The Enemy Knocks

By Patricia Evans

Patricia Evans was born in Myrtleford, Victoria, and now lives in Queensland, Australia. During her time in Victoria, she was publicity officer for Red Cross. She wrote numerous articles for the Red Cross magazine and many local newspapers. She also conducted a monthly radio broadcast on the local radio station and arranged many TV interviews for visiting dignitaries on the local TV station. She was presented with the Red Cross Service award for her work and dedication to Red Cross.

During a holiday in Darwin Northern Territory, she was overwhelmed at the records of Second World War activity, which occurred there, and the ignorance of most Australians on such an important part of our history. She then spent several years studying the events in Darwin and the Top End of Australia during the bombing by the Japanese and all that followed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jul 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499010183

Patricia Evans

Patricia Evans is the bestselling author of four books, including The Verbally Abusive Relationship, Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out, Controlling People, and The Verbally Abusive Man: Can He Change? A highly acclaimed interpersonal communications specialist, public speaker, and consultant, Evans has appeared on Oprah, CNN, CBS News, Fox News, She Knows, and on numerous national radio programs. Her work has been featured in Shape, Newsweek, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Evans lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and can be reached via her website at VerbalAbuse.com.

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Copyright © 2014 by Patricia Evans.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014911171

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4990-1030-5

                Softcover        978-1-4990-1025-1

                eBook             978-1-4990-1018-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 06/20/2014

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many people whom I would like to acknowledge for their help with the history of the bombing of Darwin and the writing of this novel.

Duncan Richardson

The Australian Red Cross

Syd Kyle Little

The Queensland Writers group

Gary MacKay

Keith Waller

Sean Farrell

Lastly, to my husband, family, and friends.

CHAPTER 1

8 December 1941

‘W ant to dance, handsome, only nine pence?’ Leading Flight Aircraftman Eric Wilson glanced down at the childlike woman who had hold of his arm, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

His heart went out to the young woman, as he disengaged his arm, flicking a strand of dark hair from his wide set brown eyes. He towered over his dainty partner as he led her to the dance floor, where large servicemen constantly bumped into them as they weaved their way through the crowd. When the music stopped, the young lady looked at him once again with her persuasive eyes. ‘You good dancer, want to dance some more?’

He shook his head as he watched her go from one serviceman to another before a slightly drunk soldier led her to the floor. He made his way to the perimeter where he watched the bulky men push their dainty partners around the smoke-filled dance hall in Singapore’s China Town. He felt uncomfortable as perspiration soaked his khaki shirt and pants. His thoughts turned to home. ‘This heat’s as bad as back home. I wonder how they’re coping there.’

He missed his family; he could imagine his mother battling over a stove in sultry Darwin cooking the food that they all looked forward to each Christmas. His father sitting in his favourite old brown armchair with its worn arms and a hole in the seat, reading the news from the Northern Standard, and breaking in to laughter as he enjoyed the cartoons.

He wondered how his sister Rose would have handled the drunken men, hoping she would never have to. How in hell’s name did he ever wind up in Singapore? Why couldn’t he have been sent to Europe or Canada like the rest of his mates, when he finished his training as a flight mechanic in Melbourne?

Suddenly, a fight broke out when a drunken soldier stood on the foot of one of the ladies. Her partner swung around hitting the guilty man in the face. He rushed to the door with blood pouring from his nose. Eric stepped out to help him but was roughly pushed aside. ‘Get out of my way, you drongo. What do you think you’re gawking at?’

Eric felt himself being pulled away from the soldier. He turned to see one of the flying officers from the base wiping the perspiration from his brow. ‘Steady on there, it’s not much cooler outside, but it will sure be better than this.’

He was amazed when the navigator extended his hand for him to shake.

‘I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Geoff White.’

Eric took in Geoff’s open features sprinkled with a group of freckles around his cheeks and a head of sandy hair. ‘Sorry, mate, Eric Wilson. I’m not used to an officer being so friendly. Usually, you blokes, stick to yourselves.’

‘We’re not all like that,’ said Geoff. ‘Where I came from, we like to treat people as we find them. God, it’s hot. How do you stand this humidity?’

‘I’m used to this. It’s pretty much like Darwin weather.’

‘Cripes, it’s nothing like this where I come from. My folks have a wheat farm in the Mallee, and there’s nothing I’d like better than to be home stripping wheat with the rest of the family.’

‘Let’s get out of here. Anywhere will be cooler than this packed place.’

They walked in companionable silence as they turned away from the dance halls towards Orchard Road.

Eric felt as homesick for his folks, as Geoff sounded. ‘Darwin might be pretty small, but I sure as hell miss it and everyone there, especially my dog. It was such a free and easy city to grow up in.’

‘I know what you mean. We’ve got dogs at home, for working the sheep and cattle, but I’ve got my own. He’s as loyal as they come, a cross between an Alsatian and a sheep dog.’

‘Mine’s a bit the same. He’s a real bitza. Dad found him in the tip one day when he took some rubbish there. Someone must have dumped the poor little pathetic thing. He still looks at me with big brown loving eyes.’

As they walked along, Eric stopped in front of one of the bigger stores to admire a cocktail dress that was displayed in the window.

‘Who’s the lucky girl? I bet you’ve got someone back home that you’d like to see in that dress.’

‘Not likely, mate. This would look perfect on my sister, Rose. She has eyes about the colour of the dress. If I get the chance, I’d like to buy her something like this for Christmas.’

Geoff admired Eric’s attachment to his family and wondered if his sister was as pretty as her name. Suddenly, two drunken soldiers staggered past, swinging ineffective punches at each other. ‘You owe me five bob, Bluely, and you’d better pay it back.’

‘No, I don’t, you idiot, I paid it back yesterday.’

‘You did not. Take that, you thieving twit.’

Eric grabbed one of the men by his shoulder as he swung an ineffective punch, while Geoff pulled the other intoxicated man away. Each of them swearing oaths as the two airmen tried to pull them apart.

Eventually, they calmed down when they heard a military police officer blowing his whistle a few hundred yards down the street. Eric gave the two drunken men a shove. ‘If you blokes don’t cut it out, you’ll end up in the clink for the night.’

‘Cripes,’ said Geoff. ‘You’d think they’d have more to think about than trying to knock each other’s lights out. Don’t they know we could have the war on our doorstep any day? What do you reckon about the way the war’s going, anyway?’

A frown creased Eric’s high forehead as he thought for a while before answering. ‘That’s a bit hard to say. Shouldn’t be too bad, they’re flooding a large number of troops in to here, not to mention those big guns they’ve positioned along the harbour.’

‘They reckon no one will get near this place. The British call it an impregnable fortress. Did you get to see the Prince of Wales and Repulse before they sailed? They’re the best I’ve seen. They were magnificent warships.’

The two men walked on each lost in their thoughts of home and the possibility of Singapore being attacked, before hailing a taxi and travelling back to the air force base together.

Eric lay on his bed listening to Glen Miller and his band, when the voice of the announcer broke his tranquillity with a message from the prime minister of Australia.

‘This is the gravest hour of our history,’ the wireless blared out. Eric thought he must have been dreaming, as the voice continued, ‘The Japanese have bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, crippling the American fleet. At least eight battle ships have been sunk with continuous bombing and strafing.’

‘Strewth, did you hear that?’ The men in his quarters gathered around the wireless, all speaking at the same time, wondering if this would bring America in to the war.

Sleep came sporadically that night. It seemed as though each time he drifted off to sleep, some drunken airman wakened him. He was still tossing and turning when an almighty roar came from overhead, followed by a whistle and huge explosions. As Des in the bunk next to him reached under his pillow for his rosary beads, the men scrambled from their bunks and began running in all directions as the wail of the air raid siren could be heard above the chaos. Eric hastily pulled on his shorts, struggling with his boots, before sprinting to see what was happening.

‘Quick, mate, get to the planes. They’re bombing the airfield.’

He joined the men rushing towards the planes. Noise and explosions were occurring all around him. Eric felt a fear like no other he had experienced before. His breathing was coming in huge gasps, and his legs felt like jelly as he ran towards the hanger. Some of the pilots were already warming the engines. He could see fear written on the faces of the men, as he pulled the chocks from the plane, for the pilot to taxi to the runway. Then the crews of the Buffalo planes became frustrated as they sat waiting for the orders to take off. None came.

‘Can you imagine it? Here we were ready to take off, and the bloody brass wouldn’t give the order to go. There was nothing that anyone wanted to do more than take those little yellow bastards on.’

‘I don’t mind telling you I was scared. They tell me the guns around the harbour were useless, not much good them firing out to sea when those clever little Japs came over from the north.’

‘Pity about the poor folks in China Town. They reckon there were sixty people killed. If it had come any earlier, we would have been there.’

‘I suppose our next job will be clearing the rubbish off the runway and filling in these darn craters where the bombs landed,’ said Eric.

The base was still a hive of activity the next day, when word came through that just a short distance up the coast from Singapore, Japanese torpedo bombers had sunk the two battleships, Repulse and Prince of Wales.

Eric lay on his bed in a lather of sweat, with muscles aching from the unexpected labour of helping to clear the debris, as well as making sure the planes were ready before the next attack. He rolled over and flicked on his wireless, listening to the news of the Japanese advancement through Malaya, as they made their way to Singapore. He wondered how the war would affect Australia, and how soon it would be before the Japanese attacked his beloved country.

Eric and Geoff wandered through the streets of Singapore, which were becoming more congested each day with the influx of allied troops, from Australia and Britain. Refugees were everywhere, streaming in to the overpopulated city ahead of the Japanese, as they made their way south. They were distressed to see women and children who had nowhere to go bedded down on the footpaths.

They stopped to help one mother who held a baby in her arms and was trying to hold a mischievous blue-eyed little girl, who looked to be about three. Suddenly, the little girl ran on to the road. The mother screamed as she saw an approaching car. Both men acted on instinct; they grabbed the child, just before the car, which was braking frantically, stopped where the petrified child had been standing. A crowd was gathering around the shaking mother. Geoff pulled a sweet from his pocket and gave it to the small trembling girl.

‘I don’t think you will ever know how grateful I am,’ said the mother as she took the child in her arms and gave her a hug. ‘I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to Amanda.’

‘Is there anywhere we can take you? Where are you staying tonight?’

‘We’ve nowhere to go. I was looking for a safe place to bed us all down for the night.’

A frown creased the forehead of Geoff as he looked at the lady with disbelief. ‘Surely the authorities won’t allow you to sleep on the street.’

Tears started to develop in Eric’s dark eyes as the lady continued, ‘We arrived in Singapore two nights ago and have been sleeping in the streets ever since.’ A sob escaped from her as she continued her story, ‘My husband was the manager of a rubber plantation north of here. When we heard the Japanese were heading south, he begged me to take the children to safety. We knew of other families who were leaving the plantations, so the children and I joined a large number of evacuees. You should have heard the stories they told.’

The woman gave a shudder as she thought of her husband and what might happen to him and to the family if they had stayed on the plantation.

‘The Japs burnt plantation houses, forcing the owners from their property. I don’t know if my husband is still alive.’ She sobbed. ‘He promised to follow me to Singapore as soon as he can. God knows if I’ll ever find him.’

Both airmen helped the lady find a safe alley for the night. Then they emptied their pockets of money, promising they would look for her next time they were in the area.

‘Can you believe these people are in such depressing conditions,’ said Eric. ‘When we go past Raffles Hotel, the rich are still partying in their fancy clothes. It doesn’t seem right, does it?’

‘I think I’ll go back to the base. I don’t reckon I can take much more of this. Have you ever seen such human misery?’

‘I agree. They reckon they’re just sticking the dead in mass graves, without even trying to find out who they are or where they came from,’ said Geoff as he shook his head and kicked a stone in frustration.

CHAPTER 2

15 December 1941

‘S trewth, listen to this. It’s just come over the wireless that Australia has to be prepared for an enemy at tack.’

The men in Eric’s hut turned up the volume as they gathered around the wireless while the broadcast continued with the news of the Japanese advancement through Malaysia.

‘You’re lucky,’ Eric told all of the southerners in his group. ‘You don’t have the worry of your home and family being attacked.’

‘I don’t know about that. I reckon they’d go for one of the bigger cities like Melbourne or Sydney, even Brisbane,’ responded one of the men.

‘Yeah that’s what I think,’ said another.

‘I think Eric’s right,’ answered Jim. ‘I heard they were evacuating women and children from Darwin to somewhere down south. They wouldn’t be doing that if they didn’t expect an attack.’

On his first free day, Eric determined it was time he looked for something to send home to his folks for Christmas, hoping that his presents would arrive in Darwin before his mother was evacuated south. The shops in Singapore, which opened seven days a week, were still full of every item imaginable. The only sign of war was when they closed during the air raids, opening as soon as the all-clear signal came. He scanned the windows of the stores for the dress like the one he hoped to buy for Rose, with no luck. His heart sank. ‘What now?’ he thought. He felt like a fish out of water, as he searched rows of beautiful gowns. Suddenly, his eyes lit up; there in front of him was the perfect dress for Rose. He approached the shop assistant, who hid a smile as he comically tried, by waving his arms and forming shapes to describe his sister.

‘She’s pretty small and has dark hair and green eyes to match this dress.’ He looked around the store for someone he thought would be the same size as Rose. ‘See that girl over there? I reckon she would be about right.’ The assistant breathed a sigh of relief as she chose the frock for Eric. ‘Now I need something for Mum. It’s got to be really special, something she can wear to church and her Red Cross functions.’ Eventually, the shop assistant led him to a navy blue frock, with a pleated skirt. ‘You’re a gem. That’s spot on. I could see Mum in that.’

Once again he went through the pantomime of trying to explain his mother’s size. Now he only had his father and their best friends, Dot and Joe, who were their neighbours in Darwin, to buy for. His father was easy. A nice silk shirt, the likes of which Bert had never seen before. He purchased some socks for Joe and perfume for Dot, as well as some for his mother and Rose. Pleased with his purchases, Eric hailed a taxi and headed back to the base.

Just before he reached it, once again the sirens started to shriek the approach of enemy planes. He scrambled out of the taxi, rushed to his room, threw his parcels on to his bed, and raced to the hangers. When he joined the ground staff, he hastily primed the engines of the plane and then moved the chocks for the pilot to advance to the runway. Eric wondered how the pilots must be feeling as each plane took off for its assault against the skilful Japanese. When all the planes were on the runway, the ground crew ran to the water-filled trenches as the Betty bombers roared overhead dropping their load of bombs.

Once the Buffalo planes were airborne, the pilots scanned the skies for enemy planes. Max turned just in time to see a Zero coming straight towards him, with flashes coming from his guns. He could hear the pilots of the other planes calling warnings over the wireless to each other as enemy planes approached.

‘Blast this plane. Why can’t they do something about speeding it up, turn you blasted contraption, turn?’ Perspiration was pouring down his face, as he eventually managed to manoeuvre the aircraft in to a dive. After what seemed an eternity, he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the enemy planes leave the city and head to the north.

Once Max had landed, Eric could hear the pilot cursing and swearing about the ineffectiveness of the plane, as he climbed from his seat and joined the rest of the crews on the hot tarmac. ‘Bloody hell, we’re never going to win this war with these out-of-date planes,’ he complained as he wiped the sweat from his brow. ‘Come here, Eric. Have a look and see what you can do about it.’

As each pilot emerged from their plane, they all had the same complaints. ‘We’re darned lucky that we didn’t have any casualties. Strewth, there’s no way we’re ever going to be able to outrun or outmanoeuvre these drongos.’

‘Even our blasted guns aren’t good enough. You’d think you mechanics could do something so they don’t stop when we need them most.’ ‘When are they going to send us some better planes?’ complained another pilot.

The attacks continued throughout December. Eric and Geoff met spasmodically as their friendship grew. The heat and humidity were becoming more oppressive. ‘Cripes, I miss the family. This will be my first Christmas away from home, and I’m stuck here in the middle of this God-forsaken place, where we never know when the next attack is coming.’

‘Mine too, mate,’ said Geoff. ‘Mind you, ours was always pretty busy, as we’re in the middle of stripping the wheat crop. I don’t mind telling you these attacks are making me pretty scared, and I often wonder if I’ll ever see them again.’

‘You haven’t got that on your own. I lay awake at night wondering the same thing.’

‘By the way, I heard that one of the Hudson’s is taking off to Darwin sometime this afternoon. You might be able to talk the pilot in to taking the presents to your family for you. He seems to be a decent enough, bloke.’

‘Thanks for that. I’ll look him up. It might be the same chap that dropped stuff from home for us last week.’ Eric smiled as he remembered his own box of long-awaited presents arriving with a much looked forward to letter from his family, and joy of joys, one of his mother’s Christmas cakes, which would be a treat to share with his mates on Christmas day.

The letters he received from his mother and Rose were full of the reports of the advancing enemy. His mother wrote:

‘If they think I’m going to leave your father and Rose here in Darwin, then they can jolly well think again. Thankfully my first aid knowledge and the work I do with Red Cross will be needed here if we are attacked.’ Eric could almost hear his mother talking to him as he read on. ‘Trust, Mum,’ he thought. ‘I bet they’ll have to remove her bodily to get her out of the place.’

Injured men are arriving daily from the Philippines; Rose is needed at the hospital and will be staying in Darwin. Dot is still nursing at the General Hospital and won’t be able to leave with the refugees.

Everything is pretty hectic here at the moment; I’m in the middle of getting things ready for Christmas. It’s not easy though, continued Sheila. There’s not much left in the stores to buy. As soon as we hear of a new shipment coming in, Dot and I are amongst the first to arrive on the shops’ doorstep. Petrol’s as scarce as hen’s teeth. You should see the line up of cars at the garages. Your father still rides his bike to work. Things are pretty busy there; the roads are all cutting up with the heavy army trucks that are using them now, especially on the roads leading to the meat works. Can you believe it? They’ve turned it into a food depot for the army. We all send our love, we always think of you.

Love from Mum, Dad, and Rose.

Eric kept in contact with the crews of the planes flying in from Australia. ‘Darwin’s a bloody mess,’ reported George, one of the crew from the Hudson’s. ‘You should see the ditches they’re digging all around the streets and in the backyards of some of the houses. Windows have been browned out, and they’ve even put in an air raid warning system.’

‘Darn, good thing too,’ commented Eric.

George went on to tell Eric about the troops from the southern states that were pouring in to the small city. ‘I don’t know what will happen if the Japs do attack. The boys from the camps are causing havoc in the town. When they’re not on duty, they’re as drunk as skunks and fighting in the pubs. You should see the harbour, you wouldn’t recognise it. It’s filled with ships refuelling, before they leave once again for the islands.’

Eric wondered how his family was coping with the changes.

Singapore was full of rumours. No one knew which one to believe. The local newspaper The Straits Times was being censored by the government and was now giving very little information on the air raids or casualty figures.

Eric liked to walk along the harbour with its beautiful blue sea, on his days off. He watched the ships taking European evacuees from Singapore. ‘Can you believe this?’ Eric muttered to himself. ‘We’ve got a city full of people wanting to move out, and these ships are half-empty. Why on earth hasn’t the government published more about the ships leaving Singapore in the newspapers?’

A small man pulling on his shirt interrupted his thoughts. ‘You don’t want to buy a car, do you, mister? It’s pretty cheap.’

This was happening constantly, as residents tried to sell their possessions before leaving the island. ‘Sorry, mate. The last thing I want at the moment is a car.’ Eric watched the disgruntled man walk on a little further and stop a sailor from one of the ships.

As Christmas neared, the attacks by the Japanese slackened off. Christmas day in Singapore was the same as any other day for the servicemen, except for the bounty of treats that had been sent to them by their worried families. The catering staff worked in their hot humid