The Orange Box Project
These pages are dedicated to memory of Thomas George Cotterell, and the other men who where captured during the Fall of Singapore and survived four long years of captivity, ceaseless labour and causal brutality in the infamous Burmese Prison Camps.
Prologue
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Dear
Grand-Children, Great–Grandchildren and Others. A
few moments before I had to say goodbye to your Grandfather (he was not your
grandfather then of course!), in our home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and leave
him, as he had been called to the army. Just as I was sent off to drive to
Singapore, and ultimately to become a refugee in Australia; I said to him, 'keep
a diary', not realizing at the time, that if he became a prisoner of war (POW)
during this Japanese war, and if he was found with it, he was liable to be shot. You,
dear children can know nothing of that turbulent time in our lives so with help,
I am going to write extracts from Grandpa's dairies (from the 3 main ones
mostly) as a 3 ½ year ongoing adventure story - but remember, it really
happened! |
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I
have called the book, “The Orange Box” because Grandpa told me that many
prisoners had all kinds of activities and used to write stories, poems, draw
pictures and design sets for their Theatre.
These were mostly written on odd pieces of paper (which were in very
short supply “behind the wire”). All these contributions were bundled into
an orange box and then carried to the various sections of the Camp, where they
were pounced upon and avidly read.
Your
Grandfather was never resentful of the Japanese over the treatment he received
as a prisoner of war, so I may not be either, even though it interrupted
our new married life for about 4 years and was a time of hardship and
difficulty. However, we both survived and although he has now been called to a
higher experience through the exit of death, I am still here to tell his tale
for him. I hope you enjoy it. He
made the comment ‘To
date I have strictly avoided mention of war in this journal, because I
do not want to remember it’.
Much
love,
Grandma/Great Grandma Bet
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INTRODUCTION
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This story begins in 1942, just after the fall
of Singapore. My initials are TGC
(Thomas George Cotterell) and I am an RASC (Royal Army Service Corps) prisoner
of war. My wife Bett Cotterell,
your Grandma, (or perhaps your Great Grandma by now!) asked me to keep a Diary
or Journal of my experiences as a Prisoner of War (POW) during the Japanese war
and occupation in Malaya (as it was then) and Singapore.
So here are some of the adventures that befell us during those years. |
At first it was a most disturbing
experience being a Prisoner of War, most of us were in our mid twenties,
(I was 28), nobody really knew
what would happen next, especially as
we had to say ‘goodbye’ to our wives, young families, homes, jobs, cars and
all our well loved peaceful life. We
knew that we might never see them again.*
However, I have realised that what makes me more
contented than other fellows is that I have much to look forward to when I do get away.* It is difficult to realize at first that the reason for
bachelor bores of 40 is that they are not married.
I can’t get enough peace to think.
I like Bruce Whittaker; he is a quiet bearded philosopher type of person.
A solicitor in civilian life and an accomplished musician.
He was once a brilliant chess player but gave it up when it began to
disturb his sleep. His chess is
still much better than mine and I nearly always lost to him.
It was a noted fact that those men with wives and children, came through this experience with less loss of life than those without families.
