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Digger's Story
Why do young men volunteer to go to war—to protect our freedom and democracy? “I don’t bloody think so,” says Digger (David William Barrett).
Does rank give you a right to food when others starve? Digger doesn’t believe so. Officers in Changi found themselves sharing with others no matter how loudly they protested!
How do you survive when beaten, starved and humiliated in a Kanchaburi railway camp? You stick together, that’s what you do. You scam, lie, steal, cheat and hate the bastards with as much energy as you love and protect your mates.
What can you do as a lowly medical orderly, whose only surgical experience has been sewing up the cadavers in Changi, when someone with a gangrenous foot ulcer asks if they will die? You tell them straight—“Yes you will mate but I’ll take it off if you’ll let me”.
And what do you do when at long last you are released from captivity into the big bad city of Bangkok and you are asked to share a straw mattress in a hall with 250 other blokes? “You tell them to stick it, ” says Digger. You and your mate go to the nearest Jap camp, take a truck, order them to fill it with office furniture, drive to a market, sell everything and set yourself up in a first class hotel. And you revel in your first taste of the good life, as you check out the equipment you haven’t used in a very long time.
But what happens when the first letter from home tells you that your Mum died a year ago. It’s like a rifle butt to the head. Meeting her again, was the only dream you had allowed yourself for three and a half years? So who cares about home now, you agree to return to the railway as the medical orderly on a small party who are to locate and log the graves of all who died there. You discount the fact that there are only12 in your party and that all the Japs are still on the railway and still all armed. And if you are lucky you get a pat on the back from the diarist on the party—
"We were silly not to have taken ‘Doc’ (Digger) with us in the morning—for he had actually dug many of the graves and carved some of the names on the crosses. Had he not quite openly and repeatedly said 'I do know where there are more cemeteries; I ought to for I have dug some of the graves and was stationed here for 18 months'—anyhow he has played his part and but for him we would have missed 534 graves."
With continuing communication between David Barrett, the subject of this story, and the author, for the past three years, they are in the best position possible to put together David’s tale as graphically and as honestly as possible. Nothing has been held back. David’s memory is sharp despite his 90 years and endless hours of MP3 files tell of sadness, pain, and much humour in his life’s experiences. Where possible the experiences and action in this book have been confirmed against other contemporary accounts. David also has copies of every letter he has ever written, together with all the letters written to him—as well as many other objects and photographs.
While experiences during captivity occupy a large portion of this story David’s years from 1986 to the beginning of this century were as exciting as any he lived previously. Experiences during these relatively recent times document fully for the first time the story of the Australian Ex-POW Reparations Committee founded by David. He was determined to get an apology and monetary compensation from the Japanese. It was a task with many set backs but David used the hatred and need for revenge that drove him during captivity to also drive this project. Japan was by now Australia’s major trading partner and no one, but no one, wanted to upset that relationship. That didn’t stop David. He upset everyone including the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra, the Australian Government the Japanese Government and especially Sir Edward (Weary) Dunlop. He was eventually successful in taking the case to the United Nations and through them to the Japanese. He travelled frequently to Japan and in 2001 each and every Ex-POW of the Japanese during WW2, or their surviving widows, received the sum of $25000.00. Unfortunately this money came from the Australian Government not the Japanese Government. The upside is that David now has many Japanese friends!
PS David unfortunately died on 22 July 2012, just 8 days before the book was released. But he had the book in his hand and that was his main goal during the last 3.5 years it took us to write the book.
Brian Robertson
Does rank give you a right to food when others starve? Digger doesn’t believe so. Officers in Changi found themselves sharing with others no matter how loudly they protested!
How do you survive when beaten, starved and humiliated in a Kanchaburi railway camp? You stick together, that’s what you do. You scam, lie, steal, cheat and hate the bastards with as much energy as you love and protect your mates.
What can you do as a lowly medical orderly, whose only surgical experience has been sewing up the cadavers in Changi, when someone with a gangrenous foot ulcer asks if they will die? You tell them straight—“Yes you will mate but I’ll take it off if you’ll let me”.
And what do you do when at long last you are released from captivity into the big bad city of Bangkok and you are asked to share a straw mattress in a hall with 250 other blokes? “You tell them to stick it, ” says Digger. You and your mate go to the nearest Jap camp, take a truck, order them to fill it with office furniture, drive to a market, sell everything and set yourself up in a first class hotel. And you revel in your first taste of the good life, as you check out the equipment you haven’t used in a very long time.
But what happens when the first letter from home tells you that your Mum died a year ago. It’s like a rifle butt to the head. Meeting her again, was the only dream you had allowed yourself for three and a half years? So who cares about home now, you agree to return to the railway as the medical orderly on a small party who are to locate and log the graves of all who died there. You discount the fact that there are only12 in your party and that all the Japs are still on the railway and still all armed. And if you are lucky you get a pat on the back from the diarist on the party—
"We were silly not to have taken ‘Doc’ (Digger) with us in the morning—for he had actually dug many of the graves and carved some of the names on the crosses. Had he not quite openly and repeatedly said 'I do know where there are more cemeteries; I ought to for I have dug some of the graves and was stationed here for 18 months'—anyhow he has played his part and but for him we would have missed 534 graves."
With continuing communication between David Barrett, the subject of this story, and the author, for the past three years, they are in the best position possible to put together David’s tale as graphically and as honestly as possible. Nothing has been held back. David’s memory is sharp despite his 90 years and endless hours of MP3 files tell of sadness, pain, and much humour in his life’s experiences. Where possible the experiences and action in this book have been confirmed against other contemporary accounts. David also has copies of every letter he has ever written, together with all the letters written to him—as well as many other objects and photographs.
While experiences during captivity occupy a large portion of this story David’s years from 1986 to the beginning of this century were as exciting as any he lived previously. Experiences during these relatively recent times document fully for the first time the story of the Australian Ex-POW Reparations Committee founded by David. He was determined to get an apology and monetary compensation from the Japanese. It was a task with many set backs but David used the hatred and need for revenge that drove him during captivity to also drive this project. Japan was by now Australia’s major trading partner and no one, but no one, wanted to upset that relationship. That didn’t stop David. He upset everyone including the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra, the Australian Government the Japanese Government and especially Sir Edward (Weary) Dunlop. He was eventually successful in taking the case to the United Nations and through them to the Japanese. He travelled frequently to Japan and in 2001 each and every Ex-POW of the Japanese during WW2, or their surviving widows, received the sum of $25000.00. Unfortunately this money came from the Australian Government not the Japanese Government. The upside is that David now has many Japanese friends!
PS David unfortunately died on 22 July 2012, just 8 days before the book was released. But he had the book in his hand and that was his main goal during the last 3.5 years it took us to write the book.
Brian Robertson
- GenresNonfictionHistory
290 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 8, 2014
Well I think this is a terrific book but this could have something to do with the fact that I wrote it! The book is by David Barrett and Brian Robertson. David told me his story gradually over several years. I did a great deal of research on the subject and the places he mentioned and what other people had written about these places, which David used to tell me very often was a load of crap but gradually we told his story. The date below is roughly when I completed the writing process, about 6 months before it was published
December 14, 2015
I'm glad I grabbed this at the local library. It was worth reading, even if just for Digger's journey of forgiveness and reconciliation. I did find it slightly uneven with some parts more gripping than others.
September 10, 2016
Once in a while I come across a book that totally absorbs me into the story. I read it whenever I can steal a few minutes, and think about it when I'm busy elsewhere. As I turn the last pages, I'm emotionally drained and feel bereft that the story is over. Usually I go right to my computer to research the subject, and I know I'll have the story in my mind the rest of my life. Digger's Story is one of those books.
Digger was the nickname for David Barrett, an Aussie born in 1922. He joined the military at age 18, and was soon shipped off to Singapore. The Japanese hadn't yet joined the fighting in WWII, but were expected to start their invasion of Asia soon. Digger was assigned to a medical unit and spent months training to evacuate injured troops, bandage wounds, and treat tropical diseases. Little did he know how much he would depend on that training in the years to come! Digger spent his free time exploring with his mates and generally viewing the entire experience as a lark.
Then came the day Singapore was attacked and fell to the Japanese. Digger and thousands of other military personnel were rounded up and forced to march into the jungle, where they spent more than three years living in filthy huts as POWs. Thousands of men died of dysentery, starvation, malaria, parasites, infections, and from beatings given by their Japanese captors. They survived on a diet of watery rice, and worked 12 hours per day on the Thai-Burma railroad. Digger was one of the lucky ones who survived by his wits and determination, and by stealing or buying food and medicine. Using his medical training, he was able to save some of his friends by amputating gangrenous limbs and treating their malaria. But many died because he couldn’t get the proper treatment to help them. One of Digger’s daily jobs was digging graves for his comrades who perished. This part of the story moved me to tears, as the author's vivid description of the suffering was all too real.
The second half of the book details Digger's life after he was rescued and returned to Australia. In his later years he was active in ex-POW groups, who worked to get reparations from Japan. Many of his former POW camp mates had their mental and physical health ruined by the years of starvation and abuse, and Digger pressured the Australian government to recognize their sacrifice and award them with disability.
Written by Brian Robertson, who spent years interviewing Digger and researching, this book is a tribute to the tens of thousands of Aussie, British, American, Canadian and other soldiers and nurses who were held as POWs during the last half of WWII. It’s also a memorial to those prisoners who didn’t live to see the end of the war. The included photographs of Digger and his mates during their service and captivity, and the maps of the POW camps added greatly to the story, and drives home the horror of their experiences. Robertson has also posted videos on Youtube of interviews with David Barrett. I am watching those now, and find myself grieving for the happy-go-lucky young man he was before his capture.
This is a wonderful book – well written, personal, sad, happy, infuriating, funny, shameful, and re-conciliatory - and I promise it will draw you in. I was given a complimentary copy of Digger's Story in exchange for writing an honest review.
Digger was the nickname for David Barrett, an Aussie born in 1922. He joined the military at age 18, and was soon shipped off to Singapore. The Japanese hadn't yet joined the fighting in WWII, but were expected to start their invasion of Asia soon. Digger was assigned to a medical unit and spent months training to evacuate injured troops, bandage wounds, and treat tropical diseases. Little did he know how much he would depend on that training in the years to come! Digger spent his free time exploring with his mates and generally viewing the entire experience as a lark.
Then came the day Singapore was attacked and fell to the Japanese. Digger and thousands of other military personnel were rounded up and forced to march into the jungle, where they spent more than three years living in filthy huts as POWs. Thousands of men died of dysentery, starvation, malaria, parasites, infections, and from beatings given by their Japanese captors. They survived on a diet of watery rice, and worked 12 hours per day on the Thai-Burma railroad. Digger was one of the lucky ones who survived by his wits and determination, and by stealing or buying food and medicine. Using his medical training, he was able to save some of his friends by amputating gangrenous limbs and treating their malaria. But many died because he couldn’t get the proper treatment to help them. One of Digger’s daily jobs was digging graves for his comrades who perished. This part of the story moved me to tears, as the author's vivid description of the suffering was all too real.
The second half of the book details Digger's life after he was rescued and returned to Australia. In his later years he was active in ex-POW groups, who worked to get reparations from Japan. Many of his former POW camp mates had their mental and physical health ruined by the years of starvation and abuse, and Digger pressured the Australian government to recognize their sacrifice and award them with disability.
Written by Brian Robertson, who spent years interviewing Digger and researching, this book is a tribute to the tens of thousands of Aussie, British, American, Canadian and other soldiers and nurses who were held as POWs during the last half of WWII. It’s also a memorial to those prisoners who didn’t live to see the end of the war. The included photographs of Digger and his mates during their service and captivity, and the maps of the POW camps added greatly to the story, and drives home the horror of their experiences. Robertson has also posted videos on Youtube of interviews with David Barrett. I am watching those now, and find myself grieving for the happy-go-lucky young man he was before his capture.
This is a wonderful book – well written, personal, sad, happy, infuriating, funny, shameful, and re-conciliatory - and I promise it will draw you in. I was given a complimentary copy of Digger's Story in exchange for writing an honest review.
December 15, 2013
Digger's Story: Surviving the Japanese POW Camps Was Just the Beginning, David Barrett & Brian Robertson, Amazon Digital Services, 2012
(Kindle Book Review)
This is the chronicle of one person's life as a Prisoner of War in World War II, and his life after he returned home.
Barrett was your average Australian teenager who enlisted in the military for some adventure, and to escape a difficult home life. He found himself in an ambulance corps in Malaysia, near Singapore. The average soldier knew very little of what was happening, but they were sure of one thing. The British commanders in the area were doing a terrible job. They were more interested in retreating than in actually fighting the Japanese. Everyone knew that surrender was inevitable.
For the next three years, Barrett was a prisoner of the Japanese, "helping" to build a railroad through Burma and Thailand. To say that conditions were beyond brutal and inhuman is much too generous. He was part of the medical detail, doing whatever he could for the very sick. Barrett spent his days digging mass graves outside the camp, for the thousands who dies of causes ranging from starvation and overwork to diseases like cholera and dysentery. After the war, Barrett joined an Allied commission that traveled that same railroad, looking for mass graves. The intention was to look for evidence of Japanese war crimes, and to give those who were buried a final bit of recognition and dignity.
Fast forward to the 1980s. After a successful career in sales, Barrett learned of a group of Canadian ex-POW's who, through the United Nations, demanded reparations from Japan. Why couldn't Australian ex-POW's do the same thing? Barrett put together a Reparations Committee, and found that the vast majority of ex-POW's were totally in favor. Th Executive Committee of the National Ex-POW Association did not agree. Secret negotiations with the Japanese Government start moving in a direction that Barrett does not like. Does he stick it out? Does he ever reduce his hatred of all things Japanese?
This book easily gets 5 stars. It does not go too far in any one direction, but is very well-done chronicle of a person's journey to hell and back. It is highly recommended.
(The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair and honest review. We are not associated with the author or Amazon.)
(Kindle Book Review)
This is the chronicle of one person's life as a Prisoner of War in World War II, and his life after he returned home.
Barrett was your average Australian teenager who enlisted in the military for some adventure, and to escape a difficult home life. He found himself in an ambulance corps in Malaysia, near Singapore. The average soldier knew very little of what was happening, but they were sure of one thing. The British commanders in the area were doing a terrible job. They were more interested in retreating than in actually fighting the Japanese. Everyone knew that surrender was inevitable.
For the next three years, Barrett was a prisoner of the Japanese, "helping" to build a railroad through Burma and Thailand. To say that conditions were beyond brutal and inhuman is much too generous. He was part of the medical detail, doing whatever he could for the very sick. Barrett spent his days digging mass graves outside the camp, for the thousands who dies of causes ranging from starvation and overwork to diseases like cholera and dysentery. After the war, Barrett joined an Allied commission that traveled that same railroad, looking for mass graves. The intention was to look for evidence of Japanese war crimes, and to give those who were buried a final bit of recognition and dignity.
Fast forward to the 1980s. After a successful career in sales, Barrett learned of a group of Canadian ex-POW's who, through the United Nations, demanded reparations from Japan. Why couldn't Australian ex-POW's do the same thing? Barrett put together a Reparations Committee, and found that the vast majority of ex-POW's were totally in favor. Th Executive Committee of the National Ex-POW Association did not agree. Secret negotiations with the Japanese Government start moving in a direction that Barrett does not like. Does he stick it out? Does he ever reduce his hatred of all things Japanese?
This book easily gets 5 stars. It does not go too far in any one direction, but is very well-done chronicle of a person's journey to hell and back. It is highly recommended.
(The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair and honest review. We are not associated with the author or Amazon.)
April 2, 2014
`Diggers Story' is a highly engaging and dramatic account of one man's survival as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War Two. Expertly written by Brian Roberston, the book tells the true story of David Barratt (Digger) who enlisted as a young man in the Australian army and soon found himself a prisoner of The Japanese following the disastrous Allied surrender of Singapore.
He was despatched to work as a medic on the notorious Thai - Burma railway where he witnessed many acts of terrible brutality and suffered his own torment at the hands of his Japanese captors. Terrible as the account is, what emerges is a growing determination by Digger and his group to survive. They learn to scavenge extra rations, trade with the locals, negotiate with the Japanese and to survive random acts of brutality.
At liberation, he is a much changed person, dismissive of authority and with a great hatred for the Japanese. Following a period of recuperation in Bangkok, which Diggers throws himself into with great gusto, he returns to Australia and with difficulty picks up the pieces of his old life. But the wounds of his incarceration are still raw and he spends many years fighting for compensation for Australian POWs. During this process Digger travels to Japan, meeting former guards as well as younger Japanese. Whilst determined never to forget, Digger does eventually find his own closure through these new friendships and particularly through the desire of young Japanese who want to understand their past.
`Diggers Story' is a riveting and unsentimental account of survival. It is a `must' for anyone who wants to understand this tragic wartime episode and the nature of interaction between captor and captive.
He was despatched to work as a medic on the notorious Thai - Burma railway where he witnessed many acts of terrible brutality and suffered his own torment at the hands of his Japanese captors. Terrible as the account is, what emerges is a growing determination by Digger and his group to survive. They learn to scavenge extra rations, trade with the locals, negotiate with the Japanese and to survive random acts of brutality.
At liberation, he is a much changed person, dismissive of authority and with a great hatred for the Japanese. Following a period of recuperation in Bangkok, which Diggers throws himself into with great gusto, he returns to Australia and with difficulty picks up the pieces of his old life. But the wounds of his incarceration are still raw and he spends many years fighting for compensation for Australian POWs. During this process Digger travels to Japan, meeting former guards as well as younger Japanese. Whilst determined never to forget, Digger does eventually find his own closure through these new friendships and particularly through the desire of young Japanese who want to understand their past.
`Diggers Story' is a riveting and unsentimental account of survival. It is a `must' for anyone who wants to understand this tragic wartime episode and the nature of interaction between captor and captive.
February 3, 2014
I know Brian Robertson who wrote this book in collaboration with Digger Barrett as we were part of the same writing group at the time. We spent many happy evenings discussing aspects of Brian's research into Digger's story and I was keen to read the book when it was published. I found Digger's story to be an honest portrayal of one man's experience in what was a horrific period in history. Digger had the knack of getting the best out of any situation. He was also compassionate towards his fellows. It was this combination of personality traits that saw him survive the war and take on leadership of the push to force Japan to pay reparations to ex-POWs. Good on him and good on Brian for writing an engaging account of his life.
October 1, 2012
It's an easy to read story of one soldier's experiences at the hands of the Japanese as a Prisoner of War. Simply written, a little too upbeat at times - I struggled to believe that some-one in that situations could see a positive in everything.
I think that there are a lot better written books of this genre but if you are interested in reading this type of story it's a good start
I think that there are a lot better written books of this genre but if you are interested in reading this type of story it's a good start
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews