SX11661 Private John Angus Lill interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton

SX11661 Private John Angus Lill interviewed by Alison Viney Houghton for her "The Age of Innocence 1937-1947" oral history project. The interview covers topics related to his army service and period as a prisoner of war in Changi and in Japan, such as: growing up in Renmark, SA; working in the fruit packing shed at Renmark Cropper Ltd and on 'fruit blocks' (small orchards); his involvement in Scouts; deployment to and the fall of Singapore; being interned at Changi and working as a carpenter there; working on the Thai-Burma Railway, including the bridging at Tarsau (Tha Sao), and Hellfire Pass; surviving a snake bite; traveling by sea to Japan on a Buoki Maru (sick boat) and the conditions aboard ship relating to food, water and hygiene; American naval activity around the Philippines; malnutrition and beri-beri; working at the copper mine and factory at Skikoku, Japan; interactions with Japanese guards; leaflet drops indicating the end of the war; aerial food drops; lack of Red Cross parcels; the terrible attrition rate of the prisoners; repatriation by the Americans via the Philippines; the journey back to Australia via Manila, Morotai, Darwin and Grawler; getting married and having children; working on a fruit block after the war; the physical and mental legacy of being a returned POW; keeping in touch with other returned POW's and the bond between them.