19 Jun 1943, John Charter's wartime journal

The only further repatriation news is a notice from Gimson stating that the Japanese authorities (camp authorities) categorically deny that they have any further news of repatriation. In the same notice Gimson states: he has brought to the notice of the Japanese further medical reports and statistics prepared by Drs Macleod and Deane-Smith which show a marked increase in the cases of beri-beri in camp. This is due to people eating too much rice because they are hungry and having an insufficiency of other foods to balance it. Fortunately neither Y nor I have shown any signs yet of beri-beri, though we eat a large amount of rice.

For breakfast we have a plate of congee (rice boiled to a mush) with a sprinkle of sugar and a mug of tea. For lunch we have a plateful of boiled rice with a little tomato and bean stew (occasionally with a few bits of meat floating in it) and whatever we are able to add ourselves in the way of corned beef etc. For tea we have either scones made principally of rice flour or some slices of bread. For the second kitchen meal at 5.00 p.m. we usually have the bulk of our official meat ration, sometimes as cold meat with marrow and or water spinach, but more usually in the form of a stew accompanied by the inevitable plateful of rice. The meat and vegetable allowance is very small and one seems compelled to eat large quantities of rice so as not to feel hungry. For supper we have either rice scones again or bread. We get a loaf of bread each (10 ozs) every other day. This we find is inadequate and so Y and I make rice scones on alternate days. As these scones become leathery if they are kept we eat them all on one day and save the bread for the next day. So on alternate days we have five meals which largely consist of rice. In peace time I seldom had much of a tea at all, relying on three meals a day; here we have 5 meals and I should hate to cut out one of them! It looks as though we may have to soon.

The other item that Gimson had enquired about as HM’s representative was the imprisonment of Sir Vandeleur Grayburn and Dr Selwyne-Clarke and the conditions of their confinement. We have seen Selwyne-Clarke walking in the prison grounds.

Yesterday we received another card from Bunny Browne (John’s Best Man) who still seems full of beans. Capt. Min sent Maudie a portrait of himself that someone had done for him. It is a side view and is extremely good. Maudie was thrilled. She has recently received another batch of letters from Peg (her daughter) too, so, at present she is on top of the world – not that she ever lets herself get downed.

Last Monday there was a camp art exhibition staged. Not all the entries were produced in camp, but a great many were and some were very good. A Russian (British) by the name of Savitsky had entered some 20 portraits or so that he had done of people in the camp, and also a few of naval craft in motion. They really were very good indeed and I hear he is entirely self taught. The portraits are a little hard and not all are likenesses, but some are excellent.

Last night the blackout ended, thank goodness, so we can now see to read or write in the evenings.