Diary Jack Lusby Burns - Jun - Oct -1944 - Part 1

23/5/44.                                         Chandler Noel.

Cigs  - 40 @ 5                              Lyons 20/8  - 5.

                                                        Hilton  5/92   - 4

[[?shorthand]]   31      7½  = 232  Palin     2 1/2

[[? shorthand]]     2               200   Ryder    1  2 A

[[? shorthand]]     7/40   32½        Pray       2  

                                            owe 1    1 Jones      10      owe  1

                                                      15  Ryder    15

 

[*No 970380 - £30  24 July 1944

Bank of NSW. WDC.   24 July 1944

No M. 003098  24 July 1944

C/Wealth Bank of Aust.*]

                   

[*Letter from home 2nd Dec. '43*]

Monday. 12th June 1944.

Started again - Rec'd. 25 word letter from home

dated 2nd Dec.43.  Sure grand to get them. All 

the lads rush round exchanging letters photos etc.

Wish I could get some photos. Rumour hath it

that Cherbourg has been occupied & the whole

Normandy Peninsula has been taken.? Also that

our cig. ration now 9 pkts a month will be 

increased to 16 a month. Cigs. E O/P

Hair. AB/ for MT/EB. The cucumber soup & salad

seems to be playing havoc with the boys insides. Quite

a few have the "runs". The bed bugs are lousy. I now sleep

on the forms in the center of the room & I usually get

20 - 30 out of my mosquito net each morning.

Tuesday 13th June 1944.

2 cans of salt SPT/TEB. Had a bit of luck 

at "Black Jack". SPT after I had borrowed EAT.

Rumour is continually rife about Red Cross Supplies

arriving from "Vladivostock". After the news of the

2nd front landing, the days seem to be dragging.

Rec'd a letter dated 2nd Dec.'43 from the mater. 'Tis great

getting these. It mentions getting letter No. 7. from

me. I think that this must be the post card of

August '43. Some of the letters in the batch now in

from England are dated March '44. 'Tis very noticeable

now how thin the various officers are becoming. Had a

lousy sleep last night. _ Didn't get to sleep till 3 AM. at

midnight picked 400 bugs off my mosquito net.

 

Wednesday 14th June 1944.

Great excitement. Spuds are supposed to have come into the

galley -The meals of late have been putrid - Still one should

be thankful for life. A preeting was held this evening re a

proposed Bridge Tourney. Entrance fee 5 Amer. dollars 

payable to National Repres. after the war i.e. myself. in

the case of Aust. - Invitation Tourney. I intend playing with

Bill Spears. There is a bit of fuss re Yen. Officers are

NOT supposed to have more than 50 yen on them. This

room was 650 yen short on this original return. The only

lawful expenditure we can have is through the canteen.

(Black market transactions are "de trop") as ^room records are

now kept in the canteen we are in a bit of a hole. Will now

have to cut out poker, Black Jack etc.

Thursday 15th June 1944.

Quite a few rabbits are dying so the prisoner officer in

charge of rabbits went & saw  the J. authorities re increase

in food rations for them - He got the answer back that 

we should breed a hardy species of rabbits that should

last for 10 days without food. A protest was made

by the international committee re bed bugs. They couldn't

get any satisfaction  - one of the interpreters told one

of the officers that when he resided in New York his

flat used to be black with bed bugs. I wish some J.

would take my bed for a night. The air raid syren sounded

a preliminary alarm this evening. We had to go out with 

buckets & fill the fire tub - also we had to be in bed straight

after muster. Had 42 rabbits in the soup this evening.

 

Friday 16th June 1944.

The air raid syren sounded at 1.30 this morning,

There was a great "to do". The J. became very activated.

Breakfast was held up till 9.30 & we had bread

for lunch - 1st time for 5 months. Cigs PT/TE

 - AMP/TB. & some locquets. -The latter were

very nice. Rumour hath it that Nagasaki & Moji

were bombed. Went out to collect the rabbit meal. Tis

pleasant to walk down in the town. Now there is

nothing in the shops. Soups were much better

today - due to the advent of potatoes. Have quite a

number of small gardens round the place & each

person trying his hand at growing vegetables.

Saturday 17th June 1944.

Usual Saturday inspection. -The J.'s asked which was the

worst room for bugs & were told Room 21 - my room.

We were told to pry the bugs out of every nook & cranny - as

if we don't - The blighters drop from the roof & worm their

way through the mosquito net onto one. An ultimatum was

put into the J.'s re the rabbits - when the rabbits were cut

down to a number which we could feed or we quit - also for

us to try & get a feed off them twice a month. The J.'s saw

our point & were quite decent about it. The bridge tournament

started yesterdtoday .Bill Spears won our first game by 4390.

Have got a scheme to try & cure tobacco - one sheaf to 3/4 klim tins

Have had potatoes in the soup for todays meals. Our garden is

paying dividends in the form of french beans. Hot baths.

 

[*Weight - 66.2 Kilos.  lost 8/10 kilo.*]

Sunday 18th June 1944.

Have decided to take the "bugs" we got from our nets down

to the interpreter in a bottle. Concert this evening

put on by the Englishmen - "A London Tapestry". So

as to provide seating space in the canteen for these

shows we always have 2 shows which

necessitates an early meal on Sunday evening.

Optimism is very high now as regards the war.

"Home for Xmas" seems to be the slogan - eg. "Beans

for breakfast", "parcels next week" "Home for Xmas".

The average loss of weight was about 1 kilo per

person for the camp. Rid of 2 Klims for EMPT/B

Smoking is now at a premium - quite a few have

compulsorily given it up.

 Monday 19th June 1944.

Rumour hath it this evening that "Guam" has been retaken. 
Most of the early Americans are from Guam & they

are quite excited. As one chap said, "The news is too good

for rumours.". Salt. - 3 Klims - MMPTE. Did

about 3 weeks washing - heck I hate washing shirts 

especially the shirt I use as a pyjamas coat as it is

usually covered with my blue blood & squashed bugs.

Have been quite a few cases of stomach trouble of late.

The sheaf tobacco cut up & cured makes quite a decent

smoke. usually STTE/CPTA a Klim. Quite a

bit of Amer. mail is now coming in with photos - lucky dogs.

Also, their people write a letter a day. 'Twill be a great day

when we get out of here.

 

[*Received anti-typhoid injection*]

Tuesday 20th June 1944.

Cigs. are very few - in fact I'm out. Won 70 at Poker.

Now can pay off my debts. Due to the Yen shortage had to

put in as having 50 when I only have about 2. My

arm is quite sore from an anti-typhoid injection, also

have a bit of a head-ache. Some glue has just 

come in for the library so we should be able to

repair quite a few of the books. We are collecting

our "bugs" in a bottle - when we get a full one

we will take it down to the J's. 40 Rabbits went

out to be killed but they had to come back in again.

Seems strange that we can't kill the things ourselves.

Had a lucky win at bridge today. The weather is

quite mild - let's hope it is a cool summer. -

 

Wednesday 21st June 1944.

50 Rabbits died in the Rabbit House this morning.

cause - lack of feed. 40 Rabbits went out to the butchers.

Should have them in Tomorrow's soup. There was a bit

of a stink between the J's & the rabbit gathering feed party.

The J's said the latter weren't doing their work but the 

J's have neglected to furnish us with any meal. Our

garden project has furnished us with some french

beans & irish potatoes. The latter make a big

difference to the soups. There has been a bit of a 

shake up going on in the galley. So far it is mostly

intrigue - still truth will out. Quite a number of

the Americans have been getting letters & photos. Still

feel a bit listless over the injections.

 

Thursday 22nd June 1944.

3 Klims ATTE salt. Fish for evening meals. Rumour

hath it that Junior officers are getting 6 yen & the Senior

officers 10 yen only per month. - also that the J's have

evacuated the Marianna's?]]. Hell I hope we are home

by Xmas. Bugs, gave me hell last night. I start to

itch as soon as I get into bed. Had to get up at

midnight to pluck bugs off myself. They go for my

neck. Usually sleep after lunch - official time

1200 to 1330 but I usually manage to sleep to 

1400 hrs. The guards usually kick us off our bunks.

In order to sunbathe. - people must lie in an orderly

fashion feet to south in the morning & to the west in the

afternoon.

[*Issue of Salt - bug powder.*]

Friday 23rd June 1944.

Lost our 1st bridge match - rather substantially - didn't

hold a card all day. This tobacco racket seems to be

a bit of a gold mine. Managed to borrow some 

cigs. Only get about 10 - 29 bugs of an evening under

my mosquito net. Average about 3 showers a 

week (taken straight after muster) & a hot bath

of a Saturday - 1 room is allowed 1/2 bucket hot

water per person to be washed etc in 10 minutes.

Rather pushing them through. Lack of soap seems 

to be a great drawback. The ruddy bugs are in everything.

Had an issue of Red Cross salt - about 1/4 cup per

person - also 2 tins of bug powder to 7 persons.

 

Saturday 24th June 1944.

Usual inspection day. The J. s.o asked 'what the

ropes were for in our room - Told they were for 

suspending the mosquito Nets. - otherwise no

comment. Had the best night sleep I've had

so for this summer. Had the hottest bath we've 

had so far this year. Pity we can't get these

baths in winter. The soups seem to be picking 

up a bit. Had spuds of late. Usually sleep

for an hour or so after lunch nowadays.

Some black tea came in through the canteen.

We've been on J. green tea now for 2 weeks - tastes 

lousy. Treated to a coffee by Noel Lyons.

Sunday 25th June 1944.

Yasume day - and I "bashed" the cot all day

practically. Slight run of the "trots". - "A London

Tapestry" presented by the Englishman for the

weekly Sunday evenings concert. Strong rumour

of Red Cross parcels. Some lads put in the

brig for presumably NOT bowing to the J. Colonel.

The bridge Tournament is taking the place by

storm. - Everyone is interested in the results.

Every morning now one or two lads faint on

parade for early morning muster. - Lack of

food. Managed to pick up a klim of sugar. Tastes

sumptuous.

 

Monday 26th June 1944.

The gardening - party had just got back from

watering the garden when  "the Rains Came". The

rice crops round here are very much in need

of rain so this shower will help out. All the

little vegetable / flower gardens round camp are

looking very nice. - From one plot we picked

over 100 egg fruit. Had to go out to a local

"factory" to pick up some "meal" for the rabbits.

'Tis funny how the make it - Take the whole soya

bean crush boil ^cool & then treat in cold water. The 

residue is the rabbit meal the other product "towfue"

is put in soups or fried & made into "aboragie".

[*Anti Typhoid injections*]

Tuesday 27th June 1944.

Another yasumé day as we had typhoid injections

Quite a No. of the lads were laid low with this

everyone was allowed to sleep on their bunks - I

had about 3 hours sleep in the morning.  - My

arm was dashed sore when I awoke. Had a

filthy night's sleep - visited the "head" 4 times

during the night - a rotten bilious attack.

Felt like something the cat had brought home in the

morning - sure makes one weak on this diet.

Going to be an epicure after this ruddy war. Being

a prisoner really makes one appreciate the common

amenities. (eg. bread butter jam etc) of life. Rained today at

long last.

Wednesday 28th June 1944.

Cigarettes came into the canteen late this aft.

Rumour hath it that our monthly ration is

going to be increased from 9 to 18 pkts a month

& we are going to be allowed to buy an additional

8 packets a month through the canteen - [[Qiven Sabe?]].

Up twice last night to visit the "Head". Still don't

feel as bad as yesterday. Had a very good tourney

bridge match this morning. -Managed to win only due to

the fact that we had a Grand Slam Vulnerable in the

last rubber. Red Cross rumours very strong.

5 Klims of Salt for sale. Now shave every alternate day.

The bugs have been giving me a bit of a rest of late.