FLOWN FROM JAVA TO SINGAPORE

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24676, 20 September 1945, Page 6

FLOWN FROM JAVA TO SINGAPORE

— «— PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND INTERNEES WOMAN’S EXPERIENCES (Official R.N.Z.N. War Correspondent.) SINGAPORE, September 17. One woman was among 22 New Zealanders flown from Java to Singapore. With the exception of a New Zealand woman married to a Dutchman, and one New Zealander serving with the Australian Navy, it is believed that all New Zealand nationals have now been evacuated from Java. The evacuees were in fairly good shape, though they told of undernourishment, hard work, and brutality.

The woman in the party is Miss L. W. Bridgeman, Auckland, who was general secretary to the Y.W.C.A., Wellington, until just before the war. She came to Singapore in a similar position. Her ship was torpedoed while escaping, and she was taken to Java, where she was among 10,000 women of all nationalities interned in a camp built for 2000. Some of the larger houses held as many as 140 women and children, but the house she was in, a small five-roomed place, held 22. ,

Treatment was not bad at first, but got worse later, particularly during the last few months, she said. Quite a few died of starvation on the diet of rice and coarse vegetables. “There was very little trouble with the guards at first,” she said, “but later the Japanese began to beat up the women. That was when the famous Mr Sone took charge. He had a genius for doing things that had a nuisance value. On occasion, as punishment for some trivial offence, he lined all the inmates of the camp up on the road. He kept the fit ones standing from 2 till 10 p.m. The sick ones were kept standing from 2 p.m. to midnight. None had any food.” Miss Bridgeman, who looks fit, said she was one of the lucky ones who had no sickness. Girls in the camp were made to do heavy coolie labour, which was made worse by the inadequate diet. From Sumatra Six more New Zealand prisoners of war have been flown out of Sumatra by the Air Force prisoners of war flight. They are Sergeant Pilots R. J. Reid, C. G. Thompson, A. B. Noel, C. Betley, Able Seaman L. C. Hurndull, and Private G. C. L. McLeod. Like most prisoners of war from Sumatra they had a difficult time, with the usual lack of food and medical stores. All have come through in good shape, however, and are eager to move home as soon as possible. All agree that they are now “not too bad.”

The Air Force sent an aircraft today to Batavia, where it is known that there are six New Zealanders, four of them servicemen and two civilians. In addition, there are six more known to be on Sumatra. It is fairly certain now that other New Zealanders are in camps which have not yet been reached in the Netherlands East Indies, but the names are not known yet. More gircraft are due to arrive from New Zealand on Thursday, when the repatriation of prisoners of war and internees will be speeded up.