CITY’S LAST DAYS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 April 1942, Page 4

CITY’S LAST DAYS

SINGAPORE TRAGEDY FINE WORK BY NURSES. BRAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. News about civilians who were left in Singapore is dependent on negotiations between the International Red Cross and the Japanese Government, but the long silence from Hong Kong suggests that we must expect a similar silence from Singapore. Press correspondents who are reaching Batavia give vivid accounts of the city’s last few days, reports the “Sydney Morning Herald’s” London correspondent. Mr Stephen Wykes, of the “Daily Mail,” writes: “Bonfires of Government records added theii' quota of smoke from the burning buildings, which choked the throat and stung the eyes. An extraordinary feature was the quiet of the children, who hardly uttered a sound.

“The troops were unable to dig trenches, because they were immediately flooded. Accordingly, they were compelled to try to maintain a zigzag line across houses and gardens without cover. PERILOUS JOURNEY. “Beneath the decks of one ship, four Australian nurses toiled for hours tending the wounded. Above decks Royal Ail’ Force personnel liried the sides with Lewis guns, Bren guns, tommyguns and rifles.” », Mr Wykes’s convoy was. bombed most of the way to' Batavia, One strafe lasted five hours. “It really was unbelievable how 100 women and children parked on a deck could maintain calm and handle any casualties, as if the victims were those of a chance London street accident,” Mr Wyk'es adds. The correspondent of “The Times” cabled from Batavia than on the Friday morning the city was buzzing with rumours. “Down on Clifford Pier there was great confusion,” he wrote. “The authorities were trying to evacuate the few remaining women arid children. The evacuees were told to be on the pier at 3 p.m., but it appeared that nobody was in charge of the evacuation. “Two air raids, one immediately after the other, made confusion worse, and then the order came through for the passengers not to embark there, but from another wharf.” The correspondent reported a “quiet, uneventful voyage.” Such phenomenal luck, however, was not enjoyed by other ships which left Singapore about the same time. Several were bombed and machine-gunned, and it is reported that some were sunk. WOMAN’S STORY. The “Daily Express” gives an interview with a young Englishwoman who refused to give her name because “There were lots of braver people left behind.” She embarked on February 11, and spent the night in the ship while oil tanks blazed on either side. “The normal complement was 90 crew and 24 passengers,” she said, “but there were more than 2000 aboard. We took more than four days and nights to complete the 100-mile voyage.

“A few miles from Singapore we were dive-bombed five times. Our children were marvellous. A five-year-old girl said: ‘Mummy, do you think I could have another rusk when it’s all over?’ “The ship was hit four times, arid it was a miracle we kept afloat. “Australian nurses volunteered to climb to the top -deck and bandage gunners. Under machine-gun fire they did not flinch.”