pow days

[Lou Barron]

Hi Keith people get a bit mixed up about Changi Jail i have had a few arguments one thought that when i was in Changi we was mixed up with women and children not so 1942 the japs put all the interns in the jail but in mid 1944 the shifted them to Sime road camp then put oever 12000 pows in the jail and around the the jail

---------- Post added at 10:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------

The japs was wanting labour for the air strip they where building it is the place that is now the very nice Changi Airport .So us guys got put on that working detail they was other working partys that was a lot better some of us did get a couple of them working partys it was great because we could get in contact with the local peoplebut we had to be carefull as the guards did not like it.This is where the black market came in .I forgot to mention that the Japanese was starting to pay us it was not much for instance to buy a coconut it could cost 15 dollars but most of us wanted tobacco but if you had awatch or any other things you could trade it was ok so there were dealers and dealers if you get what i mean .When we went out on a working party we would line up outside the jail on the roadway the guards would walk down the lines of pows some just glanced at us but sometimes they would search you i got caught with a extra pair of shorts one of our guys who was on detail in the jail and wanted me to get him some tobacco the guard hauled me out took the shorts off me and gave me a couple of hits with the stick that most of them carried but i was lucky because some of the guys who got caught was taken away and really given the works i think it was because i was one of the younger guys .But it still went on

[Tony Wilding]

hi Charles, whn the nips finally pulled out, what became of the indian guards, did they leave also, or were they left behind, lkewise the koreans, ? regards, tony, w.

[Lou Barron]

hi Tony as for what happened to the Nips ,Koreans and the Indians i would not have a clue as the British dropped paratroops they were to keep us from getting out of the jail it was for our own safety but more of this later on in my story thats if you people will put up with it

---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 PM ----------

As i have mention about the black market going on it was a knowed fact that it was also the Japs and the Koreans was into the black market one of the mian guys in our merchant navy lot was a American called McArthur{not the general).Iknew him very well as him and i was in the german raiders hospital (his ship was sunk a couple of days of our sinking ).He had shrapnel wounds on of his arms we got on very well and i learnt him the words to MAGGIE MAY .Back to the jail Mac did a lot for some of the guys as he was really into making a lot out of the black market i could tell a lot more about Mac .Things was getting a lot worse as the nips was starting to get a bit of a hammering in the war .We had secret radios in the camp not that us guys knew much about them we use to get bore hole rumours that what we called them but sometime times the news was true .The Nips started to increase the labour on the airstrip so a couple of the guys in our cell me included got on to this working party it was to be a big job

[Lou Barron]

If i remember i think that we had christmas day off the japs kindly gave us the day off and our army cooks dished up a bit of a extra meal on that night that would be 1944 christmas but it was back to (SHOKO)work the next day .We use to line up outside the jail then we wuold march off to the airstrip someone would start to sing then we would all join in .It was not far to march when we arrived there one of the japanese engineerswould detail us to the different jobs alot of the work was clearing off the under growth and the jobs was filling the swamp they had a type of a railway system with a engine pull several skips it is a bit hard to explain but on one side of the strip was some high ground and this is where they filled the skips some of pows would do that and then the engine would pull the skips over to the other side were pows would unload them it was 4 men to a skip i did have ago at the both jobs but it was tough work it was stinking hot .We did have water bottles we had given to usand the glare off the nearly white soil (no sun glasses in them days )played hell with us and the guards coming round shouting speedo speedo they all had bamboo sticks and they use to give us a whack now and again . more later

[Lou Barron]

The japs also had a lot of the local people working on the strip they had been on it for awhile bcause they had one strip finished and the japs was starting to use it .We use to watch their planes taken off and landing .As the time went on the health of some of the guys started to deteriorate our main problem was hygiene and malnutrition as for the hygiene it was very hard to keep clean and bugs and body lice was very much so as for malnutrition skin diseases was getting one of our main worries plus malaria beri beri and dysenterywas very prevalent i do not know the death rate of the camp but fortunatly none of my mates died .We did have one guy off our ship die (moreof that later).One of the most common skin diseases was the drying up of the scrotum it got very sore it got the name of changi balls i think the biggest majorityof the pows had it .Myself i got ring worms but not as bad as changi balls .I remember the day when American bombers flew over then we knew that things was not going to well for the japs but it was not all over yet as the japs was getting worse every day

[Lou Barron]

Working on the air strip we got a sun tan and most of us had our hair shaved off so we had to wear our hats the temperature was in the 30c we use to love it when it rained it was one way of trying to keep clean .we got use to the guards shouting speedo someone got the bright idea of derailing the skips but we still had to work .Then one day we got detailed for other work it was digging trenchs and tunnels .The Japs must have knowed that Singapore and Malaysia would be invaded by the allies .We had heard that the British was advancing in Burma .So it was a change of locality and it was a little bit better as we was not working in the blazing hot sun It was on one ofe these working partys that myself and another guy was detailed with a couple of Korean guards to go and get palm fronds for camouflage the fortifications that we had been digging there was a plantation of coconut trees not far away .One of the guards said Yashi i think that was the name they gave the coconut he wanted us to climb the bloody tree and get a nut we both tried to climb the tree but bit was bloody hopeless the guards was getting a bit of the agro and was pointing the bayonet at us .There was a bit of yelling and screaming but lo and behold one of the locals came on the scene and he saved our bacon he got them their YASHI.

[Tony Morcom]

Hi Lou. I have been curious for some time now as to whether you have ever watched the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai" or the sequel. It may seem an odd thing to ask but I did wonder whether you might have watched it just to see how it was portrayed and whether it was at all realistic. Understandably you may well shy away from watching anything even vaguely concerned with that part of your life.

The only other person I ever knew who was in that part of the world and actually "involved" was my dad who was in Burma. Unfortunately a couple of major nervous breakdowns wiped his memory of anything pre about 1960. As many will know it is not so many years ago that they used to treat that sort of thing with ECT which often had that effect on the patients. The upshot was that I was never able to discuss his war days with him. He was a major in the army out there. The only other person I knew who was involved was my uncle who was with Ellermans during the war as an apprentice up to 2nd mate. He told me a little of his life in the convoys but sadly died when I was still quite young. It was tracing his war service that actually got me involved with these sites. In fact it was Hugh ( our member) who helped steer me in the right direction. I have been able to build up a complete portfolio of his entire sea career, including all his ships and all the convoys he sailed in. His 80 year old widow was over the moon to read it as she did not meet him until after the war.

[Lou Barron]

Hi Tony yes i did watch the picture it was not to bad but a bit exaggerated in parts it did not bother me to watch the pictures of the concerning the Japanese but there was one instance concerning the Japanese .It was wnen i was working in NZi got promoted to head storeman for the firm i worked for.This happened in 1951 the manager of the firm brought about six Japanese men into the store he called me over and wanted me to shake hands with them i said not bloody likely and walked away . It was later on the manager said he was sorry that he done that . It does not bother me now but they will never be my friends

[Tony Wilding]

hi Charles, think i would have done the same, have often had the same thoughts as Tony Regarding Jap POW films, have seen both the Kwai films, second was a bit crazy, have read Knights Of The Bushido, that was horrific, am sure the films dont portray it to the extreme, would be too bad to see, read the railway of death and the Baatan death march, cruelty beyond imagination. i certainly cant forgive what they did. best wishes, Tony W

[happy daze john in oz]

Lou, a question for you that you may not want to answer, but I will try. we have heard some horrific stories of Changi concerning the attrocities carried out by the Japs. Stories of executions carried out in front of the whole camp. That must have been one of the worst sights anyone would have to endure.