Internment in Japan

After the war had raged on in Asia for a couple of years, the Japanese finally realised that the war effort needed bolstering and that they could use POWs elsewhere in Asia to produce supplies for the Japanese army and keep the Japanese economy running when all the men (who would usually be in factories) were out fighting. 

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B. W. Thompson was one internee from Sham Shui Po who was sent to work in Japan around Christmas 1942. He had kept a comprehensive diary of life in the POW camps from Dec 1941 to Nov 1943. He was stationed in Nagasaki, and spent much of his time unloading coal. Due to the poor rations and long working hours with no break, workers quickly became weak and ill- on the first day, Thompson reports around 25-30 men had been sent to the hospital. Sgt G. Winser was another POW who kept a diary- he was sent to Yokohama around the same time Thompson was set to Nagasaki.

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The workers often had to beg for extra rations- luckily, the Japanese allowed Red Cross parcels to come in, including boots, fruit, cocoa and sugar. Conditions started to improve once it was found out that the Allies were winning territory- in Jul 1943, there were reports that the Allies were taking territory off Italy and were now attacking Italy herself. 

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