Surviving the Japanese Onslaught: An RAF PoW in Burma

Introduction

After capture and interrogation, with several beatings on my face and other parts of my body over two days, I was taken outside where Japanese soldiers were then ordered to raise and aim their rifles at me; I stood stiffly to attention … fearing the worst.

William A Tate: April 1943

It has been written of men who have undergone a cruel captivity … that the record thereof has never faded from their countenances until they died.

Charles Dickens

In 1974, at 53 years of age, my father was admitted into hospital suffering a breakdown from a condition now extensively recognised as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This ailment resulted from William’s incarceration between April 1943 and April 1945 as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese Imperial Forces in Rangoon Gaol in Burma (now Myanmar) during the Second World War. A number of symptoms associated with this illness William managed to control during the conflict and upon returning to civilian life, while others surreptitiously remained; nestled beneath the surface in a silent vigil, not spoken about, but waiting to erupt.

William was one of thousands of allied prisoners of war immutably scarred by the brutality and iniquitous butchery of their Japanese captors. This episode encompassed a systematic, intransigent policy of torture, beatings, solitary confinement, starvation, forced labour, insanitary and incommodious living quarters and virtually nonexistent medical facilities and stores. These deeds gave rise to, or compounded, a profusion of health problems among prisoners including beriberi, dysentery, cholera, malaria, physical deformities, amputation of limbs without anaesthetic, tropical ulcers and other skin infections. The physical plight of the prisoners was encumbered by the unrelenting anguish of their minds, endured by all prisoners of Japanese Prisoner of War camps, and from which many predominantly young men, once healthy in mind, spirit and body, were never to return home to their cherished ones. The day my father was liberated from Japanese military forces, he had been reduced to an emaciated 6 st 2 lbs, (approximately 39 kg), less than half his normal weight, and with a nervous system entwined in a state of infirmity. In spite of this horrendous ordeal, William forever considered himself a fortunate man to have survived.

My intent in 2015, during the seventieth anniversary of the cessation of the war, where unpleasant personal opinions regarding Japan’s war crimes may cause disapprobation, or be pressured into remaining hidden from the public domain, is to enlighten readers who may possess only a limited knowledge of the privations perpetrated by Japanese soldiers on their prisoners. These acts of callousness and cowardice, of a sanguinary disposition, did not belong to a civilised culture whatever apologia the Japanese people furnished Emperor Hirohito with, either preceding and during the war or, for that matter, in contemporary times.

Be they young or old, it is my desire that anyone who reads this biography, in part or whole, will further contemplate the details, though very personal from my perspective, as a timely and edifying recollection of some of the consequences pertaining to this abhorrent past.

The truth is, and generally persists today for the few remaining survivors of Japanese Prisoner of War camps, that much of the trauma forced on my father and his fellow prisoners could never heal. William’s post-war torment afflicted him the remainder of his life. Those who knew my father may have glimpsed, but could never touch or feel in his gentle and intelligent eyes, the primary and secondary pains of ‘the cross he had to bear.’ William was one of many men and women intentionally ill-used. The repercussions extended to varying degree on William’s beloved wife, other family members, friends and colleagues since these atrocities were committed. Innumerable lives were forever broken.

My father passed away on 11 February 2007 at the age of 85 and his epitaph, read to mourners at his funeral service, included one resonating sentiment that brings tears to my eyes. William wrote:

‘ Please do not weep for me-I am now in the deepest and most peaceful sleep I have ever known.’

In memory of my father and his fellow Prisoners of War of the Japanese.

‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,

Nor the furious winter’s rages;

Thou thy worldly task hast done,

………

Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke.’

William Shakespeare

William Tate: Son of the late William Albert Tate Esq.

Part I

Chapter 1

1938: Early RAF Days

Royal Air Force motto: Per ardua ad astra (Through adversity to the stars)

During the Second World War 55,573 Bomber Command Aircrew of the Royal Air Force made the ultimate sacrifice to defend Western democracy. This casualty rate was one of the highest of all the armed forces with approximately one in two personnel losing their lives. Those killed, whose average age was 22, included 38,462 Britons, 9,980 Canadians, 4,050 Australians and 1,703 New Zealanders. ¹ Throughout the war Bomber Command flew more than 389,000 individual sorties from 101 operational bases across the east of England. Dozens more bases were built for training and maintenance. ² Thousands more sorties by Allied forces were also conducted in the Middle East, Far East and Pacific Theatres of War against the enemy.

Winston Churchill once commented; ‘Fighter Command won the Battle of Britain, but Bomber Command won the war.’³ It has also been written many times that: ‘the Bomber will always get through.’ All RAF Bomber Aircrew were volunteers. The tremendous strains of operational flying affected all men to greater or lesser degrees – emotional exhaustion, operational-twitch, loss of nerve and shell shock were some of the symptoms but those in authority would not accept these descriptions and labeled such sufferers as having LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre). Officers were often dismissed in disgrace and NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) were reduced in rank, discharged, sent to the Navy or Army or put to work down coal mines. They were humiliated and vilified in the belief that other RAF personnel would think twice about trying to avoid combat duties. Thankfully, attitudes towards combat stress have greatly evolved during the twenty-first century.⁴

Not only were Bomber Command Aircrew all volunteers, the RAF also sought the best-educated personnel, with many coming from university and grammar schools. Numerous men and women were already enlisting in the armed forces as Volunteer Reservists prior to the official declaration of war on 3 September 1939. The Tate’s eldest son, William Albert (Bill), was one of them. Following his studies at Woking County Grammar in 1937, Bill set his ambitions aside for a career in law and resigned as a Clerk from the law firm W Davies & Co. in 1938. People throughout Britain had been raised to revere and defend the values and heritage intrinsic to sustaining their way of life and be free from tyranny and dictatorship. A strong Christian ethos among the peoples of Western nations like Great Britain was also perhaps more noticeable in the 1930s.

Winston Churchill’s warnings and concerns about Germany’s rearmament policy were incompatible with many leaders who favoured, and adopted, a strategy of appeasement when confronting Hitler. The signing of a Tripartite Pact by Germany, Japan and Italy in September 1940, signaled an intolerable development and is now viewed by millions as a step closer to the destruction of democracy worldwide. The United States of America entered the war more than two years after hostilities began following Japan’s attack on the US Pacific Fleet Base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on the morning of 7 December 1941.

The circumstances that moved Bill to join the RAF were, in part, a patriotic duty to King and country. Throughout the war, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, often referred to as the Queen Mother, constantly endeavoured to reassure British citizens, and encourage them to keep faith in victory over the enemy. When all was said and done the most obvious, and possibly only, solution was to stand and fight one’s adversary.

Bill had been fascinated with aircraft and flying since childhood so this also influenced his decision. The potential of flight, both civil and military, had been recognised by politicians, scientists and aviation personnel during the First World War and the technology of aircraft was constantly being developed. Bill recalled that during 1938, his relationship with his father had deteriorated after a serious argument and, though Bill was very close to his mother, he realised that greater independence would be gained, at that point in time, by moving away from home.

Within a few weeks Bill had walked out of Number 10 Kirby Road in the then small village of Horsell, Surrey, with suitcase in hand. Bill’s father and mother drove him to Woking station to catch an early morning train to London. He had already said his goodbyes to his younger brother Robert (Bob) and three sisters Ivy, Esther and Irene. His mother and father found it difficult to see their eldest son leaving home for the first time and felt the separation keenly. One of their many thoughts at this moment, as they stood on the platform waving goodbye, was a vague hope that hostilities with Germany might yet be avoided. Bill traveled to London on the day as requested to enlist with the Royal Air Force (Bomber Command). The date was Monday 7 November 1938. Having passed his physical test Bill signed his papers of enlistment after an examination of Mathematics and English. Subsequently he received his first uniform and Service Number: 625747. Apart from leave entitlements, Bill was now living away from home and so posted his civilian clothes back to his parents. Henceforth he was required to be in regulation uniform at all times.

Bill’s initial experience as a raw recruit came with instructions to commence training at RAF Base Cardington, a village in Bedfordshire. These early weeks of basic training consisted of regular marching, (square bashing as Bill referred to it), rifle maintenance and target practice. By the time he had joined his first squadron, he had been issued with a Smith and Wesson pistol. Bill maintained his financial assistance to his family by regularly sending home part of his salary to his mother and with it a letter informing them of his experiences in the RAF.

Between March 1939 and September 1 1939 Bill was posted to Yatesbury in County Wiltshire for six months radio operation training at the RAF Yatesbury Training Centre. The accommodation was, as Bill recalled, basic ‘huts’ that each housed around twentyeight recruits. The Trainee Wireless Operators Part of this course involved learning Morse code and Bill initially acquired a proficiency of twenty-five words per minute. With this came a basic understanding of key electronic components of the radio equipment. While at Yatesbury, Bill contracted measles and was forced to return home to Woking until he recovered putting him a few weeks behind with his schedule.

Life at Yatesbury was neither discomforting nor overly rigorous for the majority of new recruits. Bill considered the food served in the mess rooms relatively good. The main meal of the day often consisted of sausages or beef with vegetables. Supplies of most foods were still available until rationing in Britain started. Ration books, based on a points rationing system, were issued to citizens on January 8 1940 for items including butter, sugar and some meats. Government price controls and subsidies aimed to provide every citizen with basic essential products. When Bill started to make new friends at this base he and his fellow recruits would sometimes visit nearby sights of interest or go to local dances and pubs on their days off. Life for these young men being physically and mentally fit, and in the prime of their life, was relatively relaxed with few immediate worries.

Then came the news that people throughout Great Britain and many other countries had been dreading. War was declared on Sunday 3 September 1939 at 11.15 a.m. Millions of people throughout Britain tuned into their wirelesses as the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made an announcement to the public that:

‘… this country is at war with Germany.’

Bill, like many other recruits, seemed to welcome the declaration and was enthusiastic to participate in hostilities against Germany. Like many of his fellow countrymen and women, Bill seemed positive at this stage that Britain and its allies could win the war although he would occasionally remember what his mother and father had experienced during the First World War.

His Majesty, King George VI, on the day World War Two was declared: Sunday, September 3, 1939, thus proclaimed:

I now call my people at home and my peoples across the seas who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm, firm and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right and reverently commit our cause to God.

Regular discussions between RAF personnel increasingly focused on Germany’s military plans and how Britain and its allies would respond. There were also numerous day to day relatively normal chats among recruits on many issues and topics including their families, wives and girlfriends, specific duties relative to recruits ranks and squadrons, current and new aircraft developments, the weather, films, music and of course, plans for the future when this war was over. As the Allied politicians seemed unable to halt Germany’s advances, first into Austria and then Poland, there remained the ever-present concern that Bill and his fellow recruits would be called upon to engage in hostilities.

On 4 November 1939, Bill was posted to RAF Evanton Base in Scotland for Air Gunnery Training. The defence of the Bomber from enemy fighter aircraft fell to the Air Gunner. This was considered an aircrew tradesman’s role and Bill embarked on a four week intensive course using Westland Wallaces, Camera, Lewis and Vickers Gas Operated Guns. He passed the course and qualified on 1 December. Evanton today is a small village about six miles west of Invergordon on the north coast of the Cromarty Firth (Estuary) in the Highlands district of Ross and Cromarty. Between the village of Evanton and the eastern coast are some visible reminders of the hangars, buildings and runways of this former airfield used during the war. The aerodrome had been expanded in 1937. When Bill was stationed here, RAF Evanton was the farthest northerly station and became a base for flight and bomber training but principally Air Gunners. It was also used as a repair and bomb storage site. By 1943 the airfield was being used by RAF Coastal