大象传媒

In September or October several hundred of us were to be moved out and the destination was believed to be Japan. Despite having reservations, I added my name to the list because most of my mates were going. When the time came to leave I said goodbye to Domville and Maguire. Maguire gave me a nearly new officers' raincoat, saying that I would probably need it where I was going! Needless to say I was rapidly relieved of it by my captors.

We were first taken to Tan Jon Preak, where we boarded a battered old tramp steamer, the Di Fuku Maru. There were many POW's in the dock area, Australians, British, Indonesians and Dutch. It was a hell hole with many men dying daily, again the main killer seemed to be dysentry.

Life on board the Di Fuku Maru was only bearable because most of us were still in reasonable health. Conditions were so cramped that I slept on deck. The food was rough and the closeness of our captors made for a certain amount of tension.

Our arrival in Singapore most have been traumatic for many on board. Only months before they had fought as best they could to hold back the Japs in Malaya and Singapore. We were held at Changi camp for a period of ten or twelve days. Changi was to me an example of the way the British serviceman could adapt to almost any situation. Already in October 1942 this could be seen in the range of classes available, which had been setup to broaden the mind and to relieve the boredom of POW life. Theatre groups had also been organised but sadly many of the participants would end their days worked, starved or beaten to death in remote jungle working camps.

Our journey to Japan turned out to be one of the most horrifying voages of the last war. The story of this voyage is described in a novel by Terence Kelly, called A Voyage Beyond Belief, he too had been a POW on board the Di Nichi Moru. In the book Kelly describes accurately and eloquently the appalling, squalid conditions we lived under, the diseases which killed many, how we survived both engine failure and typhoon.
Our accommodation was the floor of the hold plus a large shelf which had to take another layer of bodies. Despite a partly open hatchway, there was very little light or air; the heat was stifling and dust rose in clouds as men pushed and shoved in an effort to make themselves as comfortable as possible.

At the last moment we had been ordered by the Japanese to leave behind the small amount of medical supplies that our officers had been able to put together; supplies which could have saved lives and eased the suffering of the dying. As the engines started the other inhabitants of the ship made themselves known - the lice, fleas and rats. The ship was infested with them and they soon helped to spread the infections from which we were suffering. The food was bad and as we were only allowed a pint of `tea' per day thirst was a constant misery. The hold soon became filthy. Men who were sick with dysentry finally became so weak that they were unable to climb out of the hold and had to relieved themselves where they lay.

We spent a couple of days in Saigon where we were refuelled and where some bodies were put ashore. Conditions rapidly deteriorated and more men went down with dysentry and malaria. The numbers of dead increased and it was not uncommon to see two, three or even four bodies being put over the side daily. For a period of 24 hours we lost men who simply choked to death. A friend of mine, who I had been playing cards with only fifteen minutes before, died in this way.

As the journey progressed the heat of the tropics was replaced by intense cold and high winds. Those of us who had lived mostly on deck were finally forced down into the hold where we huddled together for warmth.

We finally landed in Japan on December 1st (I believe), anyway at the start of the winter, and we were still in shorts and shirts.

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