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ATROCIOUS TREATMENT
, OF A.I.F. BY JAPS.
Horror; Story oi Ship Life
and Drownings at S^a
CANBERRA, Friday;—In shocked, still silence
members of the House of'Representatives-'this after*,
inbon Heard the Acting Prime -Minister (Mr, Forde)
'describe brutal Japanese treatment rof Australian
prisoners of war. Only about half the lumbers were
present ,vhi4 Mr. leorde read the 1900-word foolscap
statement, but few of thepi were not affected.
Returned soldier members-particularly showed signs of anger or
angulsh or both. lYIr. Follard Wb., Vlo.t hid his face In his hands
Kfsta^and Mn-mite'vYc)..who » a prisoner of.
war of the'Turhs, in tho. last war, was visibly ipoved.
Dame Enid Lyons still cwald not
hide her. feelings -when she left
the. Chamber sojne minute? later.
Rising' after Mr. Forde ' had
completed his recital of the cruel
ties, Mr: -White asked • that the
Government shoud .protect' lh the
strongest terms to the Japanese
Government pp -barbarous treat
ment'of prisoners, and tell them
"e Intend to trent-those-respon
se asiwar criminals.
-The report) stated--that -after
hours- lit- - the -water - Australian
prisoners -of; war sang • “Rule Bri
tannia'' when their were'left • to
.drown1 by - the * Japahcse after- an
enemy--transport carrying * -th,em
!frohv Singapore to 'Japan was tor
pedoed on September-12 in- the
western- Pacific by an-American
submarine:':'-' -
Of 700 Australians, who with
about "000,British prisoners had
been crammed into- a-sub-divided
hold, allotting each man a space
pf.two square feet with.four feet
celling," 02 Australians’ and 00
Bjrltishers were rescued. : '
"•Describing to the House de
tails of the; horrible - conditions
suffered bV Prisoners on the ship,
the Acting Prime' Minister (Mr.
Fordo): said alt but one' of the
Australian survivors had now .ar
rived-inuAustralla.' The . -men
generally: were ■ In - Rood physical
condition and with few, exceptions !
were now on leave. -Mr. Forde’s
statement, ..which-; was. simultan
eously-released in.-Britain and the
Bnlted ■ --States. •. was-received . In
shocked silence. by. members.
.He alto, described ill-treatment
and slave'conditions in prisoner,
of war campsih Burma and-Thal
land. where, about 2000 -out .-of
about 10,000 -- Australians - were
estimated to have died after bru
tal treatment and lack of -medical
facilities. . ■
.? Crammed In Hold .
itfrihe \«tcry:told by iifc ••Forde.
fas" tl)e' accpmmedatlon provided
for 1300 men. nboar^ the ■ trans
port consisted of 'space in the
second hold. This space which
carried the' sign "Accommodation
for 187 steerage passengers" had
teen" horizon tally sub-divided by
a fourth floor.,
Thus the Japanese created two
decks neither of. which had a-call
ing heighten excess of four feet.
Japanese - orders'were that ah
prisoners of, war, should be con
fined below, deck and this meant
that in the sub-divided hold each
man tyas lotted -a space of only
two'square'"feet. Mien had’ Just
enough room, to sit up.
No Air—No Space
When they .wanted to sleep they
had to rest on one another. .Theft
bedding was theft own personal
clothing and one blanket, usually
of poor cotton-material. Aft be
low was stifling-hot. as portholes
were sealed . and the only ventila
tion was through the hatch.
1 The Japanese commander re
fused to permit, the-erection of
wlndsalls which were found in
the'hold and which would have
provided some slight relief for
the men below deck.
Because nf the physical impos
slblllty-.of cramming all the 1300
menfnto.’tho hold-the • Japanese
commander was forced to agree
to 'several hundred men sleeping
and living on the deck together
With sick mjn who had to be
brought up lor air and treatment
bv - two Australian1 doctors who
qccbmpanied ■ them. .
•AS many-as 100 men at a time
were: HI and as the price paid
for fresh -air‘they had;to remain
exposed to the day 's tropical sun
and at night slept-on the bare
deck wlth 'only one thin blanket
for covering.
Thirst Sufferings
The sufferings of the men were:
intensified, by -shortage of drink
ing water. Rice ration and often
stew was cooked - with salt water
and this, made, the-prisoners even
thirstier. 'Jan gqaffir fjesl3t,.Us<id
fresh' Water^to' washf themselves
and did so in full view of the
prisoners. The food ration for
each-' man : consisted of :three
nuarters of a pannikin of rice,
three times a day with added
'spoonful .of, sugar In the morn-;
,lng and a small, tin of watery-fish
stew at night: ; .
*' While • In escorted convoy the
;t}>e ship with other Japanese ves- ■
isels was tbi-pedoed at about 5.30
la.m; on September 12 In- a calm
sea; The- Japanese panicked
Most of them hurriedly deft In the;
ship’s -lifeboat- while, others lump
cd overboard. None displayed
the slightest interest, in the: fate
of .-the prisoners of-war. In the
darkness the Australians and Bri
tish 'under direction of their of
ficers effected orderly evacuation
c'f the shlpi. They went over
board progressively after- they
had-thrown-into the sea all rafts
and.\ wooden articles that -would
float. About 75 per cent, of the
men had lifebelts. Japanese had
also Issued each of the prisoners
with a block of crude rubber for
use as a,lifebuoy, it was found
these blocks were’useless. .’
Left! to Drown
The men had been' In; the sea
only p. short time when a Japan
ese destroyer escort dropped depth
charges - In ■& ■ counter-attack
against. United States submarine.
Unfortunately explosion df the
depth charges affected • many of
the men in-the sea, greatly re
ducing theft chance of survival.
. The Japanese' destroyer then
put out boats to rescue <mv J'h
anese on:. rafts but they refus
ed to pick up any prisoners of
:war.. The-'Japanese after roscu
lirig. theft- own nationals wavted
derisively at. thc Australians;
i 4 The latter who had been in
I the water some hours showed
i . their .; magnificent spirit by
; ; singing “Hulo Britannia."
Evidence given by the rescued
men makes It clear beyond doubt
the Japanese' Intended to leave
all-prisoners- of war to ’drown.
During tho first day- there were
repeated attempts to ' organise
rafts into groups. Mkn swam from
one raft to another, seeking
friends and groups of, Austra
lians- gathered together for mutuul
assistance.
Lost from Rafts
The first night the men were
mainly In large parties. On the
second, third -and fourth days
many men including those affect
ed by depth charges were ' .lost
from' the- rafts, mdst of' which
were slippery owing to-becoming
coated with oil' from the sunken
Japanese' tanker. ’Between -.the
afternoon of the fourth day and
the evening of the fifth day • sur-’
vivors were rescued by American
submarines. 'Commanding officers
and crews of: which showed great
skill and courage In -tholf con
duct of rescue operations. :
'■ Australians who were rescued
felt they could never praise tbo
highly the treatment which- thoy
received aboard the UB. 'subs
after they were rescued. They
were then-in-emaciated'and often
semi-delirious' condition, having
spent days in '.the sea without
food and-water and In many cases
without clothing.
Kidness Of Comrades
On the submarines the rescued
men were washed free, of the
black ell which’ ' covered- them,
wranced in blankets.' given every
medical • attention - and - ^nourish
ment. They say ‘ officers and
crews- acted as mothers-' and sis
ters to them. Submarine crews
as they came off duty spent the
whole of'their rest periods cook
inn food, feeding,. shaving and
washing the survivors and gave
them complete outfits of clothing.
Pharmacist mates on Jill vessels
worked almost without sleep for.
days, At an.advanced island base
on Guadalcanal and on United.
States ships which brought Aus
tralians home, utmost- attention
and kindness-were bestowed .on
survivors. After the men hod
been accommodated at a conval
escent home in Australia oppor
tunity was then to have them com
pile lists of their comrades who
had been on board the sunken
transport and also to obtain a
first-hand story'of how the Japs
treated Allied prisoners of war
in Burma fiand Thailand, • ;
LIFE IN THE JINGLES
Rescued men were part of a
force of Australian prisoners of
war transported In May 1042 from
Singapore and Java to various
parts of Burma under the same
conditions- that existed on the
transport which was sunk. After
employment in Burma, mainly
on aerodrome' construction; Aus
tralians were transferred to a
camp at Thanbyualt at the north
ern end of the projected Burma
Thailand railway. Bv October,
1042 thousands of Australians and
other. Allied prisoners of war were
at work In the Jungle. At Inter
vals of several months they were
transferred to camps deeper" in
the Jungle as' the . railway pro
gressed. '• . ■
• Men in jungle camps lived in
bamboo huts thatched with palm
leaves. Manv slept on bamboo
floors but-lp some camps there
Si no floors. 'Men Improvised
out. of "bags: nnd bamboo
poles to kebp away from the lice
and bugs. Each man had only one
flimsv blanket from April to Octo
ber, 1943. Tropical rains pene
trated the roofs and turned the
camps into seas-of mud. Cloth
ing deteriorated, no issues being
made by the Japanese and many
of the men-wore only loin cloths,
sometimes with one other gar
ment. Boots were worn out and
not replaced and many lived with
out boots for months. Food con
sisted of a pannikin of -rice and
about half-a pint of watery stew
three times a day. Endeavour
Was' made to supplement the ra
tion with native foods and edible
Their Doctors Ignored
Each day ■ there were usually
sick parade held by Australian
medical officers but if ’lt resulted
In Insufficient number,: of men for
work Jap. doctors' would make
a casual inspection of the sick
and order to work all men who
had no visible disease. Often
meil with very high temperatures
would be forced to work. Aus
tralian doctors did their utmost,
for the sick men but owing to
absence of drugs and facilities,
sickness and deaths- were inevit
able. The main causes of death
were malnutrition, dysentery, mal
aria and exhaustion and in some
hlRces cholera. • Hospital - cses
had to be accommodated In each
i-amp until after lengthy delays
they were evacuated to the base
camp at Thanbyualt; .The ■ hos
pital was similar to work' cantos
but more strongly, constructed.
Rations were somewhat better be.
cause native supplies were ob
talned. Allied surgeons used
mainly improvised Instruments
and oniv local anaesthetics were
available, even for the removal
of limbs. Largo numbers of pat
ients had . tropical ulcers often
from knee, to foot. Manv such
cases had the leg removed arid a
largo .percentage died.
The skill and devotion shown
bv Australian medical officers In
these circumstances wore . mag
nificent.
Laying Railways
Actual work on railway consis
ted of. cutting through virgin
forests, levelling track. . making
embankments and cuttings,' build
ings and bridges and finally lay
ing and ballasting the ■ tracks.
Prisoners of war were also em
ployed in ballast quarries. All
worked there with crude tools
and Involved maximum or phy
sical efTort. As camp strength
diminished owing to deaths and
Illness, the remaining men hud
to work longer hours. Shifts
were increased from 12 to 18 a
day, sometimes exceeding 24 hours
Work through the‘night wbb
done bv the light of lamps and
torches. Meals were brought out
by semi-fit men. Work continued
in all weather. Each camp had
a Japanese officer or sergeant In
charge with about 30 guards, who
supervised. Guards maltreated
prisoners on , the slightest pre
text. Bashings usually were heavy
blows on the head sufllclent to
knock prisoners over.' Another
punishment was to make - prison
ers stand holding a heavy piece
of wood above their heads for two
to five hours. Sometimes pris
oners were made to stand to at-.
Itention for several days.
May Be 2000 Dead
Guards who were Koreans Al
most Invariably behaved with the
utmost brutality said the report,
having learned their lesson from
the way thfc Japanese had troat
sd them. When the line was com
pleted In October 1843. the pris
oners who had constructed It
were withdrawn through the
southern terminus and were ac
loirimodated Iri Thailand, some
were transferred to Indo-Chlna.
It was from’one party of , these
that selection was made of the
fittest for transport to Japan.
Wen recently rescued belonged to
this group. By their dauntless
murage and amazing endurance,
survivors from the Japanese
transport had performed great
servfde. They have given an
eye-witness account of the man
ner in which the Japanese treat
ed ' their prisoners of war-. They
managed to complle almost a com
plete list of their comrades who
shipped with them and they fur
nished long lists of names of Aus
tralians who died in Burma and
Thailand and of whose death the
Japanese Government had not
notified the' Commonwealth Gov
ernment.
It Is deeply regretted that at
this stage It cannot be stated how
many • Australians have ■ died.
Early estimates place the death
roll tn Burma and Thailand at
about 2000 out of: approximately
10,000 Australians. It Is hoped
this estimate will prove too high
but unfortunately It may. ulti
mately prove, to . f be an under
statement.
Some May Live
Careful collation and checking
of all-this ynst amount of infor
mation would take considerable
time but all next.of kin of the
men identified -as: casualties will
be notified os soon as possible.
Priority will be given to prepar
ation of list of men not rescued
from' the sunken transport so
that their next of kin may be
notified.
As to the fate of 60Q Austra
lians not known to be resou. <
from the Japanese transport it
would appear the chances of sur
vival of any of : them would de
pend upon them -being able to
reach land. That chance Is very
slender, but It - Is just . possible
some mav be alive. • Only > time
can provide, tlfe answer.
(Continued On Page 3; Column 3)

CRUELTY TO A.I.F.

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)

The Government reRrets; these
disclosures have to be made, said
Mr i Forde, but It is : convinced
that it is necessary that the Jap
anese Government should, know
we are in possession of Tacts that
will hold them’ lesponslble., All
rescued men speak of the high
courage shown by their comrades.
Everywhere and in all clrdum
stances Australians have main
tained matchlessmorale.. •' ■ They
have' shown themselves "undaunt
ed ini the face of death.: Many
who have survived privations and

disease in the Jungle, have de

" • spiritual and , physical
powers To triumph over iadversity.
Let us look forward to'the'' day
of their release. .

Graves Along Rail

MELBOURNE. ■ Friday— VlVld
pictures of life as a prisoner of
war was presented bv a Queens
lander. After spending some time
at Singapore following' surrender
he went to work on a railway
which Japanese built at high
cost in Allied lives from Burma
to Thailand.

The Japs, he said, tried to re
duce our standard of living to
coolie level and after the first
three months they succeeded.
The men worked barefooted, . and
without clothes. The work went

uii jtwt wig *** —i

son and there*were shifts up-to
30 hours. At the end,of the shift
we had to walk to, nine miles
home. We-would sleep for six
hours and then go out again. Of
ficers and men were treated alike.

Officers who claimed , privileges
to which all officer-prisoners are
entitled and! refused to ivork were
lined up before a machine gun
dnd1 .given a chance'.to '.change
their* minds' or die. How we exist
ed on the !meagre;fqod .no : .one
knows,'‘he added. • - ' "

•; Graves along- the: lines show only
too clearly-that a lot of our boys
did not. Malnutrition! :.was . pri
mary cause -of death- as it _.left
us with little resistance to fight
nimerous:diseases.^ -

What Blarney Said

General Blarney said the res
:ue of these Australians Is one or
;he great stories of the war, but
■yen greater Is the story of corn
ice, endurance and unflagging
oyalty of the men themselves
luring their period of Imprlson
nent and' while battling for their
Ives In the China Sea. ,

These men-'set an .example . to
-he whole of Australia by -the
nanner in which they sustain
id their morale under almost im
idssible conditions. • They always
vere, on top of the Japanese, they
lever .bowed . to, their n temporary
ictors. -nor did they, accept their
:apture;ifis defeat'or as the end.
if the, .war for’them.- - - i-. i.

Ghastly Deliriums

MELBOURNE.' \ Friday.-rDcaqrit-,
ng his7 ordeal after the torpedoing

his ship on September 12,. pn

I ilu UH -.-i ,,

ther Queensland man said. Several
f us clung to a raft for about 15
runutes after we wentoverboard.
)epth'charges mdde us. feel .very
ick inside and . each - explosion
■earby doubled us up with pain.
I Jap destroyer come cruising
ound picking up Japs, but they
yarned us off. As they salled :oway
;e started singing “Rule Britannia;"

think that annoyed them. ‘

We hung on to the raft Which
was oily and so .slippery we could
not get on to it all.that day. It was
floating underneath(the surface -apd
we were updo our necks in water.
Next day two'or three.men got. de
lirious so' we. tied, them tp the raft.
We were then right in.the oil field
from the: sunken tanker and o|l
covered, our faces, got in our ,eye#
and matted <our hair. . o;*:

On tlic third:day . some of >tbp
delirious chaps began to see visions

Some could see' creeks with fresh
water and ‘others running taps.!
Now and then they; would let go
and paddle off to reach things mey

could see and we tried to pull thent
back. One fellow I went after hit
me in the face and swam on. Those
who went were replaced by chaps
from other rafts, but gradually be-:
came delirious and let go.

About 2? men had been on and
off my raft. By now there was
only myself and and red-headed
Englishman left. He got paralysis
and I tied him on top of the raft.

The third night I got deliriout
too and could see a track leading
through some trees to fresh water.
It was really the reflection of the
moon on the water. With loss ‘ of
weight on the',raft I.was able to
get out of the Water for the first

time since the ship went doVm'but
I was'still wet all the time. ‘ .

The fourth , day the -,Englishman
was pretty bad. I was delirious
again that night and about 6 p.m.
1 thought ! could see a ship and
buildings or trees or 50 I thought j

Then* it seemed otily about-100
yards -away1 and I ' thought' I could
still, see other things. This looked
more real, but I had,never seen, a

submarine and so I €1111 could not
Work it out. ;

I was still waving and yelling
when it was 15 yards away and I
could see there were men on the
deck. One said “OJC. Bud, well
pick you up in a minute." I seemed
to be really delirious. . Then they
lifted me up into the submarine. I
said to the fellow who carried me
down “Are you Japs?” He said “To
hell with Japs. We sank all the

.". Then I knew I. was among
friends. I broke down and cried
like a kid. They gave me the first
food I had for six days, some warm
chicken broth. I weighed just over
6st. when, they fished me out and
now I am 9st.

Americans were wonderful to ur !
and since, we reached Australia the
army,, has not been able to dc
enough for us.

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