Diary Jack Lusby Burns - Oct -1944 - Jan - 1945 - Part 2

Monday 23^rd October 1944.

Some sort of a J. holiday - flags were flying & all shops
closed in the town. No activity in the school ground opposite.
Curious incident happened in our room before b'fast.
The J. interpreter "Kobiashi" was wandering around prior
to b'fast & saw one of the lads in the room togged up, in a
U.S. Navy "Pea Jacket" - He asked him why he was
wearing it - "Because I'm cold, have a cold swollen face
& diaorrhea ^& hungry - was the the response. The J. interpreter came
back later with a parcel - "Here is ½ of my rice"
said the interpreter - The lad declined with thanks & the
J. became excited - However he eventually accepted it. - Looks
as if we are going to have a beano tomorrow. Rumour hath
it that a Red + repres. is coming or some J. high official. Tangerine is
come into the galley & 50 chooks were killed - 35 to us & 15 to
the Nips. ? Something must be wrong.
Payday  
drew
25¥
-  35 chickens in the soup.

Tuesday 24^th October 1944.

Pay day & drew 25 Y. - Room Bill came to 11 yen

10 yen for the room fund & 1 yen put in by each

Aust. officer ^per month for the New Zealand (5 of them) enlisted
men who were captured on the Gilbert & Ellice Islands.
They were one of the 1^st inhabitants in Zentsuji. It is
proposed to hold another Zentsuji Bridge Tourney.
Held a committee meeting this evening after evening
meal. One of the new Aussies came & gave us a
lecture on Aust. this aft. He was "shot down" in
Sept. '43. Nice evening meal - 35 chickens in the Soup.
Unfortunately the "rats" were at the rice. - Bit of meat
in the soup makes a great difference - Had 2 persimmons
issued to each person. Very tasty.

Air raid alarm.

Wednesday 25^th October 1944.

The air-raid alarm sounded at 10.15 hrs this morn.

We were playing bridge. but had to stop as all ^black out curtains were
drawn so I went to bed. Canteen issue, fish pills, black
pills & 14 smoke bombs. Bit of a rumpus in the galley
3 of the enlisted men who worked there were dismissed because
they refused to serve the enlisted men with 1½ rations of
soup "solids" to our 1 of soup. Previously, the "chief" in
charge of the galley (Lane) & of the camp had denied this
fact to the committee - Things were brought to a "head" by
this fact - I'd hate to be in his shoes. I understand that
the central committee intend taking this up with the Nips.
Latest Red X rumour - Parcels to be in by the 20^th to 30^th
of Next mth. - parcels to be issued 2 per month.??
Thursday 26^th October 1944.

Damned good evening meal - some stuff came into the
galley - presumed to be mushrooms but general
consensus was that it was some sort of edible fungii.
It was a bit leathery but tasted good. Sure don't
waste much in J. The air-raid y'day was on
Kijushu - 100 planes. One of the officers was caught

cutting up "black market" leaf tobacco & was put in

the brig - Rumour hath it, until he tells from

where he got it. Same officer owes me 50. Am

feeling damned fed up with this place. Dreamt of

home last night - Hope its a good omen. Clarrie
Archer suggests I take a trip to America in a [?]
& study their accounting methods as he predicts [?]
of Amer. capital into Aust.

Burnt rice.

Friday 27^th October 1944.

Burnt rice made its appearance, most welcome, for

evening meal. Kept the juice of my soup - soaked the
burnt rice in it, added some sugar & had it for
"supper" after muster - tasted delightful. The [?nate?]
water went off & we got an extra tea water issue
for lunch - This was cut out before because of the
J. shortage of coal. Sure intend to mix myself some
concoctions when I get home. The Officer in the brig
is reputed to be made to stay there until he discloses where
he got his black market stuff. Becoming an effort
to climb up the stairs these days. The least exertion
tires one out. Rumour hath it that we have landed
on the Philipines?
Saturday 28^th October 1944.

Inspection 1100 hrs. Cleaned out some greens
(sweet potatoe tops) from the rabbit house. They

were becoming rotten - Typical of the J.'s - plenty
of feed when we have a few rabbits & little feed when
we have a lot. I was absolutely pooped by the time
we finished. Rumours - Germany sueing for
peace & Red X parcels by the 19^th Nov. Sincerely
hope they're both true. Smoking or lack of is becoming
a serious problem for everyone. PS 1 bags sugar &
2½ bags flour were bought for us out of canteen
profits this morning. - Can't get the shelf as an issue.
Someone must be lining their pockets. Hot baths
were had this aft. in very luke warm water.

Tangarines 1½ per man.

Sunday 29^th October 1944.

If I want a feed of "fish" in the future; will buy some
fish bait & cook it up - Two octopii came into camp

for 775 men. They went damned well. Tangarines

1½ per person were issued for the evening meal. Went
over trips to Tasmania; Northern Rivers, N.S.W.; and
another Adelaide Darwin, Queensland etc. Quite interesting
Played in a "Whist Drive" organized by the English -
filled in the afternoon quite nicely. - Scored 85. The
Annual Winter "Zentsuji Bridge Tourney was drawn.
Due to dearth of "smokes" made entrance fee 10 yen. One
chap didn't want to pay as he reckoned we would be out of
here before it finished - Optimist? Decided to run
a book on it in conjunction with Ernie Simpson.
"Kobashi leaving"

Monday 30^th October 1944.

Drew up a "book" for the Bridge Tourney. The civil police
were in questioning the officer from whom the black
market tobacco was taken - He told them he got it
from an enlisted man so they released him from the
brig & put the enlisted man in. Rumours of a "search"
of are rife. Great news the J. interpreter "Kobiashi"
is leaving - He is a great source of annoyance &
a continuous stirrer up of trouble to we prisoners.
Tangarines (mandarins in our lingo) came into the
galley. late last night - Had the room duty - feel
"pooped" after it. The kids in the school still round
around stripped to the waist - whilst we shiver. Hell
everyone here is thin.

Tuesday 31^st October 1944.

The pig, which we received in exchange for 50 fowls t'other
day was killed this afternoon. We had the head in the
evening meal's soup & supposed to get the balance tomorrow.
The ^International committee were called down to see the J. superintendent
just after lunch. Subject - re falling off of the attendance
of the volunteering for officer prisoners to go out to work. The
Committee reply was - Officers are now in NO condition to
work. In spite of previous assurances the yield from the
project is NOT being given to the officers & that the "worked"
ground is being taken away from us as soon as we
dig it up by the J.'s. - Anyhow the J. superintendent wants?
the officers to hurry & clean up the present crop (sweet spuds)
& plant daikons some rumour that the prefectural chappie in charge
of rice distribution run in for black market dealing
Anchor Watch 0145 - 0320 hrs. Reveille back to 0630 hrs

Wednesday 1^st November 1944.

Anchor watch - 4^th watch from 0145 to 0330 hrs. - very
cold result was cold all night when I climbed back
into bed. First frost of the year & a beautiful day. The
Nips had a boot replacement issue. We also ^had allotted
one towel for the Div. - put in for it & drew second
card. Had the pig for the evening meals soup. 'Twas
very tasty. A bit of meat makes a great difference, now
& then, even although it is damned small. Been
making arrangements to try & buy the water sauce sort
of a present for when I get home. Decided on some
electrical arrangement. Understand the J's are going to
hand the day's rations over to us. & let us pick up our
own menu - Wonder how long it will last.

Canteen issue & 2 pkts fags.
Thursday 2^nd November 1944.
Canteen issue - fish pills, bells, 1 mirror per room,
sea-sen (3 pkts each) curry powder (½ tin per man) horse
radish (¼ tin per man) - gave mine away) As regards the
fish pills I took 6 bottles of the stuff - ground them up
& intend putting them on my rice. Cigs. were issued
2 pkts per man. Rumour hath it that the outside
J.'s. are limited to 6 cigs per man per day. So I guess
our ration will be cut. Hung onto my curry powder
also this time. Rained all day. Now that reveille is
at 0630 have to get up twice of a night - "Tis a
rotten habit. The boys put in the brig for black markets
are out. One of the officers became mentally deranged.
As he became violent, he was given "shots".
Tangerine issue
Friday 3^rd November 1944.
Had a very nice "chow" for evening meal - clams ("shell fish"
which I have used for fish bait on the Tambs) wer given to us
boiled in the shells. Sweet spud, squash, string beans, xgreens.
(sweet potato vine tops) & daikons. Rained all day. Now
use 3 blankets & a great coat over myself of a night time.
Traded off 1 packets fags for ½ issue of rice - so quite
enjoyed the evening meal. No doubt about it a chap lives
from meal to meal in this place. 3 tangerines were issued
per person this afternoon. Rumour hat it that one of the
J. officers "Hositani" told the work party NOT to bring
any J papers into camp. - So bang goes our source of
news. Been getting pickled daikon tops issued from the
galley. Rather partial to these things.
 

Saturday 4^th November 1944.
A few condiments - Pepper, Curry, fish pills horse-radish
have come in through the galley canteen - Previously,
have given the things away - Now have started to use
them with the exception of the Horse-radish. Weekly
inspection at 1100 hrs by the J. doctor. 'Tis rather deadly
now that no news is coming in re the war. Must promise
myself a trip to the Public Library to read up on the news
when I get home. Water nice & hot for the weekly bath._
12 mins for 32 men & ½ bucket of hot water. Sure have
things down to a fine limit. So far have only rec'd. 2 pkts
fags this month - practically everyone is out. Home is often
in my thoughts these days. Quite a few vegetables are coming
in these days from outside but the food is damned light!
xxxx P/card to home put into Div. office - 40 words. - Sweet potatoe jam.
Sunday 5^th November 1944.
Put in a post card of 40 words to the Division office
for typing - 'Tis damned hard to write anything.
Stopped from writing about health, weight, conditions
experienced & above all food. Had an extra
in the afternoon in the form of sweet- potato jam.
'Twas wonderful - Saved it for evening meal
to augment my ration - Went down well. Had
a "full" belly - first time in months. Two Aussies
cleaned up the "Black-Jack" school to the tune of 6000.
The British put on a darned good variety show
for the usual sunday evening concert. Often take
out the shot of the mater - she looks stouter, but
darn well. Food is a big topic these days.

Issue of 5 pkts Kinshies.
Monday 6^th November 1944.
Whacko. "Kinshies" came in - We were issued with 5 pkts
- very acceptable. Practically everyone was out. Slept
under 4 blankets & a great coat last night. Something
seems to be stirring in the camp - the guards seem
particularly active - darned if I can think of anything
to rouse them. Evidently the J's. seem to be taking more
of an interest in us. Our greens ration has been
promised to be raise to 250 grams of greens per officer
per meal. There's no doubt the last few days the soups
have "picked up". Wish they could xxxxx increase the
rice & cereal ration by 300%. Some of the lads are
just literally a "bag of bones. Had my portrait done
- Every picture tells a story.
Muster 2315 hrs & xxx 1115 hrs.
Tuesday 7^th November 1944.
Big happenings - The bugle blew at 2315 hrs for muster. The
J.O.O. came & called "Tinks" & we had to get up & number.
No one was allowed to leave the building & as the banjo is outside
there was quite a stampede when "secure" was announced
at 0100 hrs. In the morning it transpired that someone
(enlisted man) had been caught outside in the bakehouse.
Silly blighter as it is sure to draw the crabs.
That morning some of the rooms in the East building (Americans)
were shaken down & some were found with bread, buns
& sugar & it resulted in a muster at 1115 hrs. Whilst on
parade the J's. went through our pockets - looking for
"crumbs". - The English weren't shaken down - some
more Americans were implicated - fortunately NO Aussies.
Damn fools as they cruel things for the whole camp.
Also whilst on parade, the J's. went trough the East Barracks
& shook down some rooms - found ½ bag sugar & some
bread etc. Later the Div. leader was called down to the J. office
& told 1 bag sugar & some bread etc. was taken from the
bakehouse & that the matter was ^now beyond the jurisdiction
of the camp & that it was in the hands of the civil

Tuesday 7^th November 1944.
authorities. The J's however did NOT intend to take
action against the people caught with "crumbs" in their
pockets as they realized the prisoners were starving, but
were interested in the people only who stole the stuff -
Quite a mild & decent attitude, in my opinion for the J's to
take. When the work party came in at night, they were searched
and 2 more lads put in the brig. Those in there, have had
to date, nothing to eat or drink. Private packages came in
for some of the Americans & fortunately some of them were able to
say that they had sugar sent to them in these. These
parcels had come in via the [[?]] - August '43 & been
sent in error to the Philipines. Went out on a volunteer
party to the Officers Club to transplant some vegetables.
Wish that we could have private packages sent to us.
Drew J. 29 Dec.
[[??]]
Wednesday 8^th November 1944.
Quite a few officers are in the brig re the shake-down
through having leaf tobacco bread etc on them. - Silly
buggers - Still one can't help feeling sorry for them
inasmuch as they have had no food only tea water.
Had octopus for evening meal. - it tastes like lobster
[[?]]. May try it when I get home as octopus is looked
on with aversion by our people. Rained all day. The
enlisted man was taken out of camp by the M.P's. &
civil police. Hope he gets on O.K. Looks as if a chap will
damn soon have to cut out smoking - Have enough to
last txill the 15^th or so. Imperial Rescript Day. Not
celebrated as it used to be of yore. Used to be a big day
Flags flying & commemorated over in the shrine opposite.
Now Nothing happens.

Issue of Tangerines
Thursday 9^th November 1944.
Went out again to the Officer's Club in the "volunteer" party this
afternoon. Felt absolutely "shagged" when I came in. Felt very
tired in the arms & legs through using a "pull through"
& transplanting. The job there is just about finished.
[[Wend?]] I came in found 3 tangerines on my bunk so
knocked over 2 of them - swapped 1 pkt of kinshies for
½ ration of rice - was that damned hungry. Screed came
round that if NO one owned up to going over the fence to
the bake-house the people at present in the brig would be
taken out & tried by the civil authorities tomorrow. Some
of the lads brought in some daikon tops which were cut
up & made into a salad - Marvellous what one eats when
one is hungry. Now have a touch of beri-beri round the face
which tends to swell of a night time.
Friday 10^th November 1944.
Very cold seemed to be a sudden drop in temperature
round 1600 hrs. Played our 1st match of the "Annual
Zentsuji Winter bridge Tourney" - played 4 rubbers & are
leading by 5000 points. The lads at my table (4 tables
each seating 8 for the room) are getting into the habit of
saving ½ their meagre rice ration for breakfast & lunch
for the evening meal. - object to go to bed on a "full"
stomach. Too much of an effort for me. The lads in the
brig I understand are getting their meals & have been issued
with their blankets: Must be damn cold in there. Not
many people taking cold showers nowadays. Life consists
now of living from one meal to another. Reference to food
in this diary will bear me out. Screed came round from
J. Colonel exhorting us to work in order to raise vegetables.