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Mrs Joan Wight, mother, taken
into Internment at Singapore
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Joan returned to Singapore in 1939 and set up a riding school
and boarding kennels, as well as volunteering for the Blood
Transfusion Section in the Ambulance Service. Her mother
insisted on taking the two children to Australia Ω. The first real sign of war was the bombing of Seletar, but
even then many civilians did not appreciate the seriousness of
what was to befall them. For Joan it came quickly while she was
at the hospital and saw the results of the fighting
Ω.
Military wounded were separated from civilians and the civilians
eventually moved to Changi
Ω.
They settled in but in the tense conditions that prevailed they
formed a tiny close knit group that stayed together throughout
their captivity
Ω. A small
group devised a plan to communicate with the men but this was
nearly discovered and discontinued on account of the danger
posed to everyone
Ω. Food
was prepared in the men’s camp and although of poor quality
afforded another opportunity to communicate with the others
Ω. Caring for the Japanese
guards’ ducks offered the opportunity to supplement the diet
Ω . Medical facilities were insufficient with no
specialist care available
Ω
and although treatment by the Japanese was better than other
Internment Camps, it could be very unpleasant
Ω. The top floor was used by
those with husbands in the military to try and get a glimpse of
their loved ones
Ω. They
were later moved to Sime Road, later discovering that the
survivors from the Burma Railway had returned to Changi
Ω. However, the pressures of
camp life did not always bring out the best in everyone
Ω.
A secret radio gave the first indication of the coming of the
end of the war
Ω followed
by the arrival of British Forces.
Released from captivity she was unable to get any information
about her family until the October when she was asked to come to
England urgently because her mother was very ill
Ω. In the aftermath of war,
with Singapore as a great hub for repatriation, getting a
passage proved very difficult until eventually a series of RAF
flights brought her back to England.
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