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NX77799 - BUSINE, Sydney Herbert Thomas, Pte.
History Behind the
Story - by Jim Busine After a lifetime
of inquiry and meeting with various army personnel, I was unable
to find anybody who had known my father Herb Thomas Busine
during the war years. I was eager to learn about my father's
movements and to make contact with anyone who had spent time
with him in the period prior to hie death on the infamous
Thai/Burma railway. At a business lunch
in 1980, I raised the subject with Stan Davis, owner of Davis
Homes and an ex POW himself. Stan kindly agreed to make some
enquires for me and it was soon after that I was put in contact
with another ex POW, Les Hall of Harbord.
I phoned Les Hall to arrange a meeting, a meeting
that was to mark the beginning of a long and close friendship.
Les was able to fill a void that had burdened me
for many years. In the 9 - 12 weeks prior to my father's death
Les had spent many hours with him, talking of home and family.
These were the hours that I longed to share with my father and
the hours which Les would share with me in his biography "We
Called Him Tommy". From subsequent
discussions with Les and others who had spent time with my
father, I was able to learn more about my father's movements
from the time he joined the army until his death on the railway.
My father was a member of the Australian Militia
Forces prior to the outbreak of WWII. In 1939, when Australian
forces were drawn into the war against Germany, he, like many
other men, was keen to make a contribution. At my mother's
request, who was at the time carrying my elder brother Herb Jnr,
he decided against it. Just one day
after my birth on the 6/12/41 the Japanese entered the war,
bombing Pearl Harbour and attacking Malaya (7/12/41). My father
now felt compelled to become actively involved. Three days later
on the 10/12/41 he joined the AIF.
Rose Bay, NSW - Dressed in Militia uniform
prior to joining Army records show
that after a short training period, my father left Sydney on
10/01/42 bound for Fremantle, Western Australia aboard the troop
ship " AQUITANIA". With some 200 other personnel he took
unauthorised leave in Fremantle missing the ship on its next leg
to Singapore.
The Aquitania, in Sydney Harbour (Donor
H.Roberts) (AWM: P00172.005) Those
left behind, were eventually shipped out on the 30/01/42 aboard
the "MARELLA". Despite being placed in "so called" detention for
the trip, Bill Howes, who was with my father on that trip,
recalls how they lived like Kings, with cabin service and run of
the ship.
Fremantle, Perth
When the MARELLA eventually arrived in Singapore Harbour, the
Island was under attack from Japanese Forces and surrender was
imminent. As a result the ship was diverted to Batavia on the
island of Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Bill Howes
tells how after landing at Batavia they were left on their own
for about 2 weeks, before joining with other units that had
recently returned from the Middle East. This force included
about 3,000 Australian men plus a small group of American
artillery.
22/4/1940 - Aerial Port Side view of the
Australian passenger vessel SS Marella (AWM: 303589)
After several small confrontations and a major
battle at a bridge near ILLEWILIANG on 1/3/42, the force
withdrew to the mountains hoping to eventually cross the island
and join with two ships, the "HMAS PERTH" and the "US HOUSTON"
for passage back to Australia. However neither ship made it. The
ships had run into a large Japanese force in the Sunda Straits
and were both sunk. The force, left with
no other option, then waited for the Japanese to come to
capitulate. By this time my father had been attached to the 2/3
reserve motor transport and was in a camp at a place called "PAKENJUCK"
(known as camp No III). After the surrender in the mountains the
force was taken back to Batavia (now Jakarta) and imprisoned at
a camp known as the BICYCLE camp. After 6 months my father was
attached to BLACK FORCE under the command of Major Black. This
force was then sent to Singapore, spending a few days at Changi
gaol before sailing to Burma and joining "A" FORCE on the
Thai/Burma Railway. In 1943 he was sent
to a so called hospital at the 55 Kilo camp. This was the place
where he met Les Hall. It was also here that his leg was
amputated and where he eventually died.
The Death Certificate shows that besides the amputation with no
medicines or anaesthetic, my father was suffering other diseases
at the time of his death, (as did all the men in captivity).
It shows - MALNUTRITION - PELLAGRA - ULCER -
DIARRHOEA - , and no doubt Fever, Malaria and more.
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Last updated
31/08/2021 |
