30 August
Everything is now quiet since we have had some concrete news. There is now an air of patient expectancy.
Four large planes passed over in the vicinity of the camp about 8 0/c this morning and we are hoping more may follow. Hoping they will drop some cigarettes -American cigarettes are still being offered and taken at £10 for 20.
I hope that the rice will improve and at least be palatable. The rice we have been getting lately has been of the very worst quality, in fact, floor sweepings would be better. It has been very noticeable right throughout our captivity, that if there is any bad rice anywhere in the vicinity the prisoners get it, which has been somewhere in the region of nine times out of 10.
12 0/c midday – BOY–OH BOY-OH BOY ! ! !
A PLANE OVER! Passed over twice, so low that he almost touched the roofs. The third time he came over higher and dropped a load of packages, some say 22 parachutes, 16 have been recovered and I think the majority of the packages have also been recovered. I do not think there has been much lost or damaged.
NEARLY l o/c— Another drop.
To date, there are tins of peaches and tomatoes, chocolate, cigarettes and matches.
Had no sooner written this than he came over again and dropped a load of between 10 and 15 parachutes, these all dropped amongst trees within an area of 1/2 mile of the camp so there should be very little that will not be recoverable. And then another drop of 16 parachutes.
One package went thorough the roof of the Japanese Office and by the most devilish bad luck just missed the Camp Commander. One went through the dining room and another hit the hospital. Only one person has been hurt to date, one of the metal bands burst and hit him on the head, but although taken to hospital I believe he is okay - irony!!!
There were a few copies of LIFE and some newspapers dated 17th Aug .
They also dropped a message written on the back of one of their maps, saying: "Keep your chins up, it won't be long now before you are out. Hope this does you good, good luck" and signed by the crew.
Well we have made an initial issue of five packets of American cigarettes and a box of matches each. Just got 3 small packets of chocolate (1 oz each), small packet chewing gum, small packet chocolate almond.
There is now a rumour going round to say a message has come to light saying they will drop another lot in five days.
We now have a radio on the go, it was either purloined or borrowed from the office and we have been able to get some little tit-bits of news, such as: the prisoners of Thailand have been flown by air to Rangoon and have informed the authorities of the harrowing time they have had under the Japanese regime; Hong Kong is occupied by British and Chinese troops and a strong British Naval Force is laying off the Island; Thailand, Malaya, Java and Sumatra have been occupied by British and Dutch troops and French Indo-China is being taken over by French troops; Tokyo was occupied today by an initial American Naval Force of 1800 supported by a very strong American Naval Force and thousands of bombers in case of treachery upon the part of the Japanese; General McArthur and Field Marshall Wavell are either on board a battleship or are arriving to have the Pact signed in the Emperors Palace and that Generals Wainwright and Percival are on board a warship in Tokyo harbour and that a Dutch Admiral has taken over supreme command of the Naval force in the Pacific and he has stated that the Japanese cannot expect good treatment at the hands of the occupying forces after the way in which they have treated prisoners. So it looks as if they will get their just deserts for the inhuman cruelty they have continually perpetrated on prisoners.