by Peter Brune
Perhaps the Roman poet Virgil, writing almost 2000 years ago, has best summed up the 8th Division’s campaigning and their prisoner of war experience:
The descent into hell is easy . . . but to climb back again, to retrace one’s steps to the upper air . . . there’s the difficult task.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Throughout the nine years spent on the research and writing of this book, I have been privileged to have had invaluable assistance and inspiration from a number of 8th Division AIF veterans, their unit associations, and numerous colleagues and friends.
Dr Rowley Richards has, throughout the project, been a constant source of knowledge concerning the medical conditions, available procedures and drugs, and the workings and leadership of ‘A’ Force on the Thai–Burma Railway. His tireless patience, his friendship, his proofreading of the entire manuscript, and his generous foreword are most gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.
Much of my research concerning the 2/29th Battalion’s role in both the campaign and its POW experience, was facilitated by Corporal Bob Christie. Apart from a number of interviews with me, Bob was able to provide additional files and further interviews which have greatly contributed to my knowledge. I most sincerely thank Bob and the 2/29th Battalion Association.
Similar guidance and contacts were provided by Bob Pink, Secretary of the 19th Battalion, Royal NSW Regiment Association (incorporating the 2/19th Battalion Association). Amongst those interviews, the late Gus Halloran, the late Jim Stewart, the late Jim Howard, the late Bert Donaldson and the late Jack de Loas, made extraordinary contributions. Gone but never forgotten. I also thank Charles Edwards, 2/19th Battalion, for his detailed Parit Sulong, Pudu Jail and Railway interviews.
I am indebted to Jim Kerr, 4th Anti-tank Regiment; to Len Gooley and the late Walter ‘Banjo’ Patterson, 8th Ammunition Sub Park; to Philippa Poole, daughter of Captain Adrian Curlewis, who granted me access to her father’s diaries and letters; to the 2/30th Battalion Association for contacts for interviews and various sources; to Canberra historian Janet Uhr who presented me with a wealth of original diaries and documents—particularly those of Gunner Richard Haynes, 2/10th Field Regiment; to Joe Nimbs Junior who gave me access to his father’s manuscript concerning Changi; to the late Mrs Muriel Yates, the sister of Captain Alf Menz, who allowed me to examine and use his diary; to Anthea Taylor for her proof reading; and, to all who offered interviews, lent me diaries, letters and documents. They are listed in the bibliography.
As has repeatedly been the case throughout a number of my works, I have found Professor David Horner’s advice invaluable; the late Hank Nelson’s POW advice was astute; Associate Professor Brian Dickey’s counsel is appreciated; and, over many years I have found Neil McDonald’s proofreading and advice of great benefit.
As was repeatedly the case with my previous works on the Papuan Campaign, Frank Taylor of Australian Military History Tours facilitated my every wish during a comprehensive tour of the battlegrounds of Singapore and Malaysia, and then the Thai–Burma Railway in 2007. Our meeting with Rod Beattie in Kanchanaburi and a detailed journey along the Railway to Three Pagoda Pass was invaluable to both the research and writing of the book. Rod’s extensive records—collected over years of painstaking research—and his extensive knowledge of the Railway, have proved priceless. I also owe both Frank and Rod an enormous debt for their proof reading of the manuscript.
Joyce Bradley’s comprehensive knowledge of the AWM Collection in Canberra has proved of enormous worth. Her work as my research assistant unearthed both voluminous and critical research—Captain Ben Barnett’s elusive diary is but one example of her expertise. I thank her. I should also wish to thank the Australian War Memorial for permission to use selected photos from their extensive collection, and, the many families of participants who allowed me to reproduce photos of veterans.
I acknowledge those who have contributed priceless previous works: chiefly the Australian and British Official Historians (Lionel Wigmore and Major-General Woodburn Kirby); and, Alan Warren’s Singapore 1942.
Throughout the writing and publication of the last five of my seven books, Ian Bowring has been my publisher at Allen & Unwin. His most astute advice, his judgement, his enthusiasm and friendship, are appreciated and never forgotten. To Rebecca Kaiser, Editorial Director at Allen & Unwin, I owe a great debt. Her patience, expertise, tolerance and hard work in the production of a work so large has been most appreciated. I thank her sincerely.
I owe an enormous debt to my editor, Neil Thomas. Descent into Hell is the fourth of my books which owe much of whatever merit is given them to him. He is demanding, astute, has a great eye for detail and a great intuition for structure. I am in his debt.
The reader should appreciate that despite the best efforts of others, the conclusions reached in Descent into Hell—at times controversial—are not necessarily those of other persons. I stand by what I have written.
Last, I hope this work will amplify our understanding of both the fall of Singapore, and the POW experience in Pudu, Changi and along the Thai–Burma Railway—warts and all. The soldiers of the 8th Division AIF deserve no less.
Peter Brune
Adelaide
May 2014
NOTES
PROLOGUE
1 Although this passage has been taken from the late Joe Nimbs’s unpublished manuscript entitled Survival Changi, it is not an exact copy. The author has placed the whole text into the present tense, and has, on the basis of his experience of visiting St Andrew’s Cathedral in January 2008, added to the description of Nimbs’s account of that makeshift hospital. This was done by interviewing Mrs Monica Lim, a guide and church historian, and by touring the church and grounds. Almost all of the passage—the tense and description of the church aside—is Nimbs’s work. The passage was written and produced here with the permission of his family.
PART I PRELUDE TO WAR
1 THE SUN NEVER SETS
1 Ellis, John and Cox Mike., The World War 1 Databook: The Essential Facts and Figures for All the Combatants (2002).
2 The Treaty of Versailles, Part V, Military, Naval and Air Clauses.
3 Quoted in Churchill, The Second World War, Volume 1, The Gathering Storm, p. 6.
4 Kirby, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, The War Against Japan, p. 3. (This text will be cited from here on as ‘Kirby’ with the appropriate page number.)
5 Kirby, p. 3.
6 ibid. p. 4.
7 Kirby, p. 4.
8 ibid.
2 THE FAR EAST AND NEAR NORTH
1 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 6. (This text should not be confused with Kirby’s Official British History. As mentioned earlier, where the Official History is cited, the note will state ‘Kirby’ and the appropriate page number, while The Chain of Disaster will be identified by its title and page number.)
2 Three British examples were: Lieutenant-Colonel Repington, a noted British military theorist; Admiral Sir Percy Scott; and Lieutenant-Commander J.M. Kenworthy.
3 Quoted in Gill, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 15.
4 ibid. p. 19.
5 Quoted in Gavin Long, To Benghazi, p. 5.
6 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, pp. 14–15.
7 Kirby, p. 8.
8 Quoted in Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, pp. 1–2.
9 Quoted in G. Herman Gill, The Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 11, (footnote).
10 Gavin Long, To Benghazi, pp. 4–5.
11 Quoted in Hasluck, The Government and the People, 1939–1941, p. 16.
12 ibid. p. 17.
13 ibid.
14 Quoted in G. Herman Gill, The Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 19.
15 ibid.
16 ibid.
17 Paul Hasluck, The Government and the People, 1939–1941, p. 31.
18 Gavin Long, To Benghazi, p. 5.
19 ibid. p. 10, (footnote).
20 ibid. p.
10.
21 The Army Quarterly, April 1927, p. 18.
22 ibid. p. 20.
23 ibid. p. 22.
24 ibid. p. 28.
25 ibid. p. 34.
26 ibid.
3 SINGING FROM DIFFERENT HYMN SHEETS
1 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 63.
2 It was just under a quarter of the size of the ACT in the early 1960s. Since then a number of Singapore governments have reclaimed land.
3 Tsuji, Masanobu, Singapore The Japanese Version, p. 216.
4 The road quality and width was raised and confirmed with numerous participant interviewees, e.g. Lieutenant Jim Howard, Carrier Platoon, 2/19th Battalion. The author also had the opportunity to both examine and measure the old road system, e.g., at Gemas.
5 Kirby, p. 157.
6 Although these figures are approximate, they would seem to be close to the mark. See Kirby, p. 155; Wigmore pp. 64–5 and the footnote on p. 64; and during an excellent description of prewar Singapore and its society, Hack and Blackburn in Did Singapore Have to Fall? Churchill and the Impregnable Fortress give Singapore’s population as 560 000.
7 ibid. Kirby lists the European population as 18 000 in 1939. He then goes on to say that 20 per cent were non-British. This would account for about 14 000 who were.
8 Morrison, Malayan Postscript, p. 28.
9 Kirby, p. 13.
10 ibid. p. 11.
11 ibid. p. 12.
12 Karl Hack and Kevin Blackburn, Did Singapore Have to Fall? pp. 32–6.
13 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, The War in Malaya, p. 15.
14 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 6.
15 ibid.
16 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 78.
17 ibid.
18 Peter Elphick, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, p. 160.
19 These are his biographer’s words; see Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 226.
20 Key’s words, quoted in Kinvig, p. 226.
21 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 108.
22 Kirby, p. 15.
23 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 104.
24 Kirby, The Chain Of Disaster, pp. 32–3.
25 ibid. p. 33.
26 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 105.
27 ibid. p. 104.
28 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 30.
29 Sergeant Jack de Loas, 2/19th Battalion, interview with the author, Bomaderry, New South Wales, 13 January 2005.
30 Peter Elphick, Far Eastern File, p. 136.
31 ibid.
32 ibid.
33 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 106.
34 Peter Elphick, Far Eastern File, p. 144.
35 ibid.
36 ibid. p. 145.
37 Peter Elphick, Far Eastern File, p. 146.
38 ibid. p. 151.
39 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 31.
40 Kirby, p. 21.
41 ibid.
42 Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 203.
43 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 204.
44 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, pp. 40–1.
45 Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 60.
46 Vlieland, quoted in Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 61.
47 ibid.
48 ibid.
49 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 39.
50 ibid. p. 41.
51 ibid. p. 44.
52 ibid.
53 ibid. p. 46.
54 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume 2, Their Finest Hour, p. 102.
55 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 118.
56 Kirby, p. 35.
57 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume 2, Their Finest Hour, p. 385.
58 ibid. p. 386.
59 ibid. pp. 591–2.
60 ibid. p. 592.
61 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 119.
4 RAISING NEW DIVISIONS
1 David Horner, Blamey, The Commander-in-Chief, p. 128. Confirmed with the possible addition of Mackay by Professor David Horner, telephone conversation 6 October 2008.
2 Frank Legg, The Gordon Bennett Story, p. 9.
3 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, pp. 32–3.
4 Gavin Long, To Benghazi, p. 46.
5 ‘Suggestions for the Improvement in Enlistments in the Citizen Forces AMF’, Bennett Papers, Mitchell Library, MSS 807/6.
6 The Sydney Sunday Sun and Guardian, 28 November 1937.
7 ibid.
8 ibid.
9 The Sydney Sunday Sun and Guardian, 5 December 1937.
10 ibid. 12 December 1937.
11 Quoted in Lodge, The Fall of General Bennett, p. 14.
12 ibid. p. 15.
13 Bennett in Frank Legg, The Gordon Bennett Story, p. 153.
14 David Horner, Blamey, The Commander-in-Chief, p. 129.
15 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, Promotion and Selection Committee, Appointment of Divisional Commanders, 1st and 2nd Divisions, Eastern Command, 2 May 1940.
16 ibid. White is identified as the president of the committee and Miles as a member.
17 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940. Quoted in A. B. Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 26.
18 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940.
19 ibid. Lodge p. 26.
20 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940.
21 ibid.
22 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940. Quoted in A. B. Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 26.
23 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940.
24 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940. Quoted in A. B. Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 26.
25 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, letter Sturdee to Miles, 9 May 1940.
26 Australian Archives, A 2653 1940, Volume 4, Promotion and Selection Committee, Appointment of Divisional Commanders, 1st and 2nd Divisions, Eastern Command, 2 May 1940.
27 Bennett to Menzies, 2 September 1940, Bennett Papers, Mitchell Library, Sydney, MSS 807/2.
28 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 28.
29 Kent Hughes, letter to McBride, AWM 113 4/1/11 part 3. Kent Hughes also refers to this incident in a letter to the Official Historian (Gavin Long) on 18 June 1953; see Kent Hughes Papers, National Library of Australia, MS 4856, Box 9, Series 2, Folder 64, Correspondence with the Official Historian 1953.
30 In an interview with Lionel Wigmore on 23 February 1952, Kent Hughes again names Rourke and cites Broadbent as the second officer (AWM 93 50/2/23/542).
31 AWM 73/46, Wigmore, interview with Rourke, Melbourne June 1952.
32 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 34.
33 ibid. pp. 42–3.
34 In the Defence Force Journal No. 26, January–February 1981, David Horner lists the mentioned Staff Corps officers as examples of successful senior commanders. The author has added Lavarack.
35 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 28.
36 See notes 29 and 30 of this chapter.
37 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 28.
38 ibid. p. 29.
39 ibid.
40 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 29.
41 Lieutenant Jim Howard, 2/19th Battalion, interview with the author, Port Macquarie, NSW, 28 September 2004.
42 Wall, Singapore and Beyond, p. 1.
43 AWM 1/5/17 8th Division General Staff Branch, January 1941.
44 Rourke believed this to be so. He had served in the Middle East before his posting to 8th Division. See interview with the Official Historian, Melbourne, June 1952, AWM 73/46. See Lodg
e, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 34. Also, the 8th Division employed the same form of training as had the 6th and 7th, and had a comparable amount of time in training in Australia before leaving.
45 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 60.
46 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 34.
47 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 60 (footnote).
48 AWM 52, 8/3/18, the 2/18th Battalion Unit Diary, the February Diary 1941.
49 Lieutenant Jim Howard, 2/19th Battalion, interview with the author, Port Macquarie, NSW, 28 September 2004.
50 Wall, Singapore and Beyond, p. 13.
51 Newton, The Grim Glory of the 2/19 Battalion AIF, p. 61.
52 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 62.
5 MALAYA COMMAND
1 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 46.
2 ibid. (footnote).
3 Quoted in Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 125.
4 Vlieland, quoted in Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 75.
5 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 54.
6 ibid.
7 ibid.
8 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 55.
9 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 78.
10 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 65.
11 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 196 (footnote).
12 ibid.