Lo Yang

[Lou Barron]

One of the jobs the Japs gave us was to clean up around the grass area in the huts it was over grown as it had not been clean up for a long time .
one of the things that happened that day was one of the guys Dutchy Holland he was a survivor off the Repulse i think .
Anyhow we had a small hand sickle it had a sharp blade on a stick well any how Dutchy yelled out what he did a centipede had crawled up is leg and he got into panic and he had tried to get it off by the use of the sickle but he got it of alright with a big lump of flesh they took him to the hospital it was a few weeks before we saw him again .

[Richard Quartermaine]

Centipedes Lou. We'd certainly jump back when you uncovered one over a foot long and an inch wide, butterflies with foot wide wingspans and cockroaches that you trod on and your foot kept going. Snails as big as your fist. Monitor lizards like small hyper active crocodiles. A cobra that killed our dog. And that was just around the house. Still, better than a high rise in the town or a damn sight better than you were at Changi a few miles down the road. Cheers, Richard

[John Callon]

I think I would take my chances in the city Richard. When I was on the Rangoon run the thing we dreaded most was being in Rangoon during the fly season. This was when the paddy fields were cut and every living thing was drawn to the lights of the ships berthed on the Irrawady river. The whole superstructure of the ship was covered with preying mantis and God alone knows what other species there was. All I know is that some of the bloody things you needed a hammer to kill them. Every morning the Deck Crowd would be using shovels to clear the decks as they were like snow mounds all over the place. Happy days, and in spite of everything they were.

Regards
John

[Richard Quartermaine]

Strangely there were very few flies in Singapore and Jakarta John in fact our house had wide open double doors open most of the time. Here in OZ we have fly screens on every window and door that opens. Of course the mosquitoes were like vampire bats in the evening but a bit of citronella and some well place fans did the trick. The ones to look out for were black and grey striped - anopheles mosquito that carried malaria. I got malaria in Papua New Guinea when I was sea but apart from Margaret and I getting hit with dengue fever in Singapore we and the kids were very healthy all the years we were in South East Asia. They were happy days indeed and I would have gladly stayed put had it been practical. We still chuckle about the time Margaret was opening the front gate and disturbed a six foot long monitor lizard that was enjoying the sun on the gate post. It sprang right over the top of her and the landed next to her before darting off.
Regards
Richard

[Lou Barron]

Richard where we was in Lo Yang if my memory is right we was not very far from mangrove swamp in them days and there was all kinds of things came out of it .
i remember of few of us chasing one of those big lizards in and out of the monsoon drains it was pretty big anyhow we caught it then killed and ate it also the snails was also eaten .
It was not a bad camp but when you are in the midst of the Japanese Navy sailors it was not very funny . Also the mossies were like stuka dive bombers and having no nets they played hell with us guys .
It was a lot better than the Jail

[j.sabourn]

Loyang... Believe I mentioned once before Lou, that Loyang is now or was in 2002 a seabase for the offshore oil and gas industry, in as much all the supply vessels lie there 6 abreast at times awaiting someone to take on a bareboat charter usually for a fixed period. No doubt you will realize this is all old tonnage discarded from the North Sea and other places as being considered well past their use by date. You could nearly say it is a graveyard for ships or at least a retirement home. So for all those poor souls that died there in previous years it has gone from a human graveyard, to almost a ships graveyard. Have quite often sat inside the docks in the local cafe drinking tiger beer not realizing the history of the place as I think probably many more have. Never saw no memorials in that area, maybe there are, if not there should be to remind people. Also tried once in the Military Graveyard to find a relations grave but due to lack of time and being at the other end of the Island with no assistance available was unable to find among the thousands of head stones. All the best John S.

[Keith Moody]

a lot of memories everyone has of Singapore, on my first visit there i was astounded to see all along the quay old sailing boats side by side for what seemed the whole prominade, their bowsprits all overhung the walk way. they were just rotting away,no paint on them and sails either missing or in shreds. it was quite a sight, but a sad one to see. does anyone else remember these?
the one bug that i hated in Singapore were the flying cockroachs, to kill one you stood on it and heard the thing crack as you broke its wings and body.
keith moody
R635978

[happy daze john in oz]

I now have a photo of a Centipied I saw in Vietnam, eating a corn stalk it was about 30 centimeters in length and as thick as my thumb. I have no doubt the locals eat them, nice on a BBq!