Chapter Six

The Japs came in one Sunday and made us form a line in front of two Japs at a table with some pens and paper to hand. Tom was in front of me and when they saw his number they told him he was not required. I was suspicious of this and went off to the toilets. About thirty men were selected and it was later found that these were to be used as guinea pigs to try to isolate the Denghi germ. Tom was not acceptable because he had earlier taken part in this with another of our pals. This party were taken to another cell block where they were isolated, infected with the Denghi germ and then issued with far superior rations, given mosquito nets, blankets and much better treatment all round. They were on this course for a quite considerable time and when they came back to us and to the lower standard of food, many of them were unable to cope, became ill and died.

I had become quite friendly with a six-footer Sub-conductor of the Ordnance Corps and he approached me one day to inform me that he had included me in a party of thirty to go and live in a Japanese camp a few miles away. He informed me that we were to maintain and repair army vehicles. When I told him that I was totally unsuitable as I could not even drive and had no mechanical knowledge whatever his reply was that I was perfectly suitable in that case, probably more capable of causing damage to the vehicles.

As it happened, when we got there I was put in charge of a party of six, re-treading tyres. My work at home was in a rubber factory and the little knowledge I had gained there was quite useful later on. The work was quite strenuous, particularly for the arms. We used a large knife to cut off the tread remaining on the tyre, then used a large rasp made from wood, sheet metal and gramophone needles to take off the remaining rubber down to the canvas. We finished the tyre covered from head to foot in rubber raspings. The tyre was then coated with a rubber adhesive solution and the same solution applied to a length of uncured rubber which, after a short time, was applied to the tyre and hammered on using a heavy wooden stake. The tyre was then put into a section of a mould heated with a fire of wood — a very primitive method.

I suggested to our lads that if they could unobtrusively put some water on the tyre before the uncured rubber was hammered on, this would form steam and stop the two from adhering together. We managed to do this on many occasions but perhaps the most effective was when an Indian driver and his mate came in with four tyres which they needed for the following morning. We managed to treat all four and all of them were taken out of the mould with blisters caused by the water and steam. A little Jap, not a bad fellow for a Jap, took out a sharp pricker and penetrated the blisters to release the trapped air. The four tyres were collected ready for the following morning and they set off on the long journey north. Later in the day the two Indians returned, carrying between them four tyres and four treads. Apparently they had applied the brakes and this had caused the tyres and the treads to part company — a very satisfactory result of our tampering with the procedure.

Alongside the tyre hut was another hut where four or five prisoners were making lead battery plates. This entailed melting the lead and pouring it into a mould where the lead partly passed through the mould and dripped onto the floor and onto the feet of the lads who were working barefoot. Their feet were terribly burned.

One of the first jobs we were given at this Jap camp was to erect a bamboo fence around the large hut where we were housed. A few weeks later our sergeant and I, the only ones with a smattering of knowledge of the Jap lingo, were instructed to get the men together to take down the fence. When it was almost down an officer appeared, gave the Jap in charge a rollicking and he at once blamed the sergeant and me. We were not popular with the men who decided we had mis-interpreted the instruction.

One day, having finished our stint of tyre re-treading, we went to a well nearby in the jungle and prepared to swill off the rubber particles which as usual covered us from head to foot. I lowered the bucket, hauled it up and emptied it over my head. I was covered with dozens of leeches and the lads got busy getting rid of them by touching them with tobacco from Burma cheroots, a procedure learnt in the jungle. I have read a number of books where leeches were got rid of by applying a lighted end of a cigarette whereas it is totally unnecessary to light the cigarette.

Our pay had been increased from the one anna (approx. one penny) to two annas per day which was saved until our return to the jail. One of the others and I managed to purchase a small tin of evaporated milk to give us a welcome change, with each of us putting half a tin full on our plates of rice. After two or three spoonfuls we had to give up, it was more than we could manage.

I forgot to mention earlier that I kept on trying to get a doctor from the Japs as we did not have any medical personnel at the time and I was getting worried about my swelling and the effect of it. I had no luck in doing so then, but one day, a number of white-coated Japs entered the compound. I approached one of them and he told me to stand and wait. Three or four others were lined up alongside me and a table was brought and various instruments and medications etc. were placed on it. We were then vaccinated and inoculated several times and told to go as they had finished. They came back a couple of weeks later to check if we were still alive. They had used us as guinea pigs to test some medical items left in Rangoon by the British on evacuation.

It appeared that the Japs anticipated an early end to the war by certain changes in their attitudes but perhaps the strongest indication was when they took a large number of us out to do a job at a local high school (Myoma). The first part of the job was to dig a large square hole in the centre of the football field. This was at a guess ten feet by ten feet. Large teak beams were laid across it, and then on top of them, at right angles, a further layer repeated several times.

Several men were sent in to the adjoining field to dig out soil to fill baskets which were to be carried coolie fashion on the head to the football field where they were emptied on to the teak beams. This was continued day after day for weeks until the whole playing field was covered to a height approximately the same as a three or four floored house.

Day after day the very large number engaged on this task carried baskets of soil to the top of this very large edifice. The monsoons started and we continued on the job, the whole of the surrounding area turning to mud. At this stage an officer arrived, un-noticed by the Jap in charge so, because he did not bring everyone to attention, he was ordered to crawl to the officer all the way through the large expanse of mud. Punishments like this were accorded all the time. The Jap system was that if anyone below him in rank did something which he thought was wrong he was punished. Stars were accorded for length of service or later by promotion. The initial badge of office was a red oblong of cloth for a recruit, and then awarded a yellow star, then a second and third star, a silver star and so on. We were at the bottom of the ladder so what chance had we?

I was taken off this task to go and assist a so-called joiner. He selected three planks of wood which were nailed together to form a right-angled triangle. This was to be used to ensure that the uprights of the blast walls were upright at ninety degrees. However what the idiot of a Jap did not notice, though I told him several times, was that we were working on sloping ground so the uprights were at ninety degrees to the slope. About half a dozen of the uprights were fixed, the error looking more and more obvious. An officer arrived, took one look, yelled at the Jap "bugaro" (stupid) and stood him to attention and belted him. The officer departed and I was stood to attention and belted. I was lucky sometimes but not this time.