At first the life in Changi was misleadingly calm and joyful.The prisoners eventually realised they had to take care of themselves, by organising water, sanitation and living quarters in the three former army barracks on the peninsular. Things changed in march that same year when barbed wire separated the barracks and compounds and again in August when all the officers above the rank of lieutenant Colonel were removed to Taiwan. The Australians were then under the command "Black Jack" Galleghan; of whom the former POWs had the greatest respect for.
The camp began a university-style training scheme, similar to the ones in European prison camps, and musical and literary societies were also established.Punishment for disobeying orders could result in anything from beatings, to torture to execution. the proximity to 'civilisation' meant that the death penalty was generally limited to attempted escapes and violence towards guards. Most executions were illegal under both the Hague and Geneva conventions. The majority of guards were often Indian soldiers who had changed sides. A large amount of the beatings were at the hands of former Allies, not just the Japanese.
Prisoners were paid for work in the Singapore area and they supplemented their diet with these wages.This meant these POWs were generally better fed than their mates in German and Italian camps in 1942-43. BY the end of 1942, several 'forces' of Australians were sent to work around Asia by the Japanese. These exact men were starved and worked to death. By the year of 1945 prisoners found themselves in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in Changi and with meagre rations. This was mainly because of the lack of supply caused by effective Allied submarine operations against convoys which sent supplies to Singapore.
In big Japanese camps such as Changi, men were often offered to join a force to earn extra money for their labour. If enough men did not volunteer, solders were forced into joining. At one point Changi's prison population slumped from tens of thousands to just a few thousands as these work groups were dispatched.
Willoby Wharton who was once apart of the Changi prison said "I considered myself free on 15th of August, 1945, when i was with a work party near Changi collecting barbed wire to be used for fencing. The news came over a secret radio called a 'bird'. The truck driver with us told us the war was over. The barbed wire was then used to fence the Japanese in. They immediately became POWs and we no longer had to work for them. It was lovely"
The camp began a university-style training scheme, similar to the ones in European prison camps, and musical and literary societies were also established.Punishment for disobeying orders could result in anything from beatings, to torture to execution. the proximity to 'civilisation' meant that the death penalty was generally limited to attempted escapes and violence towards guards. Most executions were illegal under both the Hague and Geneva conventions. The majority of guards were often Indian soldiers who had changed sides. A large amount of the beatings were at the hands of former Allies, not just the Japanese.
Prisoners were paid for work in the Singapore area and they supplemented their diet with these wages.This meant these POWs were generally better fed than their mates in German and Italian camps in 1942-43. BY the end of 1942, several 'forces' of Australians were sent to work around Asia by the Japanese. These exact men were starved and worked to death. By the year of 1945 prisoners found themselves in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in Changi and with meagre rations. This was mainly because of the lack of supply caused by effective Allied submarine operations against convoys which sent supplies to Singapore.
In big Japanese camps such as Changi, men were often offered to join a force to earn extra money for their labour. If enough men did not volunteer, solders were forced into joining. At one point Changi's prison population slumped from tens of thousands to just a few thousands as these work groups were dispatched.
Willoby Wharton who was once apart of the Changi prison said "I considered myself free on 15th of August, 1945, when i was with a work party near Changi collecting barbed wire to be used for fencing. The news came over a secret radio called a 'bird'. The truck driver with us told us the war was over. The barbed wire was then used to fence the Japanese in. They immediately became POWs and we no longer had to work for them. It was lovely"