NX26331 - HOLLAND, Bruce Hedley, Pte.

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Nominal Roll details - NX26331 - HOLLAND, Bruce Hedley, Pte.

3) Book No. 4 - September, 1941 to 14th January, 1942

Original diary written by NX26331 - Pte. Bruce Hedley HOLLAND. Transcribed by John Holland.

Covers the period from encampment at Batu Pahat, Malaya (September 1941) to the hours leading up to the Gemencheh ambush (14th January 1942).

NO. 4
B. HOLLAND
"B" COY 2/30 BN
A.I.F.

Continued from Book 3

After a short time spent in cleaning up the camp and organising a training syllabus we were at work again, but more advanced and interesting tasks were our lot. "B" Coy training area was on the road leading to Batu Pahat Aerodrome (about 1 mile from camp), the aerodrome being about 18 miles distant, right on the coast. Our area was mainly rubber, fairly hilly in places, and it contained both a Malay and a Chinese cemetery. The Malay gravestones were only a foot or two in height and each grave had two, head and feet. The Chinese sported a more elaborate memorial in the shape of a double concrete horseshoe. We saw one of their funerals - the relatives enjoyed a good meal and smiled and joked while two professional mourners wept and wailed over the huge red coffin, and crackers exploded to frighten the devils away. We did section, then platoon, and, finally, company training in these surroundings. Attack, defence, and, in the latter stages, even withdrawals although Gordon Bennett had told us "the 8th Div will never withdraw!!"

Several times we visited the aerodrome. No planes were housed there, it was an emergency drome only. One day during an attack on "Cemetery Hill", Bill Delaney ran into a nest of hornets and received no less than 42 stings.

The Malay Volunteer Guards mixed with us and taught us the commonly used words of their language, Athol Nagle being an apt pupil. Their rifles were French polished and their equipment quite new and modern alongside our frayed and sweat-stained gear, but the Sultan apparently had plenty of money.

We also built a bridge in the jungle at rear of the camp, chopping down trees with parangs and binding them with creepers. The bridge would not have held a motor bike, let alone a truck, but we enjoyed the change. We had our photo taken on it on completion. Dan climbed out ? ? , to try and get into it. We also built a stockade in the jungle. Thank God, we never had to fight in one. The jungle cutting was very fatiguing as only one man could work with the parang or brush hook at a time, the section being behind him in single file. We did three fairly long route marches during our stay at Batu Pahat. The first one led us through the town then out to Minyak Beku, about 7 miles distant on the coast. We then struck into a coconut plantation and suffered great discomfort from the steamy heat. Our path lay beside a noisome, muddy creek and we were greatly surprised on seeing our first "walking fish" and also a large, dead, python. Here we were messed about for some time as the ancient map had let us down and lost us. Eventually, after many hours' march, we emerged from the swamp having drunk many coconuts in an attempt to assuage thirst. A short distance along a jungle track, over a large cleared patch planted with young rubber, and we were on the aerodrome road. There we eventually contacted "B" Echelon and had a good march in, after dinner at 3 pm.

On the next march we reversed and went out a fair way along the aerodrome road before turning into the jungle. I saw a huge scorpion here that Paget had caught in his dixie. It was like a huge blue crab. We got lost again, naturally, and both mirth and annoyance were recorded when L/Cpl Johnstone informed us that "we had found the contour but not the track." Kiwi Bland got his bottle filled at a native house - he did his stripes over it. After crossing and re-crossing a stream several times we reached our rendezvous where S/Sgt Peebles awaited with our midday meal. It was in a Malay kampong which had no less than 3 schools (education is a big thing in Johore, the pupils learning English amongst other things.) We were glad to rest in the shade. On resuming the march Captain Howells led us round the swamp and finally we arrived at Minyak Beku once again. Seven miles to go and already footsore and weary. About 4 miles from camp I fell out to fix my puttees and could not catch up again as the Company was racing away at a great speed. So, with Harry Wilson, Joe Noble and Sailor Weir I boarded a wood truck which carried us till we met the Company 30 cwt returning to pick us up. On reaching the camp the entire platoon went on sick parade and all bar a few got no duties!

Reinforcements had been detailed during our absence, and they were quite a good bunch - Frank Dyson and "Tiny" Hicks to 8 Sect., Hilton Blanch to 7 and "Bluey" Thompson and Dave Baker to 9.

The third march was from a point just out of Ayer Hitam whither we were conveyed by transport, and we marched all the way along the road. Having no shade, the roadway reflected the sun's glare and made us thirsty in a short time, but we finished in good form and had a good session that night.

We also did a stunt at Kluang Aerodrome, being defenders against a full dress aerial attack and subsequent paratroop infiltration. First we were transported to a position on Singapore Island near Seletor Aerodrome where we waited for our movement order. It rained a fair bit in the afternoon but cleared up as we climbed into the trucks for our night journey north. Crossing the Causeway, we saw huge flares dropping from the sky where planes were endeavouring to locate our convoy. It was not long before all hands dozed off. There were 16 fully-equipped infantry men in our 3 ton truck and the tangle was terrific; legs, arms rifles and equipment everywhere.

In the early dawn light we awoke, cramped and weary, to find ourselves on the road near the back entrance to the drome. Our path led winding through thick rubber, till the actual drome was sighted. There were buildings everywhere - barracks, canteens and decontamination centres nestling amongst the rubber on small hills overlooking the runways. Malay Volunteers (J.M.F.) occupied sentry posts on the roads, also MMG gun pits and AA positions. Near their sleeping quarters we got our first look at the Sultan of Johore as he chatted with several of his officers. Our position was occupied but we held ourselves ready to race to the trucks, as "B" Coy was the "reserve mobile company" with the special job of locating and destroying paratroops.

The attack commenced, Brewster Buffaloes and Bristol Blenheims roaring in for a mock bombing raid while previously-planted charges exploded around our positions to simulate bomb explosions. We got the alarm and were rushed out into the rubber to attack enemy paratroops, but never located them as they (2/29 personnel) actually landed on the drome and were captured by our HQ guards.

On completing the exercise we moved back to Batu Pahat in a huge convoy of AIF, Indian AA and JMF. It was considered a good show, but propaganda made it out as a huge success to try and bluff the World about Malaya's air power.

Our work in camp was mainly recapitulation of Bren, Tommy gun and bayonet training. Men from every section attended Vickers MMG classes, Tige Sylvester, Frank Dyson, Tiny Hicks and Ted Gill being our representatives. They learnt quickly and later this training came in useful. We had to qualify at snap-shooting on the range and most men passed easily. I got 12/15, Sipper 15/15, and the others about 12/15 average.

On duty days I used to claim the job of cleaning all automatic weapons, and, although there were only two of them, it took me all day. That is, if other duties were flying around. It was common to see men leaping through the large windows at the rear of the huts as the sergeant entered the door. Our rifles were locked away each night in a room adjacent to the sergeants'. At Changi we had no such room and removed the bolts and hid them.

Snipers were issued with their rifles, Neil Huntley and Frank Sullivan receiving one each. Stretcher bearers were detailed - Dan Cann, Bluey McDonald, Darcy Pickard and Ken Stone. Ken was indignant - he wanted to be a soldier like his pappy, not a SB. He transferred to the 2/19 Battalion, his original unit. Jack Melouney came down from Jemaluang as the 2/19 padre's driver one Sunday. "Don" Company returned also, and told us tall stories of their experiences. They, and the Pioneer platoon under Captain Boss, were sorry to come once again under the battalion's discipline as they had a fairly free and easy time whilst away. Digger Preen was a casualty from the Pioneers. He was unlucky enough to stop a fragment of rock from a gelignite blast and lost the sight of one eye. L/Sgt Lindsay of Don Company was fatally injured ion a football match, and his body was taken to the AIF cemetery at Malacca.

We handed in our old webbing equipment and received the new Bren type. The cartridge carriers were a nuisance but the mess tins an improvement on the old pattern. Fred Hodges and I secured a good job sorting out the various items of the old stuff and packing it in boxes. We also received an issue of tropical capes, (Black Jack bluffed 22 Brigade out of them, they say) and a jack knife and lanyard. A system of swapping NCO's for a certain period was mooted, Harry Holden being picked to visit the Manchesters.

We had quite a few changes in personnel during our stay at Batu Pahat. Capt. Howells went to HQ in charge of the mortars and Capt. Kearney from C Coy became our 2IC. Lt. Garner of 10th had a blue with Lt. Jones and was eventually transferred to 27 bde protective platoon with Sgt. Perkins and Pte. Dinnen. WO Walker, as a prospective subaltern, took his place, and Vic Gordon rose from CSM to Walker's old job as RSM, while Don Garner became CSM and Mossy Doolan took his place as 11 Platoon sergeant. Dinny Garland had gone to OCTU and eventually entered the JMF, so Dick Noble was 10 platoon sergeant. We still had Merv Dixon as sergeant and he was an old nuisance at times. Harold Russell dislocated his shoulder and spent some time at Malacca; Darcy also on account of his varicose veins. Russ returned to the platoon but Darcy had to enter 10 platoon, there being no room in the section. Alf Austin was boarded owing to perforated eardrums and reached Australia about Xmas time. Eb George lost his voice but they did not board him - he eventually recovered it anyway.

Bob Chaney and Alan Smith transferred to 8 Div Sigs as DR's and various other changes took place within the battalion.

We generally rose as soon as Reveille sounded, tidied our hut and gear and had the usual cigarette and tea before administration and emu parades. After breakfast we donned the usual gear - shirt, shorts, f. s. hat, sock tops and puttees and fell out for inspection with rifles well cleaned and boots polished. A short march to the training area then smoko while we waited for the Coy truck with Brens, tripods, picks, shovels etc. A tactical exercise followed, then a discussion of same, each section and platoon commander tearing his opponent's story of the show to pieces.

The Bren tripod and spare barrel were carried by my no. 2, Ted Gill, and he fumed when told that he would have to carry them in an attack.

Dinner was followed by another such exercise, then we would march home to a cold shower and tea, maybe a swim also. After tea we would visit the canteen for some liquid refreshment, play 500 or "Slippery Sam" or go to town to have a Chinese meal and maybe visit the picture show. On Saturdays we would hold a battalion parade in the morning and sports in the afternoon. The parades were watched by many inhabitants; they had a reassuring effect on them we were told. There was a good canteen in town, run for our benefit by the local white inhabitants and staffed by Eurasians. There we could have buckshee coffee and cakes, and converse with our hostesses. They weren't bad, either.

There was a "cold storage" in the town, and many delicacies were sold, but not to me as I received only $12 per fortnight. I sampled the various "mees" and found them OK, but could not pluck up courage to try the curious foodstuffs of the Malayan food stalls.

Batu Pahat means "stone chisel" and the story is that a Siamese landed at Minyak Beku (which means, roughly, "hard oil" - I know not why) and he cut himself a well with a stone chisel, hence the name. The town was the cleanest we were in in Malaya, right on the river and possessing well paved streets (stained with betel nut juice), good drains, and electric light. The young scholars of the English schools had been trained to say "Hullo George" or "Hullo Harry" instead of the monotonous "Hullo Joe". They liked to air their knowledge of English and were extremely ambitious. With Mick McHugh I visited and enrolled with a Malay school to learn the language. Athol Nagle was a star performer there, his training as a school teacher stood him in good stead and he shot ahead of the rest of us.

The picture show put on quite modern films at the price (if we could be coerced to pay) of 25c. I never visited the Chinese theatre, it was quite entertaining, they tell me. Alan Gilbert had his hair cut in one of the "salons" by a woman hairdresser, quite a novelty. Beer was 70c in town so we did most of our drinking in camp. A constant habitue of the camp canteen was Cec Larkin of the Sig Platoon. He would stand near the door dressed in shirt, goon pants and hat - a bottle of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other - and his stare was disconcerting when focused on one. When he thought no one was watching he would raise the bottle, drink, then smile like a cherub. He could soak a fair amount away, too. The canteen sold State Express Ready Rubbed at 48c per 2 oz tin (about 1/6d), pineapple at 15c (5d) per tin and beer at the usual prices.

In the canteen one night we were surprised to see Mac, the guard corporal, dash in with a wild look in his eye. It appeared that a prisoner, Buckley, had broken out of the back of the guard hut and Mac was responsible. Buckley came into the canteen later, and when the still-perspiring Mac came and nabbed him he said that "he only wanted to come out and have a drink". He had a bottle, too, before he went back.

I did several guards here, and also town pickets.

In anticipation of Singapore leave we commenced to save what we could and raised a platoon fund to assist those members whose means were limited, on a loan system. In addition to the 25c levy each pay day, a raffle for $50 was organised which showed a profit of $50. Even Black Jack and General George bought $1 tickets. It was won by Stan Heuston and Joe Bennett. I was fortunate in winning $30.60 at slippery sam, which went into my pay book, and pay was raised 1/- about this time, which brought the fortnightly earnings up to $17.50. We received many comfort issues of tobacco, papers, soap, cigarettes, toothpaste and brushes, etc. and this saved a lot of expense. I smoked the tobacco, Log Cabin Fine Cut, in my pipe, eventually. I bought a book on Johore and posted it home. I'm afraid it painted too glowing a picture of Malaya, as did Miss Smith, who earned our undying animosity.

The band had a wonderful time at Malacca when they played at the funeral of a very wealthy Chinese - they ate and drank like princes for a day. A fortune teller and a masseur used to visit us occasionally. I am afraid the fortune teller could not see very far into the future. I had my ears de-waxed. The tropics soon fill them and I was quite deaf for a while. Two natives had a combination shop and barber's salon in tents at the back of our lines, and they would allow a lot of credit. When we finally moved, their bad debts must have been terrific. Some men owed as much as $100 and over.

We had several monkeys in camp, one in Don Boys' lines being the most intelligent. He would jump and swing on a springy bough as often as we swung him up. Sipper had his photo taken with him on his shoulder. We decorated our huts with ferns and other plants, a company order. I remember several cases where snakes were found in them. A Brewster Buffalo shot up the camp one day; I thought he was diving into "C" Coy's mess hut at one period. We thought that the Buffaloes were good planes at that time. We were surprised at first by curious chirpings in our huts, and finally located the cause, a small lizard which lived in the roof and helped us by destroying flies, mosquitoes, etc. They were called "chi-chaks" and (were) never molested or chased away. Jack Molloy, who slept next to me, got Singapore Ear and suffered intensely, yet could not get better than Light Duties from the MO. Apparently, this affliction, with U.R.T.I. (upper respiratory tract infection, or the flu), did not warrant lying up as in Australia.

We were told that tigers were plentiful around Batu Pahat but never saw one. A woman was taken about 7 miles out during our sojourn there.

The other units of our division were well scattered, the 2/18th and 2/20th at Mersing, the 2.19th at Jemaluang, the 2/26th at Jason and the 2/29th at Segamat. Also the 23rd Brigade was well dispersed, the 2/22nd on New Britain, the 2/21st on Amboina and the 2/40th on Timor.

The food was good and plentiful, in fact it was the best camp for tucker that we struck. Apart from the inevitable meals of herrings and some rancid butter issued in the first few weeks, it was as good as the average home diet. For breakfast we had either porridge or bread and milk, bacon (from Bali), new potatoes and bread, butter, jam and cheese. Dinner was generally cold meat or herrings with potatoes or greens, stewed fruit and custard, bread, etc. and several times a week we received pineapple juice instead of tea. Tea was always a good meal - roast beef, baked spuds, onions, pumpkin, either plum duff and custard or rice, or bread and butter pudding, bread, etc. and tea. The waste was enormous in bread, cheese, jam, in fact we rarely backed up at all, and the boong scavenger got a good haul every day. Some Chinese kids hung around the window every tea time and some one would spread a liberal slice of bread with butter, jam and a slice of cheese and hand it out to them. I suspect that their mother sent them along, for they started bringing a basket, which was filled to the brim by the mess orderlies. The official scavenger tried to hunt them away but the boys soon stopped that.

Xmas parcels commenced to arrive early and our late suppers were supplied from this source. Fruit salads and cream, Xmas cake, chocolate, etc. were washed down by a drink of "coffee and milk" contained in a tin and needing only water to make it.

When pay day arrived, "housie" was started to augment platoon funds, and an added attraction was the sale, through the battalion, of "Nathans" beer at 30c per bottle, and 4 bottles credit given!

I had a fair spell on "spud barbering", and used to moan at the smallness of the potatoes, which had to be peeled to be baked. The pumpkins we used to split with an axe, but they weren't bad, and the beans were good. Fred Campbell, Harry Jarrett, Charlie Phillips were our cooks, and Jimmy Walker, Joe Noble, Horny Hann, Legs Hall and Roy Taylor comprised some of the fatigue which cleaned up and served the tucker. Vince Bylos and Mark Wilson were our company buglers and they enjoyed a good bludge under the pretence of "practising".

The boongs exploited us in the matter of fresh fruit - some of our boys paid $1 for sugar cane worth 1c ! Ricksha boys in Batu Pahat were paid the set rate of 15c from the camp to the town. They were a clean, decent mob compared to their opposite numbers in Singapore. Jack McLean, Tom Yates and Dick Andrews spent an afternoon at Pontian Kechil on the coast road. They had a "grouse" meal at the rest house, and were amused by the locals who had not seen Aussies before, apparently. I have sat in a Chinese restaurant with a bottle of soft drink or beer, and had a large gaping circle of Chinese around, just staring, but moving hastily when I finished and rose to my feet.

There was a large list of houses that were out of bounds, the Shinpo Hotel being one, because of the Japanese staff. Many of our boys visited these places, however - the ban served to advertise them.

On 22/11/41 we celebrated the first anniversary of the 2/30 Bn with a good spread, speeches and entertainments. Russ and Darcy, who were at J.B. in G.B.D., got permission to come up and we had also representatives from the J.M.F. and the local Chamber of Commerce. The spread was held in H.Q. Coy's mess hut, our tables being just outside near the large open window. We each drew a bottle of beer then sat down to cold meat and mashed potatoes, beans etc - plum duff and sauce and fruit salad and cream. There was plenty for all, in fact, Frank Dyson and I were cleaning up later and found gallons of unused fruit salad etc. We left early in the night and went back to our hut to talk with Russ and Darcy, who were anxious to return to the unit and leave the innumerable guards that were their lots in Base. They were drafted back in a few days, Russ to 8 Sec. and Darcy to 10 Pl., much to his disgust.

On 30/11/41 we had our first big scare. Jack Maclay, several others, and myself were enjoying supper - fruit salad made from one tin each of peaches, pears, pineapple and passionfruit, plus cream, fruit cake and "coffee and milk", when the "fall in" and "double" were sounded. Most of the camp was in town and the few that were in lines were ordered into "battle order" and told to pack their kit bags, draw rations, etc. Men started to dribble in from the town, and they told us of the stampede that occurred when they were recalled. The picture show and circus were emptied in a flash, and our 30 cwt. Pl trucks sagged under the weight of enormous loads of excited men. Everyone was laughing and talking as they hurriedly emptied their boxes and packed valises, kit bags, and haversacks. The rubbish we discarded covered the floor yet still we had a struggle to get it all stowed away. In "battle order" - shirts, swamp trousers, sock tops, puttees, steel helmets, webbing, haversacks and rifles - we fell out and drew 30 rounds of S.A.A. each. Black Jack addressed us as we stood in Section groups, stressing that this was an emergency measure and that we were not to molest Jap nationals yet.

Guards were doubled around the camp and posted on all essential services in the area, the aerodrome, water pumping station, oil tanks, etc. Others garrisoned cross roads and patrolled the roads as far as Segamat to the north, Kluang to the east and Scudai to the south. I was in the latter patrol with Jimmy Ambrose, Sailor Weir, Ted Gill, Joe Noble, Harold Russell, Frank Dyson, Tiny Hicks, etc. Our base was at Ayer Hitam and we got a presento of nine pineapples on our first trip to Scudai and back. The next trip took us out to Batu Pahat aerodrome then south through Benut and Pontian Kechil to Scudai, then back to Ayer Hitam for breakfast. Jimmy, Sailor, Ted and myself comprised the day patrol and the remainder returned to camp. We did the round trip again, then the Scudai trip again, before we handed over to the J.M.F. and returned to camp in a violent thunderstorm. We were all pretty truck-happy, having covered about 500 miles in the back of a 3 ton truck in less than 24 hours. We had a grouse meal on return - the steak had been braised, the baked spuds and beans were delicious, and the plum duff and "Columbia" milk topped it off handsomely. We were disappointed that the scare was only that, but remained in a state of vigilance, eager for action to relieve our boredom. We lived out of our haversacks, never unpacking kit bags, and had to be able to move at a minute's notice. Our old packs were re-issued and a list of gear to be carried was compiled. Mosquito nets were dyed a brownish-red, the Platoon truck was loaded and unloaded until the numerous articles - Brens, grenades, picks, shovels, valises, tripods, mess gear, etc. could be packed in the most compact manner.

Our rifle room was always guarded closely, as was the Battalion ammunition store with its 3" mortar bombs, .5 antitank, .45 Tommy gun and .303 S.A.A. and grenades. We were issued with additional weapons - 7 Sec., Dick Andrews received an English Bren and Joe Noble took our Tommy gun - 8 Sec., I had Bren no. A112 and 9 Sec., Ray Donald had Bren no. A105. We received additional magazines and loaded them to 26 capacity to eliminate stoppages. When not on a scare I had to ease them down to 20 to save the springs. I had no repair wallet, no sling, no pistol and had never fired my gun - we were prepared all right ! Johnny Walker went back to R.S.M. and Vic Gordon rejoined the Company. Our supporting troops, A.A.A., A.S.C., etc. arrived and were camped in the canteen. At a concert in H.Q. mess hut, Black Jack told us of a Jap convoy off Indochina. He said "I don't think the little --------- will fight". We hoped he was wrong.

We did town pickets with full battle dress and enjoyed the circus and pictures free of charge, as per usual. The ringmaster was glad to see us. At Kluang the 2/19th had nearly wrecked his show, so we were welcomed and installed in the best seats. The night that the blue actually started was spent in a fever of booze and gambling, stakes were high and Kiwi Bland, Joe Cochrane, Bomber King, Sailor Weir, etc. lost quite large sums at Slippery Sam. I finished up with a bottle of Richmond Pilsener for my morning drink. I put it in my kit bag and never had time to get it out in the morning, worse luck. I finished up broke, too, but never minded much as money seemed superfluous now.

8/12/41

We were awake early and absorbed a hurried breakfast, while numerous rumours flew around unceasingly. Singapore and Kluang had been bombed, we were told, also that Khota Bahru and Mersing had been attacked - the balloon had "gone up" with a rush. Our charpoys, kit bags and green boxes were stored away and we were dispersed in the rubber to await movement orders. Our clothes were returned from the dhobies, bar the towels which were too wet to pack (we got them a fortnight later). Trucks were commandeered from the town and the maintenance party, to stop behind, detailed. The camp was later occupied by Con. Depot, and bombed as they eventually left it.

Our platoon strength was now as follows:

Each man was equipped with the following gear: Shirt, swamp trousers, sock tops and puttees, steel helmet, respirator with "alert" position, webbing, bayonet, water bottle, field dressing, mosquito cream, jack - knife, pull - through, gauze and oil, identification discs, and haversack containing hard rations, mess tins, mug, knife, fork and spoon, hold - all, housewife, towel and waterproof cape. Tobacco was carried in webbing pouches or respirator haversacks - against orders, but convenient.

On the Platoon 30 cwt. each man had his valise containing spare shirts, shorts, socks, boots, towels, mosquito net, blanket and bivouac sheet. (We had our own sea - kit bags stacked on, too, having no chance to pack all in the valises.) I had my Bren box, spare barrel, tripod, ramrod and box of 12 magazines on also, carrying the gun and 5 mags. myself. The Coy. had only one 2" mortar and one .55 anti - tank rifle (instead of 3 each) and our platoon had the mortar, at first.

Equipped thus, we moved out to the padang to embuss in 3 ton trucks, 16 men to each one. Spotters for aircraft were detailed. I saw a chap from the M.T. "Dutchie" Hollands, behind a twin Lewis, scanning the skies anxiously for hostile planes.

We embussed and moved off at 12 noon, bound for Kluang Aerodrome. We raced along the roads in aircraft formation - 4 trucks to 1 mile of road; passing a scene of activity at Ayer Hitam where Indian A.A. gunners occupied the high ground and transport of all types cluttered the cross roads. We reached the back road into the drome without incident and debussed to occupy the same possies as in the stunt. Ted and I set up the gun on a fixed line in an old mortar pit overlooking the runway, and our fixed line, I don't know why, would have passed through the nose of the only visible plane, a Blenheim, which lay in the open all the time. This plane, plus a few "Moths" were all that Kluang had to defend Johore. The J.M.F. were in their gun positions. In case of a blue we were instructed to take over their Vickers M.M.G.'s as they could not be trusted to maintain them. In fact, they openly admitted that if the enemy came they would "go home".

Len Ryan, the bass, and Monty the drummer from the Battalion band were attached to 12 Pl. and seemed glad to leave B.H.Q. for a while.

We shaved and showered in one of the spacious wooden barrack buildings that stood empty about us, then erected bivouacs for the night with laths, net and groundsheet.

Our sleep was undisturbed and we awoke on 9/12/41 with more rumours in our ears. Mersing had been heavily attacked, the 2/18th and 2/20th nearly annihilated, and we were to move up to reinforce the 2/29th, said the furphies. Also, a gas attack was imminent. This was strengthened by the issue of additional gas - proof gear - 3 gas capes (one on our shoulders, one in the Platoon truck and one in the battalion reserve), gas gauntlets, wallets, mica eyeshields, helmet covers, etc. Also we received 2" mortar bombs (and Ray Brown set up his mortar at long last) 4-second "36" grenades and camouflage nets for the L.M.G.'s, so our carrying capacity was strained even more. Then the other rumour (re Mersing) seemed to come true also, for after a hurried mid-afternoon meal, 12 platoon had to pack and embuss for Jemaluang, 8 Div H.Q., they said. Rain was falling as we passed through the streets of Kluang, crowded with refugees from the east. We passed over 70 truckloads of unfortunate refugees on our journey - they sat in the rain, unmoving and stoical in their misfortune.

Mersing, Endau and Jemaluang had to be evacuated and destroyed, and they were moved into camps in western Johore.

The road became narrower as we progressed, splashing through a decent rain storm in two 3 ton trucks. We arrived at our destination in pitch-black darkness and had trouble in locating the people who expected us - we were not expected until next day, anyway. At length, our truck load was disgorged into a dirty boong hut, we received a supper of bread, butter, bully beef, jam and tea, then bedded down on the floor. The other truck load occupied tents for the night and we met them at breakfast.

Morning light 10/12/41 showed that we were in a fair sized harbour on the left hand side of the road about 2 or 3 miles before Jemaluang, and 8 Div. Sigs. were spread all over the place in huts, tents, dug-outs and trucks. After our first quinine issue we had a substantial breakfast of stew, bread, butter, syrup and tea, then set about establishing ourselves for we were to be the protective platoon for the whole show.

We stripped the flies from several tents and installed beds. Some were the real thing, but I had to be content with a fowl house door for a while. We had 5 posts and 3 patrols, one at the front gate with a fixed line across the entrance, one at the sig. hut, one at another gate, at the siren (?) and at the rear of our position, and the patrols linked these up. Our position was actually ridiculous and laughable, but we felt very important at the time - we carried gear that the sigs. had never seen before - Brens, Tommy guns and 4 second grenades. I often had an interested audience while stripping and cleaning my gun. We had preference at meal times and went to the head of the queue with our new mess tins, bright and shining.

We did 24-hour guards at first and Ted Gill, Tige and myself were on the post at the front gate. We built a ramshackle shelter over the gun and tripod and had one man on duty constantly. The other two slept in the adjacent boong hut on stretchers, and left the post only at meal times. After a while we worked 6 hour guards, 6 on, 12 off, and, occasionally, 6 on, 18 off, to allow us a decent sleep in the rarely-occupied tents. The nights we spent here were extremely dark, and nervous moments were caused by fireflies, glow-worms and a curious "carpenter bird". This bird made a knocking noise, just like hammering in the distance. 8th Div. Provosts occupied portions of our hut and they picketed the road, turning back many Chinese attempting to return to Mersing. They delighted in flourishing their big .45's or newer .38's in the boongs' faces, and held them up for a presento occasionally.

Smokes were short; occasionally we got an issue or got the D.R.'s to buy some in Kluang. Matches also were short and I had a small slush lamp glowing all night in the hut to light our cigarettes. We got souvenirs from the empty huts - lamps, mirrors and postage stamps. Tom Evans wangled a trip to Jemaluang and brought back cigarettes, matches and a Mah-Jongg set for Ted Gill. Ted posted it home later on, just before the anti-looting order came out. It was a very good set and it never arrived. We were issued with beer several times, and could buy one bottle per man occasionally. We got a tin of pineapple juice each day while on sig. rations. This made us very suspicious of our own Q.M. The tucker was good and plentiful, and I always remember the abundance of bread, butter and golden syrup that was available. Our Xmas parcels had been put in a joint tucker-box to conserve space and the H.Q. had a royal time with it. We heard here of the fate of H.M.S. "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse". Complaints were made that we did our guards laxly, so we tightened up - for a while. Sipper rammed his Tommy gun into the stomach of an officer at the sig. hut door, to find that it was the C.O. and that he did not know it. The passwords were the names of various race courses in Australia - Kensington, Flemington, etc. and the Jap knew them as soon as we did. In fact, he would broadcast them to us! We had been warned of a black car that had been forcing one D.R. per day into the ditch. They later got it, they said.

The sig. R.S.M. would rise early each morning and bellow "Stand to!" till everyone turned out fully equipped. We used to turn over, instead. I met Vince Coote here, a D.R. from Ernest Street, Lakemba.

The Battalion had moved to a position between us and Jemaluang on 13/12/41, and we began to worry about action and our probable isolation from the Unit. On 16/12/41 we were pleased to be relieved, 18th of "Don" Company taking over. We piled into our truck and were carried right to our new camp, a rubber-covered hill overlooking a large, recently-cleared patch of jungle. We erected tents, one each for 7, 8 and 9 Sections, one for odds and sods, and two for Platoon H.Q. Our tent crew consisted of Sailor Weir, Harold Russell, Ted Gill, Frank Dyson, Tiny Hicks, Tige Sylvester, Jimmy Ambrose and myself. We had various stretchers and camp beds, and were very snug, even in bad weather. There were half a dozen houses in the clearing, and vegetables grew in profusion. We lived well on the abandoned pigs, fowls, paw paws, sugar cane etc., although the first arrivals had skimmed the cream. We later burnt all the huts and fruit trees in a scorched earth policy. The pigs we shot, or ran down with parangs; pork chops were on the breakfast menu quite often.

We swung into training, but never took it too seriously. We did the usual recapitulations of Bren, Tommy gun, bayonet and grenade practice. We were introduced to the new "68" grenade, fired from a cup discharger, and the "69" or bakelite grenade. We made Molotov cocktails from petrol and latex and practised with them. We were told that S.A.A. was seriously short in Malaya and got only 15 rounds to practise with - 7 to Ted and 8 to myself - before we actually went into action. Tiny found some good files and we made sheath knives from old saw blades, and sharpened our bayonets. Jimmy cut his chin with his, and he blunted it again. I swapped him rifles, as my old Z3666 was the better, and his went to Ray Brown for rifle bombing. Our steel helmets were tastefully camouflaged with green and brown paint, as were our trucks. We did many patrols to locate natives who would not give themselves up. We found a jungle camp about a mile from ours, but it was empty. While destroying a rubber factory we found a "plant" of sandshoes destined for our enemy if he came our way. Many other evidences of 5th column were discovered. Several boongs were shot for tampering with sig. wires and some innocent ones for not halting when ordered. On New Year's Eve I discovered some good rice under a log, in several tins. On reporting it I was detailed to watch the possie that night. With Harry Head and Jimmy Ambrose (all with Tommy guns) I spent several uncomfortable hours in a clump of tapioca, with no result. What a New Year's job!

Some days we worked on the corduroy road into our harbour, bringing in gravel from a neighbouring tin mine. We would prevail on the driver to drop us in the town for a buckshee cup of coffee at the "Salvo's Joint". The town was a wreck, having been looted by the 2/19th, as was Mersing by the 2/18th and 2/20th. We grabbed furniture for our mess and had a bonser table, cane grass chairs, and even a barber's chair and mirror for Alan. I scrounged a bottle of Chinese brandy. It was a fierce drink, made in Batu Pahat.

Lou Brown was a shell shock casualty, having copped an air raid in Kluang while drawing rations. Dutch planes flew over us some days, also "Leaping Lena", as the old biplane was called. Some of the boys went down with fever, among them Hilton Blanche and Mick Murray. Sailor Weir and Norm Wilding were accepted for a Commando job under Capt. Lloyd, and left for K.L. and action on the west coast.

Our mail was irregular, one load being shot down, we were told. We were awakened each morning by the siren-like howling of a certain tribe of grey monkeys. They sounded like a dozen steam whistles in action. The nights were moonlit and warm; so bright was the moon that the boys played cards by its light until 1 or 2 a.m. We did our guard duty in a comfortable easy chair, feet on the table and butter, biscuits and jam always available. At "stand-to" we had to occupy slit trenches till the light grew bright enough to "stand-down". Then, Tom would light a fire and boil some tea to drink with our first smoke. I found a good, heavy parang and sharpened it till it was like a razor. The issue ones would bend like tin. I gave Ted my bottle to fill and he lost it at the water truck, so Stan Heuston "lent" me one from the store. I never returned it, either. Around the tin mines the earth was very treacherous, and one man from the sigs had a lucky escape. Only his head was showing above the quicksand when our boys got him out. Ray Brown received photos of his "nipper" here, and never tired of proudly showing them. We spent many nights listening to Harry Head's gramophone - boogie-woogie, Bing Crosby and Deanna Durbin being the most popular. Tiny Hicks spent three quarters of an hour telling me about bee farming at Ballina. He certainly knew the game.

Propaganda told us that the Japs carried no bayonets, that their bullets could be extracted and the wound would heal in two or three days, and such-like fantastic tales. We were told our roles in the defence of Johore, about 14 of them altogether, from the defence of the west coast (with one battalion!) to the attempted ambush of a complete enemy brigade! We practised this battalion ambush and promised ourselves good shooting. Our brigade was to be used on the offensive as we had never got the defensive complex that the 22nd Brigade had, behind their barbed wire, artillery and land mines. The 2/30th was reserve mobile battalion attached directly to 8 Div. H.Q. We had another role, that of occupying the 2/19th position at Jemaluang cross roads, and we visited these possies to get acquainted with the country. "B" Coy of the 2/19th occupied Palm Hill, a small knoll with only scant undergrowth as cover - thank the Lord we never had to take it over, the Jap artillery and mortars would have annihilated us. We did a mock attack on this position, after a breakneck scramble along steep jungle tracks in the hilly jungle at the rear of the town. Harry Head carried a gunpowder bomb and kerosene tin, Ray, Dick and myself carried Brens and Frank Sullivan his sniper's rifle. We were a covering force on the mountainside, while the Company (?) put their show on. The signal to commence was the explosion of the bomb in the tin. The fuse was short and the explosion nearly blew Harry's hand off. The 2/19th gunners nearly shot us, as they had not been warned of the stunt! A Jap plane flew over at the same time, and the town was being burnt down, so it was an eventful day. The 2/19th were sleeping in small bivvies in great discomfort, while we luxuriated in tents. One of their men shot himself in this position for no apparent reason. The jungle seemed to have taken a bigger grip on the 22nd Brigade than on us. The 2/10th Artillery were in this area, and were experts on camouflage. I particularly remember one heavy calibre anti-tank (75 mm) gun that covered the road near our camp - one was past it before it became apparent.

Dave Swindail went to 11 Platoon and I was offered the position of Lance Jack to 7 Section, but remained as no. 1 gunner, Tom Yates taking the stripe instead.

I had an attack of dhobie itch and suffered as much from the ointment (weak (?) fungicide) as from the affliction.

We had a good tong built in the stream below our camp and could keep fresh and clean always. Tigers were suspected in the vicinity but we never saw one. Our rations were brought to Coy H.Q. in trucks then carried down to the Platoon position by volunteers. They were good and plentiful - I remember well the "Maconochie Stew" (1/3 meat, 1/3 spud, 1/3 peas), the baked spuds (Jimmy's obsession), and the stews full of scrounged lentils. Jam was always on the table with biscuits and butter. Russ and myself, being the only marmalade eaters, did well. On Xmas day the whole Platoon dined together, as well as the M.T. drivers attached to our Company. We had received our A.C.F. parcels and they supplemented rations to make a good meal. The parcel contained a Xmas pudding and cake, a tin of preserved fruit, a tin of cream, chocolate, biscuits, sweets, etc. The Coy wanted to take our parcels and issue only a bit at a time, but we protested and received the full amount. They heated all the puddings, however. We got only one bottle of beer per man as Army Regs. said we were in action stations, and no drinking could be done "in the presence of the enemy". We accordingly sat down to roast pork, roast beef, baked spuds and beans, plum pudding and sauce, pears and cream and sweets, tea, and beer to top it off. Russ and I ate our parcels that day, I am sorry to say. We had plenty of cigarettes, now - the comforts issues were regular and we had a superabundance of soap, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc. also. Padre Polain gave us good talks on church parades. He was one Padre we did not mind going to hear. On New Year's Day we had a good time also, still having pork and poultry, tinned fruit, etc. and Xmas parcels arriving regularly augmented these with bonser cakes and other dainties. Surface mail was in and we got quite homesick over the Aussie newspapers.

On 9/1/42 we received our movement orders and hurriedly packed in a drizzle of rain. 9 Section came in late from a jungle patrol and we had to bustle to be ready. The two trucks had been equipped with seats to accommodate all the Platoon, Tom and Len being in the 30 cwt. We struck and stacked our tents, and had to carry all surplus furniture up to the road, but in the darkness I am afraid most of it went over the bank at the rear. Spare drivers were detailed, Frank Dyson in our truck and Joe Noble in the other. I stripped the canvas from Ted's stretcher to cover the gun as the rain showed no sign of slackening. As we bounced out along the rough corduroy Ray Brown lost his rifle over the side - I don't think his pay book ever suffered, though! The Platoon 30 cwt. went on ahead, Tom taking his little bitch "Cavell", to liberate her where she would have a chance of surviving. He put her off at Yong Peng, which was later almost completely razed to the ground. The 30 cwt. went over a bank later, and Tom and Len were lucky to be unhurt. All trucks that broke down were to be pushed into the ditch for the L.A.D. to pick up. One D.R. abandoned his bike and climbed in with us.

The Battalion carriers escorted us - they were a curious sight with their bluish spotlights and toad-like appearance. We dozed intermittently, and the last thing I remember was Ayer Hitam, where the convoy turned north, till we reached Segamat in the early dawn and eventually pulled up in rubber to the left of Batu Enam Railway Station. A late breakfast of "Maconochie", bread, butter and apricot jam, then we remained dispersed under our bivouac sheets till about midday and corned beef, tomato sauce and apricots. I pinched a tin of syrup from a carrier - it went well with the ration biscuits.

Our role, we were told, was that of stopping infiltration of enemy troops from Kuala Lipis direction. We built bivouacs with young rubber trees, ten quid a tree we were told, but we had to have shelter. Jimmy and I shared one bivouac. We were lucky to drain ours before the rain came, for the remainder of the Section were flooded out properly, and spent a miserable night.

In the morning, (11/1/42), we saw a convoy of Indian Engineers move into harbour opposite us. They panicked when a plane was heard, as they were just out of action, but they cheered up when we told them we were Aussies. They had a good brand of rum, which was freely distributed, and we later got an issue of their "Caravan" smokes. Several Englishmen, civilian refugees from K.L., invited us to their quarters in the rubber estate houses. They had looted K.L., they said, and promised us whisky, etc., but we could not keep the appointment. An anti-tank gun was sited on the road near us, and we felt much more secure after watching the smooth working of the gun crew. I was detailed to bring in a load of Dannert Wire from the station. It was a scene of bustle and activity. War materials were stacked everywhere, including transports and pontoons. Battalion H.Q. was in a large house over the road, a train load of J.M.F. was just pulling out, and Indians moved everywhere. We brought in the wire, and another party took it back the next morning - wouldn't it?

The night was uneventful, and we packed our gear at dawn (12/1/42) and embussed once more. Our road lay on the right of the permanent way, through large clearings of young rubber where Indians were cleverly entrenched behind wire and land mines. We had been warned that the town we were to pass through, Gemas, had been bombed that morning and was burning. The fires were out but scorched and blackened walls showed everywhere. Rolling stock cluttered the sidings, loaded with war stores. A.A. was in position to defend this, the main junction of the east and west coast railway lines.

We passed the Customs post on the boundary between Johore and Negri Sembilan, then turned into the rubber about 3 miles from Gemas and debussed. The seats were dragged out of the trucks - we were on Shanks' pony from now on. The Company occupied a small hollow on the left of the road, with Bill Death, Jack Dean and the anti-tank rifle covering our flank. I had no field of fire in my position, so I just sat still and hoped nothing happened. Ahead of us a huge column of oily smoke hung in the sky, so black and unmoving that many thought it was a mountain. It was a dump of rubber going up behind our troops as they fell back from Tampin. Convoys streamed past in endless flow. We saw our first Ghurkas here - survivors of Slim River - and they could not believe that we were Aussies, either. A curious sight was the many steam rollers, crawling to safety from as far up as Ipoh. Armoured cars, carriers and ambulances were plentiful, the latter unfortunately so, generally full of Indian troops. We heard several planes pass overhead, and peered up through the rubber to identify them. They were three, small, single-engined bombers after the style of the Wirraway. Ted Gill exclaimed "They're Dutch, I can see the markings!", then suddenly a string of black objects fell from the "Dutch" planes and we heard the distant explosions as they fell on Gemas. A.A. bursts stained the sky, but the planes and their fighter escorts sped serenely back to reload. They paid several visits and caused a few casualties amongst the sigs. in the town, we were told.

Our position was explained to us as follows: The Battalion was astride the road at our present position with the nearest troops in support about 4000 yards back. "B" Company was to go forward to a bridge over the Gemenche River, which was being mined, to ambush the head of the expected Jap column. "B" Company was then to retire behind the Battalion, which would then face the assault. We were also to be a reserve, then, in case an emergency arose. The 3" mortar crews were in position and the Sigs. were building a dug-out in anticipation of bombings. The 4th Anti Tank covered us from A.F.V.'s, the 2/15th R.A. were in support, and the 2/12 R.A.E. were on the bridge job.

In the afternoon it came on to rain again, so we built the usual bivvies and crawled into them after tea. Then about 8 p.m. we were pulled out (8 Section) and sent up to guard the mined bridge at Gemencheh. We piled into our ration truck and bowled along to the post, about three miles ahead. Trucks were pulled into the side and engineers moved wearily about as they put the finishing touches to the structure. There was a hole sunk in the exact centre at each end, to take the explosives, and they were covered with boards to keep them from caving in. Our job was to direct the traffic away from these holes as well as to defend the position, so two posts were accordingly manned, the remainder lying down in the rain beside the road to sleep, there being no shelter at hand.

The "river" was quite narrow but had steep slippery sides and was swollen by rain. Mosquitoes and sandflies were very bad and the ceaseless rattle and roar of convoys made sleep impossible, at first. Gilbert and I got a bottle of beer from one Pommy, and a drunken Aussie driver wanted to shake hands with everyone. Tiny was nearly run down by a carrier and several reckless Indian drivers ran over and smashed the planks in the road, despite our efforts. One silent convoy of armoured cars scared Fred - he thought it was the vanguard of the Jap Army when they would not answer him. The "ginger beers" told us that they had been bombed and machine-gunned that afternoon while withdrawing charges from the preceding bridges. This was done to allay suspicions of our bridge - the Jap would be flushed with success after about 97 miles unopposed.

Continued Book 5

(Source: John Holland - Diary transcript sent to 2/30 Battalion AIF Association on 6/7/2008)

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Last updated  31/08/2021