Out of the blue on the morning of August 21st, two men arrived from Kobe POW camp, who informed us that the personnel at the Kobe camp had taken the law into their own hands and left. They had commandeered lorries and broke into warehouses and stores, taking whatever food they needed. They also brought papers which confirmed beyond doubt that the war was at an end.
Our officers immediately demanded to see the Japanese camp commandant and informed him of what had happened in Kobe. They told him that unless he brought into our camp by noon the next day, decent food, cigarettes, medicines, etc., they would order all POWs to break camp and commandeer their own food.
That night we noticed that the Japanese guards had been reinforced and that barriers had been erected on the road outside the camp. We eagerly looked forward to noon for a "show-down".