Bamber, Eric Granville (Oral history)

British driver served with 351 Bty, 88 Field Regt, Royal Artillery in GB, France and Belgium 1939 -1940, evacuated from Dunkirk 1/6/1940. Served in Malaya 1941-1942; POW of Japanese in Singapore 2/1942 -8/1945; role with Changi camp theatre and artist Ronald Searle

REEL 1 Service with 351th Bty, 88th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in GB and France 1939-1941: circumstances on outbreak of war; reasons for joining Territorial Army; pre-war training; opinion of new 25 pounder gun and ease of handling; reaction to outbreak of war; mobilisation and billets in Gondecourt, France 9/1939; speaking French and consequent good relations with French civilians; behaviour of troops and availabilty of alcohol; high standard of discipline and gun drill of 88th Field Regt under Colonel Stanford; move to Louvain area, Belgium 5/1940; disappearance of civilians; devastating effect of British artillery barrage on Germans crossing Albert Canal; amusing incident of close near miss; role of unit as II Corps artillery; Guards' initial disdain of TA troops altered by 88th rescuing Guards' Bn; role as rearguard artillery, retreat to Bray Dunes and having to carry shells. REEL 2 Continues: spiking guns; scene on Dunkirk beaches, calmness of sea and discipline of troops; fortuitous find of water bottle; embarkation aboard HMS Windsor at Mole, Dunkirk; food and sleep aboard Windsor; reception at Dover; journey to Preston; good treatment of evacuated troops; refusing promotion opportunity to stay with friends. Posting to Malaya 1941-1942: high morale of unit under Colonel Dover; voyage aboard Dominion Monarch; arrival in Singapore 29/9/1941; usefulness of 25 pounder in action at Alor Star; British misinformation about Japanese ability to advance through Malaya and quality of equipment; Japanese air superiority; orders to keep news of sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse secret 12/1941; praise for 2nd Indian Div especially Gurkhas, Japanese fear of them, their skill in jungle terrain and trick they played on Bamber. REEL 3 Continues: Gurkha sense of humour; Japanese mortar attacks in Alor Star area; effectiveness of 25 pounders against Japanese advance; bayonet charge against Japanese; actions in Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh; lack of Allied air cover forcing retreat of ground troops; attitude of Malay and Chinese civilians towards campaign; story illustrating lack of awareness in Singapore of Japanese advance; troops' bitterness at lack of support provided to ground troops by command; retreat and digging in at Mackinley Road, Singapore; Japanese cutting off water supply from Malaya to Singapore and necessity to surrender; sympathy for Percival's impossible position; narrow escape from enemy shell 2/1942; incident of dead sepoy bleeding onto Bamber 2/1942; surrender 15/2/1942. Experiences as POW of Japanese in Singapore 2/1942-8/1945: feelings on march to Changi; Colonel Daubers' advice to troops about Japanese attitude towards discipline; illustrative story of Japanese officer shooting Japanese soldier who disobeyed order. REEL 4 Continues: first impressions of Japanese troops; rigid hierarchy of Japanese command; innumeracy of Korean guards and POWs' deliberate confusion tactics; Bamber being coopted into Australian working party demolishing Cathay building, immaculate Japanese major's inspection of work, his perfect English and his rescuing Bamber from heavy work to cook's duties and provision of good food for work party; Japanese major's English education, Bamber's rapport with him tempered by major's intended execution of Chinese family for singing Christian song; belief that Japanese major had been 'planted' in England; less hierarchical nature of Territorial units; unimportance of rank in Changi concert party. REEL 5 Continues: layout of Changi and troops housed there; seeming impossibility of escape from Changi; self-discipline and organisation of POWs; learning to cook rice properly; deaths from dysentery and despondency; formation of concert party to improve morale; disastrous first show; lesson learned from Changi sermon based on Good Samaritan text; search for play to perform and discovering AA Milne's 'Dover Road'; development of theatre company and being given NAAFI building as theatre; lack of props and necessity to set scene for audience; success of 'Dover Road'; growing interest in theatre and formation of camp orchestra with Bamber as drummer. REEL 6 Continues: diptheria outbreakat Changi, Japanese command requisitioning theatre for accommodation and banning group meetings; story of renovation of garrison cinema as camp theatre; Ronald Searle's improvised paint for cinema; paint stolen by working parties; log seats; Searle's and other artist's murals; formal organisation of Changi theatre company; props donated to company; electrician tapping into Japanese power supply; Captain Bush's insistence that show content should not relate to service/POW experiences; idea for revue show 'Dancing Tears' to be performed at Palladium Theatre, Changi; costume production by submariners; POWs making musical instruments. REEL 7 Continues: Bamber drumming with Australian 8th Div orchestra; outstanding musicians in theatre orchestra; recollections of US sailors Porter and Kelly; decision to sell theatre seats to avoid regimentation of audiences; organisation of box office; Australian troops collecting flowers for opening night and effect of exotic flowers; POW providing make-up stolen from Singapore Theatre; invitations for opening night performance; souvenir programmes produced by Freddie Brightfield; detailed description of opening night of 'Dancing Tears' and importance of civilian nature of theatre. REEL 8 Continues: detailed description of opening night, effect of Brigadier's arrival, National Anthem and success of first performance; importance of role of theatre in bringing normality and raising morale of POWs; further shows staged; symphony orchestra assembled by pianist Reginald Rennison and his orchestration of classical pieces from memory; degree of Japanese interest in theatre; move to Changi gaol as war progressed and continuation of performances there; organisation of male voice choir; Japanese ban on National Anthem and substituting 'Land Of Hope And Glory'; increasing difficulty of maintaining theatre as Japanese fortunes dwindled; cultivating vegetables to supplement lessening rations; Bamber contracting malaria; theatre involvement precluding his move to Thailand, including H Force; relative lack of beatings from Japanese and attributing this to small stature; work party demolishing school in Singapore under kindly Japanese old soldier, Bamber finding photograph of children, Kempeitai search, finding photograph of Bamber's 'children' and how this saved him; lucky escape from Kempeitai finding his diary; work filling in swamps in preparation of airstrip construction at Changi. REEL 9 Continues: airfield construction party work; vicious guard nicknamed The Ice Cream Man and tricks played on him by POWs with land crabs in disturbing levelling work and sabotaging train bearings; seeing Allied aircraft over Singapore and hearing bombings up-country; Japanese anti-aircraft guns situated in POW areas; Mountbatten's insistence on humiliation of Japanese officers after surrender; news of atomic bomb from secret radio, belief that Japanese would kill POWs and hearing news of end of war; parachuting of British Army medical team into Changi; arrival of British nurses; hospitality shown by HMS Suffolk; medical treatment in Singapore and return to GB with 88th; Mountbatten's insistence that Japanese should surrender to Indian troops; appearance of Mountbatten in Changi and his speech to POWs. Aspects of POW experience and its after effects: attitude towards Japanese and their disregard for human life; refusal to protest about Duke of Edinburgh attending Hirohito's funeral. REEL 10 Continues: refusing to perpetuate hatred of Japanese; positive aspects of POW experience; reads poem written ca 1990 about POW experience based on Flame of Forest tree under which POWs had sat talking; question of longterm effects of imprisonment; hunger and eating anything edible including fungus on wood.