It was dangerous work, surrounded by highly contagious patients, yet Dorothy found herself looking forward to her shifts. In the prison, she was only allowed to mix with other women and she now enjoyed some male company again. She especially enjoyed working alongside Dr Archie. He had always been such a kind and calm presence in the British Military Hospital and remained so now, even in the face of the horrors they witnessed on a daily basis. He remained cheerful, often daydreaming aloud of a future beyond the camp, back home in England. He told Dorothy all about the place where he had grown up, and where he hoped, one day, to return. He painted the picture of a rural idyll and described it in such detail that when Dorothy closed her eyes she could picture it.
Not that she stayed awake long enough to daydream. Every night, Dorothy fell into bed physically and emotionally exhausted, but it did her good to regain some sense of normality and routine from her work.
Months passed, eventually turning into years. The war rumbled on and life in the camp maintained a strict and predictable routine. To keep their minds occupied and their spirits up, volunteers organised all sorts of social groups – subject, of course, to the approval of the strict prison guards. Sewing bees, singing groups and even musical and dramatic performances took place. The sense of camaraderie was strong. In the face of an uncertain future, everyone pulled together to boost morale wherever they could.
For several months, a group of skilled craftsmen had been working together on the construction of a chapel. Exhausted, malnourished and seriously lacking in materials, it was a testament to their resourcefulness and sheer determination whenChangi Chapel eventually opened. It was a symbol of hope and courage in the face of adversity, not to mention a place of worship and solace. Everyone was welcome, regardless of their faith or lack of, subject only to the whims of the Japanese guards.
On Christmas Eve 1943, Noel’s second birthday, Dorothy sat in a pew at the back of the Chapel with the child on her lap. A familiar introduction started on the piano and she joined her fellow women prisoners in a rendition of ‘Silent Night’. She snuggled Noel close to her and kissed the top of his dark head, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the beautiful harmonies of some of the more tuneful singers.
The Christmas carol took her back to her life in Fulham, before the war. In her mind, she was sitting next to Daisy’s piano, singing with both their families as Daisy entertained them with festive tunes. How things had changed in just a few short years.
‘Happy birthday, little man,’ she whispered to Noel as tears started to blur her vision. Noel looked up at her, distracted from the toy rabbit she had clumsily fashioned out of an old sock for his gift, and beamed at her. ‘Mama! Sing, Mama!’
She smiled through her tears as a wave of bittersweet emotion swept over her. She was his mama. And he was her son. What would happen if – or rather when – they were released from the camp? What would happen to Noel? She would have to take him to his grandparents in Wiltshire, as promised. Wouldn’t she? The thought of separation from the child –herchild – after all this time together felt like a knife through her heart.
For a long time, Dorothy worried how life in the camp would affect baby Noel’s development. Every day, she was anxious tomake sure he had enough to eat to help keep him healthy. She shared her concerns with Dr Archie while they worked alongside each other. They had grown closer as the months passed and Dorothy was touched that the doctor took such an interest in the child. On the rare occasions when the little boy was ill, Dr Archie made sure that he was the one to treat him and lavished time and attention on him. It warmed Dorothy’s heart to see him taking such care of Noel, bouncing him on his knee and playing games with him after a long shift when she knew he was utterly exhausted. Dr Archie reassured her that the little boy was remarkably resilient and she was relieved to hear that he had reached the childhood milestones without too serious a delay.
1944 began and, after eighteen months of relative stability and predictability, things started to change. Fellow prisoners disappeared with little or no warning and those who were left behind started to worry about their fate.
‘They go different camp,’ was all the explanation that Takashi, the English-speaking guard, would give.
Over the past few months, Dorothy had worked on building a rapport with him in a bid to find out what was going on. Unlike some of the guards who leered at them or were aggressive, Takashi was mild-mannered and polite. He was a family man, he had told Dorothy, with a wife and two young sons back home in Tokyo. He had proudly shown her photographs of them, which he carried in his jacket pocket. And unlike some of the guards, who seemed to relish any opportunity for violence in this war, it seemed that Takashi was only here out of an unwavering sense of duty to his family and devotion to his country.
Early one morning in mid-May, the door banged open and Takashi came into the cell. It was still dark and the children were still asleep. Dorothy and Pat, however, were immediately awake.
‘Time you go now, lady,’ he announced, nodding at both of them. ‘Go different camp. You go today, get ready. Go midday.’ And with a nod, he pulled the door closed behind him and he was gone.
‘Aw strewth,’ Pat drawled in her Australian twang as she rolled over on her mat, ‘Midday? I don’t think that’ll give me long enough to pack!’
Dorothy couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s irony. In the two years they had been at the camp, they had collected very little in the way of belongings, apart from what they had arrived with and what was donated by the Red Cross.
But the smile faded as reality hit Dorothy like a punch in the stomach. Where were they going? Were they really going to a different camp, or just being taken out to face a firing squad, as she had heard had happened to other prisoners? Her heart began to race.
Later that morning, the women and children lined up for the usual roll call in the central square. There was a buzz of whispered conversations, with everyone wondering what was about to happen. The guards gave nothing away, simply sending the women and children back to their cells, where they were told to await further instructions.
Dorothy knew better than to contradict the guards’ instructions, but in a moment of pure recklessness, she passed the baby to Pat and quickly snuck away to the hospital.
Dr Archie looked up in confusion when she burst into his office a few minutes later. ‘Dorothy . . . ’ he began.
‘We’re being moved,’ she cried. ‘We’re leaving at lunchtime, going to a new camp. What’s going on, Dr Archie? Is it true?’ Saying the words out loud filled her with fear and tears welled in her eyes.
The doctor rose from his desk and came over to put an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her to him and held her close. ‘There now, shh,’ he soothed, stroking her back. ‘I heard that there were movements afoot.’ He sighed. ‘Troops are coming back from the railway in Burma and the Japs are planning on keeping them here. I did hear a rumour that all the civilians would be moved out to make space for them.’
‘What about you?’ Dorothy asked, a small hope growing that he might be going with her.
Dr Archie shook his head and released her from his arms. ‘They want me to stay here. And if the rumours about the poor chaps up in Burma are true, they’ll need every bit of medical care we can muster.’ He sighed. ‘Anyway, let’s remain optimistic. Maybe it’s a good thing to move to a different camp, this place is so damned overcrowded, it’s completely unsanitary. Fingers crossed the next place will be a bit better, ey?’
‘En suite bathroom and air-conditioned bedrooms, perhaps?’ Dorothy said, giving an ironic smile through tear-stained eyes.
Dr Archie laughed. ‘That’s the spirit, Dorothy!’ He smiled down at her. ‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘For what?’ she asked.
‘For helping me here?’ He looked around the consultation room. ‘For laughing at my terrible jokes? For keeping me sane for the past two years? I think that’s more than enough reasons, don’t you? I’ll miss you very much.’
He opened his arms to her and Dorothy was about to go to him when they heard shouting outside. A moment later, thedoor burst open and a guard came in and grabbed Dorothy by the arm. He barked at her in an angry stream of Japanese, then switched to English.
‘Why you here? You bad woman, you go cell. You go now!’ Despite her protestations, he dragged Dorothy out of the building. The guard shouted orders to two others who had been waiting outside. She saw them march into Dr Archie’s office and the door slammed shut behind them. Panic flooded through her and she begged the guard not to punish the doctor for her misdemeanour. But he ignored her.
