Surrender to the Japanese

Surrender to the Japanese

Interviewer: What conduct did the Japanese exhibit toward you men when you surrendered?

Actually they opened up a bottle of beer and they gave us a mouth full of beer because we hadn't had anything to drink or eat for some time, and they, this was in the midst of the Japanese encampment so they didn't beat us or anything. They threatened one, one of the fellas with, you know, they put the revolver up to his, his head and, but they, they didn't, they didn't do anything. So they held us there tied up together overnight and the next day, which would have been Christmas Day, they took us to Repulse Bay Hotel, and from there we went to Argyle Street Camp.

Initial Thoughts

Well, I knew that we were in for a rough ride. The, the rations and the, and the treatment that, that the Japanese were meting out to the, not only to us but to the civilian population, indicated that they didn't care very much for human life, so I didn't really assess my chances of coming back, but I did think that, that there was a pretty good chance that I wouldn't.

Treatment of Wounded Soldiers

Well, I wasn't anywhere where the, you know, when the, the Japanese captured wounded soldiers. Although, I must say that we left a wounded, or two or three wounded, in, in one of the houses when we were making our way back to, to Repulse Bay Hotel from The Ridge, and we left an orderly with them and they were all killed. The Japanese, I assume, broke into the house and killed them all.