Notebook relating to the service of Major Charles Patrick Tracey, 1942-1944 - Part 4

Ration state 28 for 29th

1500 hrs

Mid-day meal present position

Nominal rolls to Bde - 1500 hrs 27/

xxxxxxxxxxx   Camp & Hosp 1430 hrs

No Admissions at Hosp  H  2 lists

27^th to morning of 29^th

All huts vacated 1300 hrs

Move 1400 hrs

2/30  2/29  2/56  Camp

                               RAA

                                RAE

med  27 Bde         Sigs

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In our opinion this was a great

mistake and we continually said

so to the IJA. There seemed to

be an idea that the lack of pay &

rations would drive men out of

hospital, but this, of course would

happen only if the men were NOT

really ill. There was, however, NO

deception about the illness of our

men & they were dying in large

numbers.

16 As the health of the men grew

worse the demands of the Engs were

more & more difficult to meet, and

this treatment of our weak men

while at work became more &

more brutal.

The work was often beyond what

could be reasonably be expected

of fit men & it was certainly

beyond the strength of our weakened

men. This especially refers to the

carriage of heavy logs. It was

noticed that when Thai or Burmese

labour was used two or three

times the number of men were used.

It became common for our men

to be literally driven with wire

whips & bamboo sticks throughout

the whole working day.

Hitting with the fist & kicking also

occurred frequently throughout the day.

It is emphasised that this beating

was NOT for disciplinary purposes

but was intended to drive unfit

men to efforts beyond their strength

17  The hours of work were also

excessive. 14 hrs per day was a

common occurance & work

went on day after day without

a break for months. Many men

never saw their camp in daylight

for weeks on end and never had

a chance to wash themselves or 

their clothes.

18 In some camps where the number

of fit men fell below the Engs demands

the Engs themselves came into the

camp & forced P.OW out of hospital

to work. Except in isolated

instances Offs were not made

to work outside camps but

the Engs often used the threat that

Offs would be taken for work if

more men were not turned out of

hospital.

19 At SONKRAI where conditions

were probably worse than any-

where else, the IJA Eng Offr, Lt

ABE himself came into the Offrs

quarters and asking to see the 

6 Offrs who were most seriously

ill, of whom three subsequently

died said 'unless 150 more men

are produced for work tomorrow

I will send my soldiers to take

three Offrs out to work'. This Eng

Offr was conspicuous at all

times in failing to stop

brutal treatment of PsOW by

his men even when it

happened in his presence. Of the

1,600 men who originally went

to SONKRAI camp in May 1,200

are already dead & 100 more

are still in hospital of whom

many are NOT expected to recover

many partitions & appeals were

made to Lt ABE but he treated.

them with contempt. The result

would have been worse had

it not been for the arrival of

Lt WAKABYASKI of the Malayan

PsOW organisation, in SONKRAI

camp in the beginning of August.

From the date of his arrival 

the situation in that camp

gradually improved.

20 By July more than half the 

force were without boots &

this caused a large number of

poisoned feet & trench foot

from continual work in the

wet. Blankets were NOT issued

as promised (at CHANGI) to the 

men without them. Clothing

issues were negligable. Issues

of medical stores were totally

inadequate. Bandages & dressings

were seldom issued & only in

very small quantities for

hundreds of tropical ulcers

dressings were improvised from

banana leaves & bandges

from the sleeves & legs out of

more shirts & trousers. Consequently

many limbs had to be amputated

unnecessilary & many patients died.

21 By the end of July the road from

B Pong was still impassable

but although the river was open

to traffic & was in use by the 

IJA & Thai shopkeepers our

medical & other stores at B Pong

were still NOT brought up & in

the end were never brought up

this was in spite of our repeated

requests

22 It was during the foraging

period that several men sometimes

alone, sometimes in groups

disappeared into the jungle.

Some probably had some idea

of escaping, some undoubtedly

only left so as to die in freedom

rather than in captivity by disease

& illtreatment. Men on the whole

were in despair. The choice in frontt

of them seemed to be death from

disease or never-ending toil &

brutal treatment at the hands of 

the Engs. Their Offrs were unable

to protect them despite of all their

efforts. Our party & Offrs seeing

their men dying & illtreated all

round them & in despair of being

able to get any redress from the

IJA attempted to escape so as to

let the world know what was

happening to the PsOW & obtain

help from the International Red X

This party failed as was

inevitable. Five perished from

privation in the jungle & the

remaining four were recaptured

23  In August a hospital was

established in Burma & about

2,000 men were sent there.

Unfortunately the rations were 

still deficient of the necessary

vitamins & 800 men died.

Nevertheless the Burma Hosp

did great good for there was

NO Eng work & therefore many

men had a chance to get well

slowly.

24 From August onwards things

improved at SONKRAI but did

not improve much at KAMI

SONKRAI as late as October

for instance the Engs there

were blasting in a quarry

just behind the POW hospital

in such a way that rocks &

stones fell on the hosp huts

at each blast. The huts were

crammed full of patients, many

in a dying condition (about

8 per day dying) All patients

were demonised, many were

hit & more or less injured

& one man had his arm

broken & subsequently died

from the combination of the 

injury & his previous sickness

This went on for over a week

before representation by the

IJA Offr in charge of the camp

was successful in stopping

it. Blasting continued but

in such a way that rocks

did not fall on the hospital.

thus showing that the previous

practice had been avoidable.

In this camp also the latrine

used by several hundred

Thai labourers was within

10 yds of the POW Offrs quarters

The Tamils had suspected

cholera & smallpox at that

time.

25 In all camps accommodation was

totally inadequate. Men slept

actually touching each other & as a 

result skin disease infection was

100% throughout the force. Except in

SONKURAI most Offrs were as badly

off as the men.

26 The move back to KAMBURI took

place in November but the men were

in such a state that (although the

worst cases were left in Burma) 46

died on the train journey & 186 more

in the finish 3 wks in KAMBURI in 

spite of better food & living conditions.

It is certain that several hundreds

more will die in the next month

or two from the results of their

treated as well.

Face slapping of all ranks was

discouraged by our own IJA Offrs

but was still common. It nearly 

always arose from a language

misunderstanding & was not in

itself serious although it makes

the maintenance of discipline

difficult for the Prisoner-Offrs when

their men see them slapped by

young Japanese privates. Similarly,

when the men are slapped & beaten

it merely brews resentment & bad

feeling which will last long

after the war.

There are some guards, however,

who seem incapable of being

put in charge of any task without

losing their temper & hitting PsOW

the most flagrant case is that

of a GUNSOKU TOYAMA who

claims to be a well educated

man. At BanPong he hit Offrs

or men of every party with a

heavy steel-shafted golf-club.

He cut the Majors head open,

badly damaged another Majors

arm & severely hurt many others.

The cause of their assaults was

never known. Later at SHIMO

SONKRAI & at KAMP SONKRAI

camps he habitually hit Offrs

& men on every possible

occasion for no just cause.

He has an ungovernable temper

& is apparantly uncontrollable by

his own Offrs. Apart from

actual striking he was always

was at pains to be insulting

to Offrs especially senior Offrs.

Such a man should never be

allowed to be in charge of PsOW

28 There were many cases

latterly in which our own

guards prevented Engs from

maltreating PsOW.

29 It may be thought that

some of the above report is

exagerated.

It is. however, only the honest

outline of a period of intense

hardship suffered by a party 

of PsOW. If proof is wanted

it is surely sufficient to

point to the fact that of the

7,000 PsOW who left Changi

in April now in Dec about 

3000 are dead. 3000 more

are hospital patients or

convelesants of whom hundreds

more will die in the next

few months from the result

of the hardships they have

undergone.

30 We know from letters

received from England and

Australia that it is believed

there that PsOW are being

well-treated by the Japanese

If the actual facts regarding

Thailand were known abroad

the news would be greeted

with indignation & amazement.

II Sugestions.

General  We ask firstly

that we should be treated

 in accordance with the letter

& spirit of the Geneva & Hague

Conventions particularly those

of 1906 & 1907 both of which

were ratified both by

Britain & Japan. It has

been sugested that the

unconditional surrender