NX56826 - TUCKEY, Francis Harmston, Pte.

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"F" Force Diary

NX56826 - Pte. Frank TUCKEY, 7 Platoon, A Company, 2/30 Battalion was asked by NX30914 - Lieut. Gordon V. BROWN, to make a record of the experiences in No. 2 Camp, on "F" Force.

Pte. Tuckey was originally in No 1 Camp, then moved to No 2 Camp. He died on 11/01/1944, in AGH Changi, after his return from the railway.

Brief Diary 2/30 Bn. personnel CAMP 2. August 2, 1943 to

Between August 2 & Aug 4 a total of 96 2/30 Bn personnel moved up to Camp 2 from Nike Camp and Camp 1. It comprised five officers; viz;- Capt Duffy, Lieuts Cameron, Parsons, Waite & Brown (G.V.) and 91 other ranks.

Camp 2 had been solely an English camp and the H.Q. of Colonel Harris commanding F Force. It had not enjoyed a good reputation as its original number of approx 1500 men about 500 had already died by the beginning of August, chiefly from cholera dysentery and starvation. Conditions had certainly been bad but no worse than at Camp 1, where the Australian death rate did not exceed 125 for the same period and for an approximately similar number of men.

The Australians totalling in all about 800 & including the 2/30 Bn personnel of 96 moved into Huts 1,2,3 & 4, being very crowded with 15/16 men to a bay & even then many slept on the ground underneath the huts.

Ground conditions were very muddy especially in the low lying areas near the river. It was down here that the English kitchen was situated and the Australian Administration hastened to establish a separate kitchen on higher ground & with more hygienic conditions prevailing. The English kitchen was soon transferred to the same site.

The food at first was fairly scanty & tasteless but from the time of the completion of the bridge over the river it improved in quantity, variety and taste. Indeed the whole atmosphere & working conditions improved immensely from that date, August 21. It seemed that the horrible tension & strain marked by daily bashings was dissipated from that time.

Reveille was brought back from 5.45am to 7 am, less men were demanded daily and the pressure of driving was removed from the mad work.

Further. The sick and unfit began to be removed to Burma, mostly by truck, and during this period of removal, Aug 26 to Sep 5 36 2/30 personnel were so transferred. The number included Capt Duffy, Lieut Cameron, Parsons, Waite, leaving Lieut G.V. Brown the only 2/30 Bn officer at Camp 2.

At about the same date as the completion of the bridge approx 1500 to 2000 Burmese natives came to the camp and at once commenced to work on the railway embankments and cuttings. On 11th Sept approx 2000 Dutchmen arrived and they too began similar work on the railway. The Australians & British totalling about (a gap and no figure is shown here) are confined so far to maintenance of the road only & the general tenor of the work has been reasonably easy, the working parties getting back each evening in daylight well before 8 o'clock.
There have been no deaths among the 2/30 Bn personnel since coming to Camp 2.

September 20, 1943.

Today at about 3 o 'clock the railway was laid through this camp from the direction of Burma & continued towards Camp 7.

Sept 23.

In the early hours of this morning Padre Foster-Haig, the distinguished singer, formerly known as John Foster, died in his sleep from cardiac beri beri. The burial service held in the afternoon was read by Colonel Harris, Commanding F Force.

(Due to health problems Frank Tuckey evacuated ex Camp 2 and gave this diary to G.V.B. on departure.)

2/30 & 2/26 Bn personnel from 1 Camp

2/8/1943 - Major TRACEY, Cpl. Smith, L/Cpl Bicknell, T.J - 3

4/8/1943 - Capt. Ferguson, Lieut Brown G.V., Cameron AR., Pte. Tuckey F.H., L/Cpl Alcock, G.E., Pte. Carney, I.E., Diven J., Pte Dyson, F.R., Pluis, C., Anderson, J.C., Williams, F.E., Bowden, T.A., Fletcher, R.C., Gayford, W.R., Griffiths, O.V., Cpl. Abrahams, H.S., Cpl Ross, ES., Willis, E.S., L/Cpl Streatfeild, R.J., Pte Aspinall, T.J., Pte Brace, A.E., Brouff, C.W., Carter, B., Cohen, L.S., Coombes, T.J., Dorse, H.J., Craven, F.J., Devey, D.J., Douglas, R.M., Duncombe, R.S., Forrester, H.J., Goodwin, J.A., Hayes, B.L., Higgins, RD., Jordan, D., Mudford, C., Musgrave, RS., McClelland, A., McDonald, F., Palmer, C.N., Parfrey, D.L., Tomsett, J., Parsons, J., Hemming, E.W.L., Allen, N.R., Reid, J., Fitzgerald, T.E., L/Cpl Glover, L.C., L/Sjt Ford, B.V., Sjt Hood, R., Pte. Collins, J.C., Etherington, R.H., Stephens, C.E.J., Thompson, G.E., Trapnell, R.A., Gray, A.E., Gibson, W., McK., L/Cpl Johnson, G.E.T., Pte.Simpson, E.D., Skene, W.H., Newman, R.J., Stevens, T., Rickards, R.T.K., Bignell, S.K., Hooper, P.V., L/Cpl Grant, T.B., Pte Brownsmith, E.J., Farley, M.J., McEwan, C., Rayson, R.H - 70"

(Source: 2/30 Bn. Archives - originally transcribed from the Diary written by Pte. Frank Tuckey for Lieut. Gordon Brown)

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Last updated 24/08/2022