The next morning before our meager morning meal there was a roll call taken by the NCO and the Officer of the day. All the NCOs knew the boys were missing but delayed admitting it as long as possible. The Officer was told that they were at the latrine and he dispatched the NCO to find them and have them report, as he could not turn in his list as correct unless he actually saw them. Being unable to locate the men he demanded an explanation and it was finally admitted they were absent. He reported this to Major Trist and the other Officers. They were in a quandary. If they delayed reporting the escape to the Jap Commandant they would be held as abetting the escape and punished in the Japanese style. If they reported, so much less time the boys had to get away. They hesitated as long as they dared and then reported the escape.
Almost immediately the camp was in an uproar. The Japanese guards began running from hut to hut routing out the prisoners. All had to assemble on the square in their proper companies and platoons. The sick, bedridden and wounded, were all carried out and laid in rows. No one was allowed to leave for any purpose. All except those who had been carried out had to stand at attention. The guards slapped and beat us. A Japanese NCO tried to number the men in Japanese and the attempt broke down every time, as the men could not remember the Japanese numbers. They would add up the figures they had obtained and find their total differed from our own … more beatings, more confusion. No one ate or drank all that day. Men fell from exhaustion and were left to lie where they fell.
Evening came, then night, still we stood there. It turned bitterly cold and at last the Jap Commandant allowed the sick and those who had fallen to be carried to the huts. Men eagerly volunteered to carry these comrades. I was one of these and helped carry a sick man to our lines but instead of taking him to his own hut we took him to ours. We laid him on a heap of rags, looked about and grabbed all the loose articles of clothing we could find to take back on us to the square. Here they were distributed among our friends. This extra clothing helped us to withstand the rigors of the night, unlucky some never recovered from this exposure. Towards morning the whisper went around,“They have been caught.”
And shortly afterwards we were dismissed and hobbled frozen and stiff to our huts.
Soon the Gempi (Japanese Gestapo) came to our hut and began to question everyone about the escape. They finally concentrated on our little group of Sergeants. They had a mean pinched face interpreter along and like a ferret he was to trick us into saying something that would incriminate our companions or ourselves. Both Sergeant Manchester and myself were closely cross-questioned.
“ Did you know this man Payne?”
“Only as a chance companion in the next bed.”
“ Did he ever say anything about escaping?”
“ No we seldom spoke.”
I know how Peter must have felt denying his Lord.
“He was a big, fine looking man wasn’t he?”
My heart fell. I knew that this little rat had already questioned John. I also knew that he would get no information out of him that would implicate a comrade. Then came a typically foolish Japanese Question “Why did he want to escape? Was he not happy here?”
“I don’t know.”
My head was wet with sweat when they departed. If they thought we were implicated I am sure they would have tortured us.
Shortly afterwards we were all placed in groups of ten and warned that if any escaped from a group the rest would be shot. We never heard anything more of John and his companions. I understand the Canadian Authorities have confirmed the manner of their deaths and that they were all shot.
