Diary Jack Lusby Burns - Jan - Apr -1943 - Part 4
News re telegraphing of our names
to Geneva by J. Intelligence office as
official P.O.W.'S
Monday 15th March 1943.
A list came tonight (including my
name), showing list of Aust. &
Eng. War Prisoners at Zentsuji
forwarded by the J. War Pris.
Intelligence Office by telegram
to Geneva on the 27 Jan 1943
So it looks as if official notification
will have reached mum & dad
by now - thank heaven. Still
its a hell of a long time
for them to take over it. Now
have 302 rabbits now. Expect
some more rabbits expecting to give birth
to some more in the next
few days. Beautiful sitting out
in the sun today. My:
finger is on the mend although
it is still damn sore to
touch. Some of the lads are getting their
hair shaved off.
Won 1st prize in Raffle with
Peter Dixon
Tuesday 16th March 1943.
Talk about miracles won first
prize in a raffle of 2 loaves
bread & a packet of razor blades.
As I was sharing with Peter Dixon,
I finally made ½ pkt blades & 1
loaf of bread. Had my hair cut
this morning. - Rec'd an issue
of soap (1 bar costing 10 [[?]]
per month). Although we need
some Lifebuoy'' & Lux I missed
out in the cut when we cut
the cards for them. Our turn
for burnt rice this morn - we
receive this once about every 13
days. Cigs were issued - 3 pkts
J.'s. It appears as if everyone has
to go out on this outside Agric.
Party. Teddy Goode helped me
clean the rabbit cages out this morn.
Collected prize from room mates
for bridge tournament in Jan.
Wednesday 17th March 1943.
Collected a prize of a yen from
each of the inmates of the late
room 22 as 1st prize to a Bridge
tournament. ^(Held some time in [[?]] Jan The finger is ever
so much better tonight although
it is still swollen. Had a
dashed good meal tonight -
gravy & 34 - 12oz tins of
bully - sure tasted nice.
The parcel is rapidly
dwindling away - Tis nice
to get some civilized
commodities. The lecture room
has been opened again so
lessons are once more under
way. Great sitting in the sun
today. The J. Colonel was asking
re our rabbits & looks as if we
may be getting some by the end of
the month.
xx Prison Duty officer for the day.
Thursday 18th March 1943.
Finger just about OK although
still discharging - Mounted
duty as ^Prison Duty Officer for the day
at 1200 hrs. A new prisoner
Lieut. Ted Best came in about
1340 hrs. He came from Rabaul
with us although we left him at
Yokohama. He looked in good
condition also brought news
of the other three of us left
behind. - Damned good to see
him. Also had the room
orderly job. So had my work
cut out. Very nice out in the
sun. Lost another rabbit.
Seems as if something we give
them doesnt agree. Heaven knows
what it is. We would love to
hear from home.
Friday 19th March 1943.
Had to get up early so as to be
ready for muster as D.O.
Received an issue of fags'' &
2 sweet buns tonight. - The
latter are small but sure
taste delicious. The J. office
damned near eat as many
buns as what the whole of
the prisoners do together - Blast
them. Went out working this
aft - watered some of the seeds
we planted - at present have
Beans & Spinach planted.
The canteen turned out some
shirts etc. - allotted some
shirts etc to various rooms on
a proportionate basis. Sleeping
better these nights. Teddy Best sure
has some interesting news.
Changed to short u/clothes
Saturday 20th March 1943.
Rained today So NO work party
went out. Taken to wearing
short u/pants with the official
advent of Spring as from
y'day. Was a bit cold today.
Field day today - swept under
bunks swobbed decks etc.
Cleaned out rabbit cages, scratched
my hand again. Received my
first issue of "Sakura" the J.
monthly magazine. Had a super
chow for the evening meal. - Bully
mixed & cooked in the rice & gravy.
Must try this one night at home
averse, even as I am to rice.
Played bridge pract. all aft &
night. One of the Aust-officers has heard
that his brother is a P.O.W. in
Singapore. - Great relief for him
Sunday 21st March 1943.
Bath day - the hot water was
grand - guess we will be
having them cut out before
long. My finger is still dis-
charging - the doctor still seems to
think that there is still a
piece of thorn in it. Doughnuts
(3) for. the evening meal. The J.
Supply officer has been replaced
& the new one has sure come
in on a good note. Since the
Conference Room has been opened.
again we held a concert again.
It was great. The rabbits seem
to be getting some sort of
paralysis we have 14 down
with it. Had milk today - 2nd day in
succession. This happens once
every 2 wks approx. Inspection held
at 1000 hrs
Seeds planted in Outside Agric.
Plot.
Monday 22nd March 1943.
Four more rabbits died last night
for paralysis of some description.
An amer. doctor conducted an
autopsy & said that from the condition
of the stomach the feed didn't have
anything to do with it. Had a
damned good evening meal. Bully in
the gravy & rice. The guards have
been very active today - 'woofing'
every lying on their bed. Most.
of the Red Cross Parcels are just
about finished. I wish we got one
every. fortnight. Had a sleep this
aft. after lunch - 1st time for
months. Cig. issue - 3 pkts of 10.
Planted carrots & dykon on some
of the ration gardening plot. x Had a hail storm
late this aft.
Tuesday 23rd March 1943.
Pay day - Instead of each officer
now receiving 50 yen in cash
those who put in as having over
50 yen in cash received NO pay at
all - it is banked for them - compulsory
savings. As I put in as having nothing
I was paid 50 yen. Went out
working this aft. also plucked
some grass for the rabbits. Had
beans for b'fast - They were OK.
The quality of the meals seems
to have improved although the
quantity is still the same.
Some of our vegs. g^rown in camp
have been used in the stew
Planted leeks & radishes this
aft. Some of the lads have been
having their hair cut short
in anticipation of the hot weather
Burnt rice
Wednesday 24th March 1943.
Had a damned good evening meal
Pork & noodles - also we rec'd an
extra issue of rice for the evening
meal only. Issued with burnt rice
this evening. We get this once every
20 days approx. Went out working
this aft. Did some digging & plucking
of grass for the rabbits this aft.
Paid in 8 yen to the room fund
Out of this we pay for cigs. sweet buns
etc. Bought 4 pkts of cigs. for 5 yen
The ruling price for bread (1 loaf)
seems to be 10 yen. The new supply
officer came in today - was on
duty for muster this evening.
Had a tummy-ache last night. Had
to get up at 05.30 hrs. A group of
us are still trying to buy a book on
book-keeping. Hope Mum & dad are OK
Weight 65.8 Kgs.
Thursday 25th March 1943.
An enlisted man from Guam
- one of the originals died last night.
The first of the Guamites to go. 'Tis
rotten to get so far then pass
away. Had the duty today xin the
room so didnt go out working
Weighed today 65.8 Kgs - lost 1.1
kgs. Gosh what I wouldn't give
for some of the mater's cooking.
Sat out in the Sun - 'twas grand
Slept for a while this aft. The
news re Tunisia seems to be good
- looks as if the beginning of the
end for the Au's in Africa.
Had a good meal for evening meal.
Pork, egg dumplings - "Sukieyaki"
Rec'd. issue of 3 pkts of cigs. Had to
put in a list to the J. office of all clothes
issued to us by the J. Milk today
Funeral - enlisted man.
Friday 26th March 1943.
Attended the funeral for the enlisted
man who died y'day. 'Twas an
impressive ceremony. All dressed
in their finery - We acted like
soldiers & sailors once again.
Worked again this aft. - carted
water in a banjo bucket.-
became heavy & monotonous after
a while. Very interesting suggestion
put up by Teddy Goode today re
post war work etc in the T.N.G.
Finished my cheese for lunch.
Although I never ate this stuff
prewar I certainly intend to
hoe into it afterwards. - also
cocoa & rice. (Strange as it may
seem) Gravy for tea - very thin.
Lost some more rabbits. Did some
washing - just about finished my soap.
Saturday 27th March 1943.
Cleaned out the rabbit cages. lost
3 more rabbits with the disease
today so we seggregated those
containing suspected cases. Have
been given a young doe about a
month old which I named Lėlene
after Lėle Statey. 'Tis a very
pretty rabbit & I sure intend
to look after it. Field day - had
a big inspection by some police.
wallah - the J's. inspected our
shelves. Rain started this aft.
it should help our seeds
planted in the outside agric. plot.
Rec'd milk & mixed some cocoa
with it - tasted lovely mixed up
with some bread - sure intend to
have some of this when I get home.
Hell I'm hungry Still if we don't get
less we wont starve.
Doughnuts (3)
Sunday 28th March 1943.
Bath day. the water was grand
although the weather was very
inclement - Rained practically
all day. Doughnuts for dinner
3 apiece - Had one with milk
also had a desert of a cup ½
full of rice - evaporated milk &
a bit of orange concentrate. The
concert tonight (English) was
very good. The Aust. show put
on last week was too elaborate
so dressing up has been cut out.
Too bad - Entered for another
raffle - Have Buckleys' chance again
Cigs. - 3 pkts issued. Had the
music in our room last night
As the gramophone was still here
this morning we played a few
records - 'Twas grand.
Finished digging on the garden
plot outside.
Monday 29th March 1943.
Went out to work this aft. The
actual digging of the virgin ground
has finished & all that remains
to do is to make rows to plant the
Vegs. One side has already
been planted with Soya bean
carrots onions ,^eggplant leeks ^radish, daikon,
Gobo(?) ^cucumber, squash, turnip, spinach, tomatoes. Should
supplement our diet by a lot, if
we get any our normal ration. Still
time will tell. Beans for
b' fast - it was damned good.
Had fish for the evening meal.
Been wearing the tunic with a
borrowed tie the last two days -
makes one feel quite civilized.
Most of the young rabbits are suffering
from the same kind of disease. Lost
one again last. night. Poor blighters.
Irish stew - Best meal of the
year so far.
Tuesday 30th March 1943.
Miserable day - rained &
drizzled all day. Also 'twas
damnably cold - my feet have
been frozen all day. Rumours
are flying round that "Rommell"
has surrendered in Tunisia
I sure hope its true. I can't
get home quick enough. I hope
& pray Mum & Dad are both
well. Had absolutely the best
chow we've had since we've
been here tonight. It was
like an irish stew - Pork,
dehydrated onions & spuds plus
a few J. vegs. Read a fair
bit in bed today - Only place
to get warm. We have a sort
of sweet spud, in the rice which
I dested detest.
Wednesday 31st March 1943.
Another rotten day - rained
all day but 'twas NOT as cold
as y'day. The 'chow' was NOT
up to scratch today just water
& a 'lik-lik' rice. Oh! for some
of the maters cooking. Intend
going into a huddle with myself
to save some food etc., so as I can
have a real birthday feed on
the 14th. Our cig. ration is
going to be cut down to 22 pkts.
a month now instead of 30.
ie. 3 pkts every 4 days except of
as now, 3 pkts every 3 days.
Most officers are tipping that Tunisia
will be in our hands by the end of this
month. I hope that this is will be true. This
J. is sure a hard lang. to learn
& study.
Started killing rabbits for our own
consumption
Arose at 0530 hrs. Burnt rice.
Thursday 1st April 1943.
Started on my scheme to save
some bread milk & things for my
B'day on the 14th - Saved a slice of
bread. Wonders of wonders we have
started on the rabbits - killed
10 today - with a net weight of
42¼ lbs. We are to have them on the
menu for tomorrow night with
gravy. Rec'd an issue of
burnt rice tonight - very
"lik-lik". The meals were
extremely light today although
we had been 'lima' beans &
a bit of meat for b'fast. Was
room orderly today. Arose at
05.30 hrs for the first time for a
few months this morning. It is
the official reveille for this month.
Heck I'll appreciate food when I get home
issue of 3 pkts of cigs.
First batch of rabbits (10) in stew.
Friday 2nd April 1943.
Had ten of our rabbits in the
stew tonight. They made it
taste delicious. Saved some
bread from lunch took what little
meat I had in my bowl &
put it on the bread. It tasted
like a chicken sandwich although
I've forgotten what chicken tastes
like. Beautiful day - the sun
was out in all its glory.
Have managed to save a loaf
of bread so far for my b'day.
Did some washing - finished
my. 1st issue of comforts fund
Soap - this J. issue stuff is
rotten when compared to it. Still
losers can't be choosers. Been
reading a bit of late.
Saturday 3rd April 1943.
The sentries have been very active
of late - kicking people off deck
with boots on. Field day - our 2
orderlies were roared up by the
Sgt. of the guard for using too much
water in washing down the Tables
& floor. Had our normal routine
inspection - mucked up practically
all the aft. The chow today
was "lousy" which was a good
word for it. Lost another
rabbit today although 4 "does" came
on with litters. New orders came
out - tables benches etc to be washed
outside the bdlg. No instruments to be
used (eg. planes) on the table top. In
our concert plays NO more than 10 people
can sing at one time or more than 2
recite. No nails may be put into the walls.
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