Death and Deprivation on the Forgotten Sumatra Railway by James H. Banton

Author:James H. Banton [Banton, James H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Aviation & Nautical
Publisher: Pen And Sword Books Ltd
Published: 2021-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

1 In September 1989, while on holiday at Pontins, I learned that these men survived punishment, and the two escapees were living in Australia.

2 Ambonese: people of Ambon Island, part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island was captured from Allied forces by the Japanese in 1942.

3 Sid Scales: born 1916 in Ashburton, New Zealand, died 2003 in Motueka. He was a New Zealand cartoonist.

4 The Sumatra Railway.

Chapter 5

Homeward Bound

Although every one of us was excited to be on the way home, there was a quiet air of apprehension. First of all, because we were at the most advanced camp along the rail line, we were last to be withdrawn to the base camp.

There was not even a cheer as we moved off, leaving empty huts, such utensils as were there, but saddest of all a large wooden cross standing guard over the graves of quite a few of our colleagues.

I was not alone in my doubts as to how some of the wooden bridges we would have to cross would stand up to the weight of the heavy loco plus quite a heavy train (for that kind of structure). However, we were much relieved, at the first deserted camp we reached, to find two of the small diesel locos waiting. The train was halved and we felt much happier now. It transpired that our officers at base camp had insisted on this as a safety precaution.

As we passed each deserted camp, they all looked the same. Even in the tropical sunshine, to me they appeared cold and damp, and at each one stood the tell-tale wooden cross. Some of these were adorned with wreaths, roughly made from the local vegetation – a last farewell gesture from their comrades.

After we arrived at our destination, base camp, one who could not come to terms with her new found freedom was Judy, the camp’s pet dog. Judy had been taught to lie quiet and concealed in a sack during previous moves, because once seen by the guards she would have been destroyed. Judy had been injured in action, twice shipwrecked and survived along with us. She was eventually to be awarded the ‘Animal VC’ and became the subject of a novel entitled Judy.

Everyone was looking for friends and there were many happy reunions, but of course also the sad news of others.

Food was already prepared for us, although still the same diet. Whilst I was eating, my old pal Jack Brown came to find me. Jack had been sunk on his way to Sumatra, and spent two days and nights on a raft prior to being picked up by a Jap ship, only because he was in the company of a Jap survivor. Jack, who had stayed at base camp working among the sick, said, ‘Come across and have a chat when you get settled. I’ll have to go because I’m up to the neck in it.’

I went to see Jack – and a sight to make one weep. There were men like skeletons, sick and dying, lying on the ground in the most appalling conditions.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.