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Rose Raymond, taken into Internment in Java
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Born near Medan, in Sumatra, Rose was working in the Dutch
telephone exchange at the outbreak of war. The first real
indication of war was the number of aircraft flying over and the
arrival of Japanese troops. Their initial concerns focused on
protecting the young girls in the family as the Japanese were
believed to be looking for workers in their brothels; the men
went straight into internment Ω. After six months they were transferred to a school where
their own captivity commenced
Ω.
After eleven months they were moved to a prison in Western Java
together with many other women and children who had been
collected from other parts of Java
Ω.
The internees were packed into the cells and made aware of the
harsh regime that awaited them
Ω.
Medical facilities were practically non existent other than that
organised by the Salvation Army sisters
Ω. They were regularly moved, on foot, from one camp
to another although Rose remembers the one in Jakarta, where she
remained for one year, as having a particularly cruel commandant
Ω. Rose was in seven camps or prisons during her
captivity.
They tried to make contact with the outside to try and improve
their diet but with limited success. The food was very poor,
their health suffered and their weight decreased alarmingly
Ω. Even the arrival of some pigs for the Japanese
presented an opportunity to improve their diet by stealing the
pigs’ food
Ω.
The work was hard and the punishment for resting, harsh. She
helped dig a new sewage pit and contracted recurrent amoebic
dysentery while transferring the contents
Ω.
Other work the girls were forced to do involved heavy manual
work from which there was no relief. They constantly looked for
ways to keep up their spirits in a situation where, not only was
the food bad, but sanitary and washing facilities were the most
basic Ω.
The women were strictly segregated from the men although some
managed to barter with the locals to pass messages to loved
ones. One Christmas produced a memorable concert for the
internees
Ω.
They further helped themselves by inventing rumours to pretend
that things would get better, but one day the atmosphere in the
camp changed as the Commandant announced the Japanese surrender.
They were subdued since it was almost incredible
Ω. British troops arrived the next day to be shocked
by the appearance and condition of the women. They stayed in the
camp until November 1945 to protect them from the actions of
hostile Indonesian nationalists
Ω.
Shortly after the arrival of Allied troops she left the camp
clandestinely to visit her sick father in hospital. On the way
back she and her guide were very lucky to escape with their
lives after being confronted by a hostile, nationalist
Indonesian crowd.
Later upon release from the camp, they moved into a bungalow
Ω, just opposite the Salvation Army HQ which provided
help for her mother and father who were both ill. At least they
were free despite the unstable political situation.
Rose finally arrived in the UK in January 1951.
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