The Japs had landed on the island that night we knew it too. Their snipers played hell with us. We got stuck into them at daybreak next morning, casualties were high on both sides. Daytime came and they retreated back again. We had to keep under cover because of their air force, the sky was black with planes. They had also got an observation balloon up so we could see we had no planes near with that being able to stop up.
We got stuck in for three or four days and nights, it was hell believe me.
I got knocked out on the 13th of Feb. The Jap tanks came along and started firing their cannons at us. We had an order to withdraw from our trenches near the road ------ and -------- Rd, we did and whilst doing so a tank came along and let us have it. I got wounded while I was trying to help George Gee who was wounded before me and we both caught another packet together. Frank Greasley got killed then and a lot more were wounded. They bandaged our wounds with our field dressings and started out to move us to hospital. We walked out of the jungle, which took us about seven or eight hours, at last we hit the Singapore road. They called up the first truck we saw and got us put into it with other wounded who were already in it. I was wet through with blood from my wound, I was beginning to feel weak, hazy and numb. We eventually landed at a terrific big hospital, later on I learned its name, it was the Alexandra.
They carried me in and nurses got to work washing the wound and cleaning it up. They cut all my clothes off (I felt shy). They took me into the X-ray room and X-rayed me, then took me straight out of there to the operating theatre. They gave me this injection and that's all I could remember till I woke up the next day about 10 am. An Australian nurse was at the side of my bed sitting in a chair, she said she had been with me through the night holding my tongue up to stop me from choking.
She said I had made a remarkable recovery as it was a very serious operation, the surgeon had removed a big piece of shrapnel out of my head and stitched it up, it had fifteen stitches in it.
At eleven o` clock that morning all nurses were given the order to evacuate as the Japs were only 13 miles away. They got a few of their personal things together and the nurses out of our ward came up to wish us all the best of luck and hoped they met us in the next hospital they went to as we were due to evacuate ourselves. We had a card around our necks saying what part of the boat we had to go on, but we were unlucky as the Japs were to quick for us they had our hospital surrounded that night. It was hell, I have never experienced anything like it in my life before. We were all frightened I admit.
Bombs were dropping just outside, a shell came through the ward at the bottom end, so they evacuated us all down stairs into a room which had been a store, to our advantage. A damn good blast was felt all around the place, the Japs hit that hospital with everything they had, it was a miracle that any of us came out of there alive, it was only god that saved us.
We had had nothing to drink for three days, we only had bully beef and biscuits for those who could eat it, until they could find us something else to eat. The water mains had been burst by a bomb and that had cut all the water off.
It rained heavy one afternoon and some of the patients ran out with their mugs to catch some for a drink. There was also enough rainwater caught and boiled to make us a quarter of a mug of tea. It was heavenly to have a drink as we were dying for a drink and parched up.
That morning the Japs broke into our ward, they were front line troops and had no officers with them. They started kicking us about, they bayoneted two or three of our wounded as they lay on the mattresses, I thought they were going to kill us all. They was (bastards), they looted the place took off us what we had, food, cigs, watches and rings if they wanted them. They clouted us with their bayonets and the brooms which the orderlies had to sweep up with. It was awful, hitting and bayoneting the wounded as they lay there helpless and unarmed. It had been going on for some time when a Jap officer or two walked in and saw what they had done. They shouted something in Japanese and just stood there and watched one of them taking a watch off a patient. One of the Jap officers shot the thief as he moved he was dead.
One of the Jap officers could speak English, he was we later learned a medical officer, he dressed some of the men the troops had wounded. We all made statements as to what their troops had done to us in the ward and what they had stolen off us. The next day a big Jap General came and apologised for it. He said all the offenders had been shot as they had been warned to keep away from Red Cross field tents and hospitals.
We had to clean up that horrible awful mess they had made before we received any further treatment for our wounds.