Coconuts

[Captain Kong]

Good on yer Tony,
Dont forget to wear your crash helmet.
Cheers
Brian.

[Lou Barron]

Yes Robpage there were a lot of guys like old Jimmy .The Japs could never unstand that when we went out on working partys we use to sing Roll out the Barrel ,land of hope and glory also God save the King they use to run up and down the line of pows shouting DAMMI DAMMI .It was not the beatings that got us down it was the conditionsand it was also the way they would belittle inusfront of the local people they took a great delight in doing this .That incident you mention was one of the things they did they would put a lighted ciggie on the ground and wait for one of us guys to pick up then move in and give you belt across the back andthe start laughing some of the other thingsi could not mention

[robpage]

Charles re post #12 I was about 11 or 12 years old at the time , and that man gave me some thoughts , some of his stories were incredible , he had defied the Japanese just to show them he could take a beating , That went around and around in my head for a long time . It was never his spirit that was crushed , but he had got an infection from a tropical insect that had laid eggs in him and caused a parasitic infection , that infection was with him until his death , that is what broke him No Little ******** ****** Japanese ******** , they did not ever beat his spirit , a stupid little insect did .

I read a story on the wall of the Changi Museum , about two Chinese School kids who used to get a beating with his rifle butt every day after being made to bow by the Japanese sentry they passed by each morning , after surrender , I believe the Japanese stood guard for a few days , I remember the Old Man telling me this , When they walked past the first day the guard bowed to them and gave them a chance to return the beating , They refused , they told him that they were human beings and needed no revengeful act . I stood there and tears ran at the thought .

The other which I posted some time ago , and never knew if it was true , was a story that the Old Man repeated so many times , one of the walking ex prisoners walked past a disarming unit where the Japanese were handing over their weapons , he found enough strength to drop onto a vacant Bren Gun and helped them to die for their Emperor , The Colour serpent standing by just ignored what was happening . I never will know if that is true or not , but I am proud of that man if it is

[Tony Wilding]

I expect a lot of Pay Back took place after the Jap Surrender, to have been in there inhumane cruel control for many years must have made many vengeful, would not blame anyone who did get revenge, it must have been very tempting.

[cappy]

tony my dads brother came back in October 45 his father my granda died in sept when my uncle came back he weighed about 7 stone idont think he could have lifted a stick and at the time was onley pleased to get back to shields his father left him a family signet ring and as the last of the family I am now the proud owner and it is promised to my oldest son a true family token regards cappy

[cappy]

Louis ihave acard here sent to our family in shields it is from theservice des prisoners de guerre dated 3 I 44 it is from no 1 pow camp Thailand wonder if you knew this camp his best mate from whitley bay died there they were mates ist at Dunkirk then Singapore in the Northumberland fusiliers he was never 100 per cent after coming home but I remember he got extra food coupons and shared sweets with his grateful nephew agreat uncle and friend to me he took great pleasure when I told him id planted our family seed all over Osaka so perhaps some of them remember us regards cappy

[Lou Barron]

In answer to you Cappy that camp in Thailand would be on of the camps that was for the building of the railway as forour treatment it was bad but for them pows who workedon the railway it was sure hell i saw some of the guys that came back to Changi Jail and they was in a very bad state of health .As for the card you mentioned i have still got mine that i had sent to my mother .It was in 1944that the Japs allowed us to send these cards with just a limit of 24 words .Thats why i think that iwas very luckythat i did not go on the railway

[cappy]

ithank you for your reply and whatever our government did for you guys was never enough I give you all my best wishes andeish you all the very best of fortune regards cappy

[robpage]

something odd going on with the last post , is this some kind of spam again

[j.sabourn]

After the war in the early 50"s a very common what I assumed to be Japanese produced cigarette was called Peace. I remember on one particular ship that was all we had in the bond at the time, being a smoker the scent off the cigarette used to put me off. Like the American cigarettes with the Turkish type tobacco which was always very loose. I wonder who chose the name for the Japanese produced cigarette. John Sabourn