THE WAR IS OVER
I stayed on that party, “P” party as it was called, working in town right through until the war finished. We came in one evening, went through the usual search, walked right down the side of the jail parallel with Changi Road and as we went round the corner ‘Speed’ Lieutenant Graham McKinnon was there jumping up and down saying
“The war is over, the war is over.”
He was told in plain English where to go.
Graham McKinnon later became a member of the Legislative Council for the South West, situated down Bunbury way.
We said we would find out when the work party lists come out. Sure enough that night the work partly lists came out there were still 200 men on ‘P’ Party. Later on that night the details started to come through about the atomic bomb and everything else was going on outside.
The Japanese Officers might have known that war was over but the ordinary troops and Koreans had no idea. We continued going to Singapore on work partes for another 5 days. We could tell that the local people knew that the war was over but the guards had the rifles and bayonets.
Then we came in one night and they said “Right 2 days Yasumé” – 2 days holiday – that was good enough. The next day our mob dropped pamphlets, a copy of one is on the next page, telling that the Japanese had surrendered unconditionally.
