Source: File WO311/557 held at the National Archives at Kew, London
Transcribed by: Stephen Hagen

I, Dr. Allan BERKELEY, with permanent home address at 20 Cathkin Road, Glasgow, S.E., make oath and say as follows:-

On 8th March, 1942, whilst serving as a captain in the R.A.M.C. attached to the 48th Light A.A., Royal Artillery, at Garout, Java, I was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese and removed to Fukuoka on 29th November, 1942. I remained there until the middle of September, 1945, when I went to Nagasaki.

On 29th November, 1942, 250 of us arrived at Moji on the island of Kyushu and became prisoners of war in Fukuoka 4B Camp.

For the first few months, the food was not too bad. Apart from our small bowls of rice three times per day, we had a small piece of fish once or twice a week, and once a week a small amount of meat was put into the cabbage or dackon soup to favour it. Some of the men could not eat this diet and I asked the Japanese for special milk diets for those men. On every occasion this request was refused.

In the summer of 1943, the food ration was reduced and the men began to lose weight. We told the Japanese Commandant (Captain SAITO) that it was absolutely necessary to increase the food ration but he did not pay any attention to our pleading. The men were continually getting dysentery and after attacks needed some good food, especially protein to build up their strength. This was not forthcoming. At times we were given soya beans to help the protein deficiency but this was not continued for very long.

In March, 1944, I approached the Japanese doctor, Lieutenant NEGASHI, and his orderly, Sergeant Major TARNIGUCHI, and asked them for increased food for the camp. Nothing was said, but a few days later, for no apparent reason, I was given a terrible beating by TARNIGUCHI. In the course of the ‘bashing’, I was told that this was because I had asked for more food for the camp. There is no doubt that there was a serious deficiency of protein resulting in hypoproteinosis characterised by swelling of the body, face and limbs.

I am satisfied that the Japanese were stealing large portions of our meat and fish rations before they were sent to our cookhouse. There is no doubt that if we had had our proper meat and fish rations as laid down by Japanese Headquarters, and also our Red Cross parcels, there would have been fewer deaths.

All the men suffering from diarrhoea and dysentery were ordered to have no food or drink for two days and in some cases, nothing at all until the diarrhoea had cleared up. Fortunately with the wonderful help of my orderlies, I was able to get these men some sort of light food, usually rice, without the Japanese knowing.

Some of the men had very sensitive alimentary tracts due to repeated attacks of dysentery and some of these found the soya beans too hard to digest. I asked the Japanese to give these men extra rice instead of beans. Not only did they refuse this but they said that these men must eat the beans.

(a) Clothing.
When we arrived at the camp, most of us had only tropical clothing. It was the end of November and very cold. We were each given a Japanese uniform, and Japanese boots and shirts for those who required these. We were also issued with ‘heavy’ coats made of material like sackcloth. Later we received clothes from the Red Cross but they were not issued when required. The Japanese made some of our men go to work with boots which had almost no soles. Meanwhile the Japanese soldiers were wearing our Red Cross boots. The same applied to socks. Near the end of the war, the boot situation became intolerable. While there were many pairs of boots in the store, men had to go to work in rubber and cloth boots or leather boots with holes in the soles.

(b) Hygiene and Sanitation.
When we arrived at the camp, 95 of the men had amoebic of bacillary dysentery. I must say that for the first few months, the Japanese helped to keep down infection. They provided bowls of antiseptic (cresol) for the use of the men after and before visiting the latrines and wash places. The latrines were just wooden cubicles with a couple of planks cut away in the floor to receive the faeces. When the receptacles were full, the Japanese employed civilians to clear out the pans. However, after a few months, they removed the cresol bowls and did not empty the lavatory pans when they were full. After appealing to the Japanese we were allowed to empty the latrines at times, using our own men.

During our stay at Moji, we were always very short of soap. Some of the men, therefore, found it impossible to keep their bodies and clothes clean. On the average we had one hot bath a week. The dimensions of the communal bath were about 9 ft. x 6 ft. x 2 ft, and after 40 or 50 men had been in the bath, the remainder found the water very black and cold.

Throughout our stay in this camp, we always had lice in our clothing and on our bodies. Some of us tried to wash our clothes and bodies frequently without soap and so managed to keep the lice from multiplying. Some, however, did not bother. I got my orderlies to count the number of lice on a pyjama jacket belonging to a Dutchman. They stopped counting after they reached 500.

I was told by the Japanese that owning to lack of fuel, the clothes could not be boiled in water. I therefore asked the medical orderly, Sergeant TERADA, for an ordinary hand iron which could be heated and the clothes, especially the seams ironed. This would without doubt have killed all the lice and eggs, but the appeal was refused, although I had noticed a shop near the camp which sold these irons. Incidentally we offered to pay for the iron. To make matters worse, the Japanese doctor told me that there were about ten cases of typhus fever in the town and that two had already died. It was nothing short of a miracle that no one contracted this dreaded disease.

In the summer time we were nearly driven crazy by fleas mainly in the blankets and at times this made sleeping impossible. The Japs did not help us very much. On one occasion they sprayed the bed spaces and blankets with cresol but this had very little effect. For sleeping quarters we lay on the floor and in most cases the ‘beds’ were in apposition with no space between so that heads were about one foot apart. This made it impossible to prevent spray infection. The Japanese would not allow us to sleep head to foot.

In December, 1944, there was an epidemic of mumps and the Japanese made some men go to work while they had parotid glands. Many men had to go to work while they had active dysentery. The Japanese had perverted ideas of deciding when a man should go out to work. If he reported sick at night and had a high fever, he was allowed to stay in bed during the evening roll call. The following morning his temperature was taken and if it was 57.5ºc. (99.6ºF.) or less, he had to go out to work. Fortunately we found ways and means of deceiving the Japanese in their fantastic temperature business.

The Japs told me that they thought the drinking water was infected and so forbade anyone to drink it. They did not allow me to test the water to prove the presence of pollution. After working hard all day, the men lost much fluid by sweat and they became very thirsty. The Japanese guards used to hide in the wash places and if they caught anyone drinking, they gave him a awful beating.

(c) Camps and Quarters.
Our camp was a Y.M.C.A. building and the Japs had erected wooden structures to house the 250 prisoners. As I mentioned before, the majority of us had to sleep right up against each other. The sick quarters were not separated from the main quarters so that there was no real peace or relaxation for the sick men. It was only in the last few months of the war that I was able to segregate the infectious cases.

The latrines and wash places were in the basement of the building so that a man sleeping at the top of the building had to go down four flights of steps and walk a distance of about 100 yards before reaching the latrines. Incidentally when a guard passed we had to salute him. This applied even in the middle of the night. Sometimes the lads were very sleepy and did not notice the guards - this of course was no excuse, and the prisoner got the usual beating.

(d) Medical Supplies.
As I said before, when we arrived at the camp, 95% of the prisoners had dysentery. This meant of course that immediate treatment was necessary. The Japs did try to help us then by giving us saline or glucose to inject into patients to try and replace the fluid lost. They gave me bismuth and sodium bicarbonate for the men but this was of no use. I needed drugs like emetine and suphaguanidine. This was not forthcoming. I regret to say that of the 250 men, 126 died in the first six weeks. We had to wait until the Red Cross medicine came before we got drugs which had been very necessary.

I mentioned before that men with dysentery got no food at all. This applied also to medicine at times. It all depended on the temperamental condition of the Japanese medical orderly. If the news in the Pacific worried him, he usually decided not to give any medicine in cases of illness. At times, men coming back early from working party because of illness received no medicine as a punishment. The Japanese to blame for this was Corporal, now Sergeant TERADA.

TERADA also accused us of using too much antiseptic and gauze for dressings. The only time for dressings was in the evenings for the working party, so that if there was a late working party which did not come back until 2 or 3 a.m., sometimes not until breakfast time next day, the men on the late party requiring dressings had to go to bed without getting their wounds attended to.

The Red Cross sent bottles containing plasma but the Japs did not give me any of this at times when I urgently required it.

When I arrived at Moji, I had a large hamper containing drugs which I had used on the ship from Java to Japan. This contained drugs for treating syphilis. The Japanese took all the drugs from me. There were six British soldiers in the camp requiring treatment for syphilis and I asked the Japanese doctor for blood tests and treatment but he refused to do anything. This was Dr. HEGASHI.

(e) Red Cross Supplies.
Plenty of Red Cross food, clothes and drugs arrived at the camp but we saw only a percentage of the total. The Japanese stole for themselves 30/40% of our food, clothes and drugs. Many lives were lost because of the bad distribution. More Red Cross drugs and food would have saved many lives and more clothing would have lessened the misery of coldness in winter and of dirty clothing.

Hundreds of thousands of multi-vitamin tablets arrived but the Japs would not distribute them among the camp personnel. Captain SAITO and Lieutenant HEGASHI were to blame for this. There was much beri-beri in the camp and the vitamin B1 in the vitamin tablets would have had a very important influence on the health of the men.

On Christmas day, 1944, we complained to Captain SAITO about the Red Cross parcels. We knew there were many in the stores but he had not issued any to us. We argued with him for some time. At last he said he would give us a Red Cross parcel each but all the tins and packages would have to be opened by us and the whole parcel consumed in a few hours. This was fantastic as the parcel, taken in conjunction with the Japanese food, could have lasted three or four weeks. Some of the poor lads tried to eat as much as they could, some of them even ate chunks of butter, but eventually they were all vomiting everywhere. This was another example of the perverted mind of the Japanese.

(f) Working Conditions.
Our men had various jobs. Some worked on ships in the harbour, loading and unloading them. Some did the coaling of ships, while others worked at the railway station loading and unloading trucks. During the first year some men worked at the iron works in Kokura. The men had to carry sacks of sugar, cement, rice, flour, etc. Weighing from 60/100 kilograms. On the ship, at times, they were unloading lumps of pig iron. This was very dangerous as pieces of iron were always falling on their toes. I am sure that many toes were fractured but I cannot say for certain as the Japs would not allow me to have any X-rays taken of these injuries.

While working in the hold of the ship, the men were in constant danger of sacks falling off the slings or the chain slings swinging against them before reaching the ground of the hold. Work was never stopped when it started to rain, unless the rain became torrential and even than it all depended on the magnanimity of the guard.

Reveille was at 5.00 hours and the working party left about 6.00 hours for work. During the forenoon they had a rest of about ten minutes for a smoke and sometimes tea. They stopped for lunch about 13.00 hours and sometimes only had 15 minutes for this meal, then back to work and a rest for ten minutes in the afternoon. They worked till about 19.00 hours.

(g) Safety of Prisoners.
Working on the ship was dangerous at times. Those in the hold had to always on the alert as the chain sling was liable to crush them when loaded. One R.A.F. warrant officer had his back broken when crushed against the side of the hold. I mentioned injured toes, when pig iron fell on them. In September 1944, our own lads started digging air-raid shelters and when they were completed, the camp personnel were always taken there during air raids. If the men were at work during a raid, they were brought back and taken to the shelters.

(h) Treatment by the Captures.
For the first few months, the treatment was quite good but after that it gradually became worse. I feel that this was due to the arrival at the camp of what we called the civilian guards. They were ex-soldiers who had served in China, Singapore, Java, etc. and the majority of them seemed to have decided to let us know what the real Japanese discipline was.

We had to salute all the guards. In the evenings after a hard day’s work, if the men were resting on their bed spaces, they had to jump to attention and bow when the guard passed. This was liable to happen many times in the course of an evening. They were not allowed to lie down apart from sleeping time.

No singing or music was allowed apart from rest days when we had to get permission from the Jap orderly officer. At first these rest days were every Sunday but later they occurred every second Sunday and eventually the ‘rest’ day became a day when everyone had to work in the camp for almost the whole day.

Smoking was allowed for 15 minutes after breakfast, a similar time after lunch, in the afternoon and after supper, but only for ten minutes after evening roll call. Anyone caught smoking at any other time got a severe beating. Also when smoking, we had to stand round a large brazier and throw our ash in it. No smoking was allowed at our bed spaces. If the guard on the working party thought any man was not working hard enough he beat him whether the lad was ill or not.

The men were often searched when they came back from the working party and if any unauthorised stuff was found on them, they got the usual severe beating. Any man with a button missing or unbuttoned got a beating. Some times for small offences, men were put into the guard room. This was a small cubicle into which almost no light entered. The prisoner had to sleep on the floor without blankets. A can was placed in the corner of the room for excretions. No food was given while in the ‘condemned sell’ as we called it.

One man was in the guard room for ten days. He was given a little water every day. The can containing urine and faeces was of course never emptied during the period of incarceration. When receiving a ‘bashing’, the man had to stand to attention while the Jap hit him on the jaw as hard as he could with clenched fists. If the prisoner fell down, the Japanese at once started kicking him until he stood up again. If he were knocked out or fainted, buckets of cold water were poured over him until he revived. If the prisoner dodged a blow the incensed guard beat him tenfold.

One method of torture was to make the prisoner lie flat on his stomach, then raise his body by stretching his arms and keeping the palms of his hands on the ground. He was supposed to remain in this position for one hour without bending either his back or his arms. Any sign of relaxing was rewarded with a crack over the back with a heavy stick.

Other punishments included standing at attention in a blazing sun, walking about with arms tied round the shoulder blades, being tossed over a guard’s back, being hit on the face with a leather strap, being hit on the back and at the back of the legs with a shovel, etc. etc.

(i) Treatment by Civilians.
The men with whom we worked on the working party were on the whole not too bad. Some times the foreman became nasty and beat some of the prisoners. Children about 14 years of age and some adults used to jeer at us as we marched along the streets.

To me, the Japanese woman was revelation. She went out of her way to help us on every occasion, even to the extent of incurring a beating from one of her own menfolk. At times, the women even gave us their own food.

(k) Other Violations.
At times our men were forced to work loading ammunition, bomb cases, etc. There were occasions when the guards stole some of our belongings while we slept. When we arrived at the camp we had to hand over all our valuables, watches, rings, etc. but by the end of the war, most of these had been stolen by the Japanese.

(l) Camp Regulations.
I have already mentioned reveille and working hours. Bed time was at 20.00 hours in the winter and 21.00 hours in the summer. A few men were kept in the camp permanently, e.g. cookhouse staff, medical orderlies and bootmaker. I have already mentioned smoking, bathing and rest day regulations.

(m) Incidents, etc.
The camp commandant, Captain SAITO, was a thick set, stockily built man. He would be about 45 years of age, about 5 foot 2/3 inches in height, very swarthy complexion, no moustache, hair, of course shortly cropped with no sign of baldness. He had a very deliberate walk somewhat ‘hentoed’, and a very loud voice when angry. When emphasising a point, he often closed his eyes and looked upwards. He had quite a nice smile showing white teeth. He wore black and yellow tan riding boots and in summer often walked about in a short sleeve singlet. he was married and had a daughter about 12/14 years of age.

Captain SAITO came to the camp in August, 1943. He refused to give us more food when we needed it and did not hand out our Red Cross parcels when they arrived. Rather he gave our Red Cross parcels to the Japanese guards and took some to his own house. He also stole some of our Red Cross clothing and drugs and was responsible for the Christmas Red Cross parcel incident in December 1944. At one time he instructed the guards to beat us on the least provocation. He refused to issue vitamin tablets when they were required and I often asked him for Red Cross milk for prisoners who were gravely ill, but this too he refused.

The Japanese medical orderly was a civilian named INOUYE. He was well built, rather on the slim side, very active and walked quickly if flat-footed. He was of nervous instability and very highly strung.

Description: 5 foot 3 inches in height, about 27 years of age, clean shaven, hair thinning on top.

Before the war INOUYE worked as a chemist. He was in the air force before becoming a civil guard and was said to have crashed in a plane. This was supposed to have affected his nervous system and he was thought to have goitre. He was very efficient at clerical work and good at tabulating figures. He draws very well and is an able swimmer. This man was married at the beginning of 1944, of which marriage a child was born about March 1945. INOUYE has a habit of sniffing and liked to show off before an audience.

He came to Moji about January 1943. He was very quite and without doubt the best guard we had ever had. This lasted for five to six months and then he suddenly changed and became an absolute maniac. There were times when he would go out of his way to help us as much as possible and then he would suddenly go berserk. Somehow he always went into a tantrum at the full moon. He would knock prisoners of war unconscious with his fists and often threw them over his shoulders and then kicked them while they were on the ground. I have seen him banging men’s heads against the wall. On one occasion he pulled a prisoner of war towards an open window about 30 feet from the ground and then tried to push him through. I have also seen him throw a man down a long flight of stairs.

In majority of cases the fault was not the prisoner’s but INOUYE was most unreasonable and would not wait to hear the defence of the prisoner. Even when he did hear it he usually called the man a liar.

Lieutenant HRGASHI, the Japanese doctor, would be about 34 years of age, 5 foot 3/4 inches in height, stocky built, and had a reddish birthmark over his right eye. He was married and his wife stayed in the vicinity of the camp.

Sergeant Major TARNIGUCHI would be about 28/30 years of age, 5 foot 3/4 inches in height, good build. He had been with the Japanese Army in China and was very much addicted to drink.

On 10th March, 1945, the Japanese had been celebrating some military victory. TARNIGUCHI sent for me and I went to the Japanese quarters. When I arrived, I saw that he was very drunk. Without giving any reason, he made me stand at attention and struck me repeated blows with his fists on the face and body. Then he made me go down on my knees and hold my hands above my head. While I was in that position, he struck me repeatedly on the ribs with the butt of his rifle. Then he made me stand at attention and again struck me with his fists on the face and body and once again made me kneel while he struck me on the body with the butt of his rifle. He then told me he was going to execute me, that he was going to cut off my head. He produced a sword and waved it about, appearing to be going through some kind of ceremony. Meantime some of the Japanese guards, probably thinking that he was going too far, had gone for TARNIGUCHI’s wife. By the time she appeared on the scene, TARNIGUCHI had more or less exhausted himself. I would say that he had been continually beating me for at least half an hour. As the result of the beating I was bruised extensively on the face, body and legs and was so stiff and sore that I was only able to walk with great difficulty for several weeks.

Sergeant TERADA, a Japanese guard, would be about 28/30 years of age, 5 foot 2 inches in height, slim build, spoke English fairly well, of effeminate appearance.

When he arrived at the camp, TERADA was a corporal and later was promoted sergeant. At first he was quite well behaved but later he became very difficult. He developed the habit of leaving the camp and visiting the working parties where he used to accuse the prisoners of not working hard enough. He then used to strike them on the body and head with a stick. If any prisoner was unable to carry on with his work and returned to the camp during the day, TERADA used to beat them on the body and head with a stick. I have described elsewhere his assault on Joseph CUSICK ‘s arm. I can also remember another occasion when he assaulted David SILVIE, British prisoner of war of the 6th Heavy Ack. Ack. Bty. Royal Artillery.

I found Silvie suffering from a fractured forearm and he told me he had received his injury from a blow with a stick struck by TERADA. Apparently TERADA thought he was not working hard enough. I asked to have the use of the X-ray apparatus to properly diagnose the fracture but this was not allowed and I had to be content with putting the injured arm in splints.

In my case, one of the British officers had been beaten up by the Japanese orderly officer. This prisoner was bleeding severely from many places and it was obvious that he required to be stitched at once. The Japanese had told us that the prisoner misbehaved and was beaten up by themselves, he was not allowed to have his wounds dressed. INOUYE wanted to know who had dressed this particular prisoner’s wounds and on learning that I had attended to it, he set about me and caught me a blow on the point of the jaw. I fell backwards and the back of my head hit the stone steps behind me. I suffered concussion and did not regain consciousness for three days.

Death of Joseph MALONEY: [Maloney, Joseph, Sgt., 85th Anti-Tank Regt]
Sergeant Maloney. Who was often referred to as "Danny", was a British soldier in the Anti-Tank Regiment. In June 1943, while in a working party outside the camp, he was badly injured when a heavy load fell on his back, fracturing his vertebrae and causing paralysis of his legs. I must say that the Japanese helped Maloney quite a lot although at times when I asked for sulphapyridine tablets, I was refused. Maloney developed a very nasty bed sore but the Japs would not let me dress it in my own way and allowed an ignorant medical orderly to decide on the line of treatment. Maloney died in February 1945. On the whole the Japs treated him fairly well, by comparison with the treatment they melted out to others.

Death of CARPENTER: [Carpenter, Claude E., TSgt, Harbor Defense Hq- died 8 July 1945]
This man was a technical sergeant in the American Army. In the first place he should never have been sent to work. When he arrived in Moji from the Philippines in August, 1944, he had been badly wounded in the thigh causing the shorting of one leg. He had very severe beri-beri on arrival, and this was not completely cured when he was sent out to work about April 1945. A few weeks after working he received a severe blow on the leg when a heavy box fell on it and the limb was badly swollen when he was brought back to the camp. Carpenter had lost much blood and for the next few days there was severe bleeding after each dressing. I asked the Japanese for Red Cross plasma which they had stored away but this was refused. I pleaded with them but they stolidly refused to give me any. Carpenter died a few days later. I am satisfied that if the Japanese had given me the plasma, I would have been able to save this man’s life.

Joseph CUSICK (not Kosack): [most likely: Kristich, Louis, Staff Sgt, 17th Pursuit Sqn]
This man was a corporal in the American Army. His arm was broken by TERADA, not INOUYE. About May 1945, Cusick had been sent out to work loading at a railway station about 2 miles from the camp, although he was not fit enough. He did not feel well while working and the Japanese guard gave him permission to rest. TERADA, the medical corporal, arrived on the scene and went mad when he saw Cusick sitting down. He lifted up a heavy stick and started beating him. After he had finished ill-treating Cusick, the latter complain of serve pain in the forearm. On examination it was found to be broken. I was in the camp when this man was brought back and he told me what had happen.

Sergeant SULLIVAN: [Sullivan, Arthur W., Staff Sgt, 34th Pursuit Sqn, 24th Pursuit Gp]
This man was in the American Army. There were so many beatings in the camp I am not certain of this one. I think it happened in May/June, 1945, while we were parading before going to the air raid shelter. Sullivan was a bit slow in shouting his number and as a result received a bad beating from INOUYE who struck him blows on the face and body with his fists.

Pte. SPENCER: [Spencer, George W., PFC]
This prisoner of war was an American and was badly beaten up for taking some food while working at the railway station in May/June 1945. He was also beaten up when he complained of not being very fit to continue working. At that time INOUYE struck him on the chest and body with a stick.

Sergeant POWELL: [Powell, George Robert, Staff Sgt, 515th CA, B Battery]
This prisoner was attached to the American Army. I am not certain of this case but I think some food was discovered on Powell when he returned from a working party in May, 1945. INOUYE struck him over the hand with a stick several times and he suffered from bruising and laceration.

Sergeant William E. BRAY: [Braye, William Earle, Sgt, 194th Tank, C Ompany]
This prisoner was also of the American Army. On a certain night INOUYE had one of his fits and as a result BRAY suffered. He had a high fever and the Japs had given him permission to remain in the camp hospital where he was a patient, if the air raid siren went. (Otherwise he should have gone to the shelter about a quarter of a mile down the road). The siren sounded during the night and by some mistake, BRAY was told to go to the shelter. Despite the fact that he had a high fever he managed to reach the shelter with some help. After the air raid, INOUYE noticed him being helped back to his quarters by some of the other prisoners of war and then and there gave him a terrible beating for not staying in the camp. He made him stand to attention while he struck him several blows on the face with his fists, knocked him down and kicked him on the body with his booted foot. Then he yelled for Bray to rise. He tried to get up but he did not have the strength. He was then made to stand outside the guardroom in the camp for three hours. For the next few days, Bray was seriously ill. He had a middle ear infection which was considerably irritated by the beating he had received. Fortunately he recovered.

Pte. LEWIS or LOUIS. [Louis, Arthur C., PFC, 60th CAC D Battery]
This prisoner was in the American Army. He was suffering from fever and was caught sleeping during the day without receiving the necessary permission from the Japanese. He received the usual beating, one of the guards striking him on the face and body with his fists. Incidentally Lewis tells the most awful lies and I found him difficult to deal with as he seldom told the truth.

I have read over the foregoing which is true statement made and signed by me at the Central Police Office, Turnbull Street, Glasgow, on in the presence of James Finlay Langmuir, one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the City of Glasgow.

Signed Allan Berkeley.

All of which is true as the dependant shall answer to God.
Signed J.F. Langmuir.
Stipendiary Magistrate of the City of Glasgow and Justice of the Peace for the County of said City.