My father, the Revd. L. V. Headley OBE, was imprisoned by the Japanese during WWII.

I recently discovered an article by him in Y Llan, the weekly newspaper of the Church in Wales, dated January 1946. Unfortunately I can’t read my native language so I asked my friend Iona Jones to translate it for me. She is the wife of fotoLibra’s first bank manager from HSBC. Not all bankers are evil.

This is her translation from Welsh to English:

The Japanese did not interfere with the Church services in most of the jail camps.  Restricted services were in Java and in some of the smallest camps in Malaya, but in the bigger camps in Malaya and Siam, services and meetings were allowed.

The biggest problem was that the healthy men had to work so hard – from early morning to dusk – they had no leisure hours at all.  This was also the case in the labour camps such as on the railways in Siam, only the unhealthy and the patients in the hospital were allowed to attend religious services.  Towards the end of our imprisonment – from November 1944 onwards, the Japanese restricted any form of meeting, apart from Church services and religious meetings.  The Chaplains took advantage of this situation, and precious work was undertaken.

When Singapore fell in February 1942, there were 30 Church of England chaplains with the British Prisoner of Wars and from these at least 8 died in imprisonment.  The Church was the first establishment to arrange its work and to rebuild itself following the conquest.  Churches were built in various places within the Chiangi camp, within a rifle range, in a cinema and in a mosque.  Also, several popular open air parade services were held.  More men on average had communion in the prisoner of war camps more than anywhere else.

Several came to the confirmation classes and in July 1942 the Archbishop of Singapore was granted permission to visit the camp to hold a confirmation service and to ordain.  The Rev. H.W.K. Sandy, a deacon was ordained a priest and 180 applicants from other labour camps from different sectors of the island were also confirmed.

The work did not progress as smoothly in Autumn 1942, groups of men left to work in Siam, New Guinea and Borneo.  One or two chaplains would leave with each  group and they would be treated in the same way as the men.

I was chosen to go to Siam along with 3,000 men and most of them Welsh.  The journey took five days and five nights in a goods train overcrowded with people.  We  then walked for miles through the undergrowth and desert with the monsoon rain pouring down.  The work was hard, weather terrible and food was bad.

At the beginning services could only be held on a Sunday night as this was the only time we were excused from the registering to attend the Gospel and the communion which followed.

Very soon, the hospitals became full and this was mostly where the Chaplains would work and also they would bury the dead.  When the cholera plague was rife we would bury ten to twelve people every day.  After three months there were only four hundred men left who were able to carry out even light work.  These men were then sent to Burma, whilst the rest were sent to the hospitals in Kanchanburi.

The hospitals were ‘attap’ sheds built on the rice fields.  The water was up to our ankles and there was no drinking water without transporting it from the town which was two miles away.  The Chaplains were kept very busy here, they would visit the patients, hold services and administer the Holy Communion; and very often would perform the last rights.   Also the average burials here was twelve a day.

Towards Christmas 1942, our regiment was sent back to Singapore, only two-thirds returned.  The regiment, known as ‘H Group’ were sent to camp huts on Sime Road, Singapore.  There was a small chapel erected by previous prisoner of wars and this was then repaired.  Furniture and decorations were made from various bits.  The main person in charge of this was Lieutenant Norman Jones from Holyhead who also helped the Chaplains with the work of the Church, especially with administering the Holy Communion.

Services were held daily at the St David’s Church, Sime Road, Singapore and on St David’s Day the service would be held in Welsh.  Attendance was good at all the services until we were moved to the big camp in Chiangi jail.  There were three churches there, St Luke near to the hospital; St George by the offices and St Paul within the jail, the latter for the regiment only.

The programme for the week:-

Sunday
Holy Communion 07.30am and 08.00am
Morning Prayer and Sermon 10.00am
Gospel 07.30pm
Holy Communion 08.30pm

Monday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
Questions Session 08.30pm

Tuesday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
Confirmation Classes 08.00pm

Wednesday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
Gospel and Sermon 07.30pm

Thursday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
Singing Meeting 08.00pm

Friday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
TOC H Meeting 08.00pm

Saturday
Holy Communion 08.00am
Morning Prayer 10.00am
Gospel and preparation for the Communion 08.00pm

This order was held to every week, unfailing until our segregation in September 1945.

The last service was held in St Paul’s on 7 September where 120 applicants were confirmed.

We hope that for those of us who have served Christ in these camps, that our time in carrying out the Lord’s work is not wasted.

Kanchanburi is today a tourist resort in Thailand, for people who want to see the famous Bridge on the River Kwai.

Which I now discover, my father helped build.

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