“S.S. KUALA” Researched Passenger List Sunk at Pom Pong Island 14 February 1942 [Version 7.2.0: September 2018] Preface: This list and document have been compiled as a memorial and out of empathy and respect to the women, children and men who lost their lives in that cruel attack by Japanese bombers on the small coastal ship, converted into an auxiliary vessel, “SS. Kuala” on 14 February 1942, twelve hours after it escaped from Singapore. This was the day before Singapore surrendered to the Japanese. Many of the women and children were killed on the ship itself, but even more by continued direct bombing and machine gunning of the sea by Japanese bombers whilst they were desperately trying to swim the few hundred yards to safety on the shores of Pom Pong Island. Many others were swept away by the strong currents which are a feature around Pom Pong Island and, despite surviving for several days, only a handful made it to safety. The Captain of the “Kuala”, Lieutenant Caithness, recorded of the moment “…thirty men and women floated past on rafts and drifted east and then south – west, however only three survivors were picked up off a raft on the Indragiri River, a man and his wife and an army officer…”. The bombing continued even onto the Island itself as the survivors scrambled across slippery rocks and up the steep slopes of the jungle tangled hills of this small uninhabited island in the Indonesian Archipelago – once again, Caithness, recorded “…but when the struggling women were between the ships and the rocks the Jap had turned and deliberately bombed the women in the sea and those struggling on the rocks…”. Several survivors recorded that the Japanese planes machine gunned the survivors trying to reach shore, including Able Seaman Gunner, John Sarney, RNZN, (who recorded it in a letter to his wife); Able Seaman Jim McCall, RN, who in a 2012 interview ( archive.northernvisions.org) recalled the Japanese bombers machine gunning the lifeboats and women and children swimming in the seas they attempted to reach Pom Pong island and then also machine gunning them on the beaches of the Island; Dr. Chen Su Lan who wrote “ … every time the bombs dropped and the rattling of machine –guns was heard…”; and also friends of Mr. Tay Lian Teck who reported to his family that they saw him “… being machine gunned by Japanese planes…” - this is disputed by other survivors who say there was no machine gunning. From reading many documents this researcher is quite sure that the Japanese aircraft did machine gun survivors in the sea. Once people reached Pom Pong Island, Caithness records, “…the lady doctors and nurses, most of whom were Australian and British nurses from various hospitals in Malaya, carried the wounded to a clearing in the jungle about a hundred feet above sea level …”. He adds”…the scene was one never to be forgotten and too awful to mention…”. 1 Only the day before this totally unwarranted carnage, inflicted on civilians, occurred at Pom Pong Island, the once vibrant city of Singapore had been in its death throes as the Japanese shelled and bombed it into submission on the night of 13 February 1942. Total chaos had reigned as several thousand civilians milled in fear on the wharves on Singapore harbour whilst bombs and shells were falling amongst them and killing many. They struggled and pushed onto the ships in the harbour with no thought of Passenger Lists, so exactly who was on board that day has been a very confused picture ever since. This document is an attempt to set the record straight. The ‘SS. Kuala” moored in Singapore. [Photo source and copyright - British Museum ‘Virtual Museum’; colour enhanced by David Wingate] The invasion of Malaya and Singapore, from the time of the first landings in Northern Malaya on 8 December 1941, was swift and brutal. Within eight weeks the Japanese had taken Malaya and landed on the island of Singapore which had become intensely over crowded by tens of thousands of fleeing civilians of all races from Malaya plus almost 100,000 servicemen. By the second week of February 1942 the Japanese army was advancing across Singapore Island and a chaotic evacuation of mainly Europeans, Eurasians and a small number of influential Chinese was underway from the port in front of what is today’s CBD. 2 Any vessel of literally any size was ultimately enlisted to evacuate people under what had become almost constant bombing and machine gunning by Japanese planes. Singapore itself was ablaze, columns of black smoke rose thousands of feet in the air and the streets were littered with the dead and dying. People desperately clamoured for departure passes from the Colonial government authorities (men under 40 years of age had been banned from leaving the Island for months and women had not been publicly encouraged to leave because it would ‘… adversely affect morale …’!) to board any ship leaving the Island. By 11 January 1942 even the rather incompetent men in authority saw the absurdity of their bureaucratic incompetence and more passes were issued for civilian men and women to leave and some real urgency entered the situation. About 44 ships of all sizes - from the quite large refrigerated cargo ship “SS. Empire Star” (525 feet and 12,656 tons) through a range of mid-sized merchant vessels down to some small craft like the “SS. Tandjong Pinang” (which at 97 feet only just qualified in the definition for a ’ship’) – were assembled to leave as a convoy during the 48-hour period of 11 – 13 February 1942. On 13 February matters were coming to a finale insofar as civilian evacuation from Singapore and the last of the ships carrying women and children prepared to leave at nightfall. The chaotic nature of what was occurring for civilians that day is made clear by George ‘Cliff’ Clifford of the Public Works department who in his account tells us that on that day when he heard that “… a boat was leaving about 5 p.m. and this was the last boat leaving Singapore …”. He” … proceeded to Ocean Building opposite the gates to the entrance to Singapore wharf, but found they were being held by 4 M.P.s and they would not let anybody through. … I had not been there more than a few minutes when the air raid warning - for the umpteenth time – went and I discerned bombers coming over Ocean Building. I ducked behind the pillars of Ocean Building’s front door and the bomb fell on the [ anti-aircraft] battery and on the gates. To my consternation everybody appeared to be wiped out and I made my way through the gates, which had been destroyed by the bomb, and down to where a water boat along with the hammers lay tethered to the wharf. I was joined by several Public Works department engineers and together we got the engine running. It was only a small boat and had about a foot freeboard. We went towards the open sea and found a boat called ‘Kuala’ was anchored outside the heads. We came alongside and found that the ladder was still down, and we climbed up the ladder. To our surprise the boat was filled with people from the Public Works department, red Cross, Chinese – standing room only, virtually… I was very tired at the time and eventually found a gap between two women, obviously not well. I learnt later they had been killed while boarding the boat. Anyway, I did not know this at the time and I lay down beside them. I woke up about 2 o’clock in the morning and found that they were throwing them overboard because they were dead, and I was included with them. I let out a yell to let my feet go and I don’t know who got the biggest fright, me or the owners of the boat ….”. The reality of being on board the “Kuala” during its short journey has not been recorded in detail by many survivors but there are several insights from Wilhelmina Eames via her three-year-old daughter at the time, Shirley, (see under the passenger list for more of their account) which provide some feel for the circumstances; “… the Kuala was so suffocated with frightened talking flesh one could barely move without having to step over someone…” and later during this short voyage with food being a priority (because there was not any) Wilhelmina set off looking for something for the large family to eat and Shirley recounts “… somehow, even in the midst of despair there are acts from fellow human beings that remain hot –wired into your psyche. A Chinese woman, Straits Chinese Mum thought, crouched on the floor with a container of boiled rice, preparing to feed her large family. She looked up at Mum, and then at me, and quietly filled a bowl with rice and gave it to Mum. We did not eat much that night, but we did eat. Early next morning the ship was bombed. There was said Mum, unbelievable pandemonium…” 3 The question of overcrowding [which was unavoidable] is graphically illustrated by the lifebelt situation “… The ship was intended to accommodate only 222 passengers, but she had about five or six hundred. Most of the Chinese passengers had no life-belts, all 350 having been taken by the Europeans … “(CSL). The ’SS Kuala ‘had left Singapore Harbour at about 1830 hrs. on 13 February 1942 and was proceeding towards Pom Pong island where it would anchor during the day of the 14 February and try and camouflage itself with branches and vegetation taken from that uninhabited island.