A New Dawn

Chapter 12

Saigon – February 1945

They were now up to more than 6,000 POWs British, Australian and American. Food was scarce and the Japanese took an even dimmer view if they were caught stealing, if they were lucky it was a beating if not they were shot. Some prisoners were loaded onto one of the ships and they were told they were going to work in Japan but they heard from Sparks that most of the ships leaving Saigon were being torpedoed by the US ships and submarines. They had to hope that any survivors were picked up by allies.

They had also heard that the war was virtually over now in Europe that after landing on the beaches in France June the previous year they were taking back most of the countries and now not far from Germany.

Bombing raids had started. To be fair it was almost as if the Americans knew they were there. The aerodrome, railway bridges and the docks were systematically bombed but in turn that meant the work parties were bigger and they had to work far longer to repair the damage caused by the bombs

Lance Sergeant Dawes had been sent out on a work detail to the aerodrome which had been bombed. One of the pilots coming into land hit a pothole and careered into a transport truck, the men laughed, he had joined in as what fool would land a plane on a runway that had been bombed. The wing had been ripped off and the truck pretty much written off. Dave Dawes was loaded into a truck to return to camp virtually unconscious.

Charles went to visit him in their make shift hospital after having being pointed in his direction by the RAMC doctor. He wouldn't have recognised him if it hadn't been for the fact Brian was already sat at his bedside. Both his eyes were black and his nose had obviously been broken, he squinted up at Charles and smiled. Charles noticed that his front teeth appeared to be missing and he could see that Dave had taken quite a beating.

"Well I won't ask if you are alright" said Charles "I can see that you aren't"

"I gotta get home son" whispered Dave "Who will look after Belinda and the kids if I don't"

"You will get home Dave" replied Charles and looking across at Brian

It took many weeks for Dave to recover as on top of that he had contracted another bout of Malaria. Brian and Charles taking it in turns to keep him company and making sure he eat and drank something.

In May they heard from Sparks that the war in Europe had ended and wondered how much longer their incarceration would last. The bombing raids had increased and the docks were pretty much decimated and there was nothing coming in or out. Food was getting exceptionally short and the news from Sparks was that US submarines were sinking just about everything that came out of the docks. The Japanese were getting more agitated and aggressive, they had finally twigged that the men were hiding the dogs and there were over 17 dogs not including Bessie in camp, and although the men hid Bessie the rest were shot. With men having only recently come down the line from Thailand and all hungry and painfully thin their cook who was a butcher by trade did the only thing he could and the entire camp eat well that night.

Work parties were set up to dig trenches around the camp long and deep and they weren't quite sure why, then there was the addition of machine guns round the perimeter. Rumours were spreading.

Charles was sitting under an atap twiddling his wedding ring. When he was in thought that was his usual pose elbows on knees holding onto his ring. Beck and Hodgson were also sat there when Dave and Brian joined them.

"We are wondering about the trenches" started Dave "Do you think they are for us"

"Looks like things are not going in their favour" continued Brian "and we was wondering if they were going to execute us all"

To be fair that had occurred to Beck but he was surprised that the men had also had those thoughts. They had been starved, beaten, tortured and used as slave labour and he didn't think that the Japanese would want anyone left to tell the tale.

"Who knows lads, could just as easy be for them to hide in while the bombing is going on" laughed Beck

Two more Americans tried to escape but failed and two new graves appeared in their makeshift cemetery, this time though the rumour was that they were beheaded. They were pilots and it was in retribution for a bombing raid.

It was now August and the raids were getting worse, as you looked out of the docks all you could see were wrecks as the ships sunk either in the dock or just out at sea. They were still sabotaging equipment and the 50 gallon oil drums had their caps loosened, there was more oil floating in the monsoon trenches than in the drums, the whole place would have gone up if that particular store was hit. The Japanese were getting more agitated and it was felt by the officers that something was afoot. Machine gun stations that had been set up around the camp were permanently manned, but they had very little success with shooting down the planes. In turn that meant there were casualties of POW's as the US returned fire.

Beck was sure that they were all to be killed but as he said it a plane flew low over their camp and what looked like confetti was fluttering all around them.

Everyone, whether they were on work detail or not ran around trying to collect the paper. Charles had one in his hand.

"The Japanese have signed unconditional surrender. It will take time to get to you – We will get you home"

Charles closed his eyes and looked to the sky he had survived – now to find Molly.

There was silence in the camp while everyone read the note the Japanese guards just standing there not doing anything, everyone seemed stunned that it was over, finally, and then the cheering started rising in volume as they realised that they would be going home, singing songs and hugging each other. One of guards walked up with a pig, smiling and saying food. Where the hell had that come from no one knew but for the first time in many months they had meat with their rice that evening. It was all rather bizarre they had been waiting for this for 3 and a half long years and now no one knew what to do.

Lt Colonel Beck met with the Commandant to discuss what was to happen. After a while he came back to have a meeting with the remaining Officers British, Australian and American.

"It would appear that the Americans have dropped a new and very destructive bomb on Hiroshima telling them to surrender and when they didn't dropped an even bigger one on Nagasaki three days later. So the Emperor finally announced surrender on 15th August"

"So when are we going home, and why are the Japs still armed"

"Well it seems that the surrender documents haven't been signed as there has been a typhon or something but they will be, apparently on the 2nd September on one of US ships, but its ended" he started "it would also appear that Indochina doesn't want to go back to being a French colony and there is an uprising and things could get sticky here, seems we are to be re-armed to defend Saigon until the French or their Allies can get here"

"Bloody hell" said Charles and Beck raised his eyebrow as Charles coloured up at his outburst

"The men aren't in any fit state to be fighting again"

"Well we wait until the allies get here and help where we can" ordered Beck "Our orders are to stay and with support from the Japanese defend Saigon"

"You've got to be joking" added Captain Hodgson, Beck raised his eyebrows with a look of despair and shook his head

During that first night many of their Japanese and Korean guards vanished under cover of darkness and when they woke the next morning new Japanese guards came in. Seemed many did not want capture themselves or were worried about retribution if the POW's were to be re-armed.

It was also 2nd September while the peace document was being signed in Tokyo Bay that the first American parachuted in although supplies had been air dropped so food was not so much of a problem. Keeping order was however as both British and Australians after all these years wanted some form of retribution for the treatment they had received and that the Japanese were still armed was not helping. The American had also brought transport planes and the remaining US prisoners were evacuated and gone by the 5th September leaving about 5,000 British and Australian troops to get out.

The same day that the peace document was signed by Japan, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed independence for Vietnam they were not going back to being a French colony. Now Sparks and large numbers of French citizens were coming to their camp for protection and they also managed to retrieve 1,400 French soldiers that had been held by the Japanese to help with securing the area. The whole situation was fraught with difficulties.

The worst of the sick were finally airlifted out to Rangoon on the 8th September but they were now in the rainy season and the first plane out crashed killing all on board, some were from the original 1100 men sent there. It was heart breaking to hear that these men had survived all this and were killed on their way home. On the 12th the first of the Gurkha Regiments came in to relieve them. One month after the end of the war in Asia they were relieved of duty and the repatriation started.

All Charles, Alex and Brian wanted to know was where were their wives, had they been rescued and where could they find them.

Transport planes were coming in thick and fast bringing supplies and soldiers to defend Indo China for the French while waiting for their troops to get there. The return trip they took POW's. It took weeks to get them all out and back to Rangoon.

They heard that the American Lt Colonel who had parachuted in to tell them they were free men had subsequently been shot in an ambush by guerrillas who mistook him for a French officer. The first American casualty of a new war that would start although he was never counted as such and appears on no memorial.

Lt Colonel Beck, Charles, Dave, Brian and Captain Alex Hodgson were on the same RAAF flight and Alex was pleased to hear about home from the pilots.

He asked where POW's from Sumatra or other Indonesian islands were being taken and the pilot thought that they would be taken back to Singapore for repatriation to country of origin.

They landed in Bangkok unloaded and were herded onto another flight to Rangoon where they were taken to a large hanger and offered tea and biscuits. It was all rather surreal this rag tag band of men who were thin, unshaven and had clothes that were barely held together.

They were all sat together on chairs, all dazed not really sure they believed they were finally free and going home.

"Charles" started Dave "I know you will look after my girl, find her and bring her home." His voice hitched "But I gotta get back, over 3 years since we were taken and I 'ave to get 'ome to Belinda and the kids" he shook his head "no wages comin' in – how have they managed"

Charles hadn't stopped twisting his ring all the way through Dave's conversation. He just nodded "I'll look for her, bring her back"

"Well if you are heading for Singapore then so am I" said Brian and there were nods from both Beck and Alex.

At that moment a very smart lady dressed all in white wearing a wide brimmed hat smiled at them offering them another cup of tea and if they were all looking forward to getting home. Without looking up Charles replied "I need to get to Singapore and find my wife"

"What happened to your wife" she replied gently. Beck looked up at this point and recognised the woman and looked around the room to spot another face he recognised and in military uniform. Charles still hadn't looked up and was staring at his ring.

"She was on a ship which was torpedoed out of Singapore during the evacuation, I need to get back there and make sure she is safe" Beck patted him on the back while Alex and Brian nodded.

Beck coughed "Thank you for asking Lady Mountbatten all our wives were on that ship and yes we would like to get back there and see if they have been rescued too" Charles looked up finally taking note of who was talking with him. He straightened up and stood to attention. Lady Mountbatten smiled and patted his shoulder

"I'll have a word with my husband" and walked away

RAPWI were rushing about trying to find them billets and issue them with new uniforms, while some had remnants of a uniform there were many men wearing little more than nappies, the men sitting here hadn't just arrived from Saigon but from all over Thailand as well. They were all issued with full uniform including a great coat which was rather superfluous owing to the heat. But they were told that once they passed through the Suez it would start to get much colder.

They had been stuck in Rangoon now for two days no word on when they were to be repatriated and Charles still had the need to get back to Singapore. Soldiers desperate to get home renamed RAPWI to Retain All Prisoners of War Indefinitely but there were just so many of them. Alex had also been speaking with the Australian equivalent as he too wanted to get back to Singapore and find Katie.

Dave Dawes had finally got a passage on one of the ships back to Southampton and was leaving the following morning

"Just find her son and bring her home" he pleaded

"I will" answered Charles "I won't leave until I find her" Dave patted him on the back and nodded

"Good luck Charlie" and he heaved his duffle bag over his shoulder and walked up the gang plank to the ship that would take him back home after 4 years of being away.

Seems like Lady Mountbatten may have had a word with her husband as the next thing Roger, Charles, Brian and Alex knew was they were on a flight back to Singapore.

They were stunned at the devastation of Singapore, so much had changed in the three and a half years since they had been gone. The barracks they had left at Woodlands were derelict and their only hope was that their homes were still standing. Looked like Lt Colonel Becks home was intact as it had been used by the Japanese officers. As it was a large house he invited them all to stay as accommodation was likely to be restricted at the moment. Charles car had long since vanished so he, Brian and Alex got a taxi to the bungalows where Molly and Katie had lived to find that they had been ransacked and graffiti had been daubed over the outside. "British go Home"

"Well they won't be coming back here" sighed Alex and they wandered round the two bungalows to see that everything had been taken or vandalised.

"We will have to rely on RAPWI, tell us where they are"

"In the meantime we can clear this up for when they get back, if we all do it then it might not take that long" said Alex while Charles nodded in agreement.

"I think we need to find a car so we can get here when we want and collect what we need to get this straight for when we get them back" Charles now back in full military mode and with purpose.

"Missing your Lagonda are we" laughed Alex

"Well wouldn't you" he retorted but laughing "I think we will just have to see what the army can provide"

As they made their way back to Roger Becks home they were once again shocked at the deprivation and bomb damage done to Singapore.

February 1945 – Somewhere in Sumatra

The women noticed that there always seemed to be a machine gun at Tenko now and were concerned about what was going on.

They were still being sent out to the factory to make uniforms for the Japanese. Blanche came back with news in May that the war in Europe had ended and another bucket of hooch. God knows where she got it from. But they had a small party to celebrate the Victory in Europe and hope that it wouldn't be that much longer before they too would be rescued.

Blanche had gone out on one of her excursions for supplies while Molly was on look out when a guard spotted her. He started to stroke her face, she was decidedly uncomfortable before shouting at him that he had no right to touch her. She couldn't believe that he had punched her in the face splitting her lip and making her nose bleed, the force knocked her to the ground. He started pulling at her clothing and she screamed at which point Blanche had come back into camp. She could see Molly on the ground fighting the guard, she called to him smiling to attract his attention. The guard smirked at Blanche and moved away from Molly, the women had already started coming out of the hut when they heard Molly scream.

Blanche threw what she had acquired at Molly as she walked away with the guard. Edna ran up to her closely followed by Jacqui and Katie, helping her up off the ground. Her lip already swollen and split and blood pouring from her nose. Molly had hold of the small bottle that Blanche had thrown at her and it was another bottle of Laudanum and some Quinine.

She would forever be grateful for what Blanche had done for her that night, she knew that the guard was going to rape her. She couldn't believe it when Blanche had got caught on another of her escapades and they had put her in what they called the punishment hut. What they didn't know when they locked her in she was in the early stages of Berri Berri when they finally let her out she was already dead and unrecognisable.

They buried her, it was a great loss to the camp. Edna holding Molly up as she sobbed at the loss of a friend. The tart with a heart who had got so much needed medicines and eggs for the children. She didn't even know if she had family, who to contact to let them know she was gone. She tried to ask Lauren but she didn't seem to know, or care anything about Blanche's background.

A week had passed since Blanche had died and the girls were sitting in the shade under the atap when they heard the noise of a plane. Molly grabbed hold of Edna and Jacqui remembering last time she had been sat here and the aftermath. This plane flew very low over the camp and there was what looked like confetti coming out of the back of the plane. All the women moved into the quadrant looking towards the sky as the plane seemed to tip its wings as if to wave and fly off. There was then the mad scurrying around trying to pick up the papers.

THE WAR IS OVER, WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE AND ARE COMING TO TAKE YOU HOME

Edna closed her eyes and looked to the heavens, thank god it was over and her girls had got through this.

"Well" she said "I suppose I had better go and see the Commandant to see what is to happen next" and she stood up, helped to her feet by Molly and Jacqui

All through the camp you could hear singing and laughter, that it was over and they had survived. The Dutch nuns conducted a prayer ceremony for those that believed. Jacqui and Molly watched from a distance, they had never been particularly religious and what they had seen in the last 3 and a half years had made them less so, but they understood that it gave some the strength they needed to carry on.

The camp had quietened down now, all waiting on Edna's return as to when someone would come to take them home, desperate to see their families.

Katie came running over to say that a couple of the guards had committed suicide, stabbed themselves apparently. Being taken prisoner themselves was not an option.

Eventually Edna came back with news and the women all gathered round her. Apparently they were just one camp and there were 10's of thousands of prisoners in camps all over Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaya all waiting for rescue so it maybe a while but in the meantime the Japanese guards would protect them from natives who didn't necessarily want to go back to Dutch colonial rule. They would just have to wait out until the allies arrived. It took a lot from the committee to convince the internees that they should not seek retribution.

"In the meantime" she said smiling "I have the key to the store hut and we can take what we need" and she started walking towards it followed by Dr Mason and a few of the other women who were on the committee. When they opened the door it was piled high with Red Cross parcels, their Red Cross parcels. There was Quinine, vitamin tablets and other medicines in there and Dr Mason was furious at the deaths that had occurred even Blanches'; if they had only given them access to their own bloody parcels.

It was three weeks before the truck with Australian soldiers came into camp and the Japanese flag was finally lowered – they were free. They were driven to the nearest aerodrome where they were allocated numbers. The sick were taken out first from both their camp and the men's camp. Then they just had to wait for the number to be called so they could get on a flight. There were some very moving and touching reunions from the women who had watched their men being led away on that fateful day in February 1942 and the four women watched with misty eyes hoping that they would have the same reunion once they got back to Singapore.

They arrived back in Singapore early one morning at the end of September. RAPWI meeting them from the plane and handing out newsletters informing them of what was going on at home. Edna was livid that there had been a general election while they were still POW's and not only that Winston had been thrown out of power and Jacqui and Molly had to have a little snigger at her rhetoric.

They were given tea and biscuits and all of them asked by army personnel what their names were, where they lived and what camp they had come from.

"Why do you need all this now" asked Edna who felt particularly hot and tired and hoped she wasn't falling ill again.

"It's as if the whole world has been turned upside down" said their RAPWI officer Phyllis "Then just dropped here for us to find out where they are meant to go" shaking her head in despair at the task in hand "How are we to get them all home, where do we send them"

"Well Katie" said Phyllis "You have one of the best hotels in Singapore allocated to the Australians, we will look at getting you sent there"

Katie grabbed hold of Molly and Jacqui "Can I stay with my mates, we have come through so much together I want to stay with them" Phyllis patted her hand and smiled "Let me see what I can do dear"

Two hours later they were loaded into trucks and taken to the Raffles Hotel. All four women looked up at it remembering New Year's Eve 1942 when they were all here for the ball. It hadn't changed a bit. They were shown a room and Molly, Katie, Jackie, Dr Mason and Edna were all sharing, beds crammed in but they had proper beds with mattresses a mosquito net and a bathroom with a bath. They couldn't believe how lucky they were. They let Edna and Dr Mason have first dibs at a bath while the younger girls lay on their beds. Their turn came soon enough and they all felt that their skin had turned at least one shade lighter after having a proper bath for the first time in years. When they went back to their room there was a knock at the door and Edna got up to answer. She walked back into the room carrying a number of glasses and a big jug of juice.

"Well girls" she beamed "I thought we could all do with a Gin Sling seeing as we are back at Raffles" and they, including Dr Mason laughed, took a glass and waited for Edna to fill it.

After finishing their Gin Slings they thought they would go down for dinner. Long trestle tables had been set up and the resident band was still there playing in the background. A sea of uniforms and bedraggled women their only audience and a dinner of bangers and mash.

"Tomorrow" said Edna "I want to get back to the house, see if Roger is there" she sighed "See if the house is there"

"We'll come with you, keep you company" said Molly

"No dear, you and Jacqui go and see if your home is there, and you too Katie"

The girls nodded, they knew Edna enough by now to know that she wasn't going to change her mind, the problem was how were they to get to their house.

They spotted Phyllis in reception and asked her about taxis and she said she would see what she could do to get them a car with a driver and then pick them up later.

They went to bed with hope and looking forward to finally getting home.

They dropped Edna off at what looked like a large white palatial house and said they would come back for her in a couple of hours but she insisted that she would see them back at Raffles later, so the three women said their goodbyes and were then driven to their bungalows.

The outside didn't look too bad and they decided to look in Molly and Jacqui's home first. The first thing they noticed was the smell of paint. It all looked like it had been white washed. There wasn't much furniture there. Table and chairs and the bedrooms seemed to have made up beds and they couldn't believe that it had stayed intact while they had been away. So they went across to Katies and that was similar. They could smell paint again and while the furnishings were sparse there was a sofa and chairs along with the bedrooms having made up beds.

"You know if we moved your sofa and chairs into our house we would have one complete one" laughed Jacqui

"Thing is" said Molly "This is not the furniture we 'ad when we left"

"Well we're finally back now so whoever it is that thinks this is theirs we can tell 'em to bugger off" responded Jacqui

"Right girls we better get off back to Raffles and wait for Edna"

"Yeah! Let's order a jug of Gin Sling for when she arrives" and they all laughed knowing that she had a bit of a taste for that.

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Saturday 15th is VJ Day so whatever your tipple raise a glass to the Forgotten Army