Memories of the end of WW2 in Japan.

Memories of the end of WW2 in Japan.

Leicester in WW2

Alec Tinsley recalls the effect of the second atom bomb and his release from a POW camp in Japan.

Colston Bassett history group.

Ref: EMOHA67/2

EMOHA

You may use this item in accordance with the licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en

.mp3

English

Oral history

2 min 11 sec

I remember them dropping the second atom bomb. Because I remember saying the Yanks must be up there shovelling them out tonight as the shock waves went through the ground, we just bounced up and down. Just like a shuttlecock. The next morning, the Japanese told us the war was over, as the Americans had poisoned the air. And it was ten days before they found us. Who had locked the guards up and took their rifles from them. And we guarded ourselves. It was really silly because there was about 16 to 20,000 population nearby. Ten days after the ward finished we had our first air drop. It was from the Americans and they came with 20 gallons steel drums containing uniforms, food, chewing gum and there was 20 times more clothes than what we needed. Was told to go down to the station and boarded the train to Sendai and was met by the Navy and our own Marines, and they took us down by destroyer to Japan for a hundred mile journey, and was put on trains, taken through Nagasaki and down to Tokyo. We were told to strip off everything, leave all our clothes onto the sand, and was taken into an hospital ship and disinfected by DDT and all our hair cut off, things like that, to make sure there's no disease going onto the ship. They run a geiger counter up and down for radiation. I was given a call to fill in and asked how we wanted to travel home. I looked at the card, saying did we want to travel by land, sea or air or what, by Australia, America. It seemed to be like a joke after what we've gone through, so I just ticked all the little boxes. And said I would go by Canada. And by land, sea and air.

Elizabeth Alcott,

Alec Tinsley