Unit diaries relating to service of Geoffrey W. Fennell - Wallet 1 - Part 13
dL/Bdr Lowe turned into a female impersonator, and acted in most amusing
sketches with Goldberg,and rejoiced in the stage name of “Daphne”! L/Bdr Bird
joined the party as assistant Compere, and took part in most of the sketches.
Bdr Berry composed original tunes, and teamed up with Bdr Brennan of the Lanarkshire
Yeomanry in piano duets. (He also caused much amusement by producing a
Newspaper called the Rumourist, though the circulation was somewhat limited!)
Gr Walsh took Character parts in sketches, and no one who saw it will ever
forget the noble appearance of Gunner Porter in his part of a Colonial
Secretary, the father of Daphne! Clad in a smart tweed sports coat and grey
flannel trousers, immaculately creased, and an RAMC tie, he certainly looked
a fine figure of a man! People in the Stalls were heard to ask “Who is that
distinguished looking officer. I have never seen him before!”
A series of topical revues were presented at intervals of about 10 days, and
separate nights were allotted to units. It will be seen that the Regiment played
a very prominent part in the Concert Party, and the Regimental piano was used
for Rehearsals, and also for actual performances. It was eventually kept in the
theatre, on loan, though, and could be removed at any time if required by a
Sing Song in the Lines, Sgts' Mess or Officers' Mess.
The Regiment also produced Concerts of its own with Lt & QM "Ted Homes" as producer,
and quite a lot of latent talent was unearthed as a result. A Choir Competition
was started with Teams entered from the Officers, Sgts, RHQ 63/81 and 73, and
caused much amusement. Later there was to be an "original sketch" competition, but
this fell through. There was also a gramophone with a fair supply of records,
and these went the rounds for various musical evenings.
Every Sunday evening, a Classical Concert was held on Col Harrison's gramophone
at Divisional HQ. This proved very popular, and musical enthusiasts were able to
hear Symphonies and Concertos by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Tchaikowsky, Bach,
and some more modern composers, all played by world famous artistes and orchestras.
There were Chopin Recitals, also Operatic selections, and a selection of Ballet
Music. Lighter programmes were also provided. Lying on the grass in the dusk,
there were times when one quite forgot one was a Prisoner of War.
Debates were also a pleasant form of amusement. In addition to Troop debates and
arguments on every conceivable subject on the grass outside the Messes in the
evening, 11 Div organised a debate every Tuesday evening with different speakers
each week. Among subjects discussed were: The present generation is becoming
decadent; The love of money making and not love of sport attracts the Public;
Universal Peace is impossible; Marriage before the age of 30 is desirable;
The British Isles is the best place to live in; The Regular Army provides a better
career than Civilian life, etc, etc.
118
"Bees" were also running (?) on a Troop/Battery basis, and Major McIntosh, the
BMRA, ran inter-unit Divisional "Bees". Many people increased their knowledge of
Spelling, Music, History, Geography, Sport, General Knowledge, Literature.
And now for some account of the Physical Recreation indulged in. Almost as soon
as 11 Div took over Birdwood Camp, football was started, and in due course there
was an inter-unit Football League with two matches every night. At first the
Regiment suffered from having the party away at Kranji, but later on they began
to catch up on the leaders. There were also Knock-out Troop and Battery Competitions
in the area, and grounds were also allotted for "scruff" games.
The Rugby ground was nicely covered with grass, and was quite soft, and the
Regimental side under 2Lt Mason did very well, and usually had the better of 137
and 80 Anti Tank, their nearest rivals. Lt Armstrong got the cricket side
together with LtsBeecroft and Mason, and at one time they had a long unbeaten
record. Hockey was also played frequently. Every Sunday there was a whole day
Divisional cricket match against outside teams, and a series of Test Matches were
played against the Australians who were led by Capt Barnett who had visited
England twice for the Tests under Armstrong and Bradman as a wicket keeper and
Batsman. He also gave a most interesting talk on Test cricket, and it was very
pleasant to learn that he thought the world of Don Bradman, as it appeared from
the papers at one time that there was an Anti-Bradman campaign afoot. The Division
built up a very formidable Football side and found the chief obstacles were the
RAMC and 18 Div, though both were beaten. Gnr Hill 63/81 figured occasionally in
goal, but Sgt Hoare, L/Bdr Westcott, and Dr Hesmondhalgh appeared regularly at
Right Half, left half and outside right respectively.
During the middle of June, "Q" Horner set to work to construct a sports stadium
opposite the RHQ block. Squads of willing workers helped him to level the padang,
and when it was completed, it comprised a Basketball pitch, a pit for long jump
and High Jump, a boxing ring; and some parallel bars and a vaulting horse were
borrowed from the Australians.
He started a PT course for about 24 NCO's and men which included the normal PT
Tables, organisation of Sports and Athletics generally, and refereeing; the idea
behind it was to assist men to get jobs as PT instructors to schools and Clubs on
return to civil life. The course was a great success and was well attended.
When the Stadium was ready, a grand opening night was arranged, and a Boxing
Display was given, the programme consisted of 9 fights of which more later.
Such then was the general recreation situation from mid-May onwards, and it was
carried on until we left Changi in October. We will now return to describe general
events as they occurred.
119
General Events
Every Tuesday night there was Guest Night in the Officers' Mess; owing to
lack of space, the number was usually limited to 3 Regimental and 3 Private
guests. We went out of our way to invite an Australian each evening if
possible. After dinner, there was either a short Whist-drive followed by a
musical evening, a Bee, or some other form of entertainment and they were much
enjoyed. The Sgts' Mess held similar functions once a week.
There had been a scheme to build a new Chapel of St Barbara on a piece of
ground near the Ration Stand, but this fell through, and a hut in the
line of Lanarkshire Yeomanry was fitted up as a church. Each Sunday there
was Holy Communion at 8. At 11 was a service for the Church of Scotland run
by a Capt Leach who had been a missionary in India. Evensong, C of E was held
at 1745. The Roman Catholics built their own church on the edge of the padang
under the leadership of Father Kennedy assisted by BQMS Thorburn and Sgt
Stafford. The Australians had built a church of bamboo and wattle, which was
very simple and impressive. For those who enjoyed good singing, a visit to
the 18 Div Church was well worth while. Padre was not only a very fine singer
himself, but had collected quite a "professional choir". An account of one of
these concerts will be given later.
Round about June 14th, we were given our first postcard to send. It was a blank
one, but we were warned to write in block capitals, and confine ourselves to
simple phrases in order to assist the Japanese censor, who would certainly tear
up what he was unable to read. When and how they were likely to get home
remained to be seen, and there were many discussions as to whether a postcard
would reach India more quickly by sending to Japan and England and then Cable,
or whether to rely on an exchange ship to Lorenzo Marques, and back to India.
About this time a Test Roll Call was held on the Padang by the Japanese, and
fortunately the numbers were correct. the chief feature of it was the astounding
"get up" of the IJA authorities. They were scruffy in the extreme, in spite of
every member being girded with a sword! Mention should be made of a similar
Roll Call held at Kranji in the Australian Camp. At the time chosen, some 100
men were "absent" on a pineapple scrounge! However, the remainder were fallen
in in a semi-circle among the huts, and by doubling the first complete squad
round the back, to fall in with the last squad, the deficiency was brought down
to the comparatively reasonable number of 28!!
Two Singapore items should be recorded. The first was an outbreak of cholera
but it did not spread to Changi, and apart from boiling all drinking water, and
an extra flavour of chlorine in the tea, we were not affected. The second was
that four large bombers were seen flying towards Singapore. Then followed a
120
terrific explosion and we heard that one crashed on landing complete with
bombs. Shabash!!
On July 5th there was a great celebration in the Officers' Mess Q Horner and
Lt Armstrong had wedding anniversaries of 18½ and 1½ years respectively. They
gave a dinner party to about a dozen special friends, and tried the experiment
of making rice beer. All the guests contributed some rice and this was left to
ferment with satisfactory results! As a matter of interest the menu of the
Banquet is given in French, Malay and English
Potage de Legumes Ayer Sayarsayaran) Tinned Veg Soup
Poisson Froid de Boite (Ikan sejuk dari Peti) Tinned Herrings
Gateau de Boeuf et Riz (Kuch Dajing Lembu dan Nasi) Changi Pie
Flan Comfitures melees (Kuch Macham macham Jam) Jam Tart
Ananas au Lait (Nanas derang suon) Pineapple & Milk
Dessert Buchbuchin Raisins & Peanuts
The Tan Tea
Vins (Minum)
De l'eau fraiche Ayer Jeneh Water
Hollandes Gin Gin
Syrop a Ananas Ayer Nanas Fermented Pineapple
Biere de Riz Ayer Kuat dari Bras Rice Beer
As the feast took place in addition to the evening meal, all felt nicely full for
the first time for weeks, and their digestions were probably saved by some
peppermint essence produced.
On July 7th, there was a first class Classical Concert given by the 18 Div Concert
party consisting of Padre Davies, Tenor, a Baritone,Denis East, leading Violinist
of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and a pianist. It proved a first rate show.
On July 10th, a new departure was made in entertainment. Gunner Hunter of 78∧73 Bty
started a lecture on Astronomy, and proved a very capable and interesting guide
through the heavens, and people were heard to talk learnedly of Veda, Arcturus,
Saggitarius, Corona, Scorpio, Lupus and the Southern Cross, in addition to better
known ones like the Plough and Venus!
On July 10th there was great excitement, as a party of 8000 was warned to get ready
to go to Japan the following Wednesday. It was to consist of all the Generals and
Brigadiers, and full Colonels and all RE personnel. As far as 11 Div were concerned,
only Major General Key, Brigadier Rusher the CRA, Col Mitchell the ADMS and Col
Roper the ADOS were concerned, and it was thought that Col Harrison the GI would
probably go as well. Very shortly after, the party was cancelled!
121
On July 18th, Major General Key made a very thorough inspection of the Regiment
area and also held a Ceremonial parade on the Padang. He visited every nook and
cranny, and spoke to most of the men in the barrack rooms. When it was all over he
said to Major Fennell, who was acting CO during the absence of Col Jephson in
Hospital, "I congratulate you on an excellent show". "The men looked happy and
contented." This was very gratifying and was quickly passed on as all Officers,
NCOs and men had worked hard to make it a success and had achieved miracles
with their turn-out, clothes now being old and scarce.
In the evening Lt General Lewis Heath, Commanding 3rd Indian Corps, gave a
very interesting lecture on the Malayan Campaign, extracts from which are given
in Volume 3 of this diary. We were particularly interested to get an authentic
account of what happened on the West Coast, as up to the present, we had heard
only very disjointed accounts. 3rd Indian Corps had certainly been given a heavy
task, and although mistakes were made, they had certainly nothing to be ashamed
of in their 600 mile retreat. The Commander of the Japanese Guards Division,
told General Heath that no other nation could have done it in such an orderly
fashion.
The "Black Market"
During the middle of the month, 11 Div published Order No 414, which was read out
on successive parades. The gist of this order was that all trading with the
Malays in the Kampangs, and hawking of goods was to cease forthwith. By now, the
Canteen and Local Purchase systems were working comparatively smoothly, and it
was felt that it was high time to give definite orders as to what was forbidden
and what could be winked at, provided that the tenets of the 11th Commandment
were observed!
Soon after Changi became the area for Prisoners of War, the Black Market, as it
was called, started. Small syndicates were formed in various units and formations
consisting of individuals who were more blessed with money than their
fellows. Expeditions were made into the Kampongs by day and also through gaps in
the wire by night, and much trading was done with the locals, and also with
Chinese, who managed to bring stuff from Singapore. In some cases the goods
were sold at tremendous profits though other traders were content to accept a
small profit of 25% to cover the risks attached to these nocturnal
expeditions.
3 enterprising Australians borrowed a tent, and actually lived in the scrounging
area, and ran a very successful shop for a short time! A certain road in Southern
Area was lined with hawkers and at times resembled a small edition of the Caledonian
Market. With the advent of the canteen and local purchase, a somewhat half-
122
hearted order was issued by Malaya Command to put a stop to it, but the order
was disregarded by some areas altogether. It was a scource of great discontent
that individuals from other areas applied frequently to attach themselves to
Flag parties from the Regiments in Birdwood Camp for black market reasons at a
time when the men themselves were forbidden to do any buying themselves. At
first, provided that the prices were reasonable, a certain amount of black
marketing was a good thing. Later the Canteen and local purchase could
produce the same articles more cheaply and most people were agreed that it was
a very good thing to put a stop to it. There was of course the odd individual
left who preferred to buy something through the wire, instead of getting the
same thing more cheaply inside at the Canteen!
More General News
On July 28th, Lt Col Jephson returned from Hospital though his foot was only
partially cured of beri-beri. On the Saturday of the same week the Regiment
had a great Theatrical treat as they received a large allotment of seats for
the 18 Div Theatre, at which "The Dover Road" was being produced. All the
allotment was taken up and the outing was much enjoyed. The Theatre was in a
very large barrack room with stage complete with curtain and proper electric
lighting system. There was an orchestra in attendance, and apart from the
absence of programme sellers, and of course "The Bar", one felt quite at Home!
The play was excellently acted and the two wives were very well played by two
officers in the Norfolks, Anastasia in particular looking quite attractive, and
causing a lot of amusement. When the cast had something to eat called kidneys
and bacon for breakfast, the audience nearly wept!
As regards News, a propaganda paper called the Syonan Times was published in English
by the LJA, and a few copies were to be seen at Div HQ. Any articles of interest
were noted by Regimental Commanders and related at the daily conferences. The
British and American fleets were regularly annihilated each week, but always
seemed to have something in hand! The LJA seemed to be very suspicious that there
were other sources of information, and it was understood that English speaking
sentries had been detailed to hang about the wire in the evening to listen in
to groups talking. On working parties, the LJA Officers and NCOs sometimes became
very affable and then would shoot out some questions quite unrelated to what had
appeared in the Syonan Times.
By this time all the loose wood in the scrounging area had been collected, and
units had to send out to cut their own. At the beginning of August, however a
new system was started. A permanent wood cutting squad was recruited from the
Division and went out first thing in the moning to cut down trees. All the units
had to do now was to send their trailer parties to the wood piles and draw their
123
allotments. Everything was going very smoothly when the LJA began to get B-minded
and said that all roots had to be dug up by a certain date. This not only slowed
up things enormously, but also produced wood which was quite useless for cooking
purposes. However we survived as always.
A mixed bag of British and Dutch Army and Navy POW's suddenly turned up from Sumatra.
A small party under Lt Bailey RA were attached to the Regiment and took over the
Junior NCOs Mess near the Store as their barrackroom. They had a very
uncomfortable journey in the bottom of a hold, and had to live under a shelf,
which was occuped by Javanese whose ideas of sanitation were practically non
existent. A few had managed to get away from Java and Sumatra on the original
escape parties, but most of them had been recaptured or drowned when their ships
were sunk. One party got away in a sailing boat, and got within 400 miles of
Colombo, but were sighted by 2 Jap tankers and recaptured. Tough luck!
The Australian Concert Party came and gave a very good show complete with quite
a large orchestra. The Star of the party was a professional female impersonator
called Donald Woods, who is quite well known on the English Music Hall stage, and
also on the films. "She" had a considerable sex appeal and judging by her songs and
patter, she had had a somewhat lurid existence! One of her best songs was "Wife
two hundred and three" bewailing the fate of the wife of an Eastern Potentate, and
who had been relegated to a lowly position on the roster as a result of getting
somewhat part-worn! It was sung to the tune of Room 504!
On Monday August 17th the Japan Party finally left. We were very sorry to lose
General Key and Brigadier Rusher, and hoped to meet then again some time, which
we did but not until much later. We all lined the wire alongside the road and
gave him a round of cheers as he drove by in a car with General Callaghan, the
Australian, and two Dutch Generals. By his unfailing cheerfulness and interest,
he had done much to encourage us, and 73 Bty had also had the honour of serving
under him when he commanded 8th Indian Infantry Bde in the campaign.
With the departure of General Percival and all the Divisional Commanders, fresh
arrangements had to be made. Lt Col Holmes of The Manchester Regiment became the
new CO British Forces, and Lt Col Gallighan (known as Black Jack) took over the
AIF. The Areas were taken over by the Senior RA Commanders with the result that
Lt Col Jephson took over 11 Div, Lt Col Harris, whom we had worked with on the
Tampines Road, took 18 Div, and Lt Col Toosey of 135 Field Regt had Southern Area.
124
Under New Management
On Wednesday August 20th, a most important event took place. It was the opening
match of a great Inter-town knock(out) Football Competition promoted by Gunner
Russell of 73 Bty. Teams were entered from Glasgow Rangers, Newcastle United,
Leeds City, Stoke, Birmingham, Brentford, Cardiff City, Somerset, Portsmouth,
Carlisle and Liverpool, and the Corinthians (The Officers!). The Competition
caused a lot of fun and some very good games resulted. In the final Leeds City
defeated Liverpool by 2-0 amid howls of joy from Yorkshiremen of all ranks,
castes and creeds!
On the 22nd there was also an inspection by the new Japanese Major General who
had just taken over command of all the Prison Camps in Malaya. He rejoiced in the
name of Fukuji, and turned out to be a thick set, bentboned gentleman with a
singularly strange looking Staff! The parade was held on our Padang which was a
great advantage as it was a very hot day, and Southern Area, who had the farthest
to go, looked decidedly part-worn when they arrived!
The speech was made in Japanese from the top of a table. It was not a long
speech. He told us his name and said that he hoped he could treat us kindly
and generously. In the Concert held in the evening, L/Bdr Goldberg hit the nail on
the head when he produced an impromptu poem about it, the final refrain being
“You play ball with me and I will play ball with you”!!
The final excitement of the week was that an exchange ship arrived from Lorenzo
Marques with a consigment of Red Cross Stores on board. The Singapore representative
received a letter of apology saying that the consignment was not very big
as they had only been given twelve hours notice.
When the Regimental allotment was received a 1 lb pot of jam was issued to every
officer, NCO and man, also a packet of caramels containing A & D vitamins.
The remainder of the consignment consisted of dehydrated soup which would be
sufficient to provide 50 meals. It was kept in bulk in the Q stores, and issued
out on the “as required” basis to the cookhouse. The first brew was made the
same evening and it was so good that it would have been a sin to put rice in it!
All the goods were of South African manufacture, and we were promised a larger
consignment at an early date. The system as regards exchange ships was that
Japanese ships sailed between Japan, Singapore and Lorenzo Marques, where transhipment
took place, and British ships took the Consuls, diplomat and nationals
onto their final destination.
And so ended the first six months of our imprisonment in Changi. At times there
was a certain amount of grumbling, but had we known what trials and hardships were
in front of us, the voice of the most hardened cribber would have been stilled.
125
Proposed Scheme for formation of Hospial Fund, Changi
Objects:
- Formation of a Hospital Fund to provide pay for men in Hospital and also to
give extra food to sick men in Barracks. -
To discuss whether the Messing Fund should be maintained or that a form of
messing subscription should be introduced in lieu.
- Fixing a new rate of pocket money as a result of decisions in 1 & 2.
Factors affecting:
- Officers subscriptions and 1/10 cut from men’s pay are paid to Camp Messing
Fund, which will provide whitebait, rice polishings, peanuts, palm oil and
vitamin producing rations only. - IJA takes over Central Canteen and Local Purchase w/e Oct 26th.
- The Messing Officer estimated that he will require roughly $50 per month
for purchase of Coconut Oil and items not covered by Rations or Red X. - IJA no longer paying men in Hospital.
New Suggested Scales and Present Policy
-
Provided that ration situation was satisfactory and the Camp messing Fund
produces its quota of vitamin articles, the following would come into effect
w/e Nov 11th or later date if necessary.
Gunners NCOs
$ $
Monthly rates
of pocket money 2.50 (90,80,80) 3.75 (1.25,1.25,1.25)
Monthly Health
Fund 15 20
Monthly Messing
Fund 5 10
1/10 cut by
command for 30 45
rations 3.00 4.50
Health Fund Rates of pay for men in Hospital:
First 10 days NIL
After 10 days 2 cents a day
126
THE SELARANG INCIDENT
On August 23rd, the IJA had produced a printed certificate to be signed
voluntarily in which we promised on our honour not to escape under any
circumstances. Naturally all officers refused to sign, and when it was put to
the NCOs and men, only 4 could be found out of about 14000 and these were in
Southern Area. The IJA had stressed the point that it was a voluntary business
and NCOs and men were not to be influenced in any way in their decision.
Col Holmes, the new Commander of the British troops in Changi, took the answer
to IJA HQ, and the Japanese commander said that if we would not sign voluntarily
we should all be moved to Selarang Barracks, just opposite Birdwood Camp and
kept there until further notice. The result was that a Conference held at
0530 hrs on Sept 3rd we were told to commence moving at 1400 hrs and have the
move finished by 1800 hrs.
At 1400 hrs, Major Fennell and a recce party went over and found that 14000 souls
were to be put into 6 Barrack blocks which surrounded a large square and usually
held 900 officers and men in peace-time. Needless to say there were no latrines
working, the water was off, and there was only a very small well. One block
was allotted to 11 Div and the Regiment were allotted the top storey, together
with the officers of 22nd Mountain Regt, Div HQ, and the RIASC making about 600
bodies to fit into the same space that we had put 150 in our first home in
Roberts Barracks. The men were to be put in the large central room, and the
remainder and the officers were put into the verandahs. A trap door leading to
the roof was discovered and it was decided to make us of this later.
The morning had been spent in deciding what to take and what to leave behind.
Obviously any furniture was out of the question so the final answer was
small kit, rations, watercarts and firewood. The move started about 12.30 and
35 sacks of rice, cases of bully beef and milk, firewood and the remains of the
Red Cross Stores were taken. It meant going backwards and forwards like a flock
of ants and we were lucky to be so near. In addition to the above items, cooking
utensils had to be taken by all the Messes.
The road was a sight never to be forgotten, being packed with every conceivable
type of dismantled vehicle, being pulled by teams of men ranging from 30 with
a large RAF trailer to one man pushing his belongings in a perambulator. Those
who had come all the way from Southern Area looked pretty tired and had very
heavy loads, as they would only be able to make two trips at the most. However,
everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and although it seemed as if it might rain,
thank God it held off.
We got our move finished by half past six, but we wished we could have brought more
127
Rhondda ShawThis transcription item is now locked to you for editing. To release the lock either Save your changes or Cancel.
This lock will be automatically released after 60 minutes of inactivity.