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The early and essentially complete segregation of the Indians paralleled Japanese practice in Singapore and elsewhere. Every effort was made to persuade the Indians to volunteer for the Indian National Army; separation from the influence of their British officers was an essential first step in the process. Thus, excepting most of the medical officers and some subalterns, all non-Indian officers captured by the Japanese, about 600 in number, were eventually incarcerated at Argyle Street Camp. The first commandant at Argyle Street Camp was Lt. Sawamori, until July 1942, when he was succeeded by Lt. Tanaka Hitochi. Tanaka was tried in 1946–1947 for his actions while in charge there, found guilty, and sentenced to three years at hard labour.159 From December 1943 to April 1944, Lt. Hara was in charge, followed by WO Ichiki in May 1944. The officers were moved to Sham Shui Po on 21 May 1944.160 Maj. Gen. Maltby, GOC Hong Kong, was transferred to Argyle Street Camp from Sham Shui Po. He had destroyed his official papers before the capitulation but retained a diary. The general and his staff distributed the pages of the diary among themselves, fastening the papers to their legs with adhesive tape. At Argyle Street Camp the papers were sealed in a jar that was buried in concrete. The position was marked and, after the war, the papers were recovered intact.161 Presumably they helped convict some of the Japanese POW personnel at war crimes trials. In Argyle Street Camp the officers were not forced to work, but their own administration made gardening compulsory.162 There were at least three dozen medical officers in the camp—far more than were needed to care for their fellow officers. Thus, of the IMS medical officers , only Capt. J.J. Woodward, being a certified surgeon, did medical work at Argyle Street in the first months.163 For the first five months of the camp’s existence the Japanese refused to provide facilities for a camp hospital. The sick had to be treated in their own huts.164 However, an operating room of sorts was available in Ma Tau Chung Camp, a short distance away, and some surgery was done there. On those few occasions when this was permitted by the Japanese, the surgeon and the anesthetist first functioned as stretcher-bearers, carrying the patient the 300 to 400 metres between camps. “The Surgeon stated that his surgical technique was hardly improved by his having to undertake the preliminary carriage of the patient.”165 Woodward explained the apparent Japanese rationale for this order: “Stretcher parties were forbidden for fear of communication with the Indians and it usually fell to the lot of Surgeon Commander Cleave, RN, the Navy Surgical specialist and myself to carry the case down a distance of about half a mile and to operate on it if we could still stand up on arrival.”166 On one occasion, permission 82 / Long Night’s Journey into Day to move a patient having been denied, his perforated ulcer was operated on in the Argyle Street Camp dental room—successfully. Finally, in October 1942, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred, apparently due to fish poisoning. Four cases showed symptoms resembling those of cholera, and the diagnosis of that disease was made bacteriologically by the Japanese. This outbreak disturbed them sufficiently to order the opening of a camp hospital.167 Capt. Strahan, IMS, had had some experience of cholera in India so it was arranged that Strahan and Woodward would be isolated with the patients in a separate hut that the Japanese allowed them to use.168 After this disease (almost certainly not cholera) was cleared up, the Argyle Street Camp hospital was staffed by IMS Capts. Evans (physician ), Strahan (dysentery and skin), and Woodward (surgical and OC). Through a Japanese medical sergeant they were able to get iron beds and mattresses. This success they thought was chiefly due to the reflected merit of their previous association with Maj.(A)Ashton-Rose, of whom the Japanese approved. According to Woodward, RAMC orderlies were found unwilling or incapable of doing the hospital work. They were replaced by volunteer officers “who worked hard for 3 years at this work and made a great success of it.”169 Dr. Saito, then a full lieutenant and in complete medical charge of some 10,000 POWs, called at the camp on an average of about once in three months. One of Saito’s duties was to select cases for...

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