Diaries and papers relating to the Second World War service of George James Feakes, 1942-1946 - Part 3

Continuation of Diary
12th July 1942
Sunday, our Wedding Anniversary today, & I offer
a special prayer for
Ettie & the children,
also for Vernon.
On 2^nd July 42 (a Thursday)
the Japanese marched us
to a new billet where we
now are*[Known as Katholiken Societ Band] "K.S.B."
Up till that
date we had remained at 
the "Dutch Clubhouse" &
we were sorry to leave
There. Now we are at a

Building that appears to
have been a Catholic Club
There was no furniture except
some long tables & a few
chairs, so we plonked our
stuff on the floor (50
of us) & made comfortable
as best we could We had
boiled sago for dinner
that night. I got a pretty
cool spot near a door
The bathing & lavatory
[[?]] is poor. I have
been very busy since
arrival making duckboards
for the bathrooms & lavatories

Also I cut myself a good
pair of sandals out of an
old discarded motor Tyres.
There is a motor hearse in
the garage of this place &
as my shorts were just
about finished I took
a piece of black cloth &
got Duthie to make me
up a pair of shorts. I
washed the cloth well!
They look ok. Except that
I sleep badly I am ok.
I pray every night for
Ettie & the children &
Vernon. Sometimes the

Japs arrive & we have
to "number off" to show 
none are missing.
Little Jimmie Cairns cries
sometimes at night but is
very good on the whole.
What little war news we 
hear is good.
Tomorrow 13^th July will
be 5 months since we
left Singapore. If only I
had some of the clothes
I had to leave behind there!
Padang, August 4^th 1942
Still at the "Catholic Club House"
near the sea (which we can see
a bit of over the western fence).
The food has improved here

both in quality & quantity following
a change of cooks.
I had a bad "go" of influenza
which commenced with my usual
sore throat on July 27^th &
lasted a week. I was
slightly delirious at times &
sweated right through my
Clothes. Unfortunately The
"flu" coincided with two
septic sores on my left
leg near the ankle (one was
a dry cyst which became
irritated, the other a wood- saw
cut). We get no war news
at all
Frank Farquharson (one of our
number- retired Inspr of Police
Singapore) died in hospital here
after an operation for gallstones.
That leaves 51 of us now, including
little Jimmy Cairns.

The 51 are:-

"KSB"
Padang 17^th Sept '42
Today we have been interned
exactly 6 months by the
Japanese. I keep pretty fit as
there is 50 yards at the side
of this house in which to
walk. I cleared bricks &
rocks away from the path
with a crow bar.
Re Frank Farquharson's death
mentioned previously, if turns
out now that there was no
operation - he just fell into
a coma & died
The weather during last
couple of weeks has turned
very wet & it is a hard
job to keep my one
thin mattress, sheet, &

thin blanket dry, since
every thing seems to get
soaked during a damp
night.  I get them out
in the sun whenever
possible.
New arrivals in this 
camp during past couple
of weeks are : -
Mr & Mrs Levieson
Mr & Jacky Mepham
Levieson was British Vice -
Consul at Padang & is
about 65. His wife is 67 &
has been crippled by rheumatoid
arthritis for over 20
Years. They have a separate
room at this camp which
she hardly ever leaves.

Mepham is the head of the
Salvation Army here &
his son Jack is 14. They
were both interned in The
Prison with 400 or 500
Dutch before being moved
by the Japs to this Camp.
Mepham is a Canadian,
from Vancouver.
We have Bible Reading every
Sunday morning at 10.15, by
Samuel the Penang Solicitor
but no doubt
Mepham will now take a
Service.
we get 20 cents ^(= 6d) a week
spending money (it was
30c for a while) with
which to buy our soap

toothpaste etc & (if we
can save any) an occasional
duck egg or banana to
add to our food ration,
which now has a little
more variety, but the
midday meal is almost
always rice & soup.
Every morning, on getting
up, I drink a full
mug of water & then
do exercises for 20 mins,
to try to keep fit, as
We don't know whats
in front of us yet.
Hardly any body else does
any exercises except a
bit of walking.