Diary of service - Donald Morrison, 1940 - 1945 - Part 16

POW Life: 1942 -1945
convoy of escort vehicles at a steady twenty five miles per hour. In a flash it was all
over and we trudged back home.
March 1942
Early in March the Company moved to more comfortable quarters in one of the big
buildings facing the Barrack Square. We occupied the ground floor while 2/26
Battalion were quartered in the first and second floors. The Unit now commenced to
be very regimental with ceremonial Guard Mounting complete with the inspection of
the guard in Slow Time and Orderly Officers took on their old peace time jobs. I got
into hot water because I criticised the slow marching technique which to me was all
wrong.
I commenced taking lessons in Book-keeping and Shorthand but these classes did not
go on for long. Work parties and fatigues interfered too much with the attendances of
both pupils and instructor, who was Dave West. Organised sport suffered the same 
fate. There was not enough work to keep me busy and if it had not been for the

Company records I should have gone mad. I read a bit, slept a bit, yarned a bit and

went visiting to my friends. Occasionally we were entertained by the Concert Party of

which more anon.

On Sunday nights the offices would forgather to eat their rice and pasty and kid

themselves they were back in the Mess. It was quire a nice change to get away from

the inevitable queue for rations even if only for one meal a week. Johnny Lloyd had a

small sum in dollars which belonged to the Mess funds and these he divided amongst

the officers but those who were unfortunate enough to have a debit balance in their

mess account missed out ....I protested on behalf of one of my officers as I thought

that the conditions were a bit unusual and all should be equal in this case but to no

avail. At any rate the small sum owing could be repaid or settled when our pay books

became active once more.

May 1942

The first overseas party left on 15 May. About three thousand AIF were in this party

which was destined to work in Burma and it was the best equipped of all the parties to

leave Changi. It took with it a complete brass band. The Battalion sent six officers and

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one hundred and forty one o/rs under Johnny Lloyd while my share was two officers;

Lovett and Bonney and nineteen others. This party was known as Force "A" and went

by ship to Moulmein on the West coast of the Krai Peninsular, from there it worked

its way eastwards building the Burma Railway.

With the departure of Force "A" the identity of the Unit as such was lost for some 
months. The stay at homes of 27 Brigade came under the command of that great 
racketeer Armstrong and we carried on with our normal duties. In the middle of May I 
moved into a cubicle in the Coolie Lines which I share with Bruce Bowring. Bruce 
had been sent back from the Thompson Road work party under open arrest. He had 
bucked the CO over treatment metered out to those chaps who were caught having a 
"walkabout" in Singapore. He was paraded before Brigadier Maxwell but got off with 
a wigging. I was no sooner settled than Bang - dysentery again which was much 
worse than the last attack. After five weeks I developed Dengue as well and was a 
very unhappy boy for a time. The climax came at the end of June when I threw a "fit" 
and put the wind up Bruce; he thought I was a goner. In spite of my protests I was 
whizzed into Hospital which was one place everyone tried to avoid as at that time the 
food there was terrible and the general conditions not so good. While I was sick in the 
Coolie Lines, Cyril Croft was wonderful in the way he looked after me; he brought
me my meals every day and did what washing was necessary, nothing seemed to be a 
bother to him.

Two things of importance happened while I was in bed. Firstly, everyone was allowed 
to send a twenty five word card home. Any mention of location or conditions was 
not permitted but at least it would be something for those at home to receive. These 
cards were delivered fifteen months later. Secondly, the officers and men in Changi 
were brought into line with those in Singapore by receiving a monthly pay. The work 
parties in the city had been paid for sometime whereas this was our first pay. 
Simultaneously a Canteen was opened in the camp and we were able to purchase 
additional food and cigarettes. Every pay day Colonel Smith and I used to buy a tin of 
herrings and have a special feed. We would keep some of our evening meal for a 
supper of herrings and rice. It was very extravagant but Colonel and I thought it worth 
the money.

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Somewhere around 22 May we heard rumours that there were some Prisoners at 
Kuala Lumpur. It seemed to be fairly reliable as the names of Morgan, Gibson, 
McGlinn and McQueen were specifically mentioned. The number of 2/29 was given 
as forty eight. If true, this was very good news as all those missing after Muar had 
been given up was lost by now.

On discharge from hospital, I found that we had moved once more, this time, to the 
floor above the one "B" Company had in the Square. I still shared a room with Bruce. 
It was lovely and cool so high above ground and I was more comfortable than I had 
been elsewhere. Force "B" - the company supplied eleven men - departed on 8 July 
at some ungodly hour in the morning. They were destined for Borneo and took part in 
the ill-fated Sandakan "death march".

The next day the remnants of 22 and 27 Brigades were combined as two Companies 
under the command of Bruce. I had charge of 27 Company. Bruce instituted an 
officers' mess in the NAAFI building but things were very uncomfortable for 
sometime. The two lots of officers would not mix no matter how some of us tried to 
smooth things out. Harry Gibson was the cause of the trouble; he considered that he 
should have been in command of the Group and his officers supported him. For a 
month he would not appear at meals. Eventually some of the thick heads saw the light 
and we were soon on the way to making more friends.

June 1942

And then "Boots" Callaghan, who was commanding the AIF, got a brainwave. He had 
Harry Jessup attached to 2/29 Battalion to gain administrative experience which was 
rather silly as that practiced in the Group, would never apply in times of peace. Phil 
Head came along to keep him company. I was very pleased to be in close contact with 
them both again. Bruce, Phil, Harry, Pat Garde, Jock Lake and I used to forgather in 
the kitchen at eleven, four and seven fro a cup of tea. This rendezvous was very 
popular with us all and developed into a regular discussion group.

"Silver" Trevithick was in the habit of making a special brew of yeast for the cooks 
who were allowed one pint a day each. The brew was very nourishing as it contained 
a lot of Vitamin "B". One day Eric Alexander had a great thirst so he downed about 

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six pints which made him as full as a boot and his wanderings and conversation 
caused a lot of merriment for a day and a half.

Just before lunch on 18 July, there was a terrific din downstairs, a sound of obvious 
enjoyment. I looked over the balcony and saw a small figure surrounded by a happy 
gang of men who were making him very welcome. The figure was dressed in shorts, 
khaki pea-jacket and sand shoes and had very close cropped hair.

It was Doug McQueen. Gosh I was glad to see him as I have always had a soft spot 
for the silly idiot. He was terribly excited to see so many of the chaps and had great 
difficulty in speaking. Questions of every description were flung at him. When the 
excitement had died down a little Doug confirmed the officers at KL and produced a 
list of the AIF who were also there in the goal. It was damned good news except 
that Laurie Kennedy had died a week before, on 7 July. He was able to give us an 
outline of the Ben Hackney story. The IJA had detailed Doug and Len Fenton from 
Kuala Lumpur to go to Japan as electrical specialists; they were to join up with others 
from Changi. However, Doug never made the trip to Japan as he contracted Malaria at 
the appropriate moment and thus missed the draft.

Prior to the department of the senior officers, full colonel and above as well as 
specialists, there was a command performance of the concert party on the Con Depot 
stage. It was an excellent show with John Wood singing the hit number "It's better 
with your Boots Off", and the show entitled "The Geisha Girl". After the Anthem I 
went around to say goodbye to a few of the party and with some intrepidation went up 
to Colonel Thyer who, as it turned out, was most affable. He gave me a jolly good pat 
on the back and thanked me for the job I had done. He said something about a 
recommendation which was jolly nice. I was as pleased as punch and could not keep 
the news to myself; I told Harry and Colonel as they were pretty close to me.

August 1942

One morning in the second week of August, I got a quick fire order from 
Headquarters AIF where Lieutenant Colonel F G Galleghan of 2/30 Battalion had 
taken over after the departure of the senior officers in July. I, with a reliable NCO, 
was to report immediately to the car awaiting below, each to be dressed in a complete

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set of web equipment. I grabbed Colonel Smith and went after the "Q" but had no 
luck with complete sets; all we could manage to rake up was two belts, two pouches 
and one strap. We did not search very hard as the bloke in the car was anxious to get 
away. The bloke turned out to be Waite who had been with us at Rengam as an 
interpreter. He was most anxious less he keep the Nip waiting and I had to tick him 
off for the way he spoke to me. Then I noticed that he had a "Rising Sun" on the front 
of his cap and that started me off again as he was a Johore Volunteer.

However, in we got and drove to Southern area where he picked a Pom officer and 
NCO who had full equipment. Then to the Conference House just outside the goal. It 
was from here that the IJA issued all their orders for running of the POW camps in 
Malaya. Waits disappeared inside and James who was Interpreter to Headquarters AIF 
took over. Nips and cameras appeared from all over the place and our photos were 
taken from every conceivable angle. We spent a couple of hours being photographed 
and sketched. One of the artists did a head and shoulders profile for each of us; it was 
not particularly good but it did make a nice souvenir. I must say that they were fairly 
generous with their cigarettes.

Three days later the first Red Cross issue came into the camp and consisted of maize 
meal, jam and soup which were taken to the "Q" store as supplements to the rations 
and not as individual issues. Some of the goods were pinched by two members of the 
Unit who were on the unloading party and I think they got off pretty lightly with only 
twenty eight days in the jug. These additions to the food made a great difference to 
the meals and we seemed to live like kings for a time.

I was pretty fit now, and had got over all the effects of my dysentery although I was 
very much under weight. There was a little Admin to do, an inspection of the 
Company lines each morning and work on the records after a siesta. Our numbers 
gradually increased as the work parties in Singapore were continually sending their 
defaulters back to Changi. It was a great punishment to be sent to us where the 
conditions were not so good with less food and nothing to be scrounged. I do not 
know hey but the time absolutely flew although there was nothing to show for it.

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And now comes a truly memorable event. On 30 August, all the officers of the Group 
were called to a conference by Bruce who had just returned from Headquarters AIF. 
We assembled in the Mess where Bruce told us that at the Conference House that 
morning the Formation Commanders had been asked by General Fukui to sign a 
certificate which read "I the undersigned hereby swear on my honour that I will not, 
under any circumstances, attempt escape". (There was no infinitive). They all refused. 
They were told to sign but still they refused. The General would not listen when it 
was pointed out that POW were bound to attempt to escape if the occasion and 
opportunity should arise. They did not consider us as Prisoners but rather as men who 
had no honour left as we had laid down our arms without fighting. Colonel Holmes, 
who was the senior British officer, pointed out that no one could be made to sign, 
under duress, a declaration on his honour but he did offer to sign if the IJA would add 
the words "Knowing that the penalty for attempted escape was death". This was not 
granted as the IJA argued that under The Hague Convention, which by the way the 
Nips had signed by not ratified, the death penalty for such an offence was precluded. 
Once more the Commanders were ordered to sign and to take with them sufficient 
forms for each man. Again they refused to sign and two did not bother to take even 
one form with them.

All our officers were likewise adamant in refusing to sign. A muster parade of all 
other ranks was then held and the men given a chance to sign if they so wished but 
none would even though it was pointed out that the IJA would take strong disciplinary 
action against those who did not sign. Everyone was wondering what would happen 
but all were determined to take whatever was coming.

September 1942 - The Square

Nothing further was heard until 0500 hours on 2 September, when Bruce brought us 
the news that we would move our quarters that day. Every prisoner in the Changi 
area, except those in hospital, was to be concentrated in the Barrack Square at 
Selarang where they would live, in the wildest sense of the word, until such time as 
they came to their senses and signed the form. The move was to be completed that 
night but was not to commence before the IJA gave the work most probably at about 
1400 hours.

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It was certainly going to be a squeeze with 16,000 men living in an area of less than 
eight acres. In that space the men had to sleep, kitchens to be established, latrines dug, 
a hospital erected and rations and suchlike stored. A lot of men could be housed in the 
seven three storied buildings which surrounded the Square while the remainder had to 
doss where they could find room. A stormwater drain ran around the four sides of the 
area and the inside edge of the drain was our boundary. Patrols of Nips and Sikhs 
would be continually on the watch to see that we did not put even one toe over the 
line.

All the gear was packed and ready for the move. Everything that could be moved was 
to go as anything left outside the area would be confiscated by the Nips. The cooks 
got to work and prepared a special meal for the evening as they realised that a tasty 
not meal would work wonders with tired and hungry men.

The order to move came through at 1430 hours. All personal gear was to go in the 
first lift and the men would then be formed into work parties to move the kitchen, 
rations, forms, tables and then the odds and ends that time would permit us to take 
over such as cupboards. The first lift was taken without much hindrance from other 
troops but as the Square began to fill with troops from other areas the work parties 
found their tasks getting more and more difficult. They had to weave their way in, out 
and around others dumps and sometimes things got a bit heated for awhile. Very soon 
the Square was a seething mass of men and materials as trucks and man drawn trailers 
continually arrived and dumped their loads into Unit areas. Then back for more before 
the curfew came into force Cookhouse staffs were setting up their kitchens; the 
hospital was being erected and equipped and dozens of latrines sixteen feet deep were 
being dug by teams of men working in relays. The latrines in their precious Square 
were a sore point with the Gordons and were a subject to be avoided in conversation 
with them for a couple of days. Others were bringing into the camp every conceivable 
thing that could be of use now or later; I noticed planks, bricks and old iron in on 
heap. Everyone worked with a will and by 1930 hours, the deadline, each was more or 
less, mostly less, settled down.

Just after lunch the Foundation Commanders had been taken down to the beach to 
witness the execution of five men for alleged attempts to escape. Two of the five,

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Corporal Brabington and Pete Wade were Australians. It was a gruesome spectacle as 
the first volley of the firing squad did no more than wound three of the men. Each 
soldier fired two magazines into the writhing bodies before the Japanese were 
satisfied that the unfortunates were dead. Brabington asked that Wade be spared as the 
young private had done nothing but obey orders. James, the Interpreter, very nobly 
offered his life in place of those of the five accused - he was an old man whereas they 
were all young men in the prime of life. Needless to say, both requests were refused.

All through the night the digging of the latrines went on and picquets were continually 
on the job to see that no fouling of the area took place. This was absolutely necessary 
as dysentery and other diseases would break out if given the slightest opportunity and 
once they got a go on nothing could stop them in such a confined space. Carl Gunther 
deserves the greatest credit for his untiring efforts in supervising the area hygiene.

Water was a bit of a problem as there were only two points working and the water 
fatigues were on the job the whole time as a roster system had to be drawn up to 
enable all to get a decent go at the two taps. Everyone was determined to make the 
best of things even if they got tougher which did happen when Fukui cut the rations 
by half. Here James once again showed out in his true colours and managed to 
smuggle a load of rations into the hospital in his car. Unfortunately he was found out 
and given a bit of a belting.

One of the hardest jobs was to find the work parties. Not because of the men's 
unwillingness but because they were so hard to get together in the crowd. As near as I 
can work it out there was a total area including the floor space of the buildings of fifty 
thousand square yards for sixteen thousand men but from this area we have to deduct 
room for the hospital and kitchens, tents, latrines and various other structures so we 
were pretty close together.

We soon realised it was asking for trouble to put even one foot over the gutter. Harry 
Jessup and the Padre offended, when a Sikn was nearby, and each very smartly was 
given a thump in the ribs with a rifle butt. Just to make sure that we would not think 
of wandering, machine guns were placed at each corner of the Square while an 

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additional two were mounted on the Clock Tower building; these had an excellent 
field of fire right down the centre of parade ground.

It is impossible for me to describe the kaleidoscopic effect of the utter confusion of 
the whole incident. Some photos were taken and it may be possible to reproduce the 
scene.

At 1430 hours on 4 September, Black Jack addressed all ranks and gave them score to 
that time. The original order to sign the non-escape form had been verbal but now, a 
written order had been produced which the Formation Commanders had signed and 
then said that every else was to do likewise. The written order had shown that we 
had signed under duress which was not binding. The Commanders had taken into 
account also the medical report which said that in the three days two hundred and fifty 
cases of dysentery and twelve of diphtheria had broken out and estimated that half the 
force was to go down with one or the other in another three days.

The Japanese insisted that all copies of the signed order must be handed into them by 
2200 hours that night. This was a very big job as the only illumination we had was 
slush lamps and each chap had to be rounded up, checked against the nominal roll and 
given the form to sign. But it was done on time. Everyone spent a much more restful 
night with the tension off as the next day we were to return to "Normal" living. Too 
much praise cannot be given to all ranks for their cooperation over the four days; 
without it things would have been in a mess. In some ways it was the best thing that 
happened to the Changi POW.

September - November 1942 - Happy Valley

Everyone went to new quarters when they were released from the Square. Three 
Indian Corps stayed in Selarang and the two Australian Infantry Brigades moved into 
married sergeants' flats which we came to call "Happy Valley". We had just got 
settled when Headquarters decreed that the two Brigades should intermingle so we 
were to form three Companies - 18/26,19/30 and 20/29. All ranks kicked up a fuss so 
much so that the amalgamation was put off until 10 October.

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All in all, life flowed very smoothly in the Valley. Fourteen officers shared an upstairs 
flat in the cool end of the building while the men had the remainder which was in 
pretty good repair. We did have the unaccustomed luxury of a shower. A small mess 
was setup down stairs and Cyrill Croft and Gil Saunders waited on us. Discipline was 
not as strict as some would have wished but, as far as I was concerned my returns 
were on time work parties always punctual, the lines clean and the men as well fed as 
the rations would permit. Why be a slave driver?

The rations were stepped up in a couple of ways. In early September we were issued 
with Australian mutton instead of beef which gave less wastage in proportion to the 
weight. A ship from Lorenz Marques arrived with Red Cross supplies for all 
Prisoners. There was clothing, sugar, milk, bully beef, fruit, jam, mabella, biscuits and 
cocoa. The "Q" stores took over the clothing while the food was issued to the kitchens 
and the cooks made the most of their chance to dish up a greatly improved menu. The 
other improvement in rations was brought about by an increase in the officers pay. 
Each received a flat sum of fifteen dollars from Headquarters AIF but, contributed an 
amount in accord with rank as actually paid by the IJA to the Camp Messing Fund. 
This stepped up the men's meals considerably and, by the way, allowed the patients in 
hospital to be paid five cents a day instead of two and a half.

There were some happy surprised in October. Firstly I met Bill Leggatt who came 
over from Java with some 2/40 chaps; he was looking very old but he had had a 
rather tough time and had been through the first war which was no asset for these 
conditions. Then four officers had forty seven others arrived from Kuala Lumpur but 
these all went into hospital for a check up before joining the group. Hoot Gibson, 
Doug and Ben Hackney came too us. Morgan went to Kappe's Headquarters. The KL 
boys gradually came back to the Unit after their various spells in hospital; some were 
very emaciated and took a lot of feeding up but only a few I am glad to say had got 
down in the dumps. Eventually these came good after three or four weeks of better 
living conditions which they experienced at Changi. The other good news was a list of 
names of some of the POW who were said to be in Korea. This list appeared in the 
Syonan Times - Jim Bowring, Colin Stirling, Harold Irwin 2/22 Battalion and Pete 
Matheson 23^rd Ante-Tanks. A lot of us had known these lads at Bonegilla and 
Bathurst and it was good to hear that they were OK.

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