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The World War 2 Japanese Prison Diaries of
Alexander John James
Introduction
by Alex John James
This is a verbatim copy of the record kept by me of events that happened between the time I left India (January 1942) and the end of the war.
The original is written in a notebook that began life as the minute book of a Chinese club. It came into the possession of a fellow prisoner of war at the time when paper of any sort was extremely scarce, and he eventually parted with it for some money and a supply of cigarettes, both these commodities being even harder to obtain.
Needless to say the keeping of diaries was strictly prohibited by the Japanese, and this effort of mine spent most of its prison life beneath floorboards or in some similar cache, and thus escaped the searching eyes of our captors. There came a time, however, when, in view of a pending inspection, the camp staff suddenly issued an order that all written matter must be submitted immediately for censorship. We reckoned that this would prove a golden opportunity to have any forbidden matter officially passed. Nor were we disappointed, for the ‘censorship’ turned out to consist of two probably quite illiterate Japanese privates who sat behind vast piles of books, pads, and papers, solemnly and with rhythmic monotony stamping every page and every sheet with a rubber stamp. My diary was duly returned with a ‘chop’ on every completed page.
The first section of what follows is a more or less day to day account of events before our arrival at Jinsen camp in Korea where prison life began in earnest. Thereafter our existence was so changeless and hum-drum that a journal was pointless. The second half of this record therefore is a broad description of the whole period of our captivity. A.J.J. 1946
This is a verbatim copy of the record kept by me of events that happened between the time I left India (January 1942) and the end of the war.
The original is written in a notebook that began life as the minute book of a Chinese club. It came into the possession of a fellow prisoner of war at the time when paper of any sort was extremely scarce, and he eventually parted with it for some money and a supply of cigarettes, both these commodities being even harder to obtain.
Needless to say the keeping of diaries was strictly prohibited by the Japanese, and this effort of mine spent most of its prison life beneath floorboards or in some similar cache, and thus escaped the searching eyes of our captors. There came a time, however, when, in view of a pending inspection, the camp staff suddenly issued an order that all written matter must be submitted immediately for censorship. We reckoned that this would prove a golden opportunity to have any forbidden matter officially passed. Nor were we disappointed, for the ‘censorship’ turned out to consist of two probably quite illiterate Japanese privates who sat behind vast piles of books, pads, and papers, solemnly and with rhythmic monotony stamping every page and every sheet with a rubber stamp. My diary was duly returned with a ‘chop’ on every completed page.
The first section of what follows is a more or less day to day account of events before our arrival at Jinsen camp in Korea where prison life began in earnest. Thereafter our existence was so changeless and hum-drum that a journal was pointless. The second half of this record therefore is a broad description of the whole period of our captivity. A.J.J. 1946.
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1941
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Dec. 25th - 29th
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Bombay – Reinforcement Camp, Colaba
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Dec. 29th - Jan. 8th
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Bombay – H.M.T. Jalavihar, Alexandra Docks
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1942
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Jan. 8th – 25th
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H.M.T. Jalavihar – Bombay to Singapore
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Jan. 25th – Feb. 2nd
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H.M.T. Jalavihar, Western Explosives Anchorage, Singapore
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Feb. 2nd – 8th
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14 ½ milestone Jurong Road – rubber estate.
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Feb. 8th – 11th
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Holland Road, Singapore
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Feb. 12th – 17th
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Padre’s house next to R. Catholic Cathedral, Queens Rd. (used as an emergency hospital)
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Feb. 17th – Mar. 10th
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“N” block - Southern Area – Changi
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Mar. 10th – May 18th
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Police Station, Changi Village
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May 18th – 25th
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Ward V3, Roberts Barracks Hospital
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May 25th – July 8th
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Police Station, Changi Village
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July 8th – Aug. 16th
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“T” block, Changi
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Aug. 12th
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1,500 mostly British prisoners-of-war (POWs), are marched from Changi jail to Singapore harbour for transport. About 400 men, including vanquished Lt. Gen Percival, former GOC, Malaya, are embarked aboard ENGLAND MARU. The remaining 1,100 POWs are embarked on FUKAI MARU.)
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Aug. 16th – 22nd
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S.S. Fukai Maru, Singapore – Saigon
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Aug. 24th – 29th
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S.S. Fukai Maru, Saigon - Formosa
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Aug. 29th – Sep. 15th
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S.S. Fukai Maru, Taikao harbour, Formosa
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Sep. 15th – 22nd
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S.S. Fukai Maru, Taikao - Busan
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Sep. 25th
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P.O.W. Camp Jinsen, Chosen (Korea)
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1945
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Jan. 29th – Sep. 9th
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P.O.W. Camp Keijo, Chosen (Korea)
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Goto
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