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Contents |
Book No. 3 - inside cover |
Book No. 3 |
Book No. 4
|
Book No. 5
| Book No. 6 |
Book No. 1 - inside back cover |
Book No. 1 |
Book No. 2 |
Book No. 5 - inside back cover
7) Book No. 1 - 9th March, 1944 to 15th March,
1944
Original diary written by NX26331 - Pte. Bruce Hedley HOLLAND
while in Changi POW Camp, 1944. Transcribed by John Holland.
Covers a short period in 1944 after he returned to Changi from
the Burma Railway in Thailand.
9/3/44
Dear Mum
It is now more than 3 mos since I arrived back in Changi, and I
will try to describe this interval. We landed outside the G & W
area at about 1 am and were put into new huts on the padang,
which we occupied until the battalion was reformed on 28/12/43.
Many men went to hospital, and those of us that remained were a
sorry bunch. It was estimated that we had 80% malaria and 85%
scabies. We were infested with lice, rotten with the itch and in
a very bad state of health generally. We still are, actually.
Malaria became so prevalent that a special “Malaria Centre” of 5
hut capacity was installed and soon filled. I have just had a
dose, and after an interval of 7 months since my last, I was hit
pretty hard. They had to take about 7/8 blood slides before they
isolated the microbe, and during this interval I could get no
treatment, so that aggravated matters. The “Bug”, as it is
called, is a matter for amusement now, as everyone has it.
We found that Changi has changed in many ways. Wood was scarce,
being supplied by contractors, canteen prices had soared, we had
electric light throughout the camp and sewerage in the A.G.H.
All money earned, and extra rations supplied, were pooled in the
A.I.F., and hospital patients paid 5 cents a day. We were now
required to register all dogs and watches and forbidden to sell
anything without official permission. 8000 fowls and ducks were
installed in pens all over the area (we grudged the rice that
they ate) and rations were on a new scale. We had to conform to
the regulations and dig 40 P.A.D. pits in our battalion area.
The piggery was operating and we received several issues,
generally about 40 lb of pork for the Battalion (250 men). The
garden had produced 25 tons of vegetables for December, and fish
or meat was a regular (if small) Jap issue. The boys were so
hungry that special garden and kitchen pickets had to be posted
and private gardening was strictly prohibited.
Workshops over the road were producing many amazing substitutes,
including metal limbs, marmite, grass extract, yeast, darning
needles from wheel spokes, soap and sandals. Tobacco was now 33
cents for Java and 25 for Perak – many of the boys preferred to
buy cigars and chop them up. American “Zig – Zags” were still
being issued (newspapers). Many men were employed in the
gardens, and some also on a new aerodrome near Changi Village.
The Javanese in the Dutch party had taught our cooks how to make
many new dishes including “tempi” which consisted of soya beans
wet and allowed to collect fungus, then fried. Clothing was
scarce and as we arrived back with little or none we were, and
still are, a ragged lot.
Many of our cobbers had departed in the “Japan Party” and others
were with “H” force in Syme Road, Singapore. Concerts were still
being conducted and we received tickets for shows at the A.I.F.,
Phoenix, and Little Theatres. Mail was awaiting us, but none for
me. The American Red Cross had sent parcels to Americans in
Singapore, and they being only 30 strong, the issue was spread
over the whole camp. We received many good things, unfortunately
in only small quantities, and the cook-house did a good job with
them.
To illustrate how prices had risen, I will give a selection of
them. Whitebait was $2 a lb, sugar 2.50, coconut oil 1.10,
coconuts .40, tinned herrings 2.85, curried chicken 2.90,
bananas .28, pineapples 25/30, pawpaws 25/80, sago flour .45,
caramels 1.40, sweets 1.60, soap .30, onions 2.50, curry 1.10,
peanuts 1.85, biscuits 1.20, garlic 3.50, bread .40, fish paste
1.10, etc. At 10 cts per day we could not indulge much, could
we? I bought 1 lb biscuits with my first pay.
Food was all important and the “back-up” list was our favourite
reading. The cookhouse installed an oven and turned out some
very creditable meals. By the use of tapioca and lily-root they
made quite good pastry, and amenities (40/50 cts per 15 day pay)
when procurable, added to their excellence.
We usually had a pint of bean gruel for breakfast, rice, bean
hash, gravy and a “doover” for lunch, and 6/7 doovers, soup,
stew, etc. for tea. The following is the best meal to date. (We
have an extra special one every Sunday night) 5/3/44 soup, 1 pt,
meat & veg gravy ¾ pint, sweet gruel (prunes, pineapple, banana)
¾ pint, 1 meat pastie, 1 meat roll, 2 fried doovers (rice &
beans), 1 piece fried “Tempi”, 1 ham & egg paste biscuit, 1
chester cake (peanuts, prunes & sugar), 1 fried potato, 1 cup of
tea. Not bad, eh?
“Back-ups” or “lagis” as the English called them, were
rigorously controlled and a printed alphabetical list was hung
near the door, to be ticked off as each man received a
breakfast, lunch, tea or “left-over” back-up. Two items of the
American Red Cross issue stand out in my memory – one is the
small cake of chocolate, about one inch square, the other is the
small slice of cheese supplied with biscuit and butter. We had
not tasted either for at least two years, so you can understand.
I bought a jar of chicken paste for $1.10 and used all in one
meal – it costs 4½d at home. Everyone makes extravagant promises
of what they will eat when they return home, grilled steaks,
eggs, milk, butter and nourishing foods coming first.
Occasionally the Jap issue does not eventuate and the kitchen
has to scramble for a meal. Such a one was yesterday’s, when we
lunched on green banana stew. We have no rations for today –
will probably have to live on rubber nuts. Some men eat them
even now, and declare that they taste like walnuts. Many extra
acres of garden are being dug up to protect us from like
happenings. Meat, when supplied, is about 65 lb for the Bn, and
fish is the alternative. We have received sharks and porpoises
as our fish issue. Housie is run for about three nights after
pay to benefit amenities, and a raffle for a roast duck brought
in $11 for the same. Ducks cost 4/6d, so we don’t indulge in
many duck dinners. Mess gear is not uniform, many men being
obliged to use herring and pineapple tins. A factory has been
established to make mess tins and mugs from the tins which
contained Red Cross tucker.
I am at present on 30 days No Duty, and my days are very lazy
ones. I rise about 20 minutes before reveille and shower after
breakfast. I read or play cards till lunch at 1 pm, then the
same till tea at 6 pm. Night-time is taken up either at a
concert, visiting the hospital, or talking to the boys about
food or home, the two most popular topics. 99% of our watches
were “flogged” up north, so the time is rung hourly on a ship’s
bell in the English lines, and half-hourly in the Dutch lines.
Our hut now houses 70 men and is slightly crowded as a
consequence. Bugs are plentiful, and many types of ants annoy us
as they hunt them in our gear. My wardrobe consists of 1 pr
shorts, 1 pr underpants, 2 shirts, 1 pr socks, 1 singlet, 1
pullover, 1 hat, 1 handkerchief and NO BOOTS. I have become
quite used to a barefooted existence, but must run the risk of
hookworm.
My bedding is scanty but sufficient, a piece of canvas, a rice
bag, and blanket to protect my bones from the wooden floor. The
floor is not as comfortable as it could be as I have lost all my
fat, weighing about 10 st on the canteen scales. We have a
medical re-classification every 10 days to determine fitness for
work, and I have never been other than light or no duties. When
on light duties I was employed on kitchen fatigue – Sipper and
Darcy are permanent cooks. Strange as it may seem we still have
detention in Changi, a prison within a prison, and inmates have
to work pretty hard. Books are getting rare, and almost every
one has leaves missing. I was fortunate to recover my photos
from my kit-bag, they are good to look at occasionally.
When not talking about food, the boys speculate on many things,
and arguments rage quite often on diverse subjects. These
include rumours of increase in our pay at home, how much leave
we as prisoners are entitled to, how long we would be in
convalescence or quarantine, whether we would return home in
Summer or Winter, whether malaria would recur often in
Australia, the possible Melbourne Cup winners, whether our
letters got home and whether the casualty list had been
published. Discussions were also held on raised prices and cost
of restocking wardrobes. Many bets were made about the date of
our release, to be paid in Sydney on return. I held the view
that we would not be released until about March 1945, and was
quite resigned to it. (12/3/45)
15/3/44:
Since I last wrote in this letter our conditions have changed
somewhat. Rations have been altered – we receive corn now
instead of beans. We have received no vegetables for the past
week, and have subsisted on stewed bananas, paw paws and beans.
The Japanese issue only rice, ¼ of our bean requirements, tea,
sugar, palm oil and vegetables, with meat or fish occasionally.
Consequently, or Central Amenities Fund has had to buy $14,000
of towgay and $35,000 of beans. The English bought $5,000 of
black beans and cannot eat them – they gave away gallons of them
every day. New prices at canteen are Gula Malacca $2.75, Towgay
$2.00, Soya Sauce .55c per pint, Sago flour $3.00, Tea .90c,
Sweets 2 cts each, Vinegar 80, “Modern Girl” herrings 21 cts,
boot polish 70, razor blades 25, Perak tobacco 60 cts and Temple
Bar 70 cts. This book 55 cts (can’t read last entry. Think it
is almonds. JH)
Account now switches to Book 2
(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 |
