大象传媒

This story has been added to the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War Site by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Newcastle on behalf of John Thomas Cragie. John Thomas Cragie fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions and the story has been added to the site with his permission.

When I was called up for the army, in January 1940, little did I realise what travel and adventures awaited me. From a comfortable home and enjoyable employment as a grocery store manager. I was thrust into army life as a soldier in the 9th Northumberland Fusiliers, a territorial unit of machine gunners with the motto 鈥淨uo Fata Vocant鈥� (鈥淲here the Fates Lead!鈥�)

In April we were sent to France to help build and aerodrome and continue our training in a village near Arras. On the 10th of May the Germans invaded the Low Countries, and gradually we retreated against overwhelming odds to Dunkirk, where, in a baptism of fire our company commander and many of my colleagues were killed. I was picked up by a destroyer, and, after a hazardous journey, reached Dover.

After doing various jobs around the country, from Scotland to Devon, we were fitted with tropical gear and embarked in October 1941 for Canada. At Halifax we were transferred to an American ship and were taken via Trinidad and Cape Town to Mombassa, Kenya, en route for the middle-east. I shall always remember our amusement at the flying fish, and the Olympic speed records which were broken when someone shouted 鈥淪hark!鈥� as we were enjoying a quiet swim in the Indian Ocean.

Japan had now entered the war, so we were diverted to Bombay where we were put on a Free French liner en route to Singapore. It was a frightening journey as enemy planes regularly attacked the convoy with never a British plane in site. Our battalion was awarded the Croix de Guerre for shooting down three enemy planes with machine guns strapped to the rails. We reached Singapore on the 5th of February 1942 and about 10 days later we were all POWs in Japanese hands. Bitter were the comments that after three months it was all over so quickly, with lots of casualties.

In June 1942 about 600 of us were taken to Thailand to work on the Burma Railway. Eventually we were returned to Singapore in May 1944, embarked on a hell ship for Japan. We were crammed into a hold three feet high where we at crushed and apprehensive. The convoy sailed to Manila, and then to Formosa, through seas where US submarines were operating. Out of five ships, three were lost one night without a single survivor. Thousands of POWs were lost on these convoys, but I arrived safely in the Japanese port of Moji. We were sent to a village near Osaka to work in a copper mine.

It was very hard going on rice and stew, with reveille at 5is, and lights out at 8pm. We were given one day off in 15, to wash our clothes, or rather rags, or jacket and pants of green sack cloth. Food was scare even for the old Japs who worked with us. One day our camp was destroyed by fierce hurricanes and on another occasion, severely damaged by earth tremors. Seasonal temperatures were extreme, and in the 15 months Japan we received only one Red Cross parcel, at Christmas 1944. During this time 20 died out of 300 at the camp.

On the 15th of August 1945 the Japanese surrendered and two days later, the guards left the camp, telling us we were free. It was only on the 10th of September that Yankee trucks arrived to take us to the coast.

The Japs gave us all a suit of clothes and brown boots, but these were thrown into the sea as soon as we boarded the American Destroyer. We were washed down with soap, which we had never seen in years, and tucked into some good food, which I鈥檓 afraid made everyone ill. After a fortnight鈥檚 rest in the Philippines, the British aircraft carrier HMS Implacable took us to Honolulu, and then Vancouver. I was 7 Stone in weight when we left Manila, but with rest, light exercise and good food, we all gradually recovered.

The kindness of the sailors and then, the civilians as we crossed Canada by train were truly overwhelming. In November 1945 we finally docked at Southampton. We had travelled 42,000 miles by sea, and crossed the equator several times in the four years, but we were soon back in Newcastle for some grand reunions with family and friends.

As POWs we often sang when we were working, and the Japs could never understand the British spirit when often on the Burma Railway, with the monsoon rain teeming down to the strains of Roll Out The Barrel, or Land Of Hope And Glory could be heard. I shall never forget the singing on board ship of the Navy hymn, Eternal Father Strong to Save. No wonder one of my pals had a short story entitled 鈥淭he Singers鈥� published in a book of 70 True Stories about the War. Now I sing in different surroundings with a new band of comrades, the Newcastle Male Chorus.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.