Pte Adamthwaite's nephew Bob
tells us:
"He was a very quiet
unassuming man, and I regret that I never got him to talk of
his time in the Army. I remember him laughing at the memory
of the Japanese officers who
were very short and had large swords which touched the
ground. They had small wheels attached to the sword
scabbard to prevent it scraping along the earth.
The prisoners had to hide
their amusement as the swords were used for beheadings which
we now know were carried out to prove the officers'
dedication to the Emperor of Japan.
I remember his
home-coming party and Uncle Bill lying on a sofa covered
with blankets as he had a malaria attack and couldn't
get warm.
The party went on around
him and all I could see was the floor going up and down
as the knees up continued. I was glued to the wall for
fear
of ending up downstairs
when the floor gave way which of course it never did! I
was ten or eleven at the time."
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Here is the full
transcript of the article:
Service
News
Camps and
Railways
Built for
Japs
Kensal Green
Ex Prisoner Tells His Story
After three
and a half years in a Jap prison camp, Pte. William Adamthwaite
of the East Surrey Regiment has returned to his home at 66
Greyhound Road Kensal Green. While he was a prisoner his family
received but four postcards from him, and at one time, heard
nothing for over two years. He received only two letters from
his family. He told a reporter, "The only thing that kept me
going was from time to time to pull out my photographs of home,
which I managed to keep from the Japs!"
Pte.
Adamthwaite, who has lived in the district since he was two, was
educated at Chamberlayne Road Schools, and was employed as a
dairyman by the London Co-operative Society Ltd. At the outbreak
of war he was called up and was drafted to Malaya in January
1941. Then he fell ill and was taken to hospital in Singapore.
He was recuperating there when the Japs captured Singapore in
February 1943.
GOOD MEMORY
From his
extraordinary retentive memory, Pte. Adamthwaite gave an almost
day to day account of his experiences. He has been in prison
camps in Caunkai, Kamchambury, Bankow, Tarso, Taknoon, River
Valley Road, Saigon, Phume and Pnon Pen and has worked on
building prison camps, railways and an aerodrome as well as on
clearings in the jungle and quarries.
Conditions
varied from camp to camp but obtaining water was the main
difficulty. The Japs treated their prisoners as they did their
own
soldiers. For example, if a man were fit and could work he
deserved food.; if he were sick and unable to work, food was the
last consideration. When the Jap guards and prison
administrators fell sick, British P.O.W. doctors had to treat
them as no Jap doctors were provided.
Cholera
broke out at one camp, but Pte. Adamthwaite did not catch it,
although he developed dysentery later. No medical supplies from
the Red Cross reached them and ulcers and lacerated bare feet
were covered with banana skins for bandages. Amputations because
of ulcers were carried out with table knives and hack saw
blades.
ONLY A
LOINCLOTH
Once the
clothes he was captured in wore out he had only a loincloth and
was barefooted. At Tarso an up-country camp, there was no
accommodation at all for the men and they were forced to
construct shelters for themselves from bamboo and leaves, as
well as sleeping platforms. These conditions existed for three
days when the inside non-weatherproof portions of British Army
tents were supplied. Secret radios were maintained by the
officers and from them news of victory was learned.
When freed
Pte. Adamthwaite was flown to Rangoon where he spent 12 days in
a recuperative camp. There the Red Cross gave the ex prisoners a
good time and made up for all the benefits and parcels that had
not reached us.
While he was
at Rangoon his family was informed of his safety. Pte.
Adamthwaite has been overwhelmed with congratulations since his
homecoming.
"I wish to
thank the Red Cross and Social Services in Rangoon for all they
did for me" he said. "Naturally, I am pleased to be home, and am
glad that I am not Broken in any way. I think the chief reason
for cruelty from Japs arose from misunderstandings due to lack
of knowledge of the respective languages".
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