4
Banka Island
The Royal Crown, under the control of our captors, followed behind the Japanese destroyer to Banka Island in Sumatra.
The Straits of Malacca are studded with a vast number of islands of varying sizes. Banka is one of the larger ones, hugging the coast at the end of Sumatra, about halfway between Singapore and Batavia in Java.
We came ashore a bedraggled mob, after our cramped passage in the hold of the ship and were marched along an extremely long pier to the shore.
Once on dry land, we got our first close-up sight of the enemy. They surveyed us with contempt, as though we were vermin.
This was a terrible shock to many of the British mems such as Marjorie Nolan, who were used to what they referred to as ‘little Asiatics’ running around doing their bidding. Here the rol
