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Into Captivity
During the first days of capitulation, we thought the Japanese were going to justify the boast that they were a civilised and cultured race. It seems that the barbarity and beastliness of their troops in Hong Kong had even shocked the Imperial Japanese Army authorities and they were determined that there would not be similar disgraceful behaviour in Singapore, the next British city to fall to their conquering front-line troops.
If this, was the aim of the l.J.A. Command they were fairly successful, but even they were not able to prevent the terrible massacre at the Alexander British Military Hospital, when blood-crazed Japanese soldiery raced through the wards bayoneting patients and staff indiscriminately.
Perhaps the worst incident in this orgy of blood occurred when Japanese troops rushed into an operating theatre, bayoneting the surgeon and his attendants, killing several of the latter outright, and finally bayoneting the patient on the table.
Fortunately for us, the 10th A.G.H. was at this time in the centre of Singapore and I.J.A. troops were under control before they had penetrated that far into the city.
Although safe from the barbarity and personal violence of front-line troops, the 10th A.G.H. and 2/2 convalescent Depot were in the centre of the heaviest I.J.A. bombing and shelling. Shells actually landed in the makeshift wards in the dress circle of the Cathay Theatre, and nine Australian soldiers were killed.
Apparently, some I.J.A. commanders were somewhat humane, or, at least, aware of the importance of world opinion, for the movement of wounded men and hospital equipment to the P.O.W camp was orderly, and at no time were we molested by Japanese troops. Perhaps this considerate treatment was merely part of the Japanese policy of getting 58,OOO prisoners of war to their camp with the least possible trouble to themselves.
One cannot pass on to the captivity period without saying a word about our Australian nurses. Their devotion to duty was, and always will be, beyond all words of praise. When ordered to return to Australia with the last shipload of wounded, they protested most vehemently, and desired nothing more than to remain at their posts, and risk any hardship and humiliation in the fulfilment of their duty.
But wiser counsels prevailed, and those of us who sent them off did so with mixed feelings. We felt that their troubles were only beginning when they left us to run the gauntlet to Australia through mined sea-lanes, a powerful and unopposed navy, and an efficient and brutal air force.
We also knew that we were losing the greatest morale builders in the 8th Division.
Australia has known for a long time that our effort to save our nurses from humiliation and privation ended in tragedy. The ship with the last contingent of nurses was sunk off Palambang, Sumatra. Of the 65 nurses on this ship, three were drowned, and 30 who were injured in the sinking were captured by Japanese troops, who ordered them to walk back into the surf and machine-gunned them to death as they waded into the deep water.
The 32 who were uninjured, became prisoners on Sumatra, and were subjected to almost unbearable privations and humiliations during three-and-a-half years, and the 24 who have at last returned to their homeland and dear ones had the sad task of burying with their own hands eight of their number who failed to survive the three last months of captivity.
These nurses suffered terribly, and many paid the supreme sacrifice, but always, in life and in death, the displayed all the best and most noble qualities of Australian womanhood, and when we read of the atrocities of Manila we realise that God was watching over our own Australian girls, and we are greatful for that protection.
After the surrender of the Japanese this year, when the 14th A.G.H. was posted to Singapore, to care for the sick prisoners of war, requests came from all parts of the Pacific from the lucky ones who got away safely, asking permission to join the A.A.M.C., going back to Singapore. Unfortunately, only a few of them were able to join this unit; but the second greatest day for us, greater than the arrival of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his army, was the return of our nurses. And the greatest day of all was the arrival of the 24 prisoner-nurses from Sumatra to the 14th A.G.H. to be taken care of by their comrades, who had come back to nurse them.
From the day of our arrival in the Changi prison camp, I was attached to the Australian Hospital. We had between 800 and 1000 patients, the majority of them being battle casualties.
Hardly a day went by without a death, and then to make matters worse, dysentery broke out, killing many of the wounded who otherwise had a good chance of recovery.
One of the unforgettable features of life in the Changi was the manner in which our Catholic soldiers lived up to their religious obligations. Just before the capitulation we had received a large quantity of altar wine from the Cusa Chaplains’ Unit in Sydney, and we were thus assured of daily Mass for many months to come.
The garrison church in the Changi prison camp had received three direct hits, and had been utterly devastated. We lost no time in looking round for new church sites, but in the meantime the Catholic Boys gathered together at convenient places and times for the celebration of Mass and the recitation of the Rosary.
The camp had been divided into areas, and in a very short period Father Bourke, C.SS.R., a New Zealand chaplain, had built a church, which he dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, had established a branch of the Legion of Mary, and instituted a regular Question Box session.
The Senior A.I.F. Chaplain, Father M. Dolan, was working on a chapel in the Australian area, dedicated to St. Francis Xavier. In the 11th Indian Division Area, Father Kennedv, S.J., had dedicated a church to St.Ignatius Lovola, and in the British 18th Division Area, Father Jackson, O.F.M., had set up his church under the patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The material for the church in the hospital area was obtained at night. Every evening a few of the men would creep through the wire surrounding the camp, and bring back all the wood that they could find. During these scrounging operations, an unused military hut was completely dismantled, and brought back to the hospital.
By July of 1942 our chapel had been built and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It was complete even to the stained Class windows, which had been salvaged from the ruins of the old garrison church. Sufficient tiles had been found around the camp to cover the floor completely.
While the building had been in progress a choir had been formed under the direction of W/O Nicholas, an Indian medical officer, who was an expert on Gregorian Chant. For our first Solemn High Mass this choir rendered the Missa de Angelis and in a very short time built up a very creditable repertoire of sacred music.
All the camp chapels were opened with great solemnity, and we quickly settled down to a regular routine.
In our hospital chapel, we had three Masses every day, beginning at 6.30 a.m. for, beside myself, there were two Irish priests attached to the British wing. The Rosary was recited publicly every night, discussion groups were arranged, and instructions were given twice weekly. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament was given on Wednesday and Sunday nights, and once every month we had Solemn High Mass.
Outside the hospital area the camp routine seemed fairly smooth. The Japanese formed men into working parties to go into Singapore. These troops were quartered in the city area, and their work consisted of looting all foreign stores and loading the stolen goods on ships to Japan.
Priests went into Singapore with these parties, and chapels were established at the different camps. Father Bourke was given a pass by the Japanese to move from camp to camp, and in the early days not only did he do his usual duties as a chaplain, but conducted regular eight-day missions, bringing many back to the Faith and making converts.
So great was Father Bourke’s zeal that the Japanese became suspicious and sent him back to Changi. He was the first priest to go to Thailand, but before his departure he gave a mission in the hospital, which was attended by more than 400 every evening.
It was about this time that some 10,000, including about 3000 Australians, left us to go to Rangoon, and it was not long before we heard rumours that they were working on an air strip. Father Smith S.M., and Father Corry O.P., were their chaplains.
For the rest of the year the Catholic life of the Changi prison camp was normal. By Christmas, working parties in Singapore had completed the tasks allotted to them, and all had returned to Changi.
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