Escape to Pagan

by Brian Devereux

  “The one thing my mother and I dreaded was the strong winds that sometimes accompanied the heavy rain. Our hut used to sway and the walls used to bulge with the force of the wind. We would rush to the bellowing wall and support it with our bare hands. Even though you were young, you used to help us and think it was great fun.”

  I can remember these incidents; on many occasions both my guardians would be praying loudly to God and all the saints to save the hut being blown away like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz. The loud praying and beseeching used to scare me more than the high wind. However when the wind stopped, they would sometimes lose their balance and almost go through the flimsy wall; their prayers would turn to curses.

  “The monsoon attracted many different species of frogs and toads. They seemed to be everywhere; this was their time to breed. The calling from these amphibians in the evening not only came from the ground but also from the trees. Frogs and toads were never harmed by the Burmese, as they were considered to be auspicious. They also kept down the insect population in the paddy fields.

  “Another problem was the rat population [the black rat] forced from their burrows they entered the huts. Both amphibians and rodents attracted snakes, mostly rat snakes and sometimes cobras. If cobras were detected during the day by the village dogs, they were dispatched by the villagers and were then quickly devoured by the dogs. It was never safe to walk at night without a lantern and a stick.”

  In Burma, large quick-moving rat snakes were always left in peace and were sometimes allowed to live in the rafters of some of the huts, from where they would happily watch the goings on below with interest. These rat predators can grow up to nine feet long. At night, when everyone was asleep, these efficient snakes would descend to hunt.

  “Second class privates up to the NCOs and junior officers always had a strong desire to learn about the world at large. Many Japanese lower -rank soldiers had no idea where England, America or Portugal was exactly. They were confident the Japanese Army would soon conquer these countries and that they would be garrisoned there: ‘Were America and England cold?’ ‘Could rice be grown there?’ ‘Did the people there understand Nippon Go?’ This thirst to learn covered a wide spectrum.

  “When not selling cakes to the Japanese soldiers my mother would sit and knit woollen items. As keen knitters themselves, Jap soldiers would approach and ask what stitch she was using. The bull-necked Sergeant Enoda would sometimes wander over in the evening and sit with my mother and knit, sometimes he would bring her wool and small food items. Many Jap soldiers used converted chopsticks as knitting needles.

  “The monsoon was now in full swing and saved us the trip to the well at the Japanese checkpoint. The next water well was some way away in the middle of the village, not far from the Pagoda. We avoided using this well in case we were questioned by the Pongyis. We would soon have a more immediate reason for not using this well; people more dangerous than Buddhist Pongyis also lived there hidden away. Although we did not know it at the time the monks were looking after another type of human that also dwelled in Pybaw: lepers. We had hoped to stay in Pybaw for as long as possible; these people would eventually force us to leave after the monsoon.

  “It was a great shock to us when we first saw them. One late evening after the rain had stopped, my mother and I were at the market for our evening meal. Wood was becoming scarce. With most of my mother’s time taken with making cakes she had little time to cook for us as well; you see, fuel was not easy to collect in the wet weather. It was not safe to wander far into the jungle to find it. My mother had to buy wood fuel from village men who went into the jungle with their bullock carts. That night as we walked around the market, we noticed a line of lanterns coming from the Buddhist monastery. We thought this was some kind of religious procession, as the Pongyis were in the lead. It was not until the Pongyis had passed that we saw who was behind them. Poor people, some who could barely hobble on their stumps that once were feet, others who crawled on the ground. But it was not until we could see their eaten-away faces that we were really shocked. My mother whispered that we must leave as soon as the monsoon stopped because the lepers were suffering from the most contagious form of the disease. Wet leprosy!

  “The leper colony was hidden behind the Buddhist temple which was near the second water well; this was the well we were sometimes forced to draw our water from when the Japs were bathing at the well near out hut. This must also be the well the lepers used. From now on my mother said we would have to walk a long way to the third water well, which was on higher ground, the first well on the underground conduit.

  “The villagers believed that leprosy was a spiritual affliction of some kind and lepers would be reincarnated as healthy people in the next life. Many of the Burmese villagers in Pybaw had relatives in the leper colony. As lepers are sensitive to the sun it was now more comfortable to leave their sanctuary as the evenings were cooler. According to my mother many of the lepers in Pybaw were also opium addicts; it alleviated their pain.

  “It was here in Pybaw that we believed you picked up a serious external parasite infection by sitting on the damp mud with the other village children. This infection would only manifest itself at the internment camp months later.

  “Soon after the chicken incident, many different garrison troops arrived and camped in tents on the cattle pastures just outside the village. These garrison troops would be taking over from the front line soldiers, conducting anti-guerrilla warfare in the hills against the Karens, Chins and Kachins who were pro-British and attacking and killing Japanese troops. The hill tribes were expert jungle fighters. We prayed that my brother Cyril was safe with them. But the worst news of all from Sergeant Enoda was that many Burmese National Army troops and a detachment of Kempeitai would soon be resident in Pybaw to conduct anti-guerrilla and -dacoit operations. My family was well known in Rangoon and Mandalay, and Mother was concerned that some of the Burmese officers in the BNA would recognise us. Soon after, Sergeant Enoda suggested to my mother that we should move to the internment camp at Tada u, which was also a transit camp for Japanese troops. My mother was convinced that Sergeant Enoda had seen through our pretence of posing as Mons Burmese. This was confirmed when we reached Tada u and found it was an internment camp for foreign aliens.”

  We must have remained in Pybaw for some time after the monsoon waiting for the muddy bullock tracks to harden before travelling. I must admit I don’t remember much about this period except for one incident: my first toy, a giant grasshopper with colourful wings. The new grazing had encouraged the sudden emergence of locusts and large grasshoppers.

  As the first locusts appeared all the women would go out to collect them. Initially locusts are only capable of crawling on the ground in swarms (until their wings grow) and are easy to scoop up in large bamboo baskets. Locusts are cannibalistic. Each locust, if given the chance will eat the one in front. This and the search for fresh vegetation kept them constantly moving forward. If a locust or cricket was placed on bare skin it would bite. At this time of year their bodies were soft; ideal for frying in ground nut oil. This harvesting of locusts provided an annual food supply and was always eagerly anticipated. The Burmese and Khmer always harvested the locust swarms at this soft stage of their life. Collectively, throughout Asia, this practice seems to suppress the numbers of locusts to below plague proportions. I have often wondered why only a few African tribes collect and eat locusts; they are after all a good source of protein and if cooked correctly, very tasty.

  “Pybaw market was the only place where I ate fried locusts cooked in peanut oil, and only because my mother bought some. They were quite crunchy and tasty if you could forget they were insects. Other strange forms of food in the market were the big bird-eating mygalomorph spiders [wrongly called tarantulas] cooked alive in the flames. These spiders lived in deep burrows in the ground. Curiously, the lowland Burmese did not eat these spiders, only the people from the hill tribes.”

  The lower ranks of Japanese
soldiers took great pleasure teaching us children to bow to them personally, especially when they were alone. They seemed to love giving instructions; I suppose it gave them a sense of importance. The young soldiers also enjoyed wrestling each other during their time off from guard duty. They would often pick two young children to wrestle each other while they took on the important role of referee. That is why I have always been a good wrestler and as far as I can remember have never been beaten by any of my peers, regardless of size, except one – A slim small-boned Chinese boy who went to a school for rich Chinese children in Johore Baru after the war. After leaving my school, I would walk home past their school. The rich Chinese boys would be waiting near the gate for their chauffeurs to take them home; I would hang around the gate and challenge each one of them to wrestle me. We would end up rolling around the ground watched by their bemused chauffeurs. This small boned boy was as slippery as an eel and I could never pin him down.

  “The monsoon had reached its end and the bullock tracks were drying out. Despite our fear of catching leprosy and meeting the Kempeitai, we had to wait a little longer. The village and its market were now becoming crowded with different Japanese troops. Sergeant Enoda and his troops were ordered to rejoin their regiment based at Tada u, then leave for the front line somewhere. There was still an ongoing war with the American and Chinese troops in the north of Burma.”

  Unfortunately grandmother did not know everything concerning Tada u. A nasty shock awaited us. If grandmother had been pre-warned, I doubt if she would have wanted to register at this internment camp and transit station for Japanese troops.

  “My mother finally decided we should take the advice of Sergeant Enoda and go to Tada u as soon as possible so she went to see him in his command hut for permission to travel, as written permission was vital. His office contained a simple desk, a pencil and two small thin writing brushes to dip into black ink and carefully paint kanji symbols. Despite being busy organizing the move to the front lines, he gave mother a document written on a piece of cheap yellow Japanese paper. My mother said it took him a very long time to complete the document as he took great care to write each character as if it was some intricate form of artistry. Mother could also use the document to ensure our safe passage when we stopped in Burmese villages. Everyone feared the Japanese Imperial Army stamp and understood that Nippon justice was immediate without trial.”

  CHAPTER 19

  The Lisbon Maru Sinks

  EAST CHINA SEA

  Things had now quietened down on the half-submerged Lisbon Maru; the sailors still aboard knew it would not remain so. The singing by the brave trapped gunners in No 3 hold had long since stopped, all were now dead. With the possibility that some men were still alive in air pockets, Captain Cuthbertson (Royal Scots) asked two men, one a Corporal Isaacs and another man of the same Regiment, to enlarge the entrance of No 3 hold, now under water.

  After several attempts the two men were forced to abandon their search. The entrance of No 3 hold was choked with dead bodies several layers deep, their hair swaying like fine seaweed with the movement of the waves, their eyes and mouths still wide open as if still in song. Every man aboard had listened to the brave gunners singing until the sea water stifled and choked their voices mid-note. The free prisoners roaming the decks above the drowning men stopped and stood silent in respect and admiration for the gunners who accepted their fate with such human dignity. I repeat, the word “hero” is now lightweight, used too often these days by people who have forgotten our real past heroes.

  If there were any sharks in the vicinity, attracted by the underwater explosions, they did not make their presence obvious. For sharks are cautious predators. If sharks had been clearly visible to the men on board, I am sure many would have thought twice before jumping over the side. No sharks were initially present when the American troop ship Indiana went down: sharks then appeared and claimed 600 victims. It was later said that oceanic white tips were responsible.

  All estuaries in warm seas are dangerous especially during war and famine; there would be no shortage of dead bodies in the mouth of these rivers in this part of China. The most dangerous species here are the bull-shark and the tiger shark. In the tropics when standing in open water, never turn your back on the open sea, is good advice. Prisoners, who had jumped off the Lisbon Maru as soon as they had broken out of the ship slowly began to regret their decision. Treading water in the strong current was strength-sapping for these already weakened men. Some struggled back on board. Stronger swimmers, with the help of favourable currents, had immediately struck out for the nearby islands and were lucky enough to reach their sandy beaches. Others less fortunate were pummelled on the sharp rocks that surrounded some of the other islands. These islands just off the coast of China were the Zhoushan Archipelago which was made up of around five hundred main islands.

  Some distance away, the watching Japanese aboard the destroyer Kuri, noticing some of the prisoners were reaching the islands, began to launch boats. At this stage they still wanted no witnesses and began shooting prisoners in the water. Prisoners in the sea who tried to climb aboard the Japanese boats were beaten back. They were clubbed and shot. The prisoners aboard the Lisbon Maru and those in the water noticed the Japanese soldiers set up a machine-gun on the deck of the destroyer. Other prisoners, despite their efforts, were slowly being swept out to sea; their watching companions were helpless to give assistance. Many men including some of the sick and wounded were crowded on the decks trying to regain a little strength in the fresh clean sea air. Other prisoners with more vitality began tying anything together that would float.

  “Jack said that a bobbing shaven head was spotted keeping close to the keel of the ship, trying not to be noticed. It was one of the Japanese guards who up until then had escaped the attention of the prisoners. As soon as the guard realized he had been seen, he began trying to attract the attention of his comrades. Several Royal Scots began to throw down large pieces of broken hatch to kill the guard. This proved unsuccessful and several prisoners jumped in and swam towards the terrified Jap who then began screaming to his comrades to be rescued, poor man.”

  If his comrades had heard his shouts they made no attempt to save him. As far as they were concerned he was already dead. The prisoners pummelled the guard and held him under. This also happened on other hell ships also sunk by American submarines. I was once told by an American tourist, himself a POW bound for Japan, that when his ship was torpedoed, many of the prisoners in the water took a chance to exact revenge on Japanese guards and civilians also in the sea with them. These killings were witnessed by their countrymen who where also in the sea but out of reach of the vengeful prisoners.

  In No 2 hold of the slowly sinking Lisbon Maru, prisoners could still be heard below in the darkness. Many of these men were wounded but conscious, just managing to keep their heads above the filthy water but did not have the strength to reach the deck. Again Captain Cuthbertson of the Royal Scots (wounded himself) bravely volunteered with the help of others to be lowered down on a strong rope to rescue many of these men now too weak to save themselves. Captain Cuthbertson like Colonel Stewart (Middlesex) unfortunately did not survive his imprisonment in Japan.

  “Jack said when he finally climbed up on deck it was wonderful to fill his lungs with fresh air and feel the warm sun on his face. He began to search for men from D Company. Wandering on deck he came across some men sunbathing, some playing cards, while others held conversations with soldiers in the water, as if on holiday. A dead Japanese guard was lying on the deck. The guard’s rifle was thrown overboard on the command of the senior British officer in case someone began firing at the Japanese, which would bring immediate retaliation from the destroyer nearby.

  “Jack had no intention of jumping into the sea straight away as many Japanese boats with armed men were now in the vicinity and single rifle shots could be heard. He was hungry and began roaming the ship [probably also looking for cigarettes]. In the galley there were s
everal men helping themselves to cooked rice from a big tub and fish paste from a stone jar; he quickly joined them. After the war, Jack couldn’t tolerate the smell or sight of this pungent fish paste called ‘narpe’ in Burmese. There was plenty of fresh water available, as much as he and the others could drink. Everything he owned had been left behind or lost in No 2 hold in the rush to get out; he did not even have a water bottle to fill with fresh water. How he would bitterly morn the loss of his water bottle later. Jack was soon given his first cigarette of the day.”

  Tam and Willie were sitting with other men on the deck in the warm sunshine, smoking Japanese cigarettes and drinking looted sake. Tam, a non-swimmer, dreaded jumping into the sea. He said later, after the war: “There were nae public swimming pools in the Gorbals – only public baths and public huses.”

  After resting, prisoners who had reached the safety of the islands moved inland in search of food and shelter. The Chinese fishermen living on the nearby islands in the Chusam Archipelago, Chekiang District, always kept a sharp eye out for Japanese ships approaching their islands, for the enemy had more or less left them alone so far. On seeing the Lisbon Maru, then hearing the explosions and observing the bobbing heads in the water, the fishermen believed the men in the sea to be Japanese and turned a blind eye. They had no intention of going out fishing that day.