. Plenty of scrounging has been going on around the area for everyone is very hungry. The rations have been very light & everyone going about with tucked in stomach & hungry looks. Two-up very popular inside & it whiles away the time & sometimes is very profitable. Concert party has arrived & Eng & A.I.F. are going to perform each night. The Nips have lent us 2 trucks with trailers for use in transporting material from Changi & 20 trailers each day bring huts & goods in & around gaol. The organization in here is out of ordinary. Eventually the W.O’s will run the camp & all the officers will be segregated.

MAY 20: In A. & H. again with Malaria. Also getting treatment for number of skin complaints. Have been on wiring party past week. Not hard work. Food still light but fairly well cooked. 1.8 oz rice making .5 oz rice per day. Hosp eating much better than lines for first time. We did quite a lot of scrounging while working & made veg stew each day of sweet pot tops, edible weeds, cabbage, coconut palms, centre of banana plants & anything we could get hold of. Managed to get few coconuts & we grate up & mix with the plain rice for breakfast. Work on huts progressing very slowly & do not think they will be finished by end of month on schedule. 90,000 letters have come in to be sorted & censored & I have had another 2 from Eva & hope to get the rest all together. Nips seem to be very reasonable at conferences in gaol and make quite lot of concessions re: extra ground outside gaol. Think attitude definitely changing. Men at ‘drome’ say that no one is working very hard. Advance party went to Kranji yesterday to prepare Hosp. Now move postponed until 10th June. Two mths reserve rations in Q of gaol.

MAY 26: Discharged from hosp today. Very pleased for hosp rations very light & am steadily losing weight. I’m down to 9 st again. Everyone still working very hard moving furniture & huts down to gaol. A very large number of books & gram records came in. Were sent through Red X by YMCA. Records are sheer rubbish & the books mostly religious or text. I.J.A. garden is being cleared of vegs & Nips are extending the ‘drome’ right through. We will miss the 14 – 28 tons of vegs a month which this garden produced.

MAY 29: Still on light duty. Gen parade last night on which Jester & Callaghan spoke at great length. Jester pointed out that we would be in bad way if it were not for officers who were giving 20$ each mth. As regard this they are getting very well paid & under the circs they can well afford the 20$ as they are still living very well without it. Callaghan asked us for the time being to forget about the North. He could not be held responsible for what happened up there. He could only be responsible for what his officers did while under his command. It was a very good speech & was well received. He is gaining more & more respect as time goes on. Tonight we move to our permanent quarters which is on top floor of the gaol in cells. This entails great discomfort & a lot of climbing of four floors but we will survive. The woodlands & Kranji Hosp party moved yesterday, Whitsunday, in convoys up to 80 trucks. I think they will be much better off there on their own & get more consideration from Nips. Ration still remains light but better than Hosp. The main items are 13ozs rice, very little veg, oil, salt per day. We have been under W.O. 2 Harry Larder who has done very well. In future we will be split up 2/10 & A/T under W.O. 2 Don Cameron & 2/15 under H. Larder. Most of the officers will be segregated but we will be under Maj. Hunt & Jester. W.O. 2 Bert Hinley will be R.O.M. of Co & W.O.1 Leithart R/M of Group.

JUNE 24: Still in cell 15 of 5A. Life very dreary after the more open life of Changi. The place is virtually a prison & as far as I am concerned I prefer to work every day of week to having days off for there is just nothing to do inside except read & sleep. I have been fortunate in my job on T party & in the food line am doing very well but apart from that the rations are very poor. The cookhouse cannot cope with the huge number inside the gaol, there are 6,000 & there is no more room outside the gaol. So we have “Pap” for breakfast, which is loose rice slightly sweetened & a very little palm oil in it. Hash, which is 99% rice for lunch & rice & stew & a “downe” for the evening meal. We are having as ration 17ozs rice & very small quantity of oil, sugar, salt, pepper & vegs. Beriberi is becoming serious again because of the diet deficiency. Nips themselves are not living very well. Have been working very near the administration building & have seen some of the “goings on” there. One day the Nips came along with about 10lbs of beef obviously stolen from our rations. Another came along with a young fat dog, which was done over & cut up & the whole lot stewed with couple lb garlic, chillies etc. I had first taste of dog & must confess I thought it very tasty. The thought of what it was put me off it of course. The entertainment inside after teas are not many. The lights are too poor to read with. The Con party have place on about Show which is very good considering the poor facilities available. The band is doing excellent service & I think is always enjoyed by all. A spirit of hopefulness & optimism always prevails & is something which nothing seems to quench. All the officers are now living together in all about 15,000 the chief street being in the coolie lines in which all L. Cols live. It is known locally as Lavender St. The Hosp has been moved from Selarang to huts outside gaol. News from Kranji is meagre but it appears that they are living on Hosp rations which is 11 ½ ozs rice which means that food is very short. There is no Red X parcel as popular belief would have. The natives are living in some of the buildings in Selarang & most of the barracks are supposed to be demolished for the strip on the ‘drome’ which will be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

JULY 26: ’44: Have got most of my mail from Eva now. Nothing known of me at home yet but letters full of hope & cheer. Continual air of optimism here in gaol & I think the end must be getting very close. The time is passing very quickly at present. I am very fortunate to have a good job down at Takahasai beach house where we get a little extra food & some coconuts besides a swim each day under most gorgeous surroundings. Just pottering about, no hard work. Also planting a hedge in Col’s lines of hibiscus. Very good. In the evenings have been going along to any lecture which happens to be on. Col Whaite has been giving an excellent series of lectures on Philosophy for Man in the Street which has given us all a great deal of food for thought. He has given talks on various Religions & their degrees of goodness. Buddha, Mohammadism have all been interesting for their instructive interest but Christianity seems to be the all absorbing lasting & most satisfactory religion & philosophy because of its continual hopefulness in this world & after life. We have had two sports matches which have aroused a great deal of interest on the floor. The combined Concert party have done a really good job this week giving a very good show. The band on Sunday night was also very good. Have been reading some very good books lately. Best of all being a text book on American Literature I liked Mark Twain. I like for its descriptions & serious nature.

AUG 7: ’44: Bank Holiday in England. Wonder if it is on news over there. Am feeling very well just lately & am eating all that comes my way which means I am in between malaria. I am due again in weeks time. Food & pay parade but sameness each day dreadful. Officers have been segregated on paper but are still with us in fact. B.J. & Holmes ended last week when Takahasai formed new Cabinet. Mostly Syme Rd lot with Col Newey in charge. Made drastic changes almost immediately. During first month there has been some terrible tragedies enacted. Firstly was the Medan horror in which hundreds of men lost their lives. The Nips were bringing several hundreds of men down Malacca Straits on oil tankers when one of our subs got among them & sank most of them. The survivors, some who came to this hosp were suffering severely from burns and severe internal injuries due to being in water when explosions took place on the tankers from torpedoes & exploding oil. There were a few survivors of a sinking by Nip subs in Persian Gulf recently & they have very cheerful outlook re the ending of war. Had letter from Eva dated Dec 25 word but do not know if she has heard from me yet. Wish I could get the Sept letter which seems to be the main one. Was delighted to get a snap of the girls & mother in the letter & thought it told me more than the letter itself. Have become rather interested in Psychology lately as one of my outlets & find it passes the time quite well. Should prove very interesting. Was comparing conditions here with conditions if position was reversed & can’t help thinking how well off we are. The Nips have taken check parade each night in which they do not seem very interested & then, except when anyone wants to go out of area he must have Nip, they do not worry us at all. We have band recitals twice weekly. Recorded programmes, lectures & the Con Party Rd Show. A new theatre is being built which looks very imposing structure. A number of chapels of various sects have been built & we are free to practice our faith. We have a good library which has been enhanced by Red X additions of last Feb. from America in which there are some very recent publications. The books I am reading are 1943 editions. A much larger area of ground is under cultivation & we should reap benefit next mth. from this. Coconuts are main buy in canteen & thousands must be bought each day for consumption to help fill.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sat Feb 27, 2016 10:54 pm

Thanks dub. Here is the page for today: 'His Life Worth Living' - Page 80:

AUG 23: ’44: Am still on Ti. Worked for week at Gen Saitos H.Q. doing hedges during which time my midday meal was provided by Nip cookhouse. Have done fairly well out of them since I have been working with them. Got 3oz to brew & some paper for smokers of party & pencils & toilet paper for myself. Pencils are 40c at canteen & paper except for newspaper issue cannot be had. Am going down Takahasai house again now for 3 days to get hibiscus. We will be getting more than hedging down there. Have just had 2 Dys & 2 Typhoid needles. Latter made all feel very sick for few hours. Started building small shelter for guards in middle of Rd. All signs point to early conclusion of war. Rumour that number of Lt Col & 1 Brig are being flown to Japan. Hosp has orders to be ready to move into gaol 3 hrs notice & cook to be ready to cook for 11,000 men. Food very poor in gaol now but will be very bad if this does happen. Some idea of inflation in Singapore can be gathered from the following: 1 bicycle $3,000, watches $3 – 500, pound of pork $750 & 1 pork chop $100. So much black marketing is going on the Comm had his guards searched before going on leave to see how much money they had to spend. They are only allowed $1 per day. Some of our chaps on P. party are making hundreds out of selling clothing & any article of use. They are inspected & searched each morning by Desperate Dan MP but of no avail.

SEPT 3 SUN: ’44: 5 yrs today since commencement of war. Full day of prayer of intersession for peace all day in all chapels of gaol area. Wonder if same is being done in all quarters of globe by all races & creeds. Still in T. building bomb shelter. Have been most fortunate since I have been in gaol in having this job. The time passes as quickly as is possible under these circumstances & we are left a good deal to our own devices. We are most fortunate to be getting a little extra in the way of food “Lagis” & we are able to keep our vitamins up by “presents” of the Nips after the midday meal. This is mainly shot towgay but it is just what the diet is deficient of inside. The gaol ration scale must inevitably lead to beriberi eventually. 16oz of rice with very small quantities of oily veg, fish, salt, pepper, coconut. While we were down Takahasai last week I cut down 2 coconuts for the cabbage which when boiled is really an excellent meal. Also were able to get 6 – 8 nuts which is no small item for they are 78c in store. Bit of trouble with rd party this week. 8 men scavenging vegs were caught in forbidden & secret area I.J.A. They each got 6 wks confined to co section cells. As from today all officers are excluded from gaol except those in an advisory capacity. Cap Stahl group advisor, Don Cameron O.C. of floor. Special powers invested by Col Newey are that W.P. can award extra day up to 8 days or hand them up to advisor & force who are in town were supposed to have left for Japan last night. Rumour of more officers going away. Most unusual notice outside main gate today. “No Officers allowed in gaol except those on duty.” First time I have seen Officers not allowed to go where ranks live. Dozen or so at least of officers on administration now. All others are not allowed out of own area without permission. Large convoy of ships leave the island today. First shipping activity for some time.

SEPT 18: 1944: Back on job in T4 now with a special job of making the garden round the conference house which has been erected next to Admin building. It is a big job & should last us some weeks. We are getting some extra food from Nips & as we are able to go down to Takahasai each day we are able to get a nut occasionally. Have just read book “Return to Religion” & was very impressed with authors reasons. American book 47 YMCA. Curran camp has been demolished & the Indians removed to beach houses to help protect our gardens from natives. The huts are being re-erected in gaol area, rumour has it for remainder of D & A forces who are in Singapore. Have been getting lot of rain lately & vegetables growing very well. The increase is very noticeable in food. Rumour of Red X supplies being allowed in from Allies but am pessimistic. Mail still being censored but not issued. Wish they would hurry with it.

Chapter 23

OCT 22: ’44: Back to work again on the T4 after 4 wks in Hosp. Had bad accident on way back from Takahasai on Changi Rd. Truck swerved & I fell out backwards. Did not know anything about the job until following day. Appears I skidded on my neck & shoulder & the speed which the truck was travelling saved me from breaking my neck. I had no broken bones mainly suffered from abrasions to shoulder & hip, arms & legs & concussion. I think the latter the worst. I had very good treatment while in Hosp under Maj Naron & I was on supplementary diet which means an egg each day & bananas & occasional slice paw paw. Discharged with 1 mths light duties. I asked M.O. to change it to B1g so that I could go back to my old job which he did. The only after effect of the accident is occasional dizziness. One of modern day miracles. Been bit of trouble while I have been in Hosp. Gen Saito says that he was walking around one night & heard groups sing God Save King & stopped all entertainment for week. Appears that Indians in Half Moon St were singing it but he would not accept that. It was very dull for the week & now entertainment & lectures etc are only allowed twice each week Wed & Sat. The nights seem interminable. The new theatre was opened while I was down, with the Revue “All This & Heaven” so I did not see it. Monday 24th opened with command performance of Autumn Crocas from Gen Saito & his mates. Some brainy bird outside discovered that a large sum of money awaited us when we got home & started to plan how it should be spent. Made all sorts of silly suggestions among which we should decide how money would be distributed, L.A.D. be attached for benefits. Most of men were against all proposals so we asked to answer questionnaire. The answer was decided neg & whole thing went flat. Some officers seem to be under impression that they can do what they like with money which has not been given to them. I think we can rest assured that if any large sum of money does await us a committee & secs will be already formed. There are 130 2/U here.

NOV 5: ’44: Our planes passed over for first time since we have been P.O.W. About 40 with 15 fighter AA very heavy but planes much too high. No bombs dropped for the minute. We were outside at time & when siren went had to come inside gaol. Am attending Malay class once each week. Very little else to do now that entertainments are restricted. Hundreds of dart boards have been made & the game is all the rage now. Big cotton haul in Singa by P. party. Got on to a large quantity of reels which has been selling easily at 13$ - 20. Nips got on to some men but did not prove case. One chap down garden killed small pig which caused great deal of trouble. Money cannot buy that type of good now & the Chinese had to be pacified with 2 bags of our rice. The man got 28 days & 90 days restrictions with rice & water 3 times a week. Another chap working at Takahasai stole the canvas from his day bed. Got the same punishment.

NOV 8: ’44: Had sweep on Melb Cup yesterday. Did not win. Had air-raid alarm today. Do not know if it was practice but caused lot of excitement for while. Went back to work as usual in evening & Nips went on leave. Our garden around Gens house beginning to look very well now. Takahasai want main work finished by Xmas so we have plenty of time. Still getting plenty of food on this job. He seems to like to talk to us although he does not speak very much English. He seems to be very fond of flowers & gardens. The 3 officers use the pavilion & garden as a sort of retreat from their everyday work. Had a letter from Eva today dated 11 Nov 43. Very little news. Rumour of Red X ship on its way for Xmas. Hope it is correct. Van Eck sprained his ankle & has been off work for few days. Gen Saito asked after him & sent him down some bandage, cotton wool & liniment. Seemed quite concerned. The Gens servant asked some of us in this evening & gave us some whiskey & soup. Assured us that Australian & Korean were “sama sama” & did not wish to be enemies. He was only a servant not a soldier. All are showing a good deal of concern about Air Raid by Sunday. Order has come out that anything dropped from a plane must not be picked up or penalty of shooting on sight.

NOV 28: ’44: Few air raids last two weeks but have not seen planes yet. Believe many bombings up country. Have been going to Malay classes & am making slight progress. Most of men working down gardens now. ‘Drome’ still taking its quota & P party join each day handing tin etc on to boats. We are still on the job but I think it will cut out in another fortnight. Darts are only occupation for most of men except on Wed & Sat. All tobacco has been withdrawn for few days. None was for sale & men smoking leaves sugar or only buy & very expensive at 25c each. Heard lecture on Mormons by a captain which proved to be very enlightening.

DEC 14: ’44: Have been very lucky. At beginning of mth the party T4 was finished retaining 2 men. I was one. So I have a most pleasant task of growing flowers & cutting grass for the general. There is still a lot of turf to lay but the garden is beginning to look very nice now. A brief description: The summer house made of coconut logs with atap roof & mauve coloured floor has bougainvillea growing around it. Mauve & crazy paths to a sundeck which is original if not exact & to a little bridge over a gutter to a shade seat in bank. We have built a series of rockeries down the gutter with coral & planted canna & coloured caladiums in far corner is grassy retreat under flame tree. There are plenty of crotons, palms & bougainvillea. The only flowers we can get balsam, maura. Of course we get little bags food from batmen & cigs from Gen & Col & Takb. The Gen comes around each morning in the garden & is quite affable although he does not speak much English. I can understand some of his Malay. When he is in good humour he roams around the garden laughing at top of his voice. Col Barrow who fought for us in last war & is in his dotage now comes around & no matter what we are planting he always says Mate. Altogether it is a good way of forgetting P.O.W. life & is keeping me fairly fit for our ultimate release. Since the A.R. 3 weeks ago nothing has been done or heard & we have had a real gloomy session. The 8th passed without incident except flags flying & pep talk from the Emp which I read in the paper. Must make intro into these pages of J. Plunket with whom I knock around, very decent chap indeed & one of the most sensible chaps on floor. He & I are trying to learn Malay together. Making heavy weather of it. We still are restricted to Wed & Sat for lectures & amusements although there has been a slackening lately. The Gen had Command Performance of Twinkle Toes the new combined show & was immensely pleased with it. He gave all party con chicken broth sweet cocoa & cigs. A happy sound the A.R. siren has just sounded B.O. On Saturday all the Nips are to see the show. The prices at the canteen are impossible now. Coconuts 1.30 peanuts 12.80 sugar 10$ lb towgay 7.40. We have had a dry time in past month so gardens have not done so well. This is a wet month so we should have plenty greens for Xmas. Everyone is feeling very home sick with the advent of Xmas which is not to be wondered at after 3 yrs incarceration.

DEC 29: ’44: Xmas day was most enjoyable I have had in Malaya which under these circumstances of incarceration is saying a great deal. There was a feeling of friendly spirit in the air which was infectious. There was a feeling of expectancy & the certainty that the New Year would bring good news & that this would be last Xmas as P.O.W. The entertainment spirit was remarkable & the 2/10 had a card from nearly all other units. B.J. gave a short address to each coy in the gaol in which he stressed the need for united effort for he said ‘the New Year would be very tough.’ The usual Xmas services were held, the midnight communion being well attended despite the I.J.A. regulations re black out which restricted lighting to 1 candle. The Xmas eve service was carols & reading from Messiah & Nativity. The cooks put on a very good show & I think everyone in the camp was full of food for the first time for many months. The menu was 1 ½ pts pap with soya beans sweet; with cheese cup & rissole. Lunch 1 pt hash & pastry & roll for evening meal 1 pt stew 4 patties 1 roll & very sweet cup. We had privately jula & coconut ginger mixture & sugar about 10$ worth. 1 coconut $1.40 paw paw 5.80 fried onions & towgay & coconut. So we were very satisfied for day. Reg, Peter, Jim & myself all went to the pantomime in the evening. It was really an excellent show quite mad & quite in keeping with the effect of Xmas. We had later supper in our cell with lighting per candles where we ate paw paw & drank tea. The I.J.A. supplied 1 cart cheese which had evidently been in the gaol for years for it was very ripe but beautiful after being so long without that sort of thing. The Chinese canteen contractor gave us 300 lb gula & 6 small cheroots for per man. There are 10 ½ thousand men in gaol so he must be worth a bit. Next day I happened to be working handy & was in a party who were presented Nip with four cheroots. We have had a lot of rain this month & our garden is looking very beautiful. Unfortunately we have small variety of flowers. On Wed last I went to a show which was recorded by the Nips for broadcasting purposes. It was a very abbreviated show of Twinkle Toes. The Japs were broadcasting on 28 & 29 of month announced that the countries concerned had been given 3 days notice of the broadcast. A few chosen men were allowed to send short message home but none of our unit. Saw a plane crash last week. Evidently fuel trouble. No one killed. Some sad happenings over Xmas. One chap a bit screwy attempted suicide by cutting his throat. Another went through the wire after coconuts one night & was brought in by chows next day suffering from fracture spine, leg & arm & ribs. Another 26 were caught outside wire. A party standing by for Singapore of 300 men all 26 seem to be going. Rumours of a large party moving away on the 17 of Jan for K. Tanggi. Also rumour of R.X ship on A. & repatriation do not hold much faith in latter. Some miscarriages of justice on our floor nearly think war W O s are falling down on job. F. Bannister called Sgt Mooney a silly galoot. He was charged with being offensive to an N.C.O. It was allowed to go to Maj Thomsom & he got 91 days restrictions. Our own W.O. Henley could have handled it himself & awarded up to 14 days but they are all passing the buck for fear of becoming unpopular. One of the Provost was abusive to me for no provocation. They are becoming most unpopular & already one chap J. West had had a beating up by men who has been done dirt.
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