by David
Any participant at the Ex-POW Association reunion who took a walk among the beachfront shops not only saw many Japanese tourists but also noticed that a fair proportion of shops were staffed by Japanese and probably owned by them. Many ex-POWs resented this. They had spent more than three years being starved, bashed and brutalised – not by these individuals, of course, but perhaps by their fathers or uncles.
One member at the reunion was arrested that week for lashing out at a young Japanese man. The Japanese, who was less than half the Australian’s age and much fitter than his older attacker, was unharmed and had apparently done nothing to provoke the assault. Perhaps he resembled someone from this ex-POW’s past. The incident illustrated the depth of anti-Japanese feeling held by many ex-POWs.
Prime Minister Bob Hawke – who, incidentally, was David’s first cousin on his mother’s side – had come to power three years previously, in 1983. His government had taken great pains to encourage Japanese investment in Australia and maintain good relations with its premier trading partner.
Most Ex-POW Association members who were in favour of claiming reparations from the Japanese did not, of course, have Australia’s relationship with Japan as their first priority. Even those who had taken the trouble to consider the value of Japan as a trading partner – and this included David and George – believed that Japan still owed them a great debt. They intended to shout long and loud about it.
A few members appreciated the Australian government’s efforts to maintain a good relationship with Japan, and perhaps believed that a group of agitating and crusading ex-POWs could prove an embarrassment. After all, the subject of compensation for what happened to Australian POWs had, to all intents and purposes, been settled at the San Francisco Peace Conference between the Allied governments and the Japanese. Article 14 (b) of its treaty, signed on 8 September 1951, seemed to put an end to any hope of further compensation from the Japanese. It stated that:
Except as otherwise provided in the present Treaty, the Allied Powers waive all reparations claims of the Allied Powers, other claims of the Allied Powers and their nationals arising out of any actions taken by Japan and its nationals in the course of the prosecution of the war, and claims of the Allied Powers for direct military costs of occupation.
What the treaty did provide for was described in Article 14 (a):
It is recognized that Japan should pay reparations to the Allied Powers for the damage and suffering caused by it during the war. Nevertheless it is also recognized that the resources of Japan are not presently sufficient, if it is to maintain a viable economy, to make complete reparation for all such damage and suffering and at the same time meet its other obligations.
Therefore . . .
2. (I) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (II) below, each of the Allied Powers shall have the right to seize, retain, liquidate or otherwise dispose of all property, rights and interests of
(a) Japan and Japanese nationals,
(b) persons acting for or on behalf of Japan or Japanese nationals, and
(c) entities owned or controlled by Japan or Japanese nationals . . .1
In essence, the Allied countries agreed that Japan had no money to pay compensation in 1951, so they settled for the value of whatever property Japan had left in the countries it had occupied. This included the Thai–Burma railway, on which so many Australians laboured and died.
The money available was paid into a fund organised by the Australian government, ‘The Enemy Property Trust Fund’. In 1952 the government made an initial distribution of £32 to each ex-POW, or to dependents of deceased POWs . In 1956 a further payment of £54 was made, followed by a final payment of £16.10s in 1963. The total, then, was £102.10s.2
All ex-POWs knew they had been paid this minimal compensation in the past, but in the thirty-five years since the treaty was signed, Japan’s riches had been greatly restored. The Gold Coast members of the Ex-POW Association were ready to fight for compensation again, no matter what the government had negotiated in 1951.
David and George received great support from members at the reunion. They knew they would probably enjoy similar support from the rank and file members of all of the association’s branches, as well as from ex-POWs who were not members. But they would have to lead the movement themselves. David felt completely confident that he had the experience and the determination to do this, without relying on the executive of the Ex-POW Association.
He was ready for the fight, having regularly taken on the establishment since his days at Changi. In his opinion, the executive of the Ex-POW Association should have been leading the fight. Had they done so, he would have been their greatest supporter, but since they refused to lead, he would take the job on. He felt as though a bulldozer could not have stopped him.
David was aware that the executive most likely thought that a small group of ex-POWs on the Gold Coast would soon fall by the wayside, particularly when they had to find hard cash for their campaign. David, too, knew that his enthusiasm was always likely to be greater at the annual get-together. Back at the branch meetings it might be more difficult – but he had plans to overcome this.
All David’s working life, he had brought people around to his point of view. He was well aware of the value of publicity, and had plenty of contacts in the newspaper industry. He knew that his knowledge, his skills and his contacts would serve him well.
From that moment on, David became an active and committed member of the Gold Coast branch of the Ex-POW Association. By the end of November 1986, he had been appointed secretary and treasurer of the branch, and he had persuaded the branch president, Harry Nesbitt, to support the fight for reparations. By December, he had persuaded Peter Collas, an ex-POW himself (in Germany) and a solicitor with Collas Moro – to join the reparations claim group. Peter kindly volunteered to work free of charge.
The small reparations group now met regularly to plan and make decisions. David, George, Greta and Peter had now been joined by Gordon Jamieson, an ex-POW and friend of Peter Collas, and Joy Cox, the wife of an ex-POW. This small group of committed and passionate individuals was determined to extract from the Japanese government what they regarded as the right of every Australian prisoner of war. Beneficiaries would include the next of kin of those who had died in captivity during the war and of those who had died since. The task was really one for the national government, but the small Gold Coast branch took it on willingly.
The group knew that its chances of success would be greatly increased if it had the support of the national executive of the Ex-POW Association. Despite the poor reception he had received from the executive at the Gold Coast reunion, David put forward the following four-part motion to the Gold Coast branch meeting on 7 December 1986.
This association of Ex-Prisoners of War is concerned that the heinous, inhuman, brutal and completely unlawful treatment imposed upon Australian prisoners of war by the Japanese military authorities during World War Two has not received the recognition or acknowledgement in terms of reparation or in any other way on the part of the Japanese nation.
That this association is of the opinion that the bashings, the tortures, the starvation and murderous atrocities imposed upon Australian prisoners of war, which brought about the premature death of some 7,700 of them and broke the health of the remaining 13,800 who managed to survive, deserve condemnation of the Japanese by the world community of nations.
That with this objective in mind, this Association does, on behalf of all Australian prisoners of war who underwent captivity by the Japanese in World War Two, inclusive of next of kin of those who in captivity or who have died since, embark on the necessary action to claim reparations from Japan for the unlawful acts so wilfully perpetrated.
Furthermore, in pursuance of this objective this Association investigate the feasibility of enforcing such reparation claims in the international arena, including utilising, if thought fit, the instrumentalities of the United Nations Organisation, the Sub Committee of Hu
man Rights at Geneva; and implement the necessary action as may be feasible and lawful to enforce such reparation claims accordingly.3
The branch members voted in favour of the proposal, and the Reparations Committee was born.
David knew the protocols for creating and executing new policy in the Ex-POW Association. Proposals were first put at branch meetings and, if passed, were then proposed again at higher levels of the organisation until they reached the national executive. This ensured that the majority of grassroots members supported the motion. Members knew that if a proposal reached the national executive, it should be acted on in good faith. However, David also knew that the executive could also use the system to block policy that it did not agree with, against the wishes of its members. The process was also very slow, since the state and federal councils of the association met infrequently.
David was well aware that the executive was against his proposal. It would be very easy for them to ensure that the motion got bogged down and forgotten, or even deliberately sabotaged, so he decided to take some preventative action.
He put the motion out as a press release and ensured that it was circulated as widely as possible. His proposal was news on morning radio, and even the federal executive of the Ex-POW Association – in faraway Victoria – immediately became aware of the plans of a small group of ex-POWs on the Gold Coast to launch an action against the Japanese government.
David’s next goal was to obtain the approval of the Queensland State Council of the Ex-POW Association, and for this he had another plan.
His first move would be to persuade the largest branch of the Ex-POW Association in Queensland, in metropolitan Brisbane, to support the Reparations Committee’s proposals. David believed this would be possible as he had many friends among the rank and file members of the Brisbane branch, although he knew that George Beard, its president, and Clarrie Wilson, its secretary – both of them loyal disciples of Weary Dunlop – were against the proposal.
David organised for a motion in support of the action of the Gold Coast branch to be submitted to the executive of the Brisbane branch in time for its next meeting. The proposal would be announced at the meeting, debated and voted on, just like any other item on the agenda. David confirmed that all this was in order with Clarrie Wilson.
The meeting was held at the Bookmakers Club in Wharf Street, Brisbane, early in January 1987. The meeting room was packed – members were even standing at the back. The branch officials, including George Beard and Clarrie Wilson, sat behind a table on a small stage at the front of the room. David had ensured that all his mates, and their mates, were there. He’d even smuggled Peter Nally, a reporter friend from the Gold Coast, into the event.
The meeting proceeded with its routine items. Suddenly, David realised that Beard was winding the proceedings up – the motion in support of the Reparations Committee had not even been mentioned. He immediately stood and objected loudly. The motion had been submitted according to the rules, he said, but it was being ignored. He continued to complain as the chairman rose to his feet.
‘Order, order,’ shouted Beard. ‘Could you just sit down and shut up for a bit?’
David continued complaining, and soon voices could be heard from all around the room. The loud objections gradually formed a chant by the whole audience: ‘Read the motion! Read the motion! Read the motion!’
‘Okay, okay, just sit down and listen,’ Beard shouted. He held both arms above his head, requesting silence from those on the floor. He conferred with Wilson as the ruckus gradually died down.
Moments later, Wilson got to his feet, cleared his throat and started to explain why the proposal had not been put to the meeting. ‘Unfortunately,’ he began, ‘the papers proposing the motion were not submitted to the executive on time, so the motion . . .’ His voice disappeared under a new uproar from the floor.
At that moment, David knew he had the Brisbane branch on his side. After several calls for silence, a face-saving procedural motion from the executive was put to the meeting and passed. Finally, among much shuffling of paper, the motion in support of the Gold Coast branch’s Reparations Committee was produced and read. It was overwhelmingly approved by the members.
A few weeks later, on 22 February 1987, the Queensland State Council in turn approved the Reparations Committee’s four-part motion to work towards claiming reparations from the Japanese government.
Now, David and his hardworking helpers had to persuade every Australian ex-POW of the Japanese, whether they were members of the association or not, that the Reparations Committee needed their support. For this, David had a twofold strategy: he would design publicity to inform the public of their cause – and to embarrass the Japanese – and he would campaign to win the support of the other State Councils and the Federal Council of the Ex-POW Association.
By now, David recognised a passion building within him that he had almost forgotten. He first had these feelings on the night that freedom had arrived at the Lop Buri POW camp in Thailand. It was an intense hatred, combined with a need to dominate and debase the Japanese, just as he and his mates had been dominated and debased. It was a need to tear from their torturers, by any means possible, at least some payback for the massive hurt and humiliation inflicted on them for three and a half years.
David had satisfied these feelings in late 1945. Now, he truly believed that, if he worked hard, they could be satisfied once again.
Chapter 18
The Fight Continues
In early 1987, the Reparations Committee began providing stories to every reporter who would listen. Given David’s background, he had many contacts he could call on.
The information from Canada about suing the Japanese was like the light at the end of a tunnel for us. I had reporter mates in Melbourne and Sydney who I’d worked with before I retired, and they gave me the names of a few more journalists who they thought would be sympathetic to our cause. I knew the Australian government hated the publicity because Japan was its main trading partner. I also knew the Japanese were embarrassed by our campaign, and of course I knew Weary Dunlop and his mob were furious.
We sent out press releases bloody everywhere. We took care that they were always factual – we didn’t have to exaggerate. The truth alone was horrific enough. These stories certainly denigrated the Japanese, but then that was the point of the whole business.
We told the papers that we were suing for $500 million, that the Japanese behaviour in the war had been barbaric, and that we could never forgive and forget. Bruce Ruxton was behind us. He said that former Nazis were being chased all over Europe for what they did but that nobody was saying boo about the Japanese war criminals.
Now, making public any action that needs bureaucratic approval from an organisation or association is often frowned upon. Bureaucracies generally like to consider proposals without the pressure of publicity. The federal level of the Ex-POWs Association was, therefore, not amused when the Reparations Committee of the small Gold Coast branch broadcast to the world that it intended to go after the Japanese government – via the United Nations – for reparations, especially since it stated clearly that it expected the support of all other state branches and the federal executive. By publicising the cause, David had ensured that the committee’s intentions could not be ignored.
David very much wanted the support and the authority of the Federal Council. As it was, the Reparations Committee was acting under the authority only of the Gold Coast branch, and with the tacit support of the Queensland State Council. David did not believe that the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty had put an end to any hope of compensation. He had sought some expert opinions on this from the lawyers who were working on the Canadian claim. He knew he had to inform the rank and file of the movement in order to gather their support. Newspaper articles were one of the best ways to achieve this.
David knew that some ex-POWs believed that this effort would be all too late and therefore hopeless.
People often asked me
why we were taking action at this late stage. I’d say to them, ‘Well, what about the Jews?’ They had been bringing World War II holocaust criminals to justice for years after the war.
In Japan, hundreds of war criminals were still living a peaceful existence because the Allies hadn’t meted out the same justice to those who had mistreated and tortured us. Every POW who didn’t come back died in his own kind of hell. Many might have welcomed a quick death, but thousands died clinging to the belief that life was better than death. We who survived believed that no amount of money could compensate us for that pain. However, I thought that what little we might get would be of some comfort to survivors and widows, and I was determined to get it for them.
The year 1987 was a busy one for the members of the Reparations Committee. In addition to publicising their cause through newspapers, they corresponded with the ex-POW associations in Canada, Britain, Holland and New Zealand. They worked hard to gain support from the other higher levels of the Australian Ex-POW Association, the government, the RSL and the Red Cross.
After the Queensland State Council approved the Gold Coast branch’s reparations proposal in February 1987, it was sent to the Federal Council with the request that it also give approval. As the committee chairman, David asked that a poll be organised of all members of the association, Australia-wide, to ascertain the feelings of grassroots members. David doubted that this would be as straightforward as it appeared, but the process had to be followed.
Greta supported and helped David throughout this very busy time. She typed and organised and made their house at Mount Tambourine available as the committee’s headquarters. David, George Stevenson, Peter Collas and Joy Cox planned, wrote letters and developed an application form with which Ex-POWs could register their support for the compensation bid. A $10 registration fee was requested from each claimant to fund all the administrative work.
