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Diary of Frederick Lloyd
Supplied with the kind permission of Steve Lloyd
1945
My next job was a night shift. This time on a steam hammer where we had to load the steel tube into a small furnace, then the end was hammered into a bottle neck about twelve inches long, the two inch tubes looked like a sixteen foot bottle. The ten inch tubes were hammered in so that the next operation could be done.
The factory started taking us to a large canteen for a half hour lunch, and the kitchen there supplied us with a small bowl of soup, sometimes vegetables or fish which we found out was the leftovers of their workers meals. This soup turned out to be a godsend, as many of the men had developed "berry-berry", and the extra vitamins became the difference of getting very weak or very sick. On the night shift the blackout enabled us to move around more and some-one found a large vat full of coconut oil solidified, so we started helping ourselves and put this oil on our rice, so another source of vitamins was found which lasted a few weeks, until the Japs noticed and locked it up.
I was lucky to be in charge of a small work gang on a steam hammer which hammered one end of the steel tubes like the neck of a bottle. This was used to clamp these tubes into a press which was to get exact thickness of the steel. The Jap supervisor was an ex-warrant officer who had served in China, and was now "discharged as an invalid. He was very easy on us, and never got mad or excited. One day we got a visit from the Swiss Red Cross, so the Japs took all the sick out of the camp so that the Red Cross could inspect the camp. Nobody was al-lowed near them or speak to them, but they did bring Red Cross parcels. After they left the Japs kept most for themselves, but we did get one parcel for every six POW's to share, there were several tins of meat, chocolate, butter and sugar, it didn't go far, but it was enjoyed.
Later on we heard the sound of an air raid, the Japs said it was a practice, but we heard the bombs in the distance. We got hold of a Jap newspaper and found out that American B-29's had bombed a railway yard outside of Osaka.
We then stopped working days but now had to do two shifts at night. One day the factory was attacked by some dive bombers, part of the factory was hit, so we were glad we were not working day shift. There was not a lot of damage but the Japs were very scared. After several more air raids on the Osaka area we were suddenly moved out of the camp and up into the mountain area, we were put in a camp in a valley and quickly found that we were to march each day from our valley to the next, where we were to work in a copper and lead mine.
The guards took us each day and left us at the mine entrance. We had to go about half a mile into the mountain and then down an elevator to the mine level. We had to load trucks with ore and push them to chutes, which we learned fed a conveyer belt to a smelting factory some-where. Pretty soon we were doing the drilling too and had to go to the surface while the Japs blew the drilled face. We soon found that all the miners we thought were Japs, were actually Korean miners brought in by the Japs. We soon got to be friendly with them, and later I was being supplied with bits of fish and meat, little bits to add to the rice.
By now the heavy bombing raids were passing overhead regularly and sometimes the ground shook from the bombing some forty miles away. It was about this time the Japs came up with some Red Cross parcels, and we got one parcel each, we had a celebration.
The Jap guards were starting to get very edgy, we knew the war was not going well for Japan. We started stealing bits of false wire and some sticks of dynamite but had difficulty getting ignition caps, as the Koreans were very scared. However we did get enough for the officers, who planned to lay charges under the watch tower and main gate in the camp. One of our officers, who could fully understand Japanese was able to listen to the guard room radio, he heard that the Japs were expecting an invasion, which they thought would cut the island of Honshu in half, they would resist and not surrender. We also knew that if an invasion took place the Japs would kill all the POW's, so the officers decided when it happened we would take over the camp and cause as much confusion in the area as we could.
August 6th - There was a great panic, we were in the mine and suddenly the ground shook and we were rushed out into the open. We thought it was another earthquake, but the guards could not get us back to the camp quick enough. Later we heard that a special, terrible bomb had destroyed the city of Hiroshima. At first the Japs said it was heavy incendiary raid.
August 9th - This was followed by another raid and another special bomb on Nagasaki which seemed to put real fear into the guards. We were kept in the camp from then on and noticed that some of the guards had disappeared. We were told they had gone home on leave.
August 15th - The guard room radio was turned up and our Japenese speaking officer listened to the surrender speech by the Emperor. Our officers immediately took over the camp with no resistance and demanded extra food. Suddenly trucks drove in with bread, vegetables, canned food (salmon).
To our surprise all the Jap guards took off. Our officer translated the surrender to us from a local Jap newspaper that was left behind. Several of our senior officers went off to Tokyo to arrange for our release, we had the freedom of the local area and got a couple of air drops from US aircraft. Large forty gallon drums came down on parachutes, also bundles of US boots and clothes. The drums contained canned milk, meat, soup, bacon, chocolate, cigarettes, toiletries, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razor blades soap etc. When our officers returned, we learned that there was another POW camp like ours located in one of the many valleys nearby, and a train was being arranged for both camps.
August 24th - We were trucked to the rail station, given food packs and boarded and finally left there. The train stopped in Osaka and we saw hundreds of Jap soldiers on the large station, and we all had a good laugh to see one British Naval officer and a sailor both in white shorts and with only sidearms directing foot traffic. The train continued on and later went through Yokohama, which had been raised to the ground as far as you could see on both sides of the tracks. Later the train arrived at the dock area, where we were met by an American Marine Band. They took us to a covered warehouse and inside there were canvas cubicles, we were told to strip, directed to showers and then sprayed with disinfectant for fleas, ticks and lice, which we didn't have anyway. Then back again to the cubicles where a WAC doctor examined us (she was the first Caucasian women we had seen in three and a half years).
Then came fresh clothes, and we dumped all our other clothing etc. On again to a mess hall with plenty of US Army food. Later that night we boarded a troop transport in Tokyo bay. We were allotted to canvas bunks and were rocked to sleep by the movement of the ship.
The next morning the ship was moving and we enjoyed the cafeteria style service breakfast, and could eat as much as you wanted. There were issues of chocolate and cigarettes which was repeated every day. Days later, I can't remember how many, we disembarked in Manila in the Philippines, and were taken to a tented army camp. At the camp we were left to ourselves but still got the daily supplies of chocolate and cigarettes. We were also able to write letters for the first time in a long time, and even did receive some mail from home, some of it weeks old. Very few wanted to get outside the camp, we heard that several of the US servicemen had died after drinking the local "hooch", so the camp beer satisfied everybody. The Americans supplied us with two sets of US Army clothing, complete with boots, socks underwear, shirts and caps, all including a kit bag. That kit bag came just in time because after twenty days of two packs per day the cigarettes did accumulate. The daily chocolate one could eat, but not forty cigarettes.
During our stay at Manila we were all told to fill in a Liberation Questionnaire, which helped clear our minds of the friends and years lost.
September 24th - We were told to packup all of our things, and were trucked to the docks. We boarded HMS Implacable, a large Royal Navy aircraft carrier. The first lower deck had been cleared of aircraft, and was set up with rows of double bunks. The ship had been converted to a Red Cross carrier. We had complete freedom of the ship, and the flight deck became our strolling/exercise area. The crew were soon making friends with us and I found a sailor named Ron who was from Bristol, Bedminster even. Ron invited me and some others to his mess where we shared their food and rum rations.
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September 25th - The ship set sail for the west coast of Canada, Vancouver British Columbia. We were now swapping our cigarette packs of US Camel and Raleigh for sealed tins of British Players cigarettes, we were getting one tin of fifty Players for two packs of Camel or Raleigh. The ship was based in Australia and the black market for US cigarettes there was strong. The British sailors were going to sell the US cigarettes when they returned to Australia. It was a leisurely trip and no bad weather for the seventeen days it took to reach Canada: and as we were being paid while on board, we were able to buy more Players in the NAAFI canteen. I had now accumulated nearly five hundred cigarettes to take home. We entered Vancouver harbour under the Lions Gate Bridge and could never had guessed that later in life Vancouver would be my home. Once on the dockside in Vancouver, all RAF personnel were issued with a complete RCAF set of two uniforms. Now I had two kitbags.
There was no time to get into the city to look around, a view from the railway looking up Granville street was all we got to see as we put aboard a train. The train left early in the evening of September 12th and we headed toward Nova Scotia. The train stopped at several small places, mainly to let normal trains maintain their timetable. We did manage to get off at Jasper, Alberta, and were besieged by people who wanted to entertain us, invite us to meals etc. The "Daughters of Canada" members gave us soap, toothbrushes, razor blades and chewing gum. The next stop was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but we only had time for a short walk and the train was off again.
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It seemed that we were travelling for ever, then we arrived in Ottawa where we were able to visit the Houses of Parliament and a few other places. Once again we were on the train and again the train stopped at small towns where we could get off and where we found the shops were in French, but the people were really friendly when trying to buy things. Onboard the train again into New Brunswick, then Nova Scotia, Finally we arrive at Debert, Nova Scotia.
October 21st, - All RAF personnel were immediately taken to Debert RCAF Station, and were allocated into barracks.
The food was plentiful and I it was here that I had my first taste of "Peanut butter". We had a series of minor medical including dental, and then were free to go and do whatever we wanted. The next day we learned that the local people were lining up with there cars inviting all of us out for a drive and a meal. Three of us were taken by a local business man, first to his large furniture shop then he entertained us all day, meals and trips around town, returning us back to camp before lights out. Another day we decided to hitchhiked across to New Glasgow and Pictou. On our hitch back we were given a ride by a young guy who farmed between Truro and the Debert camp, he invited us to his home for supper. His home was a large old farmhouse and what impressed me was that he had a differ-ent wood floor in each room.
As is the way in the military, we suddenly told to packup and get ready to leave. We were taken to the Halifax docks where were put aboard the French liner "Ile de France". The next morning we were finally on our way home. On walking around the decks we found that there were many more POW's onboard. Although we were crowded four to a cabin, it was a very relaxing trip, especially since the weather was good and the sea was not at all rough, maybe because the ship was so big to notice.
November 21st - We arrived back in England and docked at Southampton. After some delay we got aboard a train. I guess sorting out different regiments from RAF took almost a whole day. After a few hours on the train we arrived at RAF Hednesford in Staffordshire. Next we went through a series of medical examinations and interrogations, they wanted to identify cruelties, deaths known and other information that we had regarding the treatment of P.O.W's by the Japanese. After a week of this we were given pay and train vouchers, and off I went home to Bristol with two weeks leave.
December 15th - I was back again to Hednesford for demob, that took another five days. I was heading home again on December 21st just in time for Christmas with one hundred and eleven days of paid leave. It was finally over.
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