Diary of Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, April 1942 - November 1944, Part 26 of 26

2 
that I have had since leaving Java - was served 
to us in the dining room - bean rich soup with 
onions & meat - fried fish with Irish potatoes, 
beautifully cooked rice & pickles etc. Hotel was a 
model of cleanliness & staff of hotel as well as 
Nipponese Army officials who met us were as 
courteous as anyone could possibly be. W An 
interesting feature & one which has much to recommend 
it was that at the entrance we all had to take off 
our boots or shoes & walk about inside in our socks - 
the locals of course having slippers which they slipped 
on. By this means all outside dirt etc is kept out 
of passages & rooms. We were shown into rooms 
which were very bare but very comfortable & tidy, 
Thick, soft, grass mats covering whole floor & little 
tables about 1' to 1½' high in each room. After a 
Stay, A Nipponese Dr. came to the hotel to enquire about 
our health & prepared to treat anyone who wished 
for treatment. He examined and gave medicine for two 
officers who wer became sick in plane. 
After about 1 hr. we were driven in buses to Raily, 
Station where we boarded a special carriage on 
an ordinary passenger train. Carriage was thoroughly 
comfortable with roomy upholstered seats & quite 
clean. Train left at 1700 hrs. We travelled 
close to the sea - the Eastern Coast of the Island - 
until 2300 hrs when we detrained. View on 
train journey was extremely pretty. It was 
wonderful to see the sea again. Everyone seemed 
prosperous & healthy looking as far as we could see. 
From Station, we which I believe to be BEPPU - 
we were driven in buses to an hotel - Japanese 
similar to one at landing port and equally comfortable. 
It is right on the sea shore & is I understand a 
well known health resort. We were allotted to 
rooms - 4 or 5 per room which gave ample room 
to each of us. We were then taken to dining

& given excellent meal of hot soup & bread rolls, 
Following Japanese custom our beds consists of courser 
of a thick mattress on the floor & a thick blanket, quilt 
affair over one. It was extremely comfortable. Room 
consists almost entirely of sliding doors & windows so 
that one can let in just as much air etc as one 
chooses. It was quite cool which was very acceptable 
after the tropical heat of the last few months. 
The sea breeze was most refreshing. Weunderstand
that we are to stay here for a short time until 
our camp is ready. The balance of no 2 squad, of our 
squad & (we suspect) the Senior officers are expected 
to arrive very soon. 
Thurs. 5 Oct. Had beautiful sleep last night. Meals still 
continue as nice as ever. This afternoon had a 
hot bath in the hot spring water for which 
this place is famous. It was delightful. It is just a 
little awkward fitting us in at present as this is a 
public hotel & we are P.O.Ws but the Nipponese staff are 
doing everything they can to make things smooth for 
everyone concerned & I am sure we are all trying to 
co-operate. A big hospital ship is lying in here at 
anchorage. From the balcony we have a view out 
over the town & the harbour & it is amazingly refreshing 
to see normal clearly nice looking people particularly 
women & children going about their ordinary 
avocations. The little children are absolutely 
delightful - so pretty & clean & childlike. 
Frid 6. Conditions still continue the same & the rest & quiet 
& break in our old conditions are very restful & 
delightful. Still no sign of the balance of our party 
but we are expecting them tonight. Another hot bath 
available today but as I have developed a bit of a cold 
I did not have one as I am not sure that there 
is cold water after it. 
Sat.7. Balance of our party still have not arrived.

1 Weighed 21/10/44 - 49 kilos. a loss of 2 1/2 kilos 
We
Remained at BePPU until Tuesday 10 Oct and had a thoroughly 
restful healthy time. The food continued ample for 
all my requirements & it was the complete change of it 
all which did me a lot of good. We had a hot bath 
every day. Meals were served on tables about 14" high 
at which we squatted on the floor whilst the bed 
consisted of a mattress spread out on the floor & a 
blanket-quilt concern to spread over one. It was I 
gather a Japanese hotel run on the native style - 
and very well run. On Sunday 8 Oct. a second party 
consisting of the Senior Officers who left us at 
Tamasata plus the Governor of Borneo & a Dutch 
retired Lt General & all the remainder of Squads 1 & 2 
except McMillan arrived. On 10 Oct we were 
driven in buses to the railway station where we 
entrained at 1040 hrs & proceeded northwards 
being provided with two meals from the hotel 
to eat en route. We reached Maji in the 
early afternoon & expected to go under the tunnel 
to the next island. However after about an hour's 
wait we were hooked onto another train & proceeded 
westwards close to the coast. We finally reached a 
place (I believe FUKISOKA) after dark & again got 
into buses. After a fairly long rough & uncomfortable 
ride we debussed to find ourselves alongside a 
steamer. We were put on board this ship (about 
3 or 4000 tons) for the night in rather crowded quarters. 
Early next morning we were moved to a room - 
apparently a smoking room - well forward & were

2 
told to sit down. It was very crowded. We sailed about 0900 
hrs after a few troops had been marched aboard. I was 
very struck with the absence of "war distress" in Japan. 
The people all seemed happy contented well fed & 
industrious. There was no sign of animosity towards 
us & the military police who guided us throughout 
our travels in Japan were very courteous & considerate. 
We were issued with a meal before we sailed from 
FUKISOKA. It is an excellent well sheltered harbour, very 
beautiful & apparently a big port. After we got to sea 
two other ships joined us & we proceeded N.W. 
On the trip in the middle of the day we a floating 
mine was observed & our ship stopped & opened 
fire on it to explode it. However a seaplane 
appeared & so the mine was left for it to deal with. 
We reached FUSAN in southern Korea about 1700 hrs, 
another excellent port - very landlocked & pretty. 
We were taken charge of, on the boat before we left 
Japan by another batch of military police & they were 
if possible even more considerate & generous than 
our former guards. At FUSAN we were taken to 
a big hotel apparently the Railway hotel & received 
the surprise of our lives as we were sat down at 
tables with clean table cloths & excellent cutlery to 
a four course European dinner, soup, fish, meat 
& vegetables (including cauliflower & white sauce) & a 
sweet. // FUSAN is apparently the terminus of the Southern 
Manchurian & Korean railway - in fact the railway 
from Europe & the hotel in normal times would be 
catering for tourist traffic. It was all beautifully 
cooked & served & was followed by a cup of 
black coffee. I know of nothing that could have been 
done for us which I would have appreciated 
more. After dinner we were driven in buses to another 
hotel where we slept the night. We slept on mats 
the same as in BEPPU but and were issued with 
three blankets each. Next morning 12 Oct, we rose 
at 0500 hrs & were driven back to the same hotel as

3 
previously in buses. We there had an excellent breakfast of 
rolls, fried fish & tea & after a brief rest in the lounge 
were taken out onto the railway platform & boarded 
a train. We were in carriages marked III class, but 
they were very comfortable & built obviously agst 
cold weather as all the windows were double to 
prevent cold, draughts etc. We were a little 
crowded here but our guards still did all 
they could to help us. We were attached to an 
ordinary passenger train and left northwards 
at 0810. We travelled all that day up through 
Korea, lunch & tea of rice, meat, fish, pickles etc 
being provided at appropriate hours packed in 
a little wooden box each. For no All morning 
we followed the course of a river up a 
fairly narrow valley. Towards midday we 
climbed up over a onto what appeared to be 
a big plateau & in the afternoon ran on 
crossing frequent rivers & passing numerous 
villages & an occasional fair-sized town. 
The mountains were always comparatively close 
to us. They are fairly thickly wooded with 
a low pine at first & later on with firs, 
ashes etc. Poplars were very frequent. The 
whole country seemed very fertile agricultural 
land, under rice, millet, corn & cotton & 
other crops which I could not recognize. 
The people seemed sturdy, healthy & quite 
happy & cheerful. At each station there 
4 
would be the usual coming & going of passengers, all 
intent on their own affairs & all chattering & laughing 
amongst themselves. Towards evening we were issued 
with a Japanese greatcoat (army pattern) with a 
hood to pull right over the head & a blanket 
each. After dark it got intensely cold & owing to this 
& the crowded conditions I found it impossible 
to sleep for more than an hour or two each night. 
Daylight showed us the countryside white in 
a heavy frost. It was still the same kind of 
country & mostly under crops but with many 
orchards - mainly apples - now appearing. At 
fairly frequent intervals we saw high tension 
electric wires leading across the countryside to 
factories etc & still passed through occasional 
big towns. The local transport seemed to be small 
two wheeled carts drawn by small sturdy ponies. 
We ran all on again all day through similar 
country. It was a bright sunny day. Orchards 
became more & more frequent. At dusk 
we ran into a town which I believe was 
SINGISYU on the border of KOREA & MANCHURIA. 
Here we had a halt of 3 hrs & were issued with a meal of soup & white bread. 
Korea from what we saw of it is a very pretty 
country & not the least the forbidding barren 
place I had imagined. We travelled all 
night in a NW direction. The night was 
nothing like so cold but as it was impossible 
to lie down I again found it I could get no 
sleep. Just as day was breaking we came 
into sight of a very big city which I am 
certain was MUKDEN. We skirted the absolute

5 
boundaries of it, passing through a huge railway 
yard where there must have been at least 100 
engines under steam. We could see the city stretching 
away for an immense distance - or so it looked in 
the dim light. We had breakfast here - a big loaf of 
bread each. From now on until our destination we 
received a loaf of bread each at each meal. We went 
on through agricultural country with occasional 
industrial centres until about 1100 hrs when we 
reached a place called SUEPINGKAI or SZEPINGKAI. 
Here we were told we would have a three hour 
wait. We left again about 1400 hrs attached to a 
small local train & travelled on a branch line 
almost due west until about 1630 when we 
reached a small place (called I believe CHIKAI TUNG) 
near the edge of the Eastern Gobi desert. Here we 
detrained & were marched to a camp about 200 
yds away. We were there addressed by a Col. Comdt 
who in effect said we would be well treated as 
long as we behaved properly. 
Nov 3. Up till now there has been nothing special to 
report. Treatment continues good. Food is excellent. no 
rice, Corn mush for breakfast. Vegetable soup - with 
plenty of vegs - potatoes, carrots, turnips etc & rich 
gravy usually with a little meat for lunching & beans 
in soup, with a cooked up barley, vegetable etc dish for 
evening meal, with a good ration of bread a midday 
& evening meal. Guards are kept right outside the 
camp boundary fence & we are not expected to keep 
saluting them. The rooms are very crowded & there is 
no sh cupboards & very little shelf space for clothes. 
The place - an old barracks - is very dirty, but 
generally it is an immense improvement on anything

6 
we have so far experienced. A Nipponese army doctor 
comes in every two or three days to attend to the sick. I 
have paraded before him & tried to get him to remove 
the "pollup" in my nose but with no result. Every 
other day we have a good hot bath. The weather 
has been getting steadily colder with heavy frost 
at night but today it remained below freezing 
all day. At 0930 hrs I washed out two pairs of 
socks in warm water & hung them out in the sun 
to dry. I went to get them at 1230hrs & found 
them frozen stiff with big icsicles icisicles hanging from 
the toes where the water had started dropping 
out.