As It Really Happened
RECOLLECTIONS
The following inclusions have been taken from diaries, letters, articles or interviews of various personnel who experienced first-hand the Japanese invasion of Rabaul in 1942. There has been no editing of the information presented.
Grateful appreciation is extended to Lt. D.O. "Mick" Smith of the 2/22nd Battalion. Because of his meticulous organization, his unrelenting dedication to the memory of Lark Force and his unconditional cooperation, it is possible to provide this and future generations with first hand accounts of the ordeals of Lark Force members.
War Fugitives In New Britain Jungle. Victor A. Pratt,1st May,1942.
Right from the beginning of our camping we civilians considered that we were unwise to be living with members of the combatant forces, on account of the different rules regarding treatment if seen or captured by the enemy. For this reason four of us, including myself, decided to move to a new camp which we built about half a mile further into the jungle. The bush was so dense here that on one occasion in the daytime I went forty yards away from our hut and got lost, and by the time I had tried to find my way back I was twice that distance away. I called out loudly and received a response from one of our party at the house, then by repeated calls and answers I was able to find myself. We made this move after about four weeks camping. We still kept daily contact with the troops at the former camp, but they had immediately decided to consume their rice and tinned meat regardless of the future. One week later they had succeeded in reducing their stock considerably, so quickly resolved to split up the balance, and the twenty remaining members divided themselves into parties of four persons each and set off on uncertain journeys, but with early capture staring them in the face.
2/22 Battalion, A.I.F. Rabaul April 26th 1941. Author unknown.
The landings were carried out during Thursday night and Friday morning January 23rd, 1942, effectual landings were made in some four or five places. Under threat of naval guns we could not contest their landing it was therefore agreed upon to let them land and make a running fight of it against superior numbers.
Where actual contact did occur the opposition was approximately 30 to 1.
Friday January 23rd we were conveyed by motor bus to our positions in the early hours preceding the dawn. Extra equipment etc, was left in our truck, which we never saw again.
Preliminary positions being taken up before dawn adjacent to the drome.With the first light, fast flying Jap fighting planes came over machine gunning every conceivable position around the drome.For hours the planes continued overhead diving and gunning keeping the whole party of defenders down while the invading infantry spread an encircling drag net around our scanty forces which were so wildly scattered in wild country that intercommunication was impossible. A case of every man fend for himself against unnumbered foes, invisible yet their hand-grenades, mortars and machine guns soon picked up our range and kept up an incessant fire.
At around mid-day our skipper sent word for us to join him, after much scrambling, stumbling and climbing we reached the place where he was. He led us along a road about half a mile and we ran into the advance guard of Japs who opened up immediately with tommy guns, machine guns, grenades and mortars. Our leaders decided to retire from this hot spot and just as well they did, we were hardly in a valley before many more hundreds of Japs came up the same road as we did ten minutes previously. we would have been caught between two fires.
On retiring we had to scramble down deep dongas, through matted twisted cooni grass, vines, creepers and thorny vines of all descriptions. Planes were flying continuously overhead, machine guns playing on exposed ridges, time and again we had to lie doggo in the cooni with planes circling over our heads. They knew we were somewhere in the vicinity and every time they flew overhead we almost expected a salvo.
After hours of tramping discarding all extra weight, many throwing rifles, bayonets and ammunition away so as to keep up.The leaders drove, commanded and abused to keep them all moving. when we reached a wooded road we gave the spotters the slip, thus late Friday evening we took shelter in a deep gorge where there was a running stream.
With no breakfast, no dinner, a dessertspoon of bullybeef for tea we sure held no grand feelings of heroism, with the Japs between us and all our stores we didn't feel happy.
Escape Diary January-March 1942. Captain Fred Field.
SELECTED ENTRIES ONLY
23 Jan 1942 Left Vulcan
4th Feb Reached St PAULS about 1700 hours
21st Feb (Sat) Received word of evacuation scheme
5th Mar By pinnace to village? BIAI - met Appel then on to a river and met McCarthy - on AUSSIE to
LOLABAU eta approx 0300
12th Mar Moved to SULU by canoe around swamps
14th Mar Reachee KIMOOMOO 0815 (no sleep 3 nights)
18th Mar Conference re LAKATOI
19th Mar Approx 1600 hrs sailed to IBOKI
Rabaul Diary,16th Aug,1941-27th April 1942. D.M. Bloomfield
NEAR TOL PLANTATION
Wed 14th February,1942
Setting off at a brisk pace, we had not gone more than a few hundred yards when the track took a very sharp bend to the left. At the precise moment we reached the apex of the bend, so did a Jap officer. We would not have been more than a few yards apart. With the track so narrow, certainly not wide enough for three abreast, I stepped in front of "Hutch" to allow the Jap to pass.
Neither looked at the other as we passed, even though my arm brushed against his. Having only had seconds to observe him as he approached, I noted almost every detail of his uniform - a khaki net over his steel helmet, gold epaulets on the shoulders of his light khaki jacket, a black leather belt, a sword on his left hip, a pistol in a black holster on his right hip, light khaki riding breeches, black leggings and black boots.
Immediately we had rounded the bend, I dared a quick look over my shoulder. surprisingly the Jap had gone on his way. I fully expected once he was behind us he would pull out his pistol and order us to halt, or even shoot us. In all probability he was just as shocked seeing us as we were at seeing him.
Without a word I grabbed "Hutch" and pulled him with me into the undergrowth on our left. A few feet further into the bush was a fallen log, behind which we crawled and waited. We did not have to wait long. Within a minute, passing that point on the track where we had just stood, marched a patrol of twelve Japs soldiers with fixed bayonets.
Turning around we started to crawl, trying not to make any noise. It wasn't long however, before we heard shouts and movement in the bushes to our rear - one of the patrol had obviously heard us. There was no point now in crawling. It was run for your life. Crashing through the bushes, being hit in the face by low branches, stumbling but managing to keep on our feet, the chase was on. We heard rifle fire, bullets smashing through the bushes around us - they were firing at sounds. We continued to crash our way towards the coast until the firing stopped and we were no longer pursued.
Patrol Into Yesterday. My New Guinea Years. J.K.McCarthy
"This is the Blue Book," said Colonel John Walstab (Superintendent of Police, Rabaul), as he took a cloth-covered volume from his safe at Rabaul."It's a plan I have written for action if New Guinea is over-run by an enemy."
The main axiom of Colonel Walstab's Blue Book plan was: " Never fight a pitched battle. Hit then run!" The plan called for District Officers and Patrol Officers to establish small supply dumps of food and ammunition in isolated spots in the jungle. Some selected men were were to be shown how to operate the radio transmitters that had recently been purchased by some plantations and issued to Government stations. these sets known as 3B , were developed by Amalgamated Wireless of Australia. The 3B wireless set was an excellent radio, but it was not designed to be lugged around easily by mere humans. Its components, including batteries, charger and fuel, took fourteen men to lift, and we had no carriers. Should New Guinea be invaded, these small parties would withdraw into the jungle and operate as quickly-moving guerilla forces.
The Blue Book plan, to my mind, was made even better by the fact that it could work in conjunction with a scheme already being operated by the Royal Australian Navy.
John Walstab's idea of how small guerilla forces could be used in the New Guinea jungle remained a closed book to the Australian Army in Rabaul.
An extract from J.K. McCarthy's original escape plan (N. Coast New Britain) issued Feb. 1942.
Instructions for Officers? N.C.O?s and Men In Charge Of Travelling Parties.
You will acquaint yourself with the schedule of Base Camps as given on page 1. of this Order. Your party will number 24 men and yourself, a total of 25 Men. The Base camps will be reached according to schedule and the Party will proceed in close formation. a long drawn out line means stragglers. Stragglers mean congestion and ultimate confusion. an even flow of Men from Base to Base must be maintained. Weather should not interfere with the days marches. The days marches as shown on the schedule have actually been carried out by Patrol Officers and Native Police on many xxxxxx occasions. Parties on leaving Pondo (or Takis etc) will be rationed for the trip. The rations carried on the man will be:-
14 lbs Rice (or wholemeal flour)
7 tins meat
12 tablets quinine
In addition to the foregoing, the Party will carry a cookpot or tins for cooking rice at Base Camps. The road is along the coast and there are no hills. The despatching Officer at Pondo will give you information regarding extra food supplies enroute.
(J.K. McCarthy)
Officer-in-Charge
Administrative Unit.
A significant catalyst for the implementation of McCarthy's Escape Plan was the "Blue Book Plan". (ed)
An excerpt from Lt. D.O. "Mick" Smith's diary.
The following day we decided to push on and came to Gavit Plantation where Lieuts. Braden and Marshall with 40 odd troops had decided to stay put. We told them of our experience and pointed out how vulnerable they were. They assured us that they had "all tracks covered". As things turned out they had some early morning visitors the very next day in Japanese Navy uniforms who informed them to finish their breakfast and accompany them back to Rabaul. The Japs had been led to Harvey's plantation and to Gavit by the collaborator Joe Rocca.( Prior to the Japs coming into the war Rocca had the contract to supply firewood to the Army camp in Malaguna Rd. It is only a guess on my part but Rocca could well have supplied vital information to Tokyo Rose of daily happenings in the camp.)
Keith McCarthy arrived at Notre Mal the next day. He was the A.D.O. at Talasea. He had already put together a plan for the evacuation of troops on the north coast. The type written plan which I discussed with Keith McCarthy was to walk down the north coast to Sag Sag on the south coast. From Sag Sag we would walk to the western tip of New Britain.We would then use sea-going canoes to cross the Dampier Straits to the mainland of New Guinea. from there the plan was to walk to Buna and from Buna over the Owen Stanley Range to Port Moresby. After lengthy discussions with Keith McCarthy I said, "Yes, we would give it a go but considering the state of health of the troops, if we start off with 100 men and finish up with 40 we would be doing well."
A poem, author unknown but a member of the 2/22nd Btn.
Rabaul 1941 as seen by the 2/22nd Batt.
This bloody towns a bloody cuss
No bloody trams no bloody bus
Nobody cares for bloody us
The bloody roads are bloody bad
The bloody folks are bloody mad
They even say you're a bloody cad
Bloody Bloody Bloody
All bloody clouds all bloody rain
All bloody kerbs no bloody drains
The council got no bloody brains
The bloody flicks are bloody old
The bloody seats all bloody sold
You can't get in for bloody gold
Bloody Bloody Bloody
All bloody work no bloody games
No bloody fun with bloody dames
Won't even give their bloody names
All bloody wet all bloody hot
The bloody climate's all bloody rot
Cripes they can have the bloody lot
Bloody Bloody Bloody
And everything's so bloody dear
Two bloody bob for bloody beer
And is it good no bloody fear
Best in the place is bloody bed
With bloody ice on bloody head
And then you think you're bloody dead
Bloody Bloody Bloody
Copy of poem provided by Valda Baldwin, daughter of Pte. Alec COBDEN VX 28761 "C" Coy. 2/22 BTN.
An excerpt from the diary of C.O."Bill" Harry.
The "Laurabada" was taken over by the navy and was skippered by Ivan Champion, a member of a well known Papuan family. Ivan, Claude and Alan Champion were all field officers with the Papuan Administration which they had served with distinction. Ivan, in particular, while being land based for much of his career had a great love for boats and was an extremely competent hydrographer.
After the hasty move to Palmalmal the next day Harry was sent back along the coast to see if he could locate three troops who were reported to be making their way towards Palmalmal under difficulties. They were gunners A.N. Taylor and J.W.R. Hanna of the 17th Anti-Tank Battery and gunner J Hart of the Anti-Aircraft Battery. Hart had broken his leg in a fall several weeks earlier and Taylor and Hanna had stayed with him for a time before slowly moving him in easy stages down the coast as canoes were available. Harry travelled back as far as Tovalpun from which his party had recently departed and collected a Thompson sub-machine gun and ammunition which had inadvertently been left behind in their hasty departure. Harry spent the night in Pomio village and the following morning reported back to Palmalmal to learn that the three gunners had arrived there the night before. The "Laurabada" was a vessel of about 40 tons--the former yacht assigned to the Administrator of Papua. The run into New Britain was made under the cover of night, arriving at Palmalmal at daylight on Wednesday 9th of April (1942) and then was laid up in hopeful concealment. In the late afternnon the 128 survivors went aboard, in the main a sadly emaciated cargo, andthe evacuation was under way. One death occurred on the "Laurabada" on the first night out. Private Ivor James of the 2/22nd Battalion was amongst those carried aboard on stretchers. Despite the medical facilities then available he was beyond recovery and died within a few hours.
Harry had been best man at Ivor James' wedding shortly before embarking overseas. Between New Britain and the Trobriand Islands, the "Laurabada" hove to. Ivan Champion read the burial service and he was buried at sea. Lieutenant Peter Figgis, Sergeant Bruce Perkins, Privates Harry and Robinson were assigned to two Vickers guns on A/A mountings at the stern of the "Laurabada". Fortunately they had no cause to go into action.
Otherwise the journey was without incident and several days later the "Laurabada" berthed at Port Moresby from which point all personnel were immediately evacuated on the "Macdhui" to Australia where they arrived about three weeks after the successful evacuation from the North coast (New Britain) of the McCarthy party.
A letter from Pte. A.C.Cobden "C" Coy 2/22nd Btn AIF, Rabaul TNG, Jan 4 1942 to his wife and children.
My darling Win and family,
The "all clear" has just gone for the second time this morning. During the second alarm enemy bombers appeared in fair numbers. Six bombs missed their targets and no Europeans were killed or injured. Our fighter planes are making a great din overhead at the moment. Apparently the invaders have set sail for their sanctuaries. They would chose a Sunday to give us our first air raid. We were ready for them and knew they were on their way. It is a beautiful day but very hot in the slit trenches. It was a great relief to get out. Our Air Mail has not arrived but we are optimistic about it. I will get your birthday present when I get an opportunity-- at the moment that kind of thing is out of the question. You will realize that of course won't you?
MON JAN 5th A dozen enemy bombers came under cover of darkness last night. We were well in our trenches long before they arrived. I felt a strange turning over of the stomach as we waited for the first explosions. It wasn't long to wait however although it seemed an eternity. About 40 bombs kept us amused for a few minutes, but with the exception of some natives no one was killed or injured. You would have heard all about by now and no doubt a few exaggerations will be made.
Some of the bombs sent up huge reddish flashes that lit up the sky and the concussions readily felt in the slit trenches.
Three more air raid alarms went this morning and so we spent quite a bit of time in the trenches -- no bombs were dropped. I did not receive a letter from you so was naturally disappointed. I suppose two will come next time. I received letters from Cananballac and Streathem, mum says she received your pretty calendar. I understand that the government has made arrangements for the evacuation of children from city areas. It is about time someone in the country pay has awakened from a long sleep.
Did you hear Vic speaking during a recent "Voices from overseas" session. Olive will make a good soldier I'm sure. Air mail some newspaper clippings about Rabaul if you have any. The climate has affected my banjo mandolin the glue having melted. I'm 100% and thriving on the little excitement.
Lots of love to you all and kisses from your loving husband Alec
THE MASSACRE AT TOL PLANTATION a poem by Pte G. Greenaway "A" Coy 11th Btn 13th BRGD AIF, 1945.
In New Britain today you can witness a sight
That makes the Australians so willing to fight
For there are the bones to prove of the fates
That overcame men from all our states
Who gave up their lives for the sake of our nation
That day in the massacre of Tol Plantation
They started their fight in the town of Rabaul
Yet they knew in their hearts that it soon would fall
But none of them gave in that historical fight
When they tried to hold on against Japan's greater might
They stuck to their posts and made the Japs pay
For the battle torn port they would capture that day
And the Nips paid heavily for six thousand they killed
So no loving souls can say their jobs weren't fulfilled
The ones that were left it's about them I write
For little was left them except retire from the fight
Down the coast they came with wounded and all
For their casualties were heavy from the fight in Rabaul
Three days and nights they travelled the track
Without food or sleep as the Japs weren't far back
They entered Wide Bay and to the centre they came
And it wasn't till then that we heard of their fame
For it was there that the Japs were waiting with hate
And there the Australians were to suffer their fate
It was there they made a last stand for our nation
Beneath nut laden palms in Tol Plantation
It was three years later when we came back
To witness the scene that lay near the track
In silence we gazed at a horrible crime
A massacre that cannot be forgotten in our time
For the bones lay scattered to show where they died
Beneath the palms to which they were tied
Their boots marking the trees by which they had stood
And the bayonet stabs showed up clear in the wood
To show of the death they had suffered in the hands
Of the Japanese bastards that had knotted their bands
So it is left to us Diggers that have returned
To give to the Nips all they have earned
So go into battle with this in your head
To wipe out the Japs that were the cause of those dead
And let it be remembered in years to come
That you have avenged at least the death of one
JOHN MAY WAS ONE OF TWO PADRES WITH LARK FORCE IN RABAUL.
Some of John's recollections after the Japanese landed at Rabaul.
After the first day or so the nurses were able to come down from the mission under guard morning and afternoon and spend most of the day at the hospital (Vunapope). Before long the guard was given up and they came and went quite freely. We were afraid that they might be molested, either at the mission or as they went to and fro. They told us that on three occasions at night some soldiers (Japanese) probably drunk, did try to get into the convent, but were kept out. They also told us that they complained to the authorities and the nuisance was stopped.
No one could adequately tell how much the nurses (Australian) did for morale. Their quiet competence in treating the sick, with only a meagre supply of the usual medicines, the mending and the other things they did--making two shirts for me from the BR cloth--their steady concern and cheerfulness, meant that we managed to keep up our spirits.
Each day we got two large loaves of bread and some other items. One rather tricky task was to cut the bread-- some 35 to 40 slices from each loaf, so that each person got one slice and there was not one left over. There was of course a demand for tobacco.Our meagre supplies did not last long.The mission people were generous in sending us some of the cigars made at the mission. these we cut up and shared. we acquired also sticks of trade tobacco, Beaconsfield Twist which we washed, cut up with old razor blades, dried in the sun and rolled in any sort of paper we could find.
We had no reliable source of nes. If the Japanese were particularly pleased, they would make a big announcement, as when Singapore fell, about three weeks after we were captured. we heard an occasional report about some of our people from stragglers who came to give themselves up. On 28th April,1942, the last of the staff and patients were taken into Rabaul. The nurses were kept at Vunapope. On the 5th July they were brought to join the officers aboard the vessel Naruto Maru, and go to Japan. The story of their subsequent privation and humiliation is yet another indictment of the behaviour of the Japanese towards the men and women who they took as prisoners.
