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Brigadier E.W. Goodman, D.S.O., M.C. |
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War Ends |
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The Last Few Days Thursday 16th August 1945 The factory workers returned about 11am. No reasons given. During the morning planes were seen to drop stores and men in parachutes to the SE of the camp. In the evening some prisoners arrived from an outside camp. Extra food, prepared apparently for a move, was released for issue. At 5.30pm some men (6) with parachutes arrived in a lorry at the Guard Room. All the prisoners were turned out of the Guard Room. There was much speculation as to their nationality. Half the camp said the war was over and the other half said nonsense. At night the Nips relaxed all discipline. People were up and about all night; bridge and poker were played and the sentries gave cigarettes.
Friday 17th August 1945 Usual morning roll call at 5.30pm. About 7am all the senior officers were sent for and told by the Nip Colonel that Japan had signed an armistice (of course they had really surrendered) on 15th August, and that the 6 arrivals were US officers from Wedermeyer’s HQ in China, sent to look after the needs of POWs. The Nips would continue to guard us as there was a danger of a Manchu rising. This was passed on to the British by Maltby, who said we would take over camp administration as soon as possible and that the sick would be flown away within 24 hours and the remainder would probably go to a port by train within 10 days. So what we had waited for since February 1942 had arrived at last and quite unexpectedly. It fell rather flat as we were still confined to camp and, in fact, were not much freer than we had been except for the mental ease. Later on that morning we had some letters which had been kept back from us. It was so lovely to get them. Then came two Red Cross parcels amongst three. Nobody slept much that night and people were walking about all the night. For reasons best known to the senior officers we had a Nip roll call this evening and the next morning.
Saturday 18th August 1945 The Americans took over most of the camp administration. They might have been running an army by the size of the HQ they set up. Food was showered on us to excess – it had always been too much or too little, generally the latter! I couldn’t look at it as it was mostly beans which always give me indigestion. During the next three weeks the work of the cooks fell off very much – there was no longer any point in being in the kitchen when everyone was getting enough food. It only meant work. It was soon evident that the camp was being run by Americans for Americans with the British a bad last. The commander of the camp was a Major-General Parker, a dreadful old woman. The US generals and colonels in the camp were in the main an inefficient collection and a very low class. Nice ones were the exception. One of the US parachutists – a very gallant lot who narrowly escaped being shot by the Nips – gave us some war news and we got two lots of war news by wireless from San Francisco.
Sunday 19th August 1945 Communion at 9am. There was a Thanksgiving Service at 10am marred by a frightful and inappropriate sermon by the US Padre. Further surfeit of unappetising food. But I was already feeling stronger after having been very shaky at the knees on Thursday.
Monday 20th August 1945 Better and more appetising food. After lunch some B-29s arrived from Okinawa and dropped leaflets about the surrender – rather late. A concert was laid on after supper at 8pm. During it some Russians arrived. Our senior officers were interviewed first and then we were all sent for and addressed by a Russian captain, I think, who told us we were under Russian protection and were now free. Parker, in thanking him, perpetrated a colossal gaffe by saying how grateful we were to the Imperial Russian Army. After that the Nip guard plus all their officers were fallen in in front of us all, disarmed, made to do a sai-kai-ray and then put under an American guard. They were then marched down the front of our line to the guard room. It was practically dark then. The Russians stage-managed it all. Except for a little noise from some Americans, which was quickly stopped, the ex-POWs were completely silent. It was rather impressive. There followed a rather flea-y night.
Tuesday 21st August 1945 The first day of a very tedious period. The promises, or rather statements, made by the American Colonel O’Donovan, who had come with the parachute party, about our future movements all proved to have been unduly optimistic. I think that there was a good deal of friction between the Russians, who controlled the local aerodrome and all the railways, and the Americans. Whatever the reason it was soon obvious that the sick had not left within 24 hours and that it was quite certain that the rest of us would not leave within 10 days. About the 23rd we were allowed to go outside the camp. A market sprang into existence outside the camp gates where eggs could be bought by those who had any money. It was extraordinary where money did come from. If one hadn’t got any, a visit to Mukden with any old clothes would produce some. We were issued with a good deal of clothing by the Americans and I’m afraid that a certain amount of it quickly found its way into Mukden bazaar where it was sold. B-29s paid almost daily visits and dropped supplies onto and outside the camp. Until they discovered the proper loading of the parachutes well over half the stuff dropped was torn out of the parachute as soon as it left the B-29 (which could not fly slow enough for the full parachute load) and came to earth with a bump. Cigarettes and chocolate survived this treatment fairly well, but tinned fruit burst like a shell. Medical stores and a cinema were brought up by a machine which was allowed to land and crooning and jazz could be heard from dawn to dusk through loud speakers. One almost wondered whether civilization was as good as one had thought it would be. Books and papers were also brought in in large quantities, all American of course. So we didn’t get very much information about the Empire’s war effort. Everything was on a lavish scale and the Americans must be given full credit for what they did for us. We were a camp of about 1,400 and that number takes a lot of food and clothing. They certainly did us very well.
Monday 27th August 1945 The Army Commander’s party arrived, by air I think, at the aerodrome. The major-generals in camp had 30 minutes’ notice to pack up and go to the aerodrome in lorries in order to fly to Kunming probably, and after that to an unknown destination. This first party was followed up on the 29th by another party of US brigadier-generals and some colonels (!) and also Hoodie Lucas and Ken Torrence with Ian Stonor, the Army Commander’s ADC. Aeroplanes were arriving more or less every other day and about this date a start was made on evacuating the sick by air. The doctors had an unenviable task in making out lists of sick in order of priority, but probably did it very well. Parker had made himself unpopular, to say the least of it, by insisting that US brigadier-generals were, ipso facto, senior to any British brigadier since the latter was only a temporary rank. He also sent away US colonels by air before any British excepting Lucas, Torrence and Stonor, all of whom had been sent for by Percival. My batman, Chester, went off by air on 2nd September, suffering from a very painful right eye. I sent letters by him which got home very quickly.
Tuesday 4th September 1945 A sapper colonel arrived by air with two others, who had been sent up by the GOC at Chungking to liaise with us. As he had been sent off at short notice he could tell us very little as for months before he had been employed with Chinese irregulars completely out of touch with the outside world. In the evening a US journalist, who had been in Europe and India, gave us a very interesting talk about the war.
Wednesday 5th September 1945 I had the first of a number of inoculations. This day it was typhus and plague. On the 8th it was cholera and TAB.
Sunday 9th September 1945 We were warned to be ready to move by train on the 10th. As it turned out I missed going by air by one plane-load. But as things were I am glad now that it was so. It has been a very long a tedious 22 days since 16th August. Though we had been able to walk about outside and visit Mukden, the great falling-off in the discipline inside the camp made it very unpleasant. Prison life with discipline is bad enough but without it it is much worse. Mukden was quite an interesting place and one saw a great many interesting types. The country round was flattish but, at that time, green with crops and wonderfully pleasant, or so we thought it. During the three weeks I saw more drunken soldiers than I had seen in 30 years. Our soldiery showed up well I thought. The Russians were the worst offenders. |
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