I read as many articles as I can find on "F" Force ... most of them Australian .... in the hopes of finding more information about my men .... and
really hoping there just maybe a mention of them ! I came across this .... Tobo's Arthur Barber died at 09:45 on 28th May 1943 ...... this is what was happening ...... devastating isn't it ?
THE CHOLERA SCOURGE
A fresh wave of Cholera broke out in the camp on 26 May and there were 28 admissions on that day. The doctors appealed to everyone to cooperate in their plan for hygiene, and sanitation to try and stop the spread of the disease, as this was all we had to combat it with, there being no other normal medical means at their disposal. During the night of 26 May and the next day 27 May, ten more deaths occurred from Cholera, now bringing the total to twenty in just on ten days. The position was now so serious that Major Hunt, the Medical Officer went to the Jap Commander, Lieutenant Fukuda and put a very straight and hard proposal to him on the facts and did a wonderful job by finally getting the work parties cancelled for tomorrow. Following this the next day all available men were put on camp hygiene and sanitation work, new latrines were dug and the old ones filled and burnt off. The results of the Cholera glass rod tests showed 53 carriers suspects out of 500 so there was still a long and ghastly road ahead of us before we were out of the mire. On 1 June I lost the first member of my own “I” section in the whole of the war when he died of Cholera that day. There were fourteen deaths for the day and this brought the total in the camp to 67.
On 2 June, work was commenced again on the railway and we sent out 450 men, due to the larger number of sick men to the fit ones, we re-organized the camp strength into two battalions, No.1. of fit men about 800 strong and No.2. the Hospital Camp of 1100 of which 950 were sick and patients. Malaria had, by this time, started to get a hold and seriously affected the work force. We learnt at this time from Colonel Banno (Japanese Commander) that the position at the English Camp forward of us was also serious and there had already been 100 deaths there. By 7 June we had dropped our work force to 230 on the railway after having sent out 1300 men on 21 May, so that in just over a fortnight we had about 75% of the force sick and unfit for work; then we reached the all time low of only being able to supply 80 men for road work on 11 June.
http://www.pows-of-japan.net/articles/99.html
