大象传媒

I was sent to the Far East ear;y in WW2 with a R.A.F contingent to help form the defence of Malaya.I was stationed at an airstrip amidst the rubber trees and jungle in Kedah, North-west Malaya, named after the local town of SungeiPatani. At that time the Japanese had not entered the war, so we had a few months of coparative peace.This came to an abrupt end on the morning of Sunday, December the 8th 1941 when we were bombed by the Japanese. At the same timean enemy force was landing at Khota Bahru on the North -east coast, op[posed we believed bu a crck regiment of Ghurkas.Our fighter planes at Sungei Patani (American Brewster Buffaloes) recently sent from india's N.W. frontier, were sent to assist the Ghurkas, but were no match for the Japanese Zeros, and not one returned.After this our situation deteriorated very rapidly, and we evacuated the airstrip to the accompaniment of machine gun fire in the surrounding jungle.. When we reached Butterworth (opposite the island of Penang) we were asked for volunteers to lay and wire up bombs to destroy the airstrip. Being young and enthusiastic, I returned with the demolition party and we spent an intensely exciting night mining the airstrip in pitch darkness, and got our with ther sappers waiting to blow uo the river bridge afterus. After this we made our way by degrees to Singapore, where we were sent Seletar Transit camp, and found numerous taks to perform, while week by week the Japs drew closer. Eventually they reached the Johore Straits with Singapore in their grasp. That night, after a terrific artillery bombardment, they crossed the Straits. The following day our senior officer announced that 112 of us, all group one tradesmen were to be sent to form a nucleus for the defence of Java. After being taken to the docks, we boarde a 5000 ton cargo vessel theS.S. Derrymore, loaded, we found out, with over 拢2 million of munitions intended for the defence of Singapore, but too late to be of any use. The signs of warfare were all around us, and while we waited in harbour we were bombed. The stock of bombs fell right across the ship, but fortunately for us, they landed in the sea on either side of us, and shrapnel fell around us on the deck. (Being a cargo ship, there was no accommadtion, apart from the crew's quarters) That night, (Feb. 11th.) we slipped out of harbour, our path illuminated bu burning fuel stores, on the smal;l islands around the harbour, and fires clearly visible in the town. The following day we made our way unaccompanied across the Java Sea, and spent that night in fitful sleep, lying where we could. The next morning found us still alone without friend or enemy in sight. As that day progressed we could scarcely believe our luck as the Japanese fleet was all around this area, not to mention submarines, and we had heard many tales of shipping being sunk. As dusk fell, at 7 p.m. our luck ran out. We heard a loud bang towards the rear of the ship on the starboard side, aand realised we had been hit by a torpedo. Looking back this is where an amazing sequence of lucky incidents began. Firstly, the torpedo which we believe came from a miniature Japanese submarine, hit the next to the rear hold. In this was stored cement, a large number of flares aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Hurricane fighter aircraft is huge crates. the torpedo set fire to the flares, but the incoming seawater put them out before the fire could spread to adjoining holds precipitating a vast explosion. The Derrymore sank comparatively slowly taking 45 minutes to go down by the stern. During this period we were not idle. There was only one small lifeboat, which the crew of six soon made use of, and we were left to our own devices. Four of us, all friends got together and managed to get four baulks of timber from the hatches. We founmd some ropeand strung the timber together to form a raft, or so we thought! We lowered our raft over the side and followed it down into the sea. After kicking our footwear off we swam to our makeshift support and grasped it. Immediately it sank! we sadly realised that the timbers were waterlogged, and gave us no real support at all, but at least it gave is a staw to clutch. We watched our ship slowly go down and our last sight was of the bows almost vertical, then it slipped away, and we were alone on a vast ocean. We soon realised that the slight motion of the sea we felt on the ship was magnified a hundred times in the water, and that night I was seasick for the second time in my life. As the night wore on, we got colder and colder. The so-called raft split apart, and my friend Ron Beddoes and I were left clinging to one baulk of timber, whose support was purely psychological. After an interminable night the sky in the east began to lighten, and at last the sun, which we had eagerly awaited began to warm us up, but as the morning wore on we realised we had exchanged one form of torture for another. as the sun's power increased we bagan to be severely burnt. We had no protection, so we had to keep swimminmg and bear it. My arms were suffering as I had only a short sleeved shirt on, so with the aid of a piece of glass from my wife's photograph in my shirt pocket I cut pieces of material from my shirt tails to protect them. About 4.p.m. as the sea swell lifted us up we spotted a ship. It appeared to be a naval corvette, and later we learned it was the Australian Navy's H.M.A.S. Ballarat. Tine dragged on as the Aussies lifeboat gradually collected survivors as by now we were spread over miles of ocean, but at last our turn came. We shall be forever indebted to those brave and wonderful Aussie sailors who were risking their lives and their ship to save us. Once on board they covered our synburn in tanic acid jelly after showering the seawater from our bodies. They then fed us with hot Heinz tomato soup. that wa the finest meal I had ever had in my life, and I can savour it still. To this day it remains my favourite soup. Afterwards we gratefully collapsed onto makeshift beds. When we woke it was to find we had docked in Batavia (now renamed Jakarta) Our ship had been only sixty miles off when it was sunk. We said our thanks and goodbyes to our wonderful Auissie saviours, and went ashore. Later we were distressed to hear that the H.M.A.S Ballarat was sunk apparently with all hands in t6he battle of the Java Sea. Our prayers went with them. Many years later we learned thjat this news was incorrect, which was a tremendous relief. we had arrived in Batavia with the minimum ofill assorted clothes, most of them provided by our Aussie benefactors. As we were now classified as survivors, our original purpose for being in Java went by the board, and preparations were made to get us away. After ten days we embarked on a 30,000 ton liner, the Orcades, later sunk off Africa. We slipped away from harbour at dusk and without escort made full speed for the Sundra Straits between Java and Sunatra. Once through the straits, passing near to Krakatao our direction lay due south for day after day, until the climate grew colder and colder. At last, when we were convinced our destination was the Antactic, we turned west, and continued for several more days, eventually turning north, and finally reaching the haven of C olombo harbour in Ceylon (now renamed Sri Lanka) where we begsn a whole new exciting experience.
FOOTNOTE:
The S.S. Derrymore was sunk on Friday, February 13th 1942. This contrary to superstition was my luckiesty day as events turned out. It was a miracle how the torped hit the only part of the ship which would not trigger a cataclysmic explosion. If our ship had not been sunk, we should not have been treated as survivors, and would almost certainly have been captured by the Japanese in Java, having just escaped their clutches in Singapore.

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