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| - Dark Side of the Sun - George Palmer's Journey From Prince Edward Island to Hong Kong and the Omine Camp in WWII His Story Chronology Capt. Wilson Interview Dr. Gingras Interview |
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| DR. GINGRAS INTERVIEW |
| SECTION 9: MEDICINE, SURGICAL, DENTAL, HYGIENE AND PREVENTIVE FACILITIES A. WAS THERE A HOSPITAL LOCATED IN YOUR PRISON CAMP? No. B. IF THERE WAS NO HOSPITAL, WAS THERE SOME ESTABLISHMENT COMPARABLE TO AN MIR? There was an area - a small sort of area where we went. C. WERE SICK PARADES HELD REGULARLY? No. D. WERE MEDICATIONS AVAILABLE? No. E. I KNOW YOU HAVE NO MEDICAL TRAINING, BUT COULD YOU NAME SOME OF THE MEDICATIONS PROVIDED? The only thing I know of was once in Hong Kong I had dysentery very bad. They gave us tooth powder - a big package - and I ate the whole thing. It was no good for teeth, but it cured my dysentery. F. DO YOU KNOW IF YOU OR SOME OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS SUFFERED FROM MALARIA? I didn't. I don't know of anyone who did - although we heard of people who did. We had other things. G. IF YES, WERE YOU PROVIDED WITH ANTI-MALARIAL MEDICATION? n/a H. DID YOU NOTE EMERGENCIES DURING YOUR INCARCERATION (I AM REFERRING, FOR EXAMPLE, TO AN ACUTE APPENDICITIS OR HEART ATTACK)? We had a couple of people killed on our crew, but I never saw anything like that. I. IF YES, WHAT DID THE JAPANESE DO IN SUCH SITUATIONS? n/a J. WERE THERE ANY RATS OR OTHER RODENTS IN YOUR QUARTERS? Yes. We caught rats. We ate rats - and we ate snakes, too. K. DO YOU KNOW IF YOU OR ANY OTHER PRISONERS WERE EVER BITTEN? I never noticed. L. DO YOU KNOW IF YOU OR ANY OTHER PRISONERS WERE AFFLICTED BY PARASITES INVESTING HAIR AND SKIN, SUCH AS LICE? Fleas were the big thing - we had lots of hot water and could bath so lice were not a problem. M. WAS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROVIDED BY THE JAPANESE? No. N. DID YOU SUFFER FROM, OR NOTE ANY FELLOW PRISONERS AFFECTED WITH RASHES DUE TO PARASITES? I don't remember. O. WAS TREATMENT PROVIDED BY THE JAPANESE? n/a P. DID YOU OR SOME OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS NOTE PARASITES IN THEIR STOOLS? I didn't notice. Q. IF YES, WAS TREATMENT PROVIDED? n/a R. DID YOU OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS SUFFER FROM VISION PROBLEMS? Yes. S. IF YES, EXPLAIN IN PLAIN LANGUAGE? What they called 'night blindness'. T. DID YOU OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS SUFFER FROM PAIN IN THE JOINTS? We had everything you could think of. U. IF YES, EXPLAIN IN PLAIN LANGUAGE? Just about everything. V. DID YOU, OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS, SUFFER FROM A HEART ATTACK DURING YOUR INCARCERATION? I'm not aware of any. Some fellows who died might have had a heart attack. W. IF YES, WHAT MEASURES DID THE JAPANESE TAKE? None. X. DID ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS SUFFER FROM FRACTURES DURING INCARCERATION? I don't recall any. Y. IF YES, WHAT MEASURES WERE TAKEN BY THE JAPANESE? n/a Z. WERE THERE MANY PRISONERS SUFFERING FROM DIARRHOEA AND RECTAL BLEEDING? Diarrhoea - yes; Rectal bleeding - I don't know - I didn't. AA. WAS THERE A CANADIAN OR ALLIED FORCES PHYSICIAN INCARCERATED IN YOUR CAMP? Yes. AB. IF YES, WHAT WAS HIS NAME? In Hong Kong Dr. Banfill. AC. IF YES, WAS HE PERMITTED TO TREAT HIS FELLOW PRISONERS? Yes. AD. IF YES, WAS HE PROVIDED WITH MEDICATIONS? I don't think so. I took dizzy spells and weakness and he examined me but he didn't give me anything. AE. IF YES, WAS HE PERMITTED TO USE JAPANESE FACILITIES WHERE EXISTING? I don't think any Canadian prisoners ever went to a Japanese hospital. AF. WERE DENTAL SERVICES PROVIDED IN CASE OF EMERGENCY? Yes - one fellow in Hong Kong filled a tooth for me. AG. WAS THERE A CANADIAN OR ALLIED FORCES DENTAL OFFICER INCARCERATED IN YOUR PRISON CAMP? Yes in Hong Kong. AH. IF YES, WHAT WAS HIS NAME? I don't remember his name. AI. IF YES, AND IF FACILITIES EXISTED, WAS HE PERMITTED TO TREAT HIS FELLOW PRISONERS? Yes. He filled my tooth but didn't have the proper stuff. AJ. DID YOU NOTE THAT YOUR GUMS WERE BLEEDING AT ANY TIME? Yes I think so. AK. DID YOU NOTE THAT SOME OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS GUMS WERE BLEEDING? I didn't notice. AL. DID YOU NOTE THAT YOU OR YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS HAD LOOSE TEETH? Yes. AM. DID YOU OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS HAVE CHEST PROBLEMS? Yes, many had pneumonia. AN. IF YES, WHAT WAS DONE? Nothing. Either you died or got better. AO. DID YOU OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS COMPLAIN OF FOOT TROUBLE? Yes - hot feet. I think it's called dry beri-beri. Athletes foot. Any little injury you got became infected. AP. DID YOU OR ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS COMPLAIN OF STOMACH PROBLEMS? Yes. AQ. WHAT TYPE OF FACILITIES DID YOU HAVE TO MOVE YOUR BOWELS AND URINATE? Just an outside toilet. AR. WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE FACILITIES WERE ON A PAR WITH THOSE PROVIDED AND MAINTAINED BY THE CANADIAN SERVICE? No. AS. WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE FACILITIES PROVIDED IN THE JAPANESE PRISON CAMP WERE APT TO PROPAGATE INFECTION? Yes - where we had the dysentery it was awful. There was just a trough in the middle and waste splashed around. So many people had dysentery you walked in it. AT. DID YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WASH? Yes. The whole place was a central heating plant, so we had lots of hot water. AU. IF YES, HOW OFTEN? Every day. AV. WERE YOU PROVIDED WITH SOAP? Very little - we did get some but the quality was very poor. AW. DID ANY OF YOUR FELLOW PRISONERS DIE DURING INCARCERATION? Yes. AX. IF YES, WOULD YOU KNOW HOW MANY YOU ARE SURE DIED? There were about 20 graves in the cemetery so I'd say about 20. AY. AGAIN, I MUST STATE THAT I AM AWARE THAT YOU HAVE NO MEDICAL TRAINING, BUT WOULD YOU KNOW THE CAUSES OF DEATH IN SOME OF THESE CASES? Two were killed in the mine, but mostly just sickness and no medication. |