HIGHLY PRAISED

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 79, 1 October 1945, Page 4

HIGHLY PRAISED

NEW ZEALANDERS IN PRISON

CAMPS

(R.N.Z.A.F. Official War Correspondent.)

SINGAPORE, September 26,

A fine tribute to New Zealanders who have been prisoners of war in Batavia is contained in a letter from Wing Commander Hugh Nichols, who commanded one of the camps in which many New Zealanders were incarcerated. The letter, which was addressed to Squadron Leader Richard de la Perrelle, of Eastbourne, officer commanding the Royal New Zealand Air Force unit in the prisons, was marked "To be opened after leaving camp." It stated: "On the occasion of the departure of the New Zealand officers after this long association, I would like you to convey to them my thanks for the way in which they as a group have proved, like the ants, to be worth 10' times their own weight in the various camps in which they have been interned. Look at the hole it makes in my present show," and Wing Commander Nichols proceeded to enumerate by nicknames a number of officers who. had filled a variety of positions in camp life. "They have been about one-third of the whole show," he continued. After mentioning duties to do with catering, cooking, and several other responsible duties, he wondered "what we should have done in the bad old' days1 without our hush-hush news service, far from hush-hush activities with pencil and crayon in our theatre and cafe, the newspaper and magazines at Bandoeng. "I cannot think about everyone who helped, because all of you have done so much. I just want to express my thanks for everything. I shall never "forget, and in the report which I shall make eventually, I shall try to record what every one of you has done to make our end of this extraordinary show the success that it has been in so far as such things can be successful within Japanese-imposed limits. I shall always hope some day to be able to visit you in your beautiful country. The best of luck to you all. (Signed) Hugh Nichols, Wing Commander."