Johore Bahru, - Malaysia
Johore Bahru, – Malaysia
Johore Bahru, more commonly known as JB, is the most southern province of Malaya and is connected to Singapore by the Causeway. This had been partly demolished by he British before the Battle of Singapore, but had since been repaired by the Japanese. This time the men moved in trucks saving many a footsore prisoner, following the previous day’s march to Adam Park. The men were billeted in two large two-storeyed homes.
The task set aside for the machine gunners wa to construct a shrine to the dead from the Japanese Imperial Guards, (Konoe) Division. The work at JB consisted of reclaiming some muddy ground, the setting up of a memorial garden and the construction of a shrine. The 4 metre spire of the shrine has not survived the test of time, however, the base still exists today. The lower base dimensions were approximately 2 and a half metres by 4 metres with a second base of proportionately smaller dimensions which rested on the lower base.
The work at JB was relatively easy and the Japanese guards that accompanied the men from Adam Park had been a congenial lot. They even located a piano and supplied the transport to move it to one of the houses for the mens’ entertainment in the evening before lights out. However, by the 30th April 1942, twenty five days after their arrival, all work had been completed and the 2/4th returned to Adam Park Camp to begin another phase of their Prisoner of War experience.