BCOF Japan; RAAF in Japan; Handy Men; 

Making Airstrip, Labuan & Radar Tower Labuan by Donald Friend

THE OCCUPATION FORCE IN JAPAN

Lieutenant-General J. Northcott, C.B., M.V.O., was appointed Commander-in-Chief.

Each contingent of the force had an Army and Air Force component. Army components were provided as follows: a British-Indian division known as BRINDIV composed of 5 British Infantry Brigade Group and 268 Indian Infantry Brigade Group; 34 Australian Infantry Brigade Group, and 9 New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group. The Air Force component comprised two R.A.F. squadrons, three R.A.A.F. squadrons, one R.N.Z.A.F. squadron and one R.I.A.F. squadron. In addition there were shore-based naval personnel supplied by the Royal Navy.

Early in February the main advance parties of H.Q. B.C.O.F., British Command Base and 34 Australian Infantry Brigade reached Kure. They came from Morotai (where the Australian Army component had been concentrated on the Stamford Victory with 1,122 troops.

Eight days later came the Taos Victory and two L.S.Ts from Morotai, H.M.S. Glengyle, the River Murrumbidgee and three L.S.Ts from Labuan. On the twenty-third the Pachaug Victory berthed. From these vessels 4,000 troops were disembarked and with the exception of 753 of the R.A.A.F. they formed the main bodies of H.Q. B.C.O.F., British Command Base and 34 Australian Infantry Brigade.

In the meantime Lieutenant-General Northcott had arrived at the Hiroshima airfield and assumed command of the force.

On 1 March the Cheshire and Samgara arrived from Singapore bringing the advance parties of BRINDIV, 9 New Zealand Brigade and the R.A.F. Vessels of all sizes continued to arrive until by the end of March 17,517 personnel, 2,566 vehicles and 111,707 tons of stores had been landed.

H.M.A.S. Manunda anchored off the port on 24 March. She brought the main body of personnel and stores for the 130 Australian General Hospital. The hospital was receiving patients within a fortnight.

Kure, which had been selected as the site of the first headquarters of B.C.O.F. in Japan, is situated on the southern coast of the island of Honshu on the Inland Sea. Since 1883 it has been the principal naval base of Japan and the area included the largest combined dockyard, ship-building yard and naval arsenal in the country.

The U.S. Air Corps had given the port installations a terrific hammering. Huge workshops, factories, shipyards, dry-docks, warehouses and other buildings had been reduced to skeletons of twisted steel girders and heaps of rubble. Kure as a naval base had been completely ruined.

In the early days of February and March the temperature did not rise more than a few degrees above freezing point. H.Q. B.C.O.F. and H.Q. British Command Base were established in what remained of Kure. At Kaidaichi (about fourteen miles from Kure) 34 Australian Infantry Brigade was quartered. The camp, which consisted of wooden army huts, had previously been used by the Americans. The settling-in period was arduous as there were no facilities for heating and no floor coverings. H.Q. 9 New Zealand Brigade was established at Chofu while H.Q. BRINDIV occupied barracks at Hiro formerly used by the Americans.

The area of occupation originally allotted to B.C.O.F. comprised the Prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi; 34 Brigade occupied the former and on 23 March the New Zealand Brigade took over the latter. By this time BRINDIV had been brought up to full strength and was encamped near Hiro.  On 15 March BRINDIV occupied the Prefecture of Shimane and in the ensuing weeks took over from 74 U.S. Division the Prefectures of Tortori and Okayama and the island of Shikoku.

This brought the area occupied by B.C.O.F. up to 19,610 square miles with a population of 9,055,000. H.Q. BRINDIV was transferred to Okayama and 34 Australian Brigade moved into the site previously occupied by BRINDIV at Hiro.

Flag marches and parades have been held in most of the cities and larger towns in the occupation area with a view to impressing, if possible, the Japanese. On 12 April the flags of all the nations included in the force were broken from a high signal tower overlooking the harbour of Kure.

A representative guard of honour received the C.-in-C., with a general salute played by the band of the Kumaon Regiment. Anzac Day was commemorated in Japan for the first time, when soldiers, sailors and airmen of B.C.O.F. gathered at Kure. The Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General J.
Northcott, himself an original Anzac, took the salute from the marching troops and from aircraft in a spectacular fly-past.

During May, H.Q. B.C.O.F. was moved to the island of Eta Jima in Kure Bay, about five miles west of the town, the buildings used being those which had previously been the Japanese Naval Academy, moved to Eta Jima in 1898 from Tokyo. There are several magnificent buildings, which are now being used by H.Q. B.C.O.F. as offices, quarters, messes, theatre, education centre, church, and also by
130 Australian General Hospital.

On 16 June command of the force passed to Lieutenant-General H. C. H. Robertson, C.B.E., D.S.O., and on 24 June Lieutenant-General Northcott left for Australia to take up his appointment as Governor of New South Wales. 
The major task of the force has been the destruction of the Japanese war machine. A vast quantity of enemy equipment and warlike stores of all kinds exists in the B.C.O.F. area. The location, assessment and final disposal of this material presents a difficult problem. A new section of the General Staff Branch known as the Disposal of Enemy Equipment Section - was formed to undertake the organization necessary.

At first routine patrolling and searching by formations were carried out on a local basis, but now a co-ordinated plan for the systematic searching of the whole area is in operation. Enemy equipment is disposed of by providing material for the occupation troops, by destruction or by handing over to the Japanese Home Ministry any items which can be used in the rehabilitation of Japanese industry and civilian life.

The whole of the B.C.O.F. area was found to be honeycombed with caves and tunnels storing material and it is estimated that there are some thousands of targets remaining to be dealt with. Many of these contain large quantities of explosives, ammunition and poison gases. In addition to the troops engaged in this work, Japanese labour, including technicians, is also employed.

The surveillance of the Japanese elections, held on 10 April, was another important duty undertaken by the force. For a week prior to polling day observer teams operated throughout the B.C.O.F. area, which then comprised the Prefectures of Hiroshima, Shimane and Yamaguchi, to ensure that there was no coercion and that the election was conducted in a fair, free and democratic manner in accordance with the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers' orders. In spite of vigorous campaigning by all parties there were no incidents of a serious nature.

In the B.C.O.F. area there are three repatriation centres which handle incoming Japanese nationals and outgoing repatriates of other nationalities, mostly Koreans, Formosans and Ryukyuans. The Japanese Government is responsible for the administration and work of the centres which include reception, processing, feeding, housing and dispatch of the repatriates. The centres at Senzaki and Otake are supervised by 9 New Zealand Infantry Brigade and the centre at Ujina by 34 Australian Infantry Brigade.

Since January more than half a million Japanese have passed through these centres and since April more than fourteen thousand Koreans and Formosans have been returned to their homelands.

The Air Force component of B.C.O.F. (known as BCAIR) has its headquarters at Iwakuni with subordinate commands at Bofu and Miho. There are serviceable airfields at all three places. Aircraft carriers H.M.Ss Glory and Vengeance were used to bring in some of the aircraft while the remainder were flown in including 81 Fighter Wing (R.A.A.F.).

The principal duties performed are surveillance patrols over the whole of the B.C.O.F. ea, prevention of smuggling of goods and legal entry (in conjunction with ground and available forces) and the compilation of meteorological forecasts based on reports received from various stations. Air Officer Commanding is Air Vice-Marshal C.A. Bouchier, C.B., C.B.E., D.F.C.

Th e naval component of B.C.O.F. was formed from shore parties which had been organized and  assembled in the East Indies complete with stores and equipment for projected landing operations in the South-east Asia Command. 

Planning was difficult on account of the scarcity of information from Japan and the fact that time did not permit reconnaissance parties to be sent in. However, arrangements were made for the British Pacific Fleet to supply personnel, ships, harbour craft and motor transport, and the loading of equipment was commenced.

By the end of 1945 requirements had become firmer and the B.C.O.F. area of responsibility had been settled in so far as the port of entry was concerned.

The force concentrated in Colombo and, early in January, moved off via Singapore and Hong Kong. While at the latter port the force learned that i February had been set down as the date for the arrival of the naval port party in Kure. This allowed it to remain a week in Hong Kong getting acquainted with and in looking over the boats and motor transport provided from Australia.

The force was designated Force "C", with Captain J. A. Grindle, C.B., R.N., in command. The advance party arrived at Kure on i February 1946 as the first unit of B.C.O.F. and on 18 February the operation of the port was officially taken over from the U.S. naval authorities. From then on the work of landing the troops and stores of B.C.O.F. continued without serious delay or difficulties. By the end of February all U.S. naval units had been withdrawn.

Two months later the whole of B.C.O.F. was in Japan and it was found possible to make progressive reductions in Force "C". On 3 June the shore-based party was recommissioned as H.M.S. Commonwealth and it is by that old and proud ship name that the naval element of B.C.O.F. is now known.

The principal tasks have been the inspection and report of all Japanese naval vessels sunk, beached or damaged in ports in the area of B.C.O.F. responsibility, the clearance of wrecks, jetties and basins, and the adjustment of the harbour facilities to meet occupation requirements, the destruction of twenty-four Japanese submarines in accordance with Allied-Japanese armistice terms and the refuelling and operation of repatriation vessels-in the Kure-Hiroshima area.

THE R.A.A.F. IN JAPAN

Heading the list was the commanding officer, Air-Commodore Ian D. McLachlan, D.F.C., of South Melbourne, veteran of the Western Desert and Milne Bay. With him were his three subordinate commanders, Squadron Leader Dick Wilson, of Evans Head (N.S.W.), commanding 76 Squadron, Squadron-Leader "Rusty" R. P. Curtis, D.F.C., of Point Piper (N.S.W.), with five years of air fighting in the Middle East, Burma, India and the islands behind him, and Squadron Leader Frank "Rusty" R. P. Curtis, D.F.C. and Bar, of Sydney, who had been with 452 Squadron in the United Kingdom, and the "Desert Harassers" in the Middle East.

The men were equally keen. They wanted to reach Japan, but they knew that conversion of the wing from Kittyhawks to Mustangs would take time. It took longer than they expected-it was five months before the first party embarked for Kure.

Two days later the Royal Australian Air Force, in full battle order, marched through the war-torn streets of the former Japanese naval base.

The two-hour train journey to Iwakuni was made in bitter cold, but the contingent had a chance to see a little of the country and a lot of the damage done by the atomic bomb as the rail trip took them through the centre of Hiroshima. At Iwakuni, the local mayor had prepared a welcome for the Australians. Then the procession of trucks, headed by the mayor's car, drove to the airstrip.  There, Squadron Leader Jock Ogilvie, of Swan Hill (Victoria), had a second welcome - a real Australian one - waiting for the lads. The barracks at Iwakuni were not luxurious.

Quarters were littered with wreckage, there was no hot water, shattered windows let in the sleet, snow and rain, and an icy wind swept the corridors Improvised stoves appeared in all the sleeping quarters, adding greatly to the fire risk.

Probably the hardest worked section, commanded by Flight Lieutenant Reid Stewart, of Hunter's Hill (N.S.W.), was that which handled the interpreting. As well as untangling the language difficulties, they had to supervise Japanese working parties. It was a task that kept them busy twelve hours a day.

For the first few days the contingent strove manfully among the chaos. Leave was put on a roster system. A hospital was established under the direction of Wing-Commander Arthur Raymond, O.B.E., M.C. and Bar, of Brisbane. Transport and supplies were flowing in.

Then Air-Commodore McLachlan announced that the wing would move to Bofu.

But interest in the move was completely eclipsed on 9 March, when the first twelve Mustangs touched down at Iwakuni after a 2,300-mile flight from Borneo. They were the first British fighters to be based in Japan. Led in by Wing-Commander Glen Cooper and Squadron-Leader Dick Wilson, they were the
vanguard of the hundred and twenty aircraft taking part in the R.A.A.F.'s greatest ferry flight. The 76 Squadron pilots stepped from their Mustangs into a bleak and biting wind blowing from the snow-capped peaks a few miles away. Four days later they flew to Bofu to take up their permanent station.

On 18 March occurred a tragedy that threw a shadow over the wing for weeks. A flight of thirteen Mustangs and their escorts from Okinawa ran into impossible flying conditions less than forty miles from Bofu. Three Mustangs and one Mosquito escort failed to come in.

The wing suffered from another misfortune. Fire broke out in a building occupied by United States troops. Fanned by a high wind, the fierce blaze razed four huge two-story barracks blocks, and
threatened the whole station with destruction.

Sparks and blazing embers rained down over an area of half a square mile. Desperate efforts by
the R.A.A.F. and excellent co-operation by Japanese fire brigades from neighbouring towns at last brought the outbreak under control. At the height of the fire, hundreds of rounds of ammunition exploded, and the fire fighters faced a barrage of stray shots. They took grave risks to salvage equipment and stores. Outstanding in efforts to prevent panic was Wing-Commander Andy Swan, of Elwood (Victoria), who went through every building and made sure the men were safe.

Emergency measures were remarkably effective. The men did not miss a meal and they were all fitted out with emergency clothing the following day. For weeks after the fire they wore odd mixtures of A.I.F. and R.A.A.F. uniforms.

But the depression which lay over the wing was not to be dispelled for a while. On 27 March the bodies of two pilots were brought to headquarters. Their wrecked fighters, missing since 19 March, had been found at Cape Otaki on Shikoku. No trace was found of the other three flyers.

Meanwhile, at Iwakuni, No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron was doing a magnificent job. The unit had taken over accommodation at the huge Toyo spinning mills.

Fire played one more part in the history of 81 Wing. In April hundreds of Japanese homes were threatened by a blaze which started in a village a few hundred yards from the barracks. With Flight-Sergeant Bob Wilson, of Kingswood (N.S.W.), in charge, R.A.A.F. fire fighters rushed their tender to the scene. Provosts forced the crowd back, and after an hour and a half the fire was brought under control. But not before eight houses were destroyed.

After that the wing entered on more tranquil times. Training programmes were prepared for the fighter pilots, and reconnaissance flights and shipping searches kept them busy. Discipline gradually but inevitably tightened up.

Outside the wing, the R.A.A.F. is well represented in B.C.O.F. Ranking officer in Japan is Air Vice-Marshal F. M. Bladin, O.B.E., Chief of Staff to the Commanding General. Much of the organizing work for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force has been his responsibility. At BCAIR headquarters, filling the appointment of senior air staff officer is the wing's former C.O., Air-Commodore McLachlan.

Flower girl in  bomb-shattered Hiroshima

THE CONTINGENT OF HANDY MEN

Ships in Port Jackson were bedecked with bunting; hooters sent eerie wails echoing across the water; thousands lined streets and foreshores waving flags and singing Empire songs. People in Sydney on 8 August 1900 were patriotically excited! They were witnessing the departure of the Australian Naval Contingent, whose destination was China - there to "contribute aid to the British portion of an expedition which had as its object, the restoration of order and tranquillity". So the ladies waved lacy handkerchiefs; brass bands played, and four hundred and eighty men embarked aboard the hastily converted Aberdeen liner Salamis. The ship was delayed for farewells and speeches but by nightfall had cleared the Heads-a carrier pigeon bringing news that all was well. In far-off China chaos reigned. An immense secret society-dubbed "The Boxers"-had arisen. Tremendously powerful, well armed, fanatical-backed by the Empress Dowager herself-the rebels launched a campaign of terror aimed at the expulsion from China of all foreigners and foreign influence. Riots took place in many parts, legations were besieged, missionaries murdered. Especially was "Boxerism" aimed at the "British clique". The position was serious. British interests were threatened and citizens were suffering. Vice-Admiral Sir E. H. Seymour and his force of two thousand three hundred men were in a state of siege at Tientsin. The press published strong editorials-and even verse such as: "The Boxers are making things willing, Both plunder and murder their sport; All classes of whites they are killing. Let's hope their reign will be short." On 2 8 June, Sir William Lyne, then Premier of New South Wales, received a cablegram from the Colonial Office in London suggesting that vessels of the Australian Squadron be sent to China to take part in the hostilities. Public feeling was running high at the outrages and the Government readily agreed to the proposal. Further, it offered for active service a contingent of the Naval Brigade which had been intended for South Africa. This offer was immediately accepted by the War Office. Three vessels, H.M.S. Wallaroo, H.M.S. Mohawk and H.M.S. Lizard - all of shallow draft suitable for use in river warfare - left for China early in July. Then began preparations to equip and dispatch the force. The New South Wales portion amounted to two hundred and sixty under command of Captain Francis Hixson, RN, while in Victoria volunteers were called from the naval forces serving in Cerberus and the Victorian Naval Brigade, Militia. This force was commanded by Captain Frederick Tickell. South Australia, meanwhile, had offered the gunboat Protector; but only after considerable indecision was the offer accepted. The ship finally left Sydney on 11 August - complete with seventy-five rounds per gun!  Later she was employed almost entirely in the Gulf of Pechili carrying dispatches and doing patrol work. Arriving at Hong Kong on 26 August, the contingent became portion of the "British Contingent Field Force in China". Here Hixson handed over command to Lieutenant Gillespie, and the unit was ceremoniously inspected by the Naval Officer-in-Charge at Woosung.  At Tientsin, after heavy fighting, the British garrison had been relieved, and the Australians found themselves installed in the battered city. Fifty men, under Captain Hixson, were placed on duty in the Lama temple; another fifty were allotted to guard the British Legation, with the remainder at city headquarters. The work was unspectacular to the adventurous Australians, who policed and guarded and patrolled in surrounding villages.  But it was a strange land-and dangerous-this China in revolt. In September, however, a company of the Victorian members were chosen as part of a punitive expedition organized by General Alfred Gaselee, whose object was a combined attack on Pao-Ting-Fu.  Moving off from Peking, it was intended that the force should consist of British, French, German, Russian and Italian troops. The British were prepared to start at once, but the German arrangements were incomplete and there seemed every prospect of a long delay before a start could be made.  Then news arrived of a proposed almost identical move by the French, and plans were altered to combine the two expeditions into one force which would converge on the objective from two different directions. Command of the column to move from Tientsin was given to Major-General Balliard of the French army, while General Gaselee assumed command of the force moving from Peking, and also became supreme commander at the junction of the columns in the neighbourhood of Pao-Ting-Fu. The Australians were included in the force known as "The Tientsin Column", and in addition to the company of troops they carried supplementary armament in the form of two Maxim and one 12-pounder naval gun. Numerically stronger than the Peking force, this column comprised elements of artillery, engineers, pioneers, cavalry and infantry British, German, French, Italian and Australian. Truly a mixed gathering! Both forces started out on 12 0ctober. The Peking men went by road direct to Pao-Ting-Fu, while the Tientsin column marched by three roads in a roundabout route. No opposition was encountered during the march - the Chinese apparently taking good care to avoid such a well-organized and businesslike force. The march from Peking was accomplished in seven days. The Australians, however, were delayed, as the route they followed had proved much longer and more difficult than was expected. They eventually reached Pao-Ting-Fu on 21 October. General Gaselee's plan for an "attack" on the town did not materialize, for the columns were met outside the gates by the Chief Magistrate and other officials. The general conferred with these personages, and next day rode through the streets accompanied by his staff. Tie town was divided into four districts or zones and the French, German and Italian commanders marched in and occupied their respective areas. But the British - distrustful and cautious at the quiet entry - remained outside and camped to the north of the town. General Gaselee, however, moved his headquarters into the north-west section allotted to the British. A strong force of "police" went with him, and a British guard held the north gate. Life in the town was not pleasant-or safe. Tension was high. The troops saw massacre, unrest, rioting and typical Eastern cruelty among the Boxers and inhabitants; but the measures taken by General Gaselee soon proved to the rebels that risings do not pay! Things quietened suddenly, and the general decided to withdraw his troops-as did the Italian commander. Some French and Germans were retained as the garrison force. The plan was for the troops from Peking to return on a wide front by three roads-different from those used on the march south-and the British from Tientsin were also to return by a different route with the object of attacking Boxer villages which "required to be punished". On 27 October the British troops started back to Tientsin, arriving there on 6 November. During the trip, they duly "punished" many villages, destroying arms and ammunition, seizing stores and cattle, and blowing up vast quantities of gunpowder discovered aboard river junks. The troops retuning to Peking employed similar tactics. General Gaselee returned direct to Tientsin, and declared the expedition successful. As a direct result, the Allies' show of might and determination caused the virtual cessation of all active military operations in North China. It had been clearly proved that there was no Boxer force in the field capable of - and courageous enough to - successfully accomplish their sworn cause. The Boxer bands were demoralized and dispersed. Those who still resisted were hunted down by the soldiery. Towards the end of October British troops were ordered to be withdrawn from North China, and winter saw two hundred and thirty men of the New South Wales contingent established at Peking; while at Tientsin the Victorians formed part of the garrison. Remainder of the force was scattered about in various localities doing various jobs. By now practically nothing in the way of operations was going on, although small patrols were constantly moving about the country searching out isolated trouble-makers. It was too cold for the mass movement of troops. The Australians, therefore, had to settle down to the "odd jobs" until 25 March 1901, when they were relieved by Royal Welch Fusiliers from Hong Kong. Thus began the return home. The force of "handy men" had lived up to the name coined by Australian newspapers. They were used as soldiers, as policemen, as guards and ticket collectors on railways. High quarters praised their "usefulness" in eulogistic letters and speeches. "You have been called upon at the shortest notice to provide men for all kinds of detached work," said Lieutenant-Colonel J. Swann in a letter of thanks before the men left Tientsin. "Individual intelligence and handiness alone could command success; and never once have you failed to have just the men ready for the job-and never once have you failed to justify, and more than justify, your selection." The Mayor and Council of Tientsin also thanked the Australians, who were each given an illuminated souvenir of the contingent's visit to North China. In addition the Council granted fifteen hundred dollars to be divided among the men who served in police and fire brigades connected with the city. During the six months, the contingent suffered only seven casualties - one of whom was Staff Surgeon J. J. Steele, who died at Peking on 10 November. The contingent left Tientsin at the end of March on the transport Chingtu, and arrived at Sydney on 25 April. Trouble started here when a member named Symons became a suspected case of smallpox. The ship was placed in quarantine-despite typical Australian expressions of disgust! It was not until eight days later that a hundred and forty-six of the men whose early vaccinations had "taken" - were allowed to leave the ship and land at Circular Quay. There followed a short march through city streets to the drill hall at Fort Macquarie, where they were welcomed home by the Premier, the Honourable John See. The Victorians left Sydney by special train and arrived in Melbourne next day. They were accorded a warm welcome-arriving as they did when the city was en fete for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York.  The men were entertained at Victoria Barracks and later given leave until paying off arrangements were completed. The unfortunate remainder - the success of whose vaccinations was doubtful - landed at the Quarantine Station and began an enforced wait of a further two weeks! So the China Contingent came home. They saw little of the expected active campaigning, but the presence of Australians on such a remote stage as North China produced what was termed "an excellent political effect". "They were an object lesson in patriotism which inspired all parts of the British Empire." BRUCE HARDING (Second A.I.F.)

More detail available on Handy Men

Email  

 Guestbook 

 The Ode