BEVIS, Daniel Edmund - WX9061

Original items held by the Army Museum of Western Australia

Cpl Daniel Edmund Bevis

Conflict	World War 2
Service Arm	Australian Imperial Force
Unit	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, 11th Platoon, C Company
Service No.	WX9061
Service Arm	Army
Date of Birth	21 Jan 1909
Birthplace	North Perth, Perth, WA
Residence	Northam, WA; Moora, WA; Merredin, WA
Date of Death	16 Sep 1949
Relatives	Wife - Thelma Jesson

Daniel Bevis was captured by the Japanese Army on the 15th February 1942 and kept these notes from his time as a Prisoner of War.

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War Dairy of WX 9061 Corporal D.E. Bevis
Daniel Edmund Bevis
Born:- 21st January 1909
Died:- 16th September 1949
11th Platoon, 'C' Company
2/4th Machine Gun Battallion

Capitulation - Feb 15th 42
march to Changhi - 3pm-4am Feb 17 Off. taken & shot after capit. R.S.M.s escape. Outside raids men starving - 100g rice daily, Chinese shot on beach by Japs Lt D & Cpl M escape - recaptured Changhi Square incident (2600 men)
Left Changhi - May 15 42 Toyohashi Maru - 5 x 1 space 2000 men when 500 was load 9 days on water, 17 cases of dysentery devoloped on board. Loaded gear from Medan - Sumatra.
Arrived Vic Pt - May 24th 42 Bob G. shot - Harry H. drowned Chungkul episode - Cpt Murunza Hyderabad. Regt plan to escape Went into R.A.P. Castrol Aero oil used. Had to learn Nippon for parades etc.
Left Vic. Pt Aug 6 -42 J prison ship 593 & Tatu Maru 500 men when 100 was load Benjo boxes - hugs coast all way up Burma.
Arr. Tavoy Gulf Aug 9 -42 Barges to Tavoy - 8 Aussies shot Aussies & Dutch change uniforms Aerodrome work. Food good.
Left Tavoy Aug 13 -42 100 kilos to Ye by truck (62 miles) Remarkable trip over mts by truck - indescribable (monkeys galore)
Arr. Ye Aug 13 -42 300 Dutch sword belted by Japs (Capt Eto) 40 Dutch tied in line & belted 12 Dutch dysentery tied back to back in circle 2 Aussies bashed unconscious Ye pagoda Sports day - Burmese races & fights. Self fishing race - 1 milk prize
Left Ye Sept 25 -42 March 28 miles to train. No road or boots. Blown bridges & Burmese trykes. Slept at Lammine - Guards theaten to bayonet those lagging behind, so made the train. Like cattle to Thanbyazayat.
Arr Thanbyazayat Sept 26 Nagatoma's speech - Raid killed 39. 75 elephants on parade. Start of line construction. Dr Suzuti first encounted by us.
Left Thanbyazayat Oct 1st Arr Kandaw (4 kilo) Oct 1st Fair food - Whitfield escapes - later caught & shot. Yak carts to Than - with pick. Incidents at J. H.Q. 3 Dutch escapees brought in. Nichida & Nagatoma's car. Latex used for wounds. Maj. G. in Roosegow - not signing papers
Left Kandaw Dec 1 -42
Arr. Thetkaw 1 K) Dec 1 -42 Capt Mull, Dickenson & Bell escape - caught near Rangoon & Brought 2 back & shot them. First of searched - grenades in Benjo's. beltings on line - BB & BBC. Night raid on Than. Carrying of news from Than into Kendaw - searched at J.H.Q.
Left Thetkaw March 1 -43
Arr Meilo (75k) March 1 -43 First Malaria - Blitzes of 3 & 400 men - working 20 hours per day by bamboo flares. Informed would sleeper line with dead bodies if necessary. Heat & mosquito's in jungle very severe. 12 in cemetery.
Left Meilo May 13 -43 March to Ankanan (105k) men strewn over road exhausted - shots fired no clothes or boots (25 miles) continuous.
Arr Ankanan May 14 -43 Ulcers - dysentery - malaria - cholera - malnutrition. Searches - blitzes & bashings. Snipe & Hoski the Techa Donna responsible Reccy planes heard occasionally 'A hunting we will go' by buglar. Legs & arms amputated at 55k. Murder of N.1. 1 man lost first night flares to find. 3/4 mile to creek - very jittery - Rice & pig melon or radish water sometimes dry rice & salt. Sick Dutch arrive in rotten condition - some dead on train. Nip photo of funeral, records buried in cemetery - 104 in cemetery on leaving. Bob Ramage died 108k. Bodies burnt 118k. (cholera) leaves in jungle cooked and eaten: Dutch idea. Picric acid made from Lydite. Bless em all song & then marking time singing 'pack up troubles'.
Left Anakanan Jan 1 -44 1 died on train to Tamakan buried alongside r/way. Wampo Bridge remarkable. aprox 600 deaths
Arr Tamarkan Jan 2 -44 Food good for 6 weeks to build up Jap party (later torpedoed) Dillinger - The Bull, etc. brutal treatment until end of March when things eased slightly. Sgt Skinner episode. 1 man escaped caught on bridge - bayonet through arm & stomach - lived. More searches. Nips say 'All men paradise - Nip summer' did not know till end of war what was meant. Camp 60 yards from bridge - of 13 steel spans & large A.A. position surrounded by Observation Post - Nip engineers - cavalry camp & Rlwy line. 21 planes over
Nov 29 -44, 4 bombs in camp 18 killed 38 wounded. Non Ploduc show Nov 30. 62 buildings of w/shops etc. wiped out. Bombs & bullets in camp. 93 killed 310 wonded. Kanburi bombed Dec 13. crow episode - Trenches in banana grove. Several more raids in Dec ('Gorfrodomma - Haumfastraunt', wooden bridge blown & repaired by us)
quiet till Jan 28 -45. 1 plane 1 bomb - lost 1 whisky.
Feb 5 AA 1/2 mile from camp - Nip engineers & bridge bombed - 1000 lbs. Bullet through tree at trench. Canteen & 11 & 12 hut burned down. Buried souveniers. 350 in cemetery. Incidents too numerous to mention. Visitors handicap 1 - 9 huts - 3 men out 1 night:- on parade 8 hours to attention. Started splitting letters & books for cig paper. Soot & Condys used for decorating for concerts.
'Esmushitzu' + Parcel received 23 May 44. 6 to 1 parcel.
First mail 28 May 44
Left Ankanan Feb 12 -45 March to Chungki over bridge - broke all records going over same - arr Chungki (6 kilos) same day.
Next day Feb 13 - bridge blown to pieces - plane M.G. Jap guard at camp - bullets thru 18 hut & cemetery. 1963 in cemetery when leaving. Cockaboo in charge - madman. River was O.K. Jap sick parade daily
Left Chungki - Feb 19th 45
Arr Non Produc Feb 20th 45. Night of expectance as previous raid was very noticable. Nothing standing except portion of P.O.W. camp. In train 4 hrs before leaving for Cachu M.T. (Petchaburi) on Feb 21 -45. Plane scare on train - bashings. Self Malaria - Dummy d - detrained at blown bridge - Ratburi - Thias hostile to Nips - Pontoons over river - March to Cachu M.T.s 86 kilo's (53 miles) self picked up in truck 15 miles out (MAL) & arr cachu M.T.
Feb 22. Rest
arrive in bad way Feb 24 Building 2 aerodromes 1 (8k) 2 (3 kilo's from camp). Conditions & Nips bad. Gobbler no good. Self Mal. all time & nearly passed out with Choleraic Malaria
28 April 45 - 26 planes over. M.G. of drome. M.G. mounted by Nips outside hosp hut. Plenty B'water fever. Ollies escape. Thias tortured on account same. 5 of 7 huts blown down in Typhoon. Storms every night. Large formation of B29's go over. I eat python & Armadillo - not too bad.
Left Cachu M.T. - July 1 -45. March to Petchaburi (18m) self in truck after 10 M. (MAL). Train to Ratburi - damage of previous planes apparent. Stopped night sitting up. Chinese says 1 month - he was right. Through Nakompatong - largest pagodo seen. Here are hundreds of legless & armless men. Bridge blown to pieces. Walk over bamboo makeshift. Reccy over - all windy.
Arr Bangkok July 3 -45 Bomb havoc at station & Rlwy workshops. Barge to go-downs 1 falls in river en route also 1 disembarking. Big raids around go-downs. 2 weeks previously. Lofty killed - roofs wrecked. did not like it very much.
Left go-downs 6 July -45.
Arr Petchaburi July 6 -45
Left 1am 7 July for Nakomnai. March was murderous & at end of 45 kilo's men were all in. Had been going with no rest or food or boots for 33 hrs continuous. Tried to refuse to march when 3/4 distance was covered on account no water but rifle & bayonet won so we staggered on.
Arr Nakomnai July 7 -45. Blue beard - Cockaboo & Konnai no good. Long hours & hard work building dug outs - ammo dumps etc in hills 8 kilo's away. Plenty lightning & storms. under water consistently. Cannot dig latrines on account water. 10 kilos to hills to cemetery. Cement bags were split for cig papers.
Left Nakomnai Aug 4 -45
Arr Lockburu Aug 4 -45
100 yards to 2 Tarmacs - 3 transmitting stations & trucks, petrol dumps, hangers & nips galore. Surrounded by military objectives & confined to an area 75 yds square, under tents. 200 in party, & instructed if any air activity, not to move out of area or would be shot.. 1 B29 over, & all keyed up for eventualities as plane came from hanger to runway to have a go - nothing happened - Nip plane crash. 'Self Nip' sweejebar & route planned for escape in case needed. Told on evening of Aug 16 that we were to move back to Nakomnai next morning Aug 17 Thias shower truck with food etc, & we had an idea something had happened on arrival at Nakomnai we were elated to see yank British & Dutch flags flying & was notified war had finished. Told of 1 man in Burma tied to tree for 23 days for attempting to escape. & bay on Aug 14. Cpt D. locked in ammo dump room for 80 days - when released was of unsound mind & B'water fever. Plane dropped men & supplies on Sept 1 - great sight. 1 man through roof hut, also some parcels when chute failed to open. Again on Sept 3 & 4 more supplies, clothes & medicine - one plane dare devil flyer - very exciting. Lady Mountbatten visits camp (cattle sold - painted B'beards bike)
Left Nakomnai Sept 13 -45
Arr B'kok University (Tamasart) Sept 13 -45 wonderful buildings, Kings palace, pagoda's etc in B'kok. Very prosperous country
Sept 19th Norm & I leave besieged by kids. Special policeman standing at table while eating.
Sept 20-21-22 Riots in B'kok. Siamese & Chinese mainly responsible, a few killed & wounded. Things look serious. 2 Aussies included in killings & 1 Yank
Sept 24th left Bangkok - 8.50 am Don Muang Aerodrome by air & flew 900-1000 miles to Singapore arriving after 5 hrs 25 minutes flying time at 2.15pm. Bad weather on leaving - crossed Gulf of Siam & South China Sea - thence east coast of Malaya. Views of paddy fields, rivers & jungles - magnificent. Had a couple nasty bumps over China Sea. All Aussie crew on board a Dakota plane. Height mostly about 10,000 ft. Present quarters at Singa just like civilization again & had my first drink of beer in 3 3/4 years. This is a record.
Sept 26th (Thels birthday xxx)
Left Singapore - 29th Sept 45 Final journey home. This is 7th boat since leaving Aussie.

Travels en Route
Perth, Claremont, Naval Base, Northam, G. T.School, 'Duntroon', Adelaide, Terowie, Riverton, Quorn, Oodnatta, Alice Springs, Tenant Creek, Banka Banka, Elliot, Larimah, Burdum, Adelaide River, Berry Springs, Howard River, Mickel Creek, King River, Rapid River, 'Marella', New Guinea, Port Moresby, 'Aquitania', Sydney, Fremantle, Sundra Strts, 'Van der Lyn', Singapore, Woodlands, Cape Terelip, Echo Hill, Holland Road, Ulu Panda, Cemetery Hill, Changhi, 'Toyahasi Maru', Vic. Point, '593', Tavoy, Ye, Lammine, Thanbyuzayat, Kandaw 41k, Thetkaw 14k, Meiloe 75k, Ankana 105k, Tamarkan, Chungki, Non Product, Ratburi, Petchaburi, Nacompaton, Bangkok, go-downs, Pratchinburi, Nakomnai, Lotburi, Bangkok, Tamasart Uni, Don Muang aero, Changhi, Singapore, 'Tamarao'

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