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The World War 2 Japanese Prison Diaries of
Alexander John James
Singapore Under Siege
1942
January
Lived on board H.M.T. Jalavihar in docks (Bombay), kept a truck and the breakdown wagon off the ship as long as possible to use as local transport. All the rest of the vehicles were loaded, and vehicles of 6/1st Punjab Regt. were moved to make room for ammunition, about a thousand tons of which was loaded in numbers 2 & 5 holds.
As there was nothing to keep me in the docks once our vehicles were loaded, I spent most of the time with Mitchell and going around with Olivia Estop, Julie Ross, and a couple of girls called Winnie & Betty. We had a grand time, spent far too much money, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. One night we went on a moonlight picnic expedition to Juhu Beach sands in the breakdown lorry. Absolutely wizard.
5th - Jalavihar moved out and anchored in the roads. Went ashore on 7th and found my unit had just arrived by train at the docks. Assisted in embarkation of troops, and scrounged a meal on H.M.T. Eczema, quite a relief after the grub on the Jalavihar.
8th - The voyage started on the 8th, twelve ships in the convoy and about 3 naval vessels as escort. I was off my feet for about 24 hours, and then persuaded the chief officer, a quite decent lad, to give me a painting job. The captain, a Scotsman named Anderson, is a highly unpleasant combination of defeatism and pessimism, he tries to get things done by shouting ridiculous threats, and is disliked by one and all. The chief engineer, Evans, a Welshman, is quite a good fellow. We three are the only Europeans on board, the remaining being Indian with 3 or 4 Goanese (West India). The Jalavihar is a ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, she has a net tonnage of 5,300 odd, and a gross tonnage of 13,000 odd, her engines are Harland & Wolff triple expansion, she was launched in 1911, her chief characteristic is a very tall thin funnel, which earned her the nickname in the convoy of the “Woodbine ship”.
We expected enemy air attack in the Sunda Straits, but passed through without any trouble early one morning. Krakatau was quite peaceful, not even smoking. We were joined by several vessels from Batavia, and escorted by a Dutch flying boat in addition to the Walrus from H.M.S. Exeter. We kept within sight of Sumatra most of the way up to the Bangka Strait, here again air attack was anticipated, but although we were nearly 24 hours in the strait, there was only one alarm, and that a false one.
25th - We arrived at Singapore, and the convoy split up, most of the troop carrying ships going round to the naval base. We anchored in the Western Explosive Anchorage, about a mile west of the island of Blaka Mati. Our first air raid commenced as we dropped anchor, and 27 planes came over, but no bombs fell in our vicinity. For 48 hours nobody came near us, and when at last someone did, it was apparent that the organization for discharging the cargo was pretty chaotic. The lighters were supplied by one contractor, the ship labour by another, and shore labour by a third. Co-operation between the three was conspicuously absent, with the result that getting the vehicles off was a painfully slow business, the maximum efficiency being the discharge of 8 vehicles in a day. I managed to get ashore after a few trucks had gone, and got #49022, (my pet Chevrolet 15 wt truck) going and motored around Singapore. I sometimes met Major Finch White and Michell at the docks. We were on the Eczema in Empire Dock during one heavy raid, but although the 27 planes came right overhead they had dropped their bombs, and the last few fell ¼ of a mile away in the town. The Eczema, Rohma, and Takliwa left for India packed with civilian refugees. The docks were now being bombed several times daily, and the crane men had abandoned their cranes making it impossible to get the lorries out of the lighters. Eventually the Army took over the management of these cranes. The discharging from the ship was in no way assisted by the attitude of the Captain who was terrified of being bombed especially while there was still ammunition on board, consequently the ammo got priority.
31st - Finch White told me to come ashore and live with the company. I got all my kit loaded into my new truck 49855 (the O.C. having pinched 49022), and had her hoisted up onto deck. As soon as a lighter arrived we put 49855 into it with 3 winch men and the 2nd mate on deck and myself in the lighter. Unfortunately no tug came around to remove the lighter until February.
February
2nd - On the previous night it was announced by radio that we had evacuated Johor and the causeway had been destroyed.
As soon as I had tied up the lighter near godown (warehouse) 20, I looked for transport to take me to the company area. A few days previously I had been there (in a F.W.D. Ford with the throttle jammed wide open) guided by a Jawan (east Indian soldier) of 6/1st, who had no more idea of the route than I did. Now I found a motorcycle in the workshop section and went off on that, it seized up in the middle of Singapore and I found the oil tank empty! I refilled it from the nearest W. D. vehicle ( in the middle east vehicles used WD rather than a prefix letter) and went on to Jwong Road. Collected a truck and returned to the docks to fetch my kit from the lighter, found the tide had gone out and it was only by a pretty hefty effort that we got my stuff on to the wharf. At this time numbers 6 & 7 godowns were burning merrily and burning oil was flowing into the docks. A blue funnel line ship had received a direct hit in No. 6 hold which was on fire, but considering the number of raids and the number of bombs dropped, the damage was slight.
3rd - Went down to the docks to try to get more lorries off the lighters, but there were no crane-men working. The docks were bombed again while I was in the vicinity, drove around Singapore, bought a good pair of rubber wellington boots $10. Returned to Jurong Rd and spent the rest of the day with the section getting the area cleaned up and roads made & lorries painted etc.
4th - Took 49022 down to docks after an early breakfast & got a lift out to the Jalavihar on a very nice twin screw diesel A.L.C. (attack landing craft). Collected the remainder of my luggage from my cabin, and gave the chief engineer two letters to post on his next port of call, probably Colombo or Bombay. No more vehicles had been discharged since I left. Collected all picks & shovels off the vehicles on deck, and took them back to camp. Went back via Singapore, did some exploring & recon in the city. Spent the rest of the day in camp.
An Australian Captain Alan Mull is attached to our company as 2nd in command. His driver L/Cpl Mally is doing mess secretary, and doing it very well. I assist by bringing back plenty of cases of food of all kinds, looted from the docks; we feed royally on this plunder. Alan Mull’s batman “Mac” is about the only Aussie I have ever heard say “Sir” when addressing an officer.
5th - Drove down to the docks & found R.E.’s (Royal Engineers) raising steam in the crane by godown 20. Man-handled the lighters with our lorries on board into position, and got them unloaded, filled up and started, (they had all been started up on the ship and were all ready to drive away); had to leave 49855 on wharf as there were insufficient drivers. Took all the 3 tonners (trucks) up to Jurong Road, and returned for my truck. Had them all camouflagepainted. Went down to the docks again with Gundit Singh and a tow chain. Hooked onto a little black standard 8 that had been slightly damaged and left at godown 20. Towed it back to convoy area and started to get it going. Had to pinch a rotor arm out of a bombed car for it, then it went like a bird. Had it painted green and removed the number plates. A valuable addition to the vehicle strength.
Ten AIF lorries (armored personnel carrier) loaded with ammo, were attached to my section, making section area very crowded. Pulled out a few tree stumps with an F.W.D. ammo wagon & laid more road metal.
6th - Fetched two more A section ammo wagons from the docks. Spent an idle afternoon in my tent doing various little odd & end jobs. After tea, walked up to the top of Bukit Timah hill with Ian, Alan Mull, and Mally. Looked at the Johor coast through glasses. A bit of shelling during the day, one or two falling within half a mile of the camp, probably aimed at a battery of 25 pound mortars nearby.
7th - Got up at a rather idle hour, breakfast & drove into Singapore. Snooped around the docks, doing a bit of looting from godown 24 (Empire dock), messed around the town till lunch. Two more AASC companies (Australian Army Service Corp) want to use this area, in which there is not nearly enough room for ourselves, so after lunch the O.C. (Officer in Command) went off to recon for a new company area. When he returned A & B sections were ordered to pack up, and he took me to the new area and allocated section locations. I returned & brought up A & B sections & put them in their areas & supervised erection of tents, digging of trenches, parking of vehicles etc. etc., and then returned to Jurong Road for dinner. A bit of shelling going on there, and a lot more Northwest of us. After dinner I returned to the new area in Holland Rd. and slept there with my section.
8th - Got up early and returned to Jurong Road camp and started packing up the mess & Q.M. stores, while Ian took over a load of his section. About 0900 hrs. Japs started shelling the Aussie Div. H. Q. 2 or 3 hundred yards from our area. This made life rather unpleasant and several shells dropped in our area. One man had his right arm blown off and another was wounded in the foot. Rashid, the mess cook and his accomplices went to earth very rapidly, and it was about an hour and a half before I go the lorries with the mess kit off to Holland Road, the road being fairly liberally shelled on the way. Got the lorries unloaded; all the Jawans were pretty nervy and started digging trenches at tremendous speed. Returned to Jurong Rd with empty lorries and helped load up stores. By about 11pm Mitchell and I had sent up or taken up everything including motorbikes with the exception of 2 ammo wagons, one of which was bogged and the other would not start. Had a very late dinner at Holland Rd. & retired to bed.
Rumours are that the Japs have landed on the island.
9th - Went down with Sgt. Dalton to collect the two wagons left yesterday. We winched out the bogged one, and tow-started the other. Plenty of shelling going on & dive bombing & machine gunning. Returned to Holland Rd with all vehicles and had breakfast. Took a party of supply personnel up to supply depot. Came up behind an Aussie convoy of troops moving up, just as 3 Jap planes dive bombed and machine gunned the road. The Aussie’s panicked and took cover after the planes had gone. This bad example rather upset the already very nervous Jawans. I dumped them at Jerry’s place, but there was no sight of him. Masses of Jap aircraft bombing all over the place.
Went back to Holland Road, and thence down to the docks where two more ammo wagons were ready to take away. While Maj. Gurmukh Singh was getting them started, I collected a lot of food from godown 20 including a dozen bottles of champagne and 8 tins of biscuits, the Sikh storekeeper gave me every assistance, showing me where all the best stuff was. After lunch in camp, went to Alexandra Ordnance Depot to collect 200 rifles; usual answer – they knew nothing about it, however, I got some bayonets and returned to camp and had a large binge on looted grub and drink. We heard during the day that the Japs had landed on the N.W. of the island on the nights of 7th- 8th, and they are now rumoured to be in possession of Tengah aerodrome.
10th - Plenty of rumours, mostly pessimistic. I paid another visit to the docks & brought back 3, 3 tonnes; (trucks). Our vehicle strength now being approximately – 7 FWD (front wheel drive) ammo lorries, 3 Chevrolet 3 tonnes, 3 Chev trucks, 1 Standard 8 car, and 5 motorcycles, and the breakdown wagon.
Bit of a flap in the afternoon re: their position. Large oil fire started at Passilaba. The oil at the naval base was pumped out onto marshland, and set on fire there when the causeway was destroyed, and is still burning merrily – as it subsequently did for another 3 weeks.
In the evening under cover of darkness (aircraft were over us all day) the whole company was concentrated on the hill between the mess and the railway line, and LMG(light machine gun) posts and rifle parties were organized. Subedar Shaunhall is now proving his true worth, as are several other V.C.O.’s (Viceroy's Commissioned Officer) but not in the same way; Kidar Nath is a bundle of news already. We primed all our hand grenades of which Mitchell and I had 24 each, and obtained a decent rifle each, and all officers stayed up all night in the O.C.’s tent. During the night a “C” section man accidentally fired his rifle, and put a bullet into the backside of another fellow. This individual did not seem at all worried, and having collected his kit walked down to my truck and Gundit Singh drove him to hospital “pacey pacey”, returning about 2 hours later. A very stout lad is young Gundit Singh and not a bad driver.
11th - Sites were chosen for weapon pits & strong points etc. Went with Finch White to liaise with the colonel of an R.A. unit just below us regarding local defense. A lot of air activity, several bombs dropped pretty close, and there was a bit of shelling.
Very late in the afternoon after much humming and hawing, Finch White decided to move the company nearer Singapore. All the time streams of troops and vehicles are going by – the wrong way – and nobody seems to have any definite information, so his decision is justifiable, especially as 90% of the company is unarmed, and all would probably panic if any Japs did turn up, they are all in a pretty bad state of nerves already. He went out to do a recon while Mitchell and I supervised the loading of lorries and getting the men ready. The OC (Officer in Command) took away the first convoy of kit and Mitchell marched with H.Q. B. & C sections at dusk. I remained with A section who struck tents and stacked stores ready to load up quickly when the lorries returned. When everything was ready – about 9pm, I had some food & beer pinched from a bungalow previously occupied by RAF officers (who have now beat a hasty retreat). I ate tinned fruit & cream off the bonnet of the Standard, and then sat in it on and off for 2 ½ - 3 hours. Eventually the OC returned with some lorries which I got loaded up with stores and men. We all moved off, by the eerie light of the oil fire at Passilaba, self driving the wee Standard.
We eventually reached the new site – a place I had previously reconn’d near a hospital and detention barracks in Stevens Rd. and got all vehicles unloaded and parked off the road. Had some champagne, some orangeade, a tin of soup, then unrolled my valise in 49855 and turned in fully dressed (except for boots). All my camp kit, a box of tools, a box of books and various oddments had been left at Holland Road, space in the lorries being too valuable to include anything but real necessities.
12th – Thursday Got up at first light and went back to Holland Rd. site to see if it would be possible to recover some of the heavy stores – clothing, tents etc. which had been left there last night. Found the area being shelled and mortared; an armoured car was in our area, and its OIC said he thought the Japs would be there in about ½ hour. I returned to the hospital area and collected a 3 tonner and a fatigue party, and was on my way back to collect the stores when I met the armoured car coming back from Holland Rd. The officer in charge made frantic gesticulations calculated to raise alarm and despondency. I went on for about ¾ of a mile and found the road and everything around it being pretty well plastered, and as we were still at least ¾ of a mile from the camp site it seemed too risky considering the relative unimportance of the stores we were to collect, to go further ahead, so we did a strategic withdrawal to the hospital area and breakfast (rice).
The Officer in Charge had gone off on a further recon nearer Singapore, as this area is unsatisfactory from most points of view – no cover or parking space, and we tend to congest the road to the hospital. Mitchell and I supervised the loading up of all lorries. When the Major returned he and I took the first lift off, and left them near Tanglin with orders not to move till we returned, we went forward to the new site he had chosen – in a cemetery, right on top of a battery of 25 pounders I went back and brought up the lorries. Just as we were unloading them the battery opened up; the Jawans, already in a very highly strung state, panicked at once. However, I managed to get the lorries off again (mostly “A” section drivers thank goodness!) for the next lift. The Tanglin Road area was now coming under shellfire. The morale of all troops seemed to be practically at rock bottom level – I saw a British O.R.( Orderly Room – office admin.) suddenly become hysterical, it took four others to hold him down.
At Stevens Rd. we got everything – or so we thought at the time – loaded. Three motor cars and the Standard had to be left, as the former were out of order – we made them unusable and there was nobody to drive the Standard. When we rejoined the first party the troops were dispersed in sections. Finch White soon returned from yet another recon – it certainly would be asking for trouble to stay here for long – and I went with him and Shaun Hall – still the backbone of the troops – into Singapore. Finch had found an area on Queens Rd; and obtained permission to use a playing field and some of the buildings of Raffles College which were being used by the F.M.S.V.E. (Malayan Volunteer Forces) I went back and brought up the company in two shifts. At about 1 pm they were all in and preparing their meal, the vehicles parked in the road outside under a guard, and we were having some lunch – prepared with a tin opener and served in the tin.
During the afternoon we were evicted from the college buildings, and moved the company to St. Joseph’s recreation ground a hundred yards or so away, on one side of Queen’s Rd. They were allotted section areas, and needed no telling to dig themselves in. Finch White obtained permission for us to use the verandah of the house occupied by Roman Catholic priests next to the cathedral; they were very good and helped us as much as possible.
On endeavouring to prepare an evening meal we found that most of the mess stuff had been left at Stevens Road. I went up in 49855 with Gundit Singh, Amer Singh, and a Bren gun. The area was being mortared, but not very heavily, a B.O.R. (Battalion Order Room) near the hospital was badly wounded while we were there. We collected the mess stuff and various useful bits of equipment until 49855 was piled high with kit; then Amar Singh saw a black box of mine and wanted to take it; but there was not room and I left it, forgetting that among its valuable contents were all my photographs of Poona, Nra, and Darjeeling, the latter an excellent series, probably quite irreplaceable. I tried to take the Standard 8 which was still there, but someone had been fiddling with it and it would not start, so I left it and went back down Holland Rd – still being shelled – and returned to Queens Rd. Arranged guards for vehicles and company area, and after a meal prepared by Rashid – who when not in a slit trench, is a very good cook – went to bed on the verandah. There was a bit of shelling during the night, and towards morning a lot of rifle fire in the streets east of us.
13th – Friday Mitchell went off to collect rations for the brigade. Finch White received orders to send off a party of 35 Jawans and 1 V.C.O.; they were to embark at 3:30pm. General Judan Singh and Major Arjan Singh and I.O.R.’s (Indian other ranks)from B section were detailed, and when they were all ready, fed and packed, they were told to wait in the garden of the priest’s house and stay there without fail. I went off and recon’ed the embarkation point. I found cars being pushed into the sea as they were overcrowding the wharf. I promptly hooked the tow chain onto a very nice new 2 litre MG, and Gurdit Singh towed me back to Queens Rd. When we arrived there, there was not a soul to be seen, and when four shells landed much too close for comfort, we realized why. Apparently as soon as the first shells had landed the embarkation party had fled as one man, Jemadar and all. It was getting close to the time for embarkation, and we searched the local streets in vain for these blighters. Finch White had to detail a completely fresh party, Jemadar Jawan Singh and Major Gurmukh Singh, both from my section and a varied lot of L.O. R.’s. As soon as they were ready I took them down to the wharf. Quite a crowd of civilians were embarking, and we assisted with their luggage. Women and children only were being taken on the boats and there were many tender partings of husbands and wives etc. I got my party embarked, and hung around giving a helping hand when necessary.
When I returned to Queens Rd. Sgt. Dolton had got the MG going, and I took it for a run down to the docks. She was grand, 70 in third gear and quite good acceleration.
Mitchell got a raspberry for lending 2 Bren guns to some lads who were going up in a carrier, but as we got three back the matter ended quite happily. In the evening Collins came back for chapattis (a flat bread) for the brigade. The cooks worked until all the atta (whole meal bread) we had had been used up. There has been no sign of Jayoram since he paid a flying visit to Holland Road on the 11th.
14th - Saturday the company area was heavily shelled during the morning, two men were killed and some half dozen wounded. I did stretcher work with Mitchell; Subedar Shaun Hall was about the only VCO (Indian officer) cool enough to be of any assistance, practically all the others were in a flat spin. Ian and I did our best to cheer up the men. The followers seem to show by far the most pluck amongst the I.O. R.’s, (Indian other rank) one of my section’s cooks was wounded, because he and Biru, the other cook, calmly went on cooking when everybody else had gone to earth.
Mitchell fetched more rations for ourselves and brigade. About mid-day Jayoram turned up from somewhere, wanting some rations for brigade and a motor car. Finch White had already given away my MG to some idle blighter who did not need it in the least, so I collected an ancient 2 seater Whippet, whose ignition key had been given to me by its owner before he embarked yesterday. Jayoram was quite pleased with it, and chugged off with it and 3000 rations. I scared the wits out of the new owner of the MG in a demonstration run. Shortly after he had taken it away Mitchell came in with a superb 3 ½ litre Bentley – open 4 seater. We got the workshop section’s electrician on to it to wire up the ignition. While we were playing with it, the Japs started shelling again, and suddenly one fell in the garden of the priest’s house, not 10 yards from us. A crowd of Chinese came out as we went in, we asked them by signs if there was anyone hurt, as a building had collapsed, they nodded, and we crawled under the debris and found a Chinaman very badly injured, we yelled for stretcher bearers and got the man out of the debris, and on to the stretcher.
About 5pm, I went with Finch White up to Brigade H. Q. at Mount Echo with a load of rations. Saw Arthur Sam who looked pretty beat up. A couple or so of mortar bombs landed but apart from that it was very quiet, much more so than Queens Rd, where we never get more than an hour’s peace at the outside. We returned to the company after dark. There was more street fighting or sniping during the night, getting worse towards the morning. During the night also a Bofors AA 2 pound gun came and parked itself in the middle of our company area.
15th - Sunday we got up very early, long before daylight, and dug LMG (light machine gun) emplacements. When dawn came we decided on positions for all LMG’s and rifle parties, as rumour said that the Japs had broken through. We were shelled almost continuously throughout the morning and early afternoon, a few men being wounded. Jayoram turned up out of the blue, and I was sitting in his car – the ancient Whippet – when a shell fell just behind it, sending a large lump of very hot steel past my head and through the windscreen. We got rid of the clutch slip that was troubling the Bentley, and she now goes like “bird”, Mitch says he has had her up to over 80 in third gear. She certainly is wonderful to handle.
At about 3 pm 27 bombers came over and dropped a stick of bombs right across our area. Not nice at all. One crater completely blocked the road outside the priest’s house. There were, remarkable to say – no casualties in the company, apart from two people badly burnt by a blazing car, which was blown off the road and landed near them. The same bomb buried 2 Sepoys (an Indian soldier serving under British or other European orders) when a wall collapsed into the trench they were in, but we got them out unhurt but very shaken. Two of my lorries were blazing, one full of rations. Had I known what was to happen in a few hours, I could easily have burnt every single lorry we had, keeping only the 15 cwt trucks, as it was I worked hard to stop the fire spreading.
Shortly after 4pm a rumour came in – actually Finch was told by an I.A.O.C. (Indian Army Ordinance Corp) colonel - that we had ceased fire and laid down arms at 4pm. We started to collect arms and ammo and the Staff Captain who was there at the time went to Fortress Command to get confirmation of the rumour. They strongly denied that there was any order to lay down arms.
After two or three hours another message, written this time, and genuine, came in to say that we had unconditionally surrendered the island, and the cease-fire would be operative at 8pm., all arms and ammunition were to be collected and counted. It was a bitter disappointment.
Major Wood of 45 I.B.T. (India, Burma Theatre) Company came up in the evening to tell Finch White that he had everything laid on for at least ten people to get away in small boats during the night. Tom Ellis went to Brigade H.Q. to get as many as he could from there, and we filled containers with water and collected a food supply. At about 11 pm Mitchell and I went down in the Bentley to see where the boats were. Wood confirmed that everything was laid on, and we saw his sub Lieut. and told them that our party would be ready in about 2 hour’s time, they said they would wait for us, and showed us the boats they were going to use.
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