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After the capitulation all British P.O.Ws were concentrated at Changi Camp. Australians were incarcerated near Changi jail and women, children and non-combatant men were put into Changi jail where, I believe, they had a hard time over the 3½ years.

At Changi we were free to move around and there was a favourite woodland walk were Gardenias were growing wild. There was also a hornet’s nest and on one occasion I walked too close to it and had to run for my life to avoid a swarm of angry hornets! They did score two or three stings!

After about a month the Japanese started to call for working parties but on the day that most of my regiment marched back to Singapore I contracted Dengue fever — also called break-bone fever. It is unpleasant but not as serious as malaria in its consequences.

Shortly after returning to the remnants of my unit we moved to Singapore and into Havelock Road Camp. The bulk of the regiment were a short distance away at River Valley Road Camp. I was allocated to the Handwheel Barrow Company, with a very laid back three star Jap Private in charge. We collected rubble from bombed buildings and took it to where it could be dumped on reconstruction which was taking place. We used to pass a soya sauce factory and our private allowed me to buy bootles for any men who wanted it. We only worked until about 3pm and one afternoon a smiling young man visited me and gave me six eggs. He had been our milkman in Finchley and was well into wheeling and dealing.

Our company moved to Tan Jong Rhu and carried on the same work.

At this point the Japs required all ranks to give an undertaking not to try to escape. When this was refused they moved all troops still in charge into a very restricted area where the first job was to dig latrines. These were slit trenches about 20 feet deep with a pole for sitting above one edge. When they were again refused they threatened to bring all hospital patients to the same area. This was considered sufficient grounds to comply with their request. The whole matter was quite ridiculous because any British soldier would have been immediately recognised against the Asian population, apart from the language problem. Once more the Hand Wheel company moved, this time to a sand quarry. The job was to fill the barriers with sand and empty them from a gantry into barges below.

Suddenly a number of us were told to pack such kit as we had and be ready to move to the docks. Here our clothing was sterilised and we were tested for cholera. We then boarded a rusty cargo boat and were put in the hold. The ship moved off as soon as we were all on board and after about 10 days we landed in Taiwan.

14.11.42 Taiwan — Haito Camp

We went by rail to Haito camp where there were already a few British offices and other ranks. The Camp Commandant was a Captain Tamaki who spoke some English as he had business dealings with the USA. His second in command was Lt. Suzuki who had orange and lemon plantations in America. Suzuki was very unlucky as whilst he was in Japan for a family funeral when war was declared and he couldn’t return to his oranges and lemons.

The camp was in the flood plain of a river, whose course at the time was some way off. The men had the intensely boring job of collecting stones in a punki (a sort of basket) and filling gauze boxes. Officers either worked in the camp garden or, in rotation, kept the men supplied with water or served them lunches.

There were two Chinese in the cookhouse. One day the Japs brought two pigs and put them in a compound behind the cookhouse. One of the Chinese, during the night, pushed a sharp ended wire into one pigs jugular and up into its brain, killing it. The Japs wouldn’t eat it so gave it to us.

From time to time men died. Then coffins were taken on the narrow gauge railway to the burial ground, a short distance from the camp. The escort party dug a grave, which was difficult as the water table was only about 18 inches below ground. The senior officer present read part of the burial service.

We planted mimosa saplings around the living huts (No’s 20, 21, 22 and 23 on plan of camp) as when grown they were supposed to keep away mosquitoes. Whether that was so or not I don’t know but they were very beautiful when they flowered. To combat malaria the Japs gave our doctor the bark of the Cinchona tree which contains quinine. The bark had to be boiled (Hut 30) and the resulting liquid given to patients, it was so bitter that it was a toss up whether the medicicne was worse than the illness. At night members of the huts, in turn, had to stand at a desk at the entrance to the hut and enter in a book the names of those going to the latrine and tick them off when they returned. Only one man could go at a time. A Major Nicholson slept in a bay next to the entrance to the hut, and had a wireless, but it had to be connected into the wire to the lamp over the desk. I was standing in the entrance to the hut one night when Nicholson was connecting up, when I saw a guard patrol approaching. I made my report to them from the entrance, which gave Nicholson time to remove his wire and get back under the mosquito net. A near thing!

18/3/43

We had our first delivery of Red Cross parcels at Haito but instead of issuing one parcel to each man the Japs decided the food should go through the cookhouse — much grumbling. However, apart from food there were boots and some clothing which were very welcome.

The accustomed routine continued. With the onset of the rainy season the death rate increased, as did incidents of malaria. By the end of July about forty had died. My peacetime weight was about 74Kg. When we arrived at Haito it was 66.2Kg and before we left it was 65.4Kg.

During the time I was at Haito we had two concerts. These were organised by a Major Grangebrook who was a natural musician.

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