大象传媒

Part 7 continued. Then the order was given to run for it and we all dashed outside. With the guns blazing above I managed to get into a foxhole. They were all taken as we were too late, so people were running hither and thither. Looking up I had a grandstand view of the battle above. A large formation of beautiful silver coloured four-engine bombers approached us, with vapour trails adding splendour to the display. It was the first time I had seen aircraft with four engines and they looked huge. They were American B29 Super-fortresses. We could hear their guns blazing away at the tiny zero fighters diving into their formation from above, just like mosquitoes. Anti-aircraft fire was very accurate because after an explosion, we saw a bomber rock its wings and with black smoke trailing, it broke formation. Then we saw tiny parachutes appear from the doomed bomber, floating down gently to hell. Shortly after this, the bombers released their incendiary bombs, setting the dock area alight. I felt the ground shudder, and then it was all over. Well, we now knew for sure that invasion was a real possibility and the Japs couldn鈥檛 hide it from us any longer. Press reports branded the raid an American criminal act justifying severe treatment for the captured crew. The Kempeitai were busy rounding up suspects and like in 1943 when limpet mines damaged a ship in the harbour, they took harsh retribution on civilians. Then it was an unsuccessful raid by commandos mounted from a British submarine. Soon after this first air raid whilst returning to work from our lunch break, L. and I saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of the Adelphi Hotel on Coleman Street. Curiosity led us there and then we were inside viewing a macabre display of the downed B29. A large damaged section of the fuselage was the centrepiece of the exhibition. A roundel picture of the Pacific Ocean was painted on the aluminium surface. Striding across the Pacific Ocean, one foot on North America and the other about to land on Japan, was Uncle Sam totting a silver revolver. I wonder what the Japs thought of this cartoon! Bright orange weather box- kites, broken triplex glass, twin air-cooled machine guns and lots of personal items, like blood stained fur-lined flying leather jackets, were on display. Wallets containing Nationalist Chinese money with General Chiang Kai-Shek鈥檚 picture indicated where the flights originated from were amongst other items like family photographs. Then there were pictures of the captured crew, heads hung low whilst held tightly by their proud Kempeitai guards. One gruesome photo of a blindfolded American kneeling before a Jap officer with raised sword about to behead him, has appeared in magazines I have seen after the war. The notices displayed around the exhibition described the air raid as a criminal act, killing many civilians in their Kampongs. These bombed villages were also shown. We left quietly with a bit of B29 stolen from under the Jap鈥檚 noses. It was a tiny piece of triplex glass. Back at the factory work carried on as usual with more disruptions from air raids but having learnt their lesson, the Allied planes flew a lot higher now, so we didn鈥檛 see any more shot down. Pigskin got scarce so green canvass became a substitute material for the boots and we were asked to work overtime. Compressed balls of cooked rice and crispy fried 鈥淚kan Billis鈥�, a sort of sprat was served up on these occasions. We ate this in our cupped bare hands. The air raids and thoughts of liberation boosted everyone鈥檚 morale except that of the Japs, especially those in the administration who were older civilians in uniform. One such officer befriended Dad, telling him that he was sorry about the war and how it
was affecting us all. He said he too had been interrogated by the Kempeitai. He took L. and I to see his house in the countryside, gave us a meal and a toothbrush each. We were puzzled by this generosity and Dad said he must have known they were going to lose the war, so was gathering friends. Another strange chap we came across was 鈥淕ary鈥�, a tall lanky Japanese officer with an American drawl. He was an interpreter in the Army and had originally come from California. He spoke derisively of the occupation but we kept quiet just in case he was from the Kempeitai. Out of the blue in 1945 whilst at assembly on the flat roof of the ex 鈥淏ata Shoe Company鈥�, our Boss held up his hand and said he had an important message to announce. 鈥淭he war was over鈥� he said and peace had been arranged between the Japanese and the Allies but negotiations were still in progress as to the future of Singapore. We could still remain under Japanese administration or be returned to British rule. Nothing was certain, so in the mean time the factory would close and we were to return home. With that we all trooped off home feeling a bit bewildered. Without an inkling of the Atom Bombs dropped on Japan we never expected this sort of ending to the war. All the Japanese soldiers disappeared off the streets and they still had their armed guards outside their barracks. Later we were to discover that in order to secure a deal, the Allies allowed the Japs to retain their arms right until they were repatriated home. In fact they were often used as guards in some places by the British because of their tenacity to duty. In the mean time no one was in control of Singapore so it became a very dangerous place, especially the city. Looting broke out everywhere; killings took place in broad daylight on the streets between people settling old scores and the Chinese guerrilla Army surfaced. They were well armed with modern automatic weapons, wore dark jungle green uniforms and had strange caps with five pleats. Fighting also broke out amongst the Chinese and Malay population, especially where the two communities lived side by side. Once again this was settling old scores because the Chinese accused the Malays of collaborating with the Japs. Malays came from Johore to the aid of their brothers in Singapore but where we were on the fringes of Chinatown, it was all under Chinese control. I watched bands of Chinese youths with armbands running along Hill Street carrying wooden clubs. Some Japanese officers committed 鈥淗ara-kiri鈥� their ritual form of suicide, but one threw himself off the Cathay building. Amongst all this chaos, I was surprised and amused to see a crowd of Jews still with their 鈥淪tar of David鈥� IDs on; march down Hill Street chanting 鈥淲e won the war鈥�. The Jap sentry outside the main telephone exchange building looked on perplexed and I didn鈥檛 see Jacob our colleague from 鈥淏ata鈥� amongst them. Allied Dakota aircraft flew over daily dropping supplies of food and medicines to the POW camps and leaflets warning the internees not to eat too much all at once. We on the other hand were still starving with worthless Japanese currency and nothing to buy or barter as all shops and markets were closed. During this period of waiting, Mrs. S鈥檚 daughter Joy turned up with her boyfriend Jimmy so off we went by car to Sime Road concentration camp to visit her mother. Enclosed by a high wire fence with the ubiquitous parade ground it had the usual guard huts and commandant鈥檚 house, now vacant. At the entrance a happy crowd of inmates were there to meet us, all kissing and hugging relatives and friends. They were eager to show us around the camp, their wooden accommodation huts in long rows, the vegetable plots and their precious snail farm. The latter puzzled me a bit because we never thought of eating snails ourselves, besides it wasn鈥檛 a practical idea in a city flat. Mrs. S. looked thin and frail but otherwise okay. Of course she was overjoyed to see Joy and us too. We heard all about their daily lives, the shortage of food, boredom and bad treatment from the guards especially the commandant. She was also keen to hear how we were, and missed her booze too. Food was in abundance now at Sime road courtesy of the daily parachute airdrop. We returned home with many dark green tins containing all sorts of food, corned beef, butter and jam, but as there were no labels on the tins, just printed codes, it was pot luck what you opened. Peanut butter was something new and with the white bread we also brought home, it was a real feast. In fact the first plain slice of white bread after three and a half years was just like a slice of cake. Dad didn鈥檛 go but was more than pleased to receive these gifts at such a time. It would keep us from starving until normality returned.
It seemed like ages, a week or more before the British 14th Army finally arrived. They were under the command of Lord Luis Mountbatten; Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia based in India and had been fighting their way from India into Burma in a vicious campaign when Japan surrendered. Delayed by the clearance of mines in the Malacca Straits they comprised mainly of Indian troops including Gurkhas. They wore a dagger badge on their sleeves. My first glimpse of the returning British was once again from our front window opposite the main telephone exchange building. Looking at the Japanese sentry outside the main gate I saw a green military staff car pull up, and out sprang a tall officer in a jungle green uniform with a beret, something I had never seen on a man before. He saluted the sentry who didn鈥檛 respond and then went into the building. This scene was a disappointment for me at the time because it wouldn鈥檛 have happened like that, had circumstances been reversed. It showed that the Japs were still defiant. Soon more troops poured into the city carrying all their paraphernalia and it was a strange site to see hundreds of Indian soldiers and Gurkhas resting by the side of the road watching belligerent looking Japanese troops marching on the opposite side, all armed.. On another day I heard a commotion coming from the street below and then I saw my first Jeep. It looked so strange and flat but very practical. This one was open-top with a machine-gun mounted facing to the rear. Walking behind was a weary looking column of Japanese Kempeitai prisoners carrying their possessions in bundles wrapped in sheets. The crowd roared with laughter and delight when one tired officer discarded his bundle, no longer able to carry it. Raw justice at last I thought. Gradually law and order returned as more troops arrived and we came under the British Military Administration or BMA. There was an air of great relief that at last the war was over and that we had somehow survived its horros and privations. POWs both civilian and military were speedily evacuated to the UK and Australia including Elizabeth who survived the 鈥淭enko鈥� prison camp in Sumatra. The 鈥淭enko鈥� TV programme was based on the experiences she and the other inmates endured. Meeting her after the war in the UK I heard her sad story and also saw photographs of her and Lady Edwina Mountbatten at a ceremony in London. Japanese war criminals including General Yamashita were interned in Changi prison, eventually tried in the courts and hanged. The other soldiers awaiting repatriation were put to work on the 鈥淧adang鈥�. This field opposite the Municipal Building was hallowed ground before the war as it was the Singapore Cricket club. They were made to fill-in the many trenches there. While I watched this incredulous scene amongst a large crowd of locals laughter broke out when a Jap soldier鈥檚 spade broke. He took the broken handle to the British guard who spun him around like a naughty schoolboy and whacked his backside with it. The formal surrender ceremony on the 12th of September 1945 was quite a memorable event in our lives, but its importance didn鈥檛 sink in at the time. Troops marched past Admiral Lord Luis Mountbatten Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia. Standing on a dais on the steps of the Municipal Building he took the salute. There he accepted the swords of the top Japanese Commanders led by General Seishiro Itagaki. This was a humiliating event for the Japs so we knew how they felt after all their pride and propaganda. I felt some sympathy for them and when it was all over we returned home to pick up the bits and face an unknown future. Dad was eager to return to his old job wondering if it would still be there and if there was any money owing to him. After all he did stay to the last, destroying documents etc and risking his life whilst the enemy shells rained down.
Aunty now rented a small room in a large boarding house and eventually returned to her former job. I visited her several times before leaving Singapore for good. There was nothing to do but wait and see how things developed. News and rumors abounded and we heard about the Atom bombs that fell on Japan giving us our freedom. Newspapers began to appear again so we eagerly caught up with all the news which was denied us for three and a half years. We heard that the Kitchener family perished at sea after their ship was sunk escaping to India. Now as sitting tenants we took over the rental of their flat. We also heard that Elizabeth Allen had survived after being sunk and of her internment in a POW camp. How wrong we were to envy her escape at the time. The survivors of the 鈥淏ahu鈥� expedition returned looking thin and ill with malaria and they all felt tricked into going. As the schools hadn鈥檛 opened yet I spent a lot of time at the A鈥檚 home enjoying the little bit of normal family life there was. The music school reopened and whilst I was there a tall handsome Royal Marine officer called. With a moustache and a friendly manner we got chatting. Captain John Cordeau was in his thirties, spoke with a cultured accent and had come to take up music lessons. He was very keen on classical music and played the piano beautifully. Billeted in one of the hotels in the city he was a frequent visitor to the school. He organised a visit for us to the battleship HMS Nelson. This was a thrill of a lifetime. We sailed with him in naval launch from Clifford Pier to the vast armada of ships anchored in Singapore Harbour. It was indeed an impressive sight with ships of all sizes from small landing craft to the cruisers and battleships all camouflaged in different shades of grey. HMS Nelson the flagship stood out in size and looked most impressive with its huge sixteen-inch guns as we approached her. She looked odd because the rear of this enormous ship was squat just as if it had been deliberately shortened. In later years I discovered this was indeed the case. Because of an armaments agreement Britain had signed she had to be shortened in mid construction to comply with tonnage limits. The sea was very choppy as we approached the huge grey hull. After securing our boat the marines from our launch began to jump onto the gangway. Unfortunately for me the heel of the marine in front caught me on the jaw just as he jumped. It was just as if he had punched me. The pain was awful and a bad start but I was determined to enjoy the day so said nothing. John arranged for some of the younger sailors to show us around this magnificent ship. The sight of those sixteen-inch guns was awe inspiring and the view of Singapore from the tall bridge structure was fantastic. I had never seen the Island from the sea before and at a height. When the sailors told us that their orders were to flatten Singapore had the war gone on, I thought of those puny wooden spears at the factory gate. How we were supposed to defend the Island and our factory with them, God knows. Given tea and cakes the sailors were keen to hear how we managed to survive the occupation. After exchanging addresses we left loaded with chocolates, something we hadn鈥檛 seen for years. It was indeed a memorable visit thanks to John. From that moment I decided to go to sea and explore the world. The seed was sown so after a brief spell at St. Joseph鈥檚 school I left to seek a better life in the post war world. I joined a Danish ship the 鈥淚ndia鈥� as a cabin boy and sailed all over the world before settling down in England and joining the Royal Navy for eight years.

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