大象传媒

My late Uncle James Miller showed me this story some years ago. He had written it after a reunion with some old comrades. It is a story of courage, fortitude and survival, told with humour and compassion in the modest and understated style so typical of a generation, to whom we owe so much.

At the outbreak of War I was employed as a Game Keeper on the Broxmouth Park Estate near Dunbar, East Lothian. On 4 September 1939 I went to a Recruiting Office in Edinburgh, and volunteered as an Air Gunner. I eventually got notice to report to an address in Kilmarnock where all my particulars were recorded, and I was directed to report to the Ayrshire Yeomanary. From there I was posted along with others to the Wiltshire Royal Artillery Training Camp, Bulford. After passing tests as a Gunner, Despatch Rider, Driver, I was posted to the 1st War Reserve Camp at Derby. From there I was transferred to the 122 Army Field Regiment Artillery, which was a Yorkshire Unit known as 'THE HALIFAX MASHERS'. I was appointed Gunner Driver, Signal Section, B Troop.

In early January 1941 our Regiment embarked on the Troopship 'EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND', and sailed from Shieldhall Docks in Glasgow. We called at Sierra Leone, Capetown, Bombay, then on to SINGAPORE, arriving there early March 1941. Our Unit was based at the Naval Base Camp, Singapore. It was not long before we commenced hard training, and we carried out many manoeuvres throughout the Malayan Peninsula. During early December 1941 we had just returned to our Camp after a Divisional Exercise in North Malaya, and were enjoying the comforts of Camp, when suddenly the lights went out and the Air Raid Sirens sounded. The Camp 'Boffer' Guns were spitting fire, and the drone of aircraft overhead clearly indicated the Japs had attacked.

We had our instructions as to what our role was in such circumstances, so I collected my vehicle, the Crew loaded up with the required equipment, and we were off to meet our enemy. Our first engagement with the Japs was near a place called 'CROW' near the Thailand Border. It would appear that every time the Japs Troops met opposition, there were plenty more of them to land behind our lines on either coasts. This was their method. All the way down the Peninsula to Singapore Island we had no Navy or Air Force to prevent them doing so.

When the Surrender took place, on 15 February 1942, we were ordered to pile our armoury in a public park near the War Memorial, Singapore. My truck was left with the contents of a 7lb pack of sugar in the petrol tank. It was a most unpleasant sight to see thousands of battle-weary soldiers being marched to Changi Prison Camp, and sadly for many, to the point of no return. We were given many different jobs to do, usually in working parties. One never knew what the Japs were going to do next. We had no news of what was going on outside our P.O.W. Camps, but I could see conditions would steadily deteriorate because of the lack of food and hygiene.

During August 1941 approximately 400 British Prisoners of War were taken when Singapore fell to the Japanese. We were subsequently assembled at 'KEPEL HARBOUR', SINGAPORE on 15 February 1942. We were instructed to strip into our birthday suits and ordered to put our few possessions into a small bag, one to each man, and attach a label with our number on it.

The Japanese interpreter explained that we were going on a sea journey and our kit had to be sterilised. We were then ordered to wade through a deep trough filled with some sort of disinfectant, and to fully submerge on the way through.

When waiting for my belongings to be returned, some dark thoughts had entered my mind, and one in particular. On my way out to the Far East, I had purchased a 7" brass rule in Bombay, which was easily converted into a 5" dagger. I also had a prismatic compass which I had acquired before our equipment was handed over to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. No doubt had these two articles been discovered in my kit, my fate would have been sealed (beheaded on the spot).

It seemed like an eternity before we got our belongings back. We were then ordered to dress, and directed up the gangway of a cargo ship, named the 'FUKI MARU', which had been built in Clydebank, Glasgow. If memory serves me correctly, there were four holds fitted out in tiers above the cargo of bauxite, etc., and conditions on board were cramped and most unpleasant.

We sailed during the night. All holds were battened down. We were allowed on deck for a brief period each day to collect our meagre rations of boiled rice and water. It was a great relief when our ship pulled into Taiwan Harbour and the holds opened up. Along with others, I was taken to a large hangerlike building.

It appeared to be full of war material, field guns, anti-aircraft guns, search lights, mortars, etc. We were told that all of the equipment was to be pulled outside, in given order. The weather was humid and our guards stayed outside the building. It was very dusty inside and the lighting was poor. It was ideal for doing a bit of sabotage against our enemy. This was done by twisting copper pipes to the point of breaking, and putting handfuls of sand into filler points before pushing the equipment outside. No doubt my comrades, who did their bit in that store, felt like myself, that we had done some good work for our country.

The ship was tied up for over a week at 'TAIWAN' HARBOUR, and its cargo unloaded. Other cargo was taken aboard, including war material. Eventually we sailed, but our destination was not disclosed to us. After several days and nights sailing, conditions in our hold area became hellish. Dysentery was rife, along with other illnesses associated with lack of food, hygiene and overcrowding.

I do not remember how many days and nights we had been sailing before our ship tied up at Jinsen, 'Chesan Harbour', South Korea, where all of us disembarked. We looked like a down-trodden lot. Those of us who were able to walk were marched through the town. No doubt the plan was to boost the morale of the locals, and destroy the spirit of us prisoners. After an exhausting march we reached Jinsen, 'Chesan P.O.W. Camp'.

A high wooden type fence surrounded the Camp area. I noticed the fence was topped by an electric double wire. The buildings in the Camp consisted of four accommodation huts, two toilets, a small store, Sick Bay, two cookhouses, and a parade come exercise ground, approximately 300 yards long by 175 yards wide. The Guard Room was located midway on the perimeter fence in the huts area. Alongside this was the 'HAYSO' or Punishment Box. It measured 4' long by 2' wide and 3' high. For refusing to bow to a Jap Officer, I was locked up for four hours in the Box. I can assure anyone it was punishment with a temperature of in the eighties.

The Japanese Quarters were adjacent to ours, but at the opposite side from the Guardroom, and seperated by the guard fence. The toilets were within the Ablution Huts and were of Asiatic design, 6' slit long by 1' wide floor level, with all waste material dropping into a brick lined pit. This was cleaned out occasionally and used as fertiliser on the land. The two cookhouses were basic, with three boilers in each which were fired by wood.

The rice issued was of sweeping-up quality and contained many foreign bodies, like mice and rat droppings and weavels, etc. Our cooks did their best to clean the stuff before boiling, but there were always the ones that got away.

The Huts were numbered from 1 to 4. Soon after our arrival we were formed into Outside Working Parties. There were a variety of jobs, such as working on the railway, handling goods at the Goods Yard, bagging salt and loading it onto goods wagons, and digging out an area for a new dock.

Accidents did happen, and there is one specific one that I cannot forget. It happened when a party of us were handed wooden buckets and long-handled ladles. We were marched from Camp to an open storage pond where excreta from dry closets was brought from surrounding villages by wooden trucks drawn by oxen (nicknamed by us the 'SMELL ON WHEELS'). Our job was to fill the wooden buckets from the storage pond, carry them 'coollie' style, and spread the contents on nearby fields. After a while the sides of the storage pond became very slippery. A very good friend, fondly known by us all as 'MASTER FRANKS', suddenly slipped and disappeared out of the sight in the pond. He soon appeared and was quickly hauled out and taken back to the Camp. He cleaned up and looked none the worse of his horrible experience. We all expected him to have picked up some lethal germs. Fortunately, this did not happen. In fact his hair and his ginger moustache appeared to blossom after his dip in the cesspool.

Food in the Camp was, to say the least, bad. Our rations consisted of three small portions of boiled rice daily. After a few monthly of hard work and lack of good food, it was having its effects. We were doing down with DIPHTHERIA, DYSENTERY, JAUNDICE, BERI BERI and other killer diseases associated with our awful conditions.

Escape was never far from my mind. I was determined I would make a break as soon as possible. During a labouring job at the Railway Goods Yard I met a Korean labourer who spoke good English. He told me that he had learned it from a Scots Missionary. He made it quite clear that he hated the 'NIPPONS', and referred to 1910 when the Japs invaded his country. They slaughtered thousands of innocent Koreans, burned down villages, and had kept his countrymen subdued ever since. I gained his confidence and asked him if he could provide me with a map showing the railway line to the Russian Border. He readily agreed and arranged a place where he would leave it for me to pick up, out of sight of our Guards.

I duly picked up the map which gave the detail I was looking for and I got it back into the Camp hidden under my shirt. The Guards carried out a cursory search on us each day before entering our Camp, however, I got away with it and hid it along with others possessions which would be useful when I finalized my place to escape. I had already worked out a place and looked at it from every angle, but one major problem arose, and that was to get to the bottom of the Parade Ground. There was a stanchion supporting the main corner post which reached within 3' of the high voltage electric topping wires which I thought could easily be insulated by using a folded ground sheet. From observations made when outside Camp on working parties, I ascertained that the area outside the point I had planned to go over the Guard Fence, had plenty of ground cover. Once outside I intended to travel by night and lie low during daylight hours. I discussed my problems of getting down to the get-over-point with a close friend, Gunner Signalman JOE FOUNTAIN, who went through the Malayan Campaign, and survided many gruelling and blood curdling experiences together with me.

Joe got to know two of the Korean Guards who took up their Guard positions at the entrance to the Parade Ground at dusk. They were both anxious to learn English. JOE was prepared to keep them interested so that I could slip down the side of the Guard Fence when the time came. It occurred to me that it would be better if two of us made the break, so I approached LT. HOWLETT with whom I had discussed our escape some time previous. He was quite prepared to join me, however, the Bush telegraph had been active. I learned that there were two others who were planning an escape, namely LT. MOORE and SGT. BOSWELL. Both were from the 122 Army Field Regiment Royal Artillery. So to prevent a real mix-up a meeting was arranged.

Only four persons were allowed to sit together at any one time. Present at the first meeting were LT. MOORE, CAPT. PEACH, 122 Army Field Regiment R.A., SGT. BOSWELL, and myself. We compared our plans of escape. LT. MOORE and SGT. BOSWELL'S plan was to go over the Guard Fence behind No.4 Hut. I pointed out its nearness to the Japanese Guardsman and the lack of ground cover outside the Camp. All of the others present agreed that my plan was a better one. CAPT. PEACH suggested that MOORE and BOSWELL should get the first try as they had no family ties, and I had a wife and family. I reluctantly agreed on the condition that, if they found the going too hard outside they would head for the area where a large working party went everyday to dig out a new Dock. They were to do that under the cover of darkness, lie low in an adjacent shrub, and wait for a suitable chance to filter into the working party and get back into Camp. No doubt the Guards at roll call would be puzzled. They also agreed that, if they had to join the working party they would hide all their aids of escape at a point where LT. HOWLETT and myself could collect when we went out. A few more get-togethers were arranged, and further thought and discussion produced a more positive way of keeping the Guards off guard, and covering up the absence of LT. MOORE and SGT. BOSWELL.

As mentioned before, our huts were numbered from 1 to 4. Roll call was taken by a Japanese officer, an interpreter and an armed guard, twice daily in these huts. Their routine never changed, the first one was at 7am and the last one was at 7pm commencing at No.1 Hut onto No.2 across to No.3 and finishing with No.4 Hut. LT. MOORE was in No.2 Hut, SGT. BOSWELL in No.4 Hut. The cover-up plan went like this. Someone from No.1 Hut nipped across to No.2, after roll call, and in No. 3 Hut someone crossed to No. 4 Hut. We always had to stand in double file. Private TICH MARTLAND, of the Loyal Infantry Regiment from No. 1 Hut agreed to cross No. 3 Hut and answer roll call for LT. MOORE. I was in No. 2 Hut and after roll call there I would slip away to No. 4 Hut and answer for SGT. BOSWELL.

We had agreed that we would cover up for the parties concerned for a maximum of six days and nights. Eventually a date was arranged. I cannot remember the exact one. It was late August 1943. We considered there would be more food available on the land. It was also a date that corresponded with the two Guards, who were anxious to learn English, being on night duty at the entrance to the Parade Ground. JOE FOUNTAIN and I arranged that he would approach the two Guards first to give them their lessons in English, and I would join him shortly afterwards.

Our plan worked out well. Both Guards were facing us, which meant their backs were to the Guard Fence, approximately 75 yards away from where MOORE and BOSWELL were to move down and approximately 250 yards to the planned point of getting over and out. The two Guards appeared to be enjoying themselves and were completely relaxed. We had some difficulty in explaining to them why a Scot spoke English and vice versa. At one point I could see the shadowy figures moving down the Guard Fence.

We kept them very interested telling about the differences between Scotland and England, until it was time to return to our Hut No. 2 for roll call. After this I had to stand in for SGT. BOSWELL'S roll call. It was only then that I realized the risk of being spotted on my way across to No. 4 Hut, with the Guard Room approximately 75 yards to my right at midcrossing. I was far from feeling relaxed, however, all went well for both of us. I spoke to Private TICH MARTLAND later that evening and he found the going easy.

Each day this job of standing in for SGT. BOSWELL became more fearsome, knowing that if I was caught my head would roll after one swipe from a Jap Officer's sword. Memory fails me to be able to state exactly how many times Private TICH MARTLAND and I carried out our cover-up duties, it seemed an eternity since the first one. As the time went on I felt the lads would be well away, how wrong can one be? At around 3am one morning the Camp Lights came on and the sirens blared. The Guards were running about like mad dogs, entering all Huts and screaming commands for all men to rise and form into roll call order. From where I was standing in Hut No. 2, I saw the Main Gate at the Guardroom open. A very lame LT. MOORE along with SGT. BOSWELL were being frog-marched into Camp. Both were shackled and taken across Camp into the Jap Quarters.

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