Themes
Jim Fallace
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Prison ship
The Japanese had used merchant vessels manned by military crews (indicated by the word Maru in the ship’s name) to transport prisoners of war from various parts of the Pacific to Japan as slave labour since January 1942.
They adapted ships by building temporary wooden decks in their coal bunkers and holds. Each deck had only a metre distance between them and held 15 men to each area of approximately two metres square. The Japanese removed all proper sanitary facilities to make space for more prisoners and replaced them with buckets or boxes which they lowered into the holds. Many prisoners were suffering from dysentery and their excreta fell through the cracks onto their comrades below.
On 25 September 1942 the men paraded at Shamshuipo. Their captors then inoculated and vaccinated them before marching them to the docks. Having enjoyed the fresh air and the sights and sounds of their march from the camp to the docks, any elation disappeared when they realized that their cruel and brutal Chief Interpreter, Nimori, was to accompany them on board the ship.
The food was marginally better than at the Camp but their rations were still meagre. Their morning meal consisted of sweet tea and rice, whilst the evening meal was unsweetened tea, rice plus a tin of corned beef and a few vegetables between five prisoners.
Although the food was better the conditions aboard ship were as bad, if not worse than back at camp. The Japanese placed the sick on the upper deck and left them exposed to all weather conditions. Their captors had provided no washing facilities and medical attention was provided by doctors who were prisoners.
Fallace estimated that about 75% of the prisoners had sickness resulting from inadequate food, absence of vitamins and camp conditions. Dysentry, diphtheria, beri-beri and pellagra were the worst illnesses amongst the captives. The Japanese held their prisoners aboard ship for two days before it sailed. Right up to that the time they were still taking men ashore with suspected diphtheria.
The ship carried about two thousand returning Japanese troops and left Hong Kong without escort and keeping close to the coast.
To find out about Fallace’s journey aboard the prison ship, select Next
