New complete diary of a POW of the Japanese released includes Java and Nagasaki

Hi
I posted this on WW2f but thought it might be of interest here:

“We had uneventful train journey to Nagasaki and then we saw the result of the atomic bomb. It was simply astounding, nothing left standing for miles, everything flat and burnt out.”

That's how Les Spence, of the 77th HAA Regiment, records his impressions of Nagasaki in the days after the plutonium bomb was dropped on the city.
Les risked his life to keep a remarkable diary in Tandjong Priok, Bicycle Camp, aboard the ‘Ussuri Maru’ and in the coal-mining Camp 8, Inatsukimachi, Japan.
When he died in 1989 he left wishes for the diaries to be published.
But they were lost and believed destroyed. Then, a few years ago, they were found in a cupboard in a newspaper office and passed to me.
I have now transcribed the diaries and they are being published with editor’s notes and photographs as ‘From Java to Nagasaki’.
The 68,000-word diaries cover the period from January 1942 to November 1945. They start on board convoy and end aboard the Queen Mary.
The surrender on Java is recorded in detail: “A day that will live in my memory. We’ve surrendered after being on this island for six weeks... So the war is over as far as we are concerned. Just prisoners of war.”
And as number 2 in one of the camps nearest Nagasaki, Les was able to record the dropping of the plutonium bomb.

Les, who would later go on to become president of the Welsh Rugby Union, had been captured in early March 1942 when British forces on Java.
He would pass through a number of prison camps on Java, be held briefly at Changi, Singapore, and be forced to work at a mining camp in Japan.

Les’ writing takes in the surrender of Allied forces on Java, the conditions and life in the camps and the growing death toll.
It shows how the prisoners learned to survive: bargaining for food, playing football and rugby, and maintaining a sense of discipline.
One of the most intense sections covers the prisoners’ journey in the suffocating hold of a so-called ‘hellship’, taking them from Java to Japan via Singapore.

The book, 'FROM JAVA TO NAGASAKI' is priced £16.99 plus postage and is published by Magic Rat Books (Magic Rat Books).

The ISBN number is 978-0-9562722-2-5.

I am donating £1 from the royalty on every book sold to the Java Club.

 

If you are researching Java and Japanese POW camps here is an index of some of the places and names which appear in 'FROM JAVA TO NAGASAKI'



Units

3rd Hussars, 205
6th HAA Regiment, 30, 33, 57, 218
15th Punjab Regiment, Indian Army, 209
16th AA Brigade, 204
21st LAA Regiment, 219, 220
34 (B) Squadron, 202
35th LAA Regiment, 218
48th LAA Regiment, 216, 218
77th HAA, 5, 14, 30, 33, 35, 57, 58, 64, 69, 70, 76, 77, 120, 162, 167, 186, 187, 199, 202, 203, 205, 207, 208, 210, 212, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223
84 Squadron, RAF, 218
174 Field Ambulance, 223
211 Squadron, RAF, 218
Royal Corps of Signals, 218
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 220
Royal Engineers, 209


People and Places

Ainsley, John, 11, 203
Ambon, 212
Angel Island, 195, 225
Australia, 9, 13, 42, 47, 211
B, Dick, 48, 58
Baker, Billy, 212
Bandoeng, 42, 67, 78, 210, 214
Barry, Wales, 5, 203
Batavia, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17, 23, 29, 30, 33, 40, 64, 67, 78, 81, 82, 202, 204, 205, 212, 213
Baxter, John, 199, 201, 202, 205, 206, 208, 209, 213, 214, 215, 219, 220, 222
Benghazi, 10
Berlin, 152, 165, 173, 222, 223
‘Bijou Maru’, 223
Birch, Captain, 20, 205
Black, Bill, 11
Blakey, George, 187, 224
Blakey (PoW, unknown first name), 20
Boei Glodok, 77, 205, 213
Boei Glodok (life at), 17-23, 70-77
Borneo, 41, 209, 210
Boxall, Jimmy, 11, 203
Bradford, England, 219
Brandon, Sidney Charles, 106, 218
Brooke, Rupert, 101
Burma, 8, 84, 160, 203, 209, 212, 215, 222
Burrlock (Burrluck), Sergeant AO, 103, 218
California State Military Museum, 225
Camp 8, Kamo, 216
Camp 8, Kamo (life at), 87-190
Canada, 195, 225
Cape Town, 7, 8, 9
Cardiff, 5, 29, 36, 81, 102, 118, 125, 197, 203, 208, 209, 211, 212, 219, 222
Cardiff Arms Park, 197
Cardiff City FC, 203, 208, 209, 212
Cardiff Rugby Club, 5, 197, 203, 219
Cardigan, 207
Ceylon, 9
Changi, 209, 212, 215
China, 86, 87, 219
Chungkai, 212
Chungking, 187
Churchill, Winston, 7, 10, 111, 208, 223
Clapton, London, 219
Coconut Grove, 45, 46
Cole, Driver S, 187, 224
Colombo, 9
Convoy DM2, 5
Convoy WS14, 5, 201
Cox, Alan, 120
Cox, Pat, 11, 59, 212
Crete, 8
Crewe, 210
Curtis, Ernie, 34, 208, 212
Cycle Camp (aka Bicycle Camp), 67, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 82, 212, 213, 214
Cycle Camp (life at), 67-70, 77-78, 82-83
Davies, Sergeant, 84
Davies, Griff, 25, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 56, 57, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77, 83, 207
Derbyshire, 210
Donnington, 210
Dudley, 224
Dunn, Frank, 202
Dunn, Neville, 202
Durban, 5, 7, 8
Edwards, Hugh, 11, 132, 181, 199, 201, 203, 208, 216, 217, 220, 223
‘Empress of Australia’, 202
England, 10, 13, 20, 25, 26, 32, 36, 58, 66, 81, 106, 109, 123, 130, 142, 165, 169, 170, 179, 203, 223
Evans, Bert, 8, 23, 29, 37, 44, 45
Evans, Dai, 191
Evans, Horace, 11
Evans, Ken, 81
Exeter, 219
Far East War Crimes Tribunal, 213, 220
Fawcett, FS, 44, 211
Fleming, Bill, 195
Fobes, Hal, 165, 172, 186, 188, 222
Forge, John ‘Dusty’, 43, 44, 210
Formosa, 18, 86, 220
Fort Lewis, 195
Fort McDowell, 225
Freetown, 5
Frome, 5, 36, 125
Fryett, Frank, 9, 18, 28, 33, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 100, 105, 107, 109, 110, 120, 122, 123, 125, 126, 128, 131, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 148, 149, 153, 156, 163, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175, 178, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 196, 202, 220
Gardner, Les, 170
Garoet, G, 16, 205
Gaskell, Major GFG, 12, 16, 30, 81, 203
Gibson, Corporal, 99, 218
Glamorgan County Cricket Club, 197, 203
Glasgow, 161, 210, 218
Goronwy, John W, 182, 223, 224
Gosney, Ronald, 128, 220
Grandon, Dai, 11, 60, 119, 122, 128, 130, 187, 188, 189, 191, 196, 212
Grider, James A, 152, 157, 164, 165, 169, 188, 221
Guadalcanal, 208
Guernsey, 205
Hampson (PoW, unknown first name), 136
Hancock’s Breweries, 203
Hardacre, Harvey, 11, 60, 72
Haruku, 212
Hawarden, 210
Hawkins, Charlie, 18, 205
‘H’ Force, 203, 212
Higashi Misome, 211
Hitler, Adolf, 166, 223
HMS Glory, 196, 225
HMS Ramillies, 9, 201
Hoeffer, Frank, 213
Honolulu, 193, 225
Honshu Island, 211, 224
Horner, RM, 210, 215
Humphries, HR, 12, 17, 22, 27, 29, 30, 31, 40, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 212
Hunt, Les, 19, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 211
Inatsukimachi, 87, 216, 221, 224
Jakarta, 5
Jakarta War Cemetery, 205, 207, 208
James, Billy, 209, 212
James, Noel, 19, 20, 28, 41, 42, 70, 76, 77, 83
Japan, 5, 43, 44, 55, 57, 58, 66, 77, 84, 87, 105, 119, 123, 127, 138, 144, 148, 156, 160, 172, 182, 183, 197, 210, 211, 214, 216, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225
Java, 5, 11, 16, 33, 39, 53, 83, 87, 117, 138, 141, 152, 162, 196, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 224
Jesselton, 210
Jones, Allan, 204
Jungle Journal, 15, 17, 32, 62, 204, 207
Kama, Fukuoka Prefecture, 223
Kanchanaburi hospital camp, 212
Kent, England, 219
King, Reg, 120, 220
King Victor Emmanuel III, 214
Knight, William, 32, 208
Kokura, 211
Konno, Shiggy, 197
Kuching, 210
Kyushu, 87, 216, 219, 224
Lanarkshire, 218
Lane, Colonel CM, 40, 52, 53, 209
Leicester, 218
Lewendon, Brigadier RJ, 202
Lewis, Jack, 7, 41, 141, 221
Lloyd, Herbert ‘Doc’, 24, 25, 26, 42, 50, 51, 206
Lock (unknown first name), 14
Lock, George, 11
MacMillan, Captain HMR (also McMillan), 11, 203, 224
Malang, 56
Malaya, 202, 209, 221
Manchukuo, 166, 181, 223
Manilla, 85
Manorbier, 190, 191, 224
‘Marine Shark’, 192, 225
Marriott, Ted, 207
Middlesex, 219, 220
Milligan, Jonny, 11
Missen, Sergeant LA, 110, 121, 149, 219
Mitchell, SD, 44, 211
Miyata camp, 224
Moji, 139, 211, 216, 224
Moji Number 4 camp, 211, 221
Mombasa, 8
Motoyama, 211
Mussolini, Benito, 79, 166, 214, 222
Musson, John Wilfred, 108, 218
Nagasaki, 182, 189, 190, 223
Nelson, David, 209, 212, 215
Newport, Wales, 5, 220
New York, 196, 197, 225
Nippon Times, 165, 222
North Africa, 71, 213
Norway, 8
O’Fitzpatrick, M, 11, 59
Ohama, 210, 211, 224
O’Hara, Michael, 105, 218
Okinoyama, 211
Olympia, Canada, 195
Onada, 211
Otago, New Zealand, 211
Ottawa, 196
Oversay, 5
Owens, Henry, 148, 221
Owens, Tudor, 78
Pearl Harbor, 5, 194, 220, 225
Penarth, 191
Penarth Water Polo Club, 203
Perkins, Syd, 193, 225
Perry, Harry, 150, 151, 158, 221
Philippines, 85, 86, 192
Phillips, Rev, 33, 208
Pontefract, 218
Pontypridd, 223, 224
Pritchard, Jackie, 209, 212
Probert, Johnny, 12, 44, 203, 211
‘Queen Mary’, 196, 197
Rabinovitch, Simon, 112, 219
Rangoon, 8
Reardon Smith, Alan, 25, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 79, 83, 207, 215
Reardon Smith, William, 207
Rhondda, 204, 220
Riley, Dennis, 207
Roberts, Stan, 205, 207, 215, 216, 217, 222
Roosevelt, Franklin D, 163, 222
Russia, 28, 125, 131, 139, 142, 152, 165, 222
Rutter, John, 38, 61, 65, 72, 76, 77, 79, 83, 84, 209
San Antonio Express, 225
San Franscisco, 192, 193, 194, 195, 223, 225
Seattle, 194, 195
Serang, 70, 213
Shepherd’s Bush, 225
Shikoku Island, 224
Shrine, Ron, 11
Sicily, 81, 214
Simonoseki Hospital Camp, 211
Singapore, 8, 9, 10, 39, 84, 85, 190, 202, 209, 210, 212, 215, 222, 223, 224
‘Singapore Maru’, 210, 211, 221, 224
Sitwell, HDW, 13, 204
Smead/Smeed, Joe, 105, 218
Sonei, Kenichi, 213
Southampton, 197
Southend-on-sea, 217
Southport, 212
South Wales Echo, 197, 203, 209, 212, 219
Staffordshire, 205, 208, 221
Stalin, 223
Stanton, Lionel, 112, 128, 163, 178, 182, 219
Stiles (unknown first name), 14
Stoodley, JH, 11, 203
Street, Ken, 11, 203
Street, Major, 141, 221
Street, Stan, 24, 117, 207, 220
‘Suez Maru’, 204, 209, 212
Suffolk, 222
Sumatra, 10, 11, 39, 83, 215
Sumption, Ted, 14, 67, 204
Sunda Strait, 84, 215
Surabaya, 11, 59, 69, 78, 202, 203, 204, 212, 223
Surrey, 219
Sutcliffe, Corporal, 108, 109, 219
Sydney War Cemetery, 211
Taiwan, 220, 223
‘Tamahoko Maru’, 223
Tandjong Priok, 23, 67, 68, 72, 77, 82, 104, 156, 204, 205, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 214, 222
Tandjong Priok (life at), 23-67
Tasikmalaya, 14, 24, 204, 207
Taylor, Ken, 19, 22, 41, 42, 58, 212
Thai-Burma Railway, 203, 209, 212, 215, 222
Thailand, 162, 212, 222
Thompson, Charles, 19, 205
Tjideng internment camp, 213
Tjilatjap, 13, 14, 56, 204
Tjimahi, 78, 214
Tjisompet, 15, 204
Toda, 1st Lt, 222
Tojo, Hideki, 121, 220
Tottenham, 218
Trealaw, South Wales, 221
Trogong, 205
Truman, President, 223
Twickenham, 20, 110, 219
Ube, 211
Upton, HC, 208
USS Chenango, 190, 224
USS Tang, 224
USS Bonefish, 204
‘Ussuri Maru’, 215, 216
V, Ken, 38, 48, 58
Vancouver, 225
Wallis, WL, 203
Wangon Cross, 204
‘Warwick Castle’, 5, 50, 201
Watson, Frank, 117, 124, 143, 151, 152, 169, 219
Weeks, Mac, 11, 43, 211
Welsford, Norman, 91, 112, 122, 123, 178, 217, 220
Wermuth, Arthur, 225
West Bromwich, 222
Williams, Emrys, 159, 160, 222, 224
Williams, Frank, 202, 205, 213
Williams, Peter, 87, 89, 91-95, 101-105, 107-111, 113- 117, 119-123, 125-126, 130-137, 139- 144, 147-158, 160-162, 165-176, 178-180, 182-192, 196, 216
Williams, Ronald, 202, 205, 213, 224
Windhurst/Windust, Sergeant, 161, 222
Winnipeg, 196
Wood, Jack, 122, 136
Wooller, Wilf, 12, 14, 17-23, 25-31, 33-53, 55-58, 60, 61, 63-68, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 78-86, 118, 197, 203, 215, 219
Woolley, AA, 99, 126, 217
Wright, Sergeant A, 161, 222
Yawata Steel Mill, 211
Yokohama, 44
Yokohama Cremation Memorial, 221
Yokohama War Cemetery, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222
‘Yoshida Maru’, 210, 224
Zentsugi camp, 224

 

ARTICLE ABOUT THE BOOK FROM MY BLOG

Link includes photos Secret Diary Reveals Story of Men Made Prisoner on Java « Greg Lewis, Freelance Journalist/Producer
(I will post more photos from Java and Japan soon)

Secret Diary Reveals Story of Men Made Prisoner on Java

In early 1942 a courageous band of Welshmen found themselves fighting side by side against the all-conquering Japanese army.

The men, who had joined up to provide air defences for Cardiff, Newport and Barry, had been sent to the Far East as the Japanese bore down on Britain’s “impregnable fortress” at Singapore.

But the battle-hardened Japanese swept through the jungles, mountains and mangrove swamps of the Malay Peninsula and took Singapore in seven days.

So, instead, the men of the 77th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment were diverted to Java (now part of Indonesia).

Many of the 77th were sportsmen. A large number of the pre-war Cardiff RFC team were among its ranks. There were Glamorgan cricketers and footballers too, including a veteran of Cardiff City’s 1927 FA Cup winning team.

Like all sports people, they’d sometimes had to chase lost causes – but not like this one.

They were forced to put down their guns and begin more than three and a half years of captivity.

The focus of attention on prisoners in the Far East is understandably often drawn to the Thai-Burma ‘Death’ Railway, built by the forced labour of prisoners of war.

But many prisoners captured on Java were sent to Japan and some found themselves in a camp not far from the city of Nagasaki.

They would eventually, after years of hardship, witness the unleashing of a new weapon by the Americans, the plutonium bomb.

Among them was Les Spence, who had captained Cardiff RFC in 1936-37 and would go on to be a president of the WRU during the 1970s.


Les Spence

A keen observer of human nature, Spence – who was promoted from sergeant to sergeant major soon after his arrival in Java – decided to keep a secret diary, which has now been published as a hardback book, “From Java To Nagasaki”.

Spence’s writing takes in the surrender of Allied forces on Java, the conditions and life in the camps and the growing death toll.

It shows how the prisoners learned to survive: bargaining for food, playing football and rugby, and maintaining a sense of discipline.

One of the most intense sections covers the prisoners’ journey in the suffocating hold of a so-called ‘hellship’, taking them from Java to Japan via Singapore.

The 77th had trained to fight the Germans in the deserts of the Middle East but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, meant they were diverted to the Far East.

Their troopship, part of a large convoy, arrived in Batavia (now Jakarta) on Java on February 3, 1942.

Before they even arrived on Java, Spence confided to his diary: “It will be no picnic. I am afraid some of us will not see the end of next month.”

What he writes for the next few years is a remarkable testament to courage and endurance in the face of hardship and cruelty – and a firsthand account of how to hold on to hope when all seems lost.

The 77th’s defence of Java got off to a terrible start as the army tried to move many of them by train to defend the east of the island.

Les Spence writes:

“February 4/February 5, 1942

We left by train for Surabaya at 6.30am, all in wonderful spirit… We stopped at our last station at 11pm and on leaving we sang Cwm Rhondda. Then at 3am in the morning a terrible catastrophe befell us.

A head-on collision with a goods train loaded with bombs and petrol. It was terrible. I found poor old Ken dead. Jimmy Boxall, Stoodley, and Capt McMillan. Some had terrible injuries and I do not think they will live.”

The troop train had crashed into an ammunition train. Around thirty members of the 77th were killed and nearly one hundred injured. The cause of the crash remains unknown, although some suggest a signalman loyal to the Japanese might have been responsible.

The “poor old Ken” referred to by Spence was Battery Sergeant Major Ken Street, a well-known Welsh rugby forward. He had played alongside Spence and Wilf Wooller, an officer in the 77th, for Cardiff Rugby Club.

For several days the remaining men of the 77th tried to defend Java. But for both British and Dutch forces on the island, the situation was hopeless.

“March 8, 1942

A day that will live in my memory. The Dutch army surrendered and we were left with the baby. We were ordered to fight on but later on the order was countermanded… I never thought I would live to see this day out.”

The following day, Spence noted: “We’ve surrendered after being on this island for six weeks… So the war is over as far as we are concerned. Just prisoners of war.”

But surrender was to be just the start of Spence’s story.

For the first 18 months Spence and his comrades were kept in two prison camps on Java. Spence keeps a daily account of how they coped with their new life and with the ever-present fear of death from starvation or disease.

He noted on May 28, 1942:

“Another death occurred today. It’s very, very serious this dysentery. I think we are in for a very rough time and many good people will die with this disease. I pray to God that I will come out safely.”

Spence makes regular notes in his diary about news received from outside, which he codenames ‘ice cream’. It’s unclear but the news may have come via an illicit radio.

“June 8, 1942

Ice-cream good but must not be too optimistic. Long argument re what we should do to Germany after the war. I think we should spilt the country up and put a government in charge of the state. I think we will be here at least another 12 months.”

The sportsmen in the camp quickly got round to organising rugby ‘internationals’ and a football ‘league’.

“July 2, 1942

Played soccer for the camp and beat number 3 camp 4-0. I did not enjoy the game. I lost my gold identity disc. Am feeling very despondent. I do hope I will find it.”

Also playing these strange games behind the wire fence in Java were Welsh international Ernie Curtis, who had been the youngest member of Cardiff City’s 1927 FA Cup winning side; former Cardiff City and Wales centre half Billy James and Cardiff City goalkeeper John ‘Jackie’ Pritchard.


Propaganda picture taken at Christmas in Les Spence’s POW camp in Japan.

Perhaps the most dominant player, according to the diaries, was Lieutenant Wilfred Wooller. Wooller was one of Wales’ greatest all-round sportsmen. Before the war he had not only captained Wales at rugby, he had played cricket for Glamorgan, briefly played up front for Cardiff City and represented his country at squash.

After the war, he went on to captain Glamorgan to its first County Championship and to become a test selector for England. He would also become a distinguished writer and broadcaster.

Spence and Wooller were to spend a lot of time talking about the old days. At one point in his journal Spence remembers April 22, 1939, a “big day in the history of Cardiff Rugby Club”, when they had been in the team which won the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham.

Remembrance of good times past would be important to the prisoners. After all, they had no idea when they might get out, if they got out at all. “I look back on my past life and deplore the time I’ve wasted,” Spence wrote in October 1942, while also wondering if his girlfriend, Babs, was well. He wished he had proposed before he left and feared he had now left it too late.

In September 1943 Spence and some members of the 77th were loaded into the hold of a ship called the Ussuri Maru. After brief stops in Singapore and Formosa they arrived in Japan a month later.

For the next two years Japan would be Spence’s home. He and other members of the 77th were housed in what the Japanese designated Camp 8 Kamo near the village of Inatsuki or Inatsukimachi, in Kyushu, Southern Japan.

Stanley Roberts, of Barry, was in the same camp. He remembers the huts there were “the low-weather boarded type with felted roofs and raised floors of ‘tatami’ straw matting… Partitions divided the huts into separate rooms, housing four, six or eight men, depending on size, and each was lit by a single light bulb.”

This was a coal mining camp producing fuel for the Japanese war machine. The prisoners were forced to work in the mine.

“January 17, 1944

I narrowly escape death today when I was carrying a girder, struck by trucks and all came off line just in front of me. Severely shaken. I thank God for being still alive.”

Others were not so lucky.

“May 10

Terrible tragedy this evening. Rabinovitch fell down shaft, instantly killed. Very popular fellow. Cast gloom over camp.”

Liberation for the prisoners came following the dropping of the plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, a city less than 100 miles from Spence’s camp.

“We had rather exciting morning, going down [the air-raid shelter] no fewer than four times,” he writes on August 9, 1945. “We saw no planes.”

Only four planes flew on the raid that destroyed Nagasaki, and the camp did not understand what had happened at first. The Japanese guards were in a state of confusion for days.

“We hear from the guards that one bomb blew up Nagasaki,” Spence wrote. “The huge cloud we saw must have been big oil wells catching fire. We must now take over the camp.”

On August 18, 1945, Spence’s diary marks his 1259th day as a POW. But it is more than a month before he leaves Camp 8.

“September 21, 1945

We left camp today… I left at 8am in charge of 215 English. The whole village turned out to see us off. I was the last man to leave the camp and the first to come in. We had uneventful train journey to Nagasaki and then we saw the result of the atomic bomb. It was simply astounding, nothing left standing for miles, everything flat and burnt out.”

The prisoners were taken by sea to San Francisco. They then travelled east by train and boarded the Queen Mary in New York on November 13, 1945.

As the luxury liner began its trip to Southampton, the soldiers received a distribution of letters from home.

And with that Spence made the final entry in his diary: “I received five letters. Pleased to see that Babs is still waiting. I hope that she will accept my proposal. Lovely day, beautiful sunshine.”

After the war, Les married Babs. His friend and former fellow POW Wilfred Wooller was his best man.

As well as running the family china and glassware firm, Les returned to his love of sport.


From Java To Nagasaki

He was to become chairman of Cardiff Rugby Club and joint secretary of Glamorgan County Cricket Club.

By the time he died in 1988, aged 81, Les Spence had become one of the leading administrators in Welsh sport. Memorial gates were installed at Cardiff Arms Park in his name.

It had been in perhaps his greatest role, as president of the Welsh Rugby Union, that he had helped take a small step to heal the wounds opened between the UK and Japan during World War II.

In 1973 he had formed a firm friendship with Shiggy Konno, manager of the visiting Japanese rugby side. And two years later he led the Welsh rugby team on a tour of Japan.

As the South Wales Echo reported: “[Les] learned to forgive if not forget the tragedy of war.”