Corporal Joseph Nutter was only 21 when he enlisted in the British Royal Army Medical Corps (R.A.M.C) in 1936, to train as a Nursing Orderly. He left a note on the mantel for his mother, advising her, "Gone to join the Army !"
He spent three years in Britain and India prior to his transfer to Singapore in 1939. When the Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942 Joe was working at Alexandra Hospital. He scrambled to the top of the hospital's lift-well and concealed himself along with two other R.A.M.C. medics. Their freedom lasted just three days. Their lives were spared on capture, only to be interred in Changi POW camp. He recorded in a secret diary of four small books the conditions and events between February 1942 and July 1943. Entries were recorded daily, meticulously written in his copperplate handwriting.
They include the Selarang Barracks incident and a forced march of 170 miles to the Burma railway. He was frequently called upon to assist in surgical operations without proper medical equipment and facilities. These horrific episodes for which he was not trained were in addition to his normal duties and responsibilities in the field of first aid, health and hygiene.
During his 3¿ years as a POW Joe experienced several ailments himself, including diarrhea, beriberi, malnutrition, malaria, dysentery and skin diseases.
He never returned to England, having migrated to Australia in 1945 after liberation.
This book replicates Joe's diary verbatim, with added annotations, explanations and illustrations.