Unit diaries relating to service of Geoffrey W. Fennell - Wallet 2 - Part 20

-329-
PAGE 149
Major Wheeler was the subject of "A WAR STORY", a documentary made for the 

Canadian Film Board by his daughter, Anne, who is a film producer. The film 

was made fom his diaries, and a number of interviews with several of us which 

she filmed in the 'Three Horseshoes' in Tottenham Court Rd. I have a spare copy 

if it is of any use to you, just in case you missed it on C4
Page 149
'Pop' Fennell treats his confrontation rather lightly. He was tied hand and foot 

with half inch rope, the last turns of the rope going round his throat. He was x 

then dragged round the deck by shifts of 'goons' and then tied to a mast. He 

was unconscious for at least ten minutes, and I at least feared he was dead. I 

happened to be on deck trying to nick some water from a nearby steam pipe.
Page 150
Typist misprint,I think. Should be 'Groucho', a dead ringer the Marx Brother.
xxxx An exFord car salesman, he spoke very good English, a fact he carefully 

concealed for about three weeks, after which a few of ^us went through the mill for 

some unguarded remarks.
Page 166
I think Pop has got his camps mixed here. I can never remember being issued 

or being able to buy on this scale. I can only recall about 5 issues of about 

10 each. Officers were able tobuy large amounts weekly and I shall always be 

grateful to Lt. Beecroft who sent for me every week to give me 100 cigs to hand 

round the 73s signallers. I am afraid I had been very critical of his ability 

as Sigs Offr but he was very good in this way.
Page 167
Again Pop treats this rather lightly but perhaps I am biased. I was one of 'em!
There were only 4 of us and we were not caught playing. In fact the card playing 

had actually taken place nearly three months earlier. What happened was that in 

our first two days in the camp we did no work and on the second afternoon four 

of us started playing Solo whist. Bill Crocker, Cockney Foster, yours Truly and 

one other who shall be nameless. Three months later Moonface was on his rounds 

and saw A.N.Other who had a sick card lying on his bed space - a mortal sin, 

sick or not!  He also saw under a blanket and promptly accused him of playing 

cards, another mortal sin despite what Pop says. Stammering out denials he did 

admit playing earlier. Result - we three were brought in from work, given a bit 

of a thumping and stuck in the guard room. Next day we were taken to the camp
office (Fig 4 in Pop's plan) and interrogated one at a time. Bill and I then
made a grave mistake. We decided to impress them with our importance in the hope 

of frightening them off. Bill told them his father was the Lord mayor of Wolverhampton

(his father was a dustman for the Council) whilst I told them my father, 

with Baron Austin, owned the Austin Motor Works(he was a coachpainter there). Dont 

forget,it was still early days and we were still a little innocent. Anyway our 

fantasies had the opposite effect and they thought they had a catch.(When it was 

all over the interpreter as good as told me so). Anyway back to the cells which 

hadn't been and still wasn't very pleasant. Usual thing, kneeling down all day 

facing the cell door, each of us in a separate cell. Dont know what they would 

have done if there had been five of us playing pontoon! Next day the Kempei were 

on the scene. Two of them,both six foot plus and built like Henry Cooper. Performed

like him too.Tho' only Sgts they were beautifully dressed in tailored uniforms of 

almost British Army Officer quality. What really put the wind up is, too late, was 

how petrified even Jap officers were in their prescence - and we soon found out 

why. They gave us a real going over. The upshot was that we were to be tried (for 

what?) in Taihoku. In a funny way that was even more frightening. Until then we 

[had thought  that  was?]

 

Page 167(cont )-330-

had thought that the Jap Empire had been built on bamboo and grass

rope and to find this majestic building of white and coloured marble and to sit

in this court of light and dark mahogany and teak showed that there was another

Japan with which we had had no contact. Having been blindfolded until we arrived

outside the court we felt pretty vulnerable and,being away from all our mates,

felt pretty lonely. After two days of rehearsals and briefings by a civilian
interpreter who spoke impeccable^ English without a trace of accent, the whole affair was

called off. Obviously someone had seen us for the iits we undoubtedly were but

had they known it (perhaps they did) sitting alone in that large court except for

the interpreter and the two Kempei, uncertain of our fate, was more than enough.

The final result was that we were given twenty days in the camp guard room, with

the periodic thumping that that entailed.  One incident confounded us. In the middle

of one night the Sgt i/c guard and one of his goons crept into the passage running

along the front of the cells carrying of all things a bucket of beautiful white
rice. Finger to his lips and shushing for quiet,he opened each cells door in turn

and filled each rice bowl to the brim. We were scoffing away thinking it was Christmas,

New Years, and all our birthdays rolled into one when lo and behold he was back

again with another bucket this time full of thick pork soup - with pork!! My rice

went on the floor for later,we only had one bowl, and filled up with lovely hot

soup. It was gorgeous. I told the others it was all down to the senior NCO's trade

union. The incident gave me a great deal of thought especially when we got out and

I found that one of my 'mates' had nicked my bacca box - empty at that. Forgive

this rather full account but we acquired some local notoriety as the only ORs to

get stuck in the nick (at least while we were there) and for a pretty close call

from something really unpleasant. Like 'Pop' Fennell there must have been some

record kept as when we got to Omine in Kyushu - tho' funnily enough not in Kinkaseki -

I had to wear an extra disc on my name tag. The Jap figures on it, I was reliably

informed literally 'to be watched' but I really didn't know how to take it when

I found out that the only five already in the camp - Yanks - were all obviously as

barmy as hell.

Page 194. Last Para.

Did you ever come across these? Tiny round or square biscuits about as big as your

thumbnail, hard as arock, with a small piece of surgary 'rock' on top. I can remember

them as a schoolkid. The Japs had them in small bags as haversack rations in Malaya.
Page 184/5

The Japs showed Paracivini how much they were bothered about him by sending us

to work despite the fact that the rain was coming down like stair rods. Although

work didn't stop for normal rain it did for a real storm. It didnt that day. He

came out by car, didnt get out of it and laughed at our efforts to call him over.

Prof.John Pritchard, the American I may have told you about and who has just,after

14 years, finished transcribing the Far East War Crimes Trials, told me on Saturday

night, that he had been married to a Japanese for twelve years, was fervently Pro-Jap,

that he was kicked out of Internat. Red Cross after the war and that the

Swiss Gov. made a face saving attempt to prosecute him.

Page187.

I can verify his saluting phobia. On one occasion I got near to him,I saluted

as per British Army, and he acknowledged. My hand came down , and I was petrified

by as stentorian"Kurrah". I hastily saluted again, he again ack.,again my hand came

down,and again "Kurrah" - - -and his eyes were starting to bulge. As you well know

one didnt upset a Tenth class Formosan or Korean Private and this was the Big Chief!

Suddeny it dawned on my addled brain that I had to wait at the salute till his

hand came down,so I complied. The old goat beamed and gave me a Players packet with

3 real Players in it. You could almost see him saying to himself,"Taught one of 

these British monkeys to salute properly.

 - 331 -

Page 193

After the typhoon ceased the Jap kitchen was some six feet under water and

swimmers were called for. As this was the one sport at which I had some real

prowess - in happier days I had swum for a bet from Campbellpur ro Hasan Abdul -

and with my eye on the main chance I volunteered with Ned Scargill to try to get

the Jap rice boiler out. We were of course after bigger game. We managed to

bring the boiler to the surface and it was a simple matter to float it to shallow

water. We were rewarded with a, believe it or not , a round tin of Craven 'A' cork 

tipped!! We were millionaires! Furthermore, we had managed to secrete two large

tins, from the kitchen, just below the water line and were looking forward to

gorge ourselves on tinned potatoes, or carrots,or Heaven only knows, perhaps even

meat of some sort. We got them away and found we had liberated fourteen pounds

of Caustic soda! Doc Wheeler was ever so grateful for them.

PagezE12

Pages 290,293,294 were scribbled maps of no interest which I ommitted in the in

interest of time.

Page 311 seems to be missing. I dont know whether I slipped up or whether  it

was there at all. As it appears to be the last page of the Nominal Roll of

73s I am getting in touch with them to see if they will check up for me.

 

 

 - 332-

A printed Nominal Roll of the Regiment was issued shortly

after the war, presumably prepared by Major Fennell. This

gave the last-known address of each survivor and the dates 

and places when and where our people died, in so far as these

were known.

The abstract on page 333 was prepared from that printed 

Roll.

 

  - 333-

(regimental crest -see original document)

5TH FIELD REGIMENT

OUR GUNNERS WHO DID NOT COME HOME

IN ACTION         Up Country    Killed            5 
                           Singapore Island              26      31 

AS PRISONERS-OF-WAR, OR AS A RESULT

MALAYA             Changi                                         6

THAILAND         Kanchanburi                       10
                           Kanu                                   10
                           Songkrai                               6

                           Chungkai                              3
                           Tha Makan                           2

                            Nikhe                                   2 

                            Hintok                                  1

                            Tarsao                                  1
                            Tampi                                   1

                            Other Camps                       4      40

BURMA               Changaraya                          9

                            Tambaya                                        21

TAIWAN               Taihoku                                21

                             Heito                                      4

                             Taichu                                    3

                             Oka                                        2

                             Kinkaseki                               2

                             Shirakawa                              1     33

BORNEO                                                                     6

JAPAN                   Nagasaki                                3

                              Hakodate                                2

                              Myata                                      4     9

AT SEA                  Drowned,"President Harrison" 5

                              Died on board                          2

                              Missing, presumed drowned    1     8

U.K.                       Died in Hospital                               2        125

                                                                                                 ____

                                                                                                  156