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Forty-Two Months in Durance Vile: Prisoner of the Japanese
This is a first-hand account of life as a Japanese prisoner during the Second World War. It reveals how R. Keith Mitchell was taken to Japan as part of an overseas force and set to work levelling agricultural land for an airfield, before being moved to work at the furnaces of a foundry, and then to a coal mine. This remarkable account, based on diaries hidden from the Japanese, portrays day-to-day life in astonishing detail and is a truly compelling story.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
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January 19, 2025
A surprisingly engaging book for such a dark subject matter - internment for three and a half years in Japanese POW camps. This is perhaps down to the way it's written; intelligently, concisely, and with a touch of humour here and there. Even that, it seems, can be found in such horrendous situations.
The author, a British signal operator, finds himself as POW to the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Initially kept in Singapore, he and other British soldiers, as well as some of other nationalities, are packed off to Japan, where they spend the remainder of the war in labour camps.
The popular image of Japanese POW camps is not a flattering one, and this book does nothing to dispel such ideas: Long days of back-breaking work where the slightest error or misdemeanour can result in serious physical beatings; sparse food rations that cause malnourishment and disease; terrible sanitation that hardly helps the latter, and only the most cursory attention paid to health care and personal safety. The harsh, cold winters of Hokkaido do nothing to help matters.
Amid all of this, R. Keith Mitchell does find time to talk of the friendship and camaraderie between himself and his fellow prisoners, including stories of the small ways in which they might have got their own back on their oppressors, or how they set up black market operations to scrounge food and other supplies. There's also a lot of insight into the inventive ways they found to get around the challenges of camp life - I'd never have thought that a handful of snow would make a serviceable substitute for toilet paper. Such anecdotes serve, to a degree, as the light relief of this book, which I think is what keeps it engaging.
It is worth noting, though, that throughout the book, words such as "Jap" and "Nip" are used to refer to the Japanese people. I make no attempt to defend or justify it, but mention it as I'm sure not all would find it palatable. I don't, but can stomach it for the sake of learning something.
That aside, it stands as a good insight into the workings of these camps, and how they affected the prisoners - during the war, at least. What lasting effects might have been, I suppose there are other books for that.
The author, a British signal operator, finds himself as POW to the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Initially kept in Singapore, he and other British soldiers, as well as some of other nationalities, are packed off to Japan, where they spend the remainder of the war in labour camps.
The popular image of Japanese POW camps is not a flattering one, and this book does nothing to dispel such ideas: Long days of back-breaking work where the slightest error or misdemeanour can result in serious physical beatings; sparse food rations that cause malnourishment and disease; terrible sanitation that hardly helps the latter, and only the most cursory attention paid to health care and personal safety. The harsh, cold winters of Hokkaido do nothing to help matters.
Amid all of this, R. Keith Mitchell does find time to talk of the friendship and camaraderie between himself and his fellow prisoners, including stories of the small ways in which they might have got their own back on their oppressors, or how they set up black market operations to scrounge food and other supplies. There's also a lot of insight into the inventive ways they found to get around the challenges of camp life - I'd never have thought that a handful of snow would make a serviceable substitute for toilet paper. Such anecdotes serve, to a degree, as the light relief of this book, which I think is what keeps it engaging.
It is worth noting, though, that throughout the book, words such as "Jap" and "Nip" are used to refer to the Japanese people. I make no attempt to defend or justify it, but mention it as I'm sure not all would find it palatable. I don't, but can stomach it for the sake of learning something.
That aside, it stands as a good insight into the workings of these camps, and how they affected the prisoners - during the war, at least. What lasting effects might have been, I suppose there are other books for that.
Displaying 1 of 1 review