I climbed up a rubber tree and saw them kill the last surviving prisoner in August 1945. He was tall, thin and naked except for a loin cloth. He was made to kneel down beside a drain and then, after he had been blindfolded, his head was cut off with one sword stroke. The body was pushed into a drain and covered with earth.
On 12 February I saw an Australian POW being shot by Japanese guards near Muanad. This was Sapper L J Haye. His dixie was later recovered by an Australian search team.
In 1945 I saw a number of Japanese officers and other ranks taking large groups of prisoners along the rentis in the direction of Boto. One lot took a party of 80 in May, another lot a party of 140 in June and a third lot took another 80 in July. All the Japanese officers came back but I never saw any of the white POWs return.
Was guided to two bodies today by a local informant. He was an eyewitness to both these murders which took place late February or early March 1945 on the first march. My informant tells me he could identify the Japanese guards who killed the POWs from photographs. First, he says, they shot the prisoners through the head then kicked them until they were still. After robbing them of all their gear the bodies were thrown down a bank.
When the last march left in May the Japanese burnt the camp down although there were still prisoners there. They lived in the open at No 2 Compound. They were very sick and about 12 died every day. I went into the camp in August to bring in food but I found only 5 prisoners left alive. They said they had not eaten for a week.
I remember about the end of June, after the last march had left, two truck loads of prisoners were taken away. Those trucks came back empty.