A local resident has published his late father’s wartime diary, offering a rare and personal account of life in the notorious Japanese Changi prisoner of war camp in Singapore.
‘Half a Banana’, released to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day (15th August), tells the story of Lt. Col. Peter Kemmis Betty MC, a Gurkha officer captured by the Japanese in 1942 alongside his childhood friend Alec Ogilvie.
Unlike most of the 100,000 prisoners who passed through Changi and were sent north to work on the Burma-Thailand railway, Peter and Alec remained in Singapore throughout their captivity, helping to manage the camp’s vegetable gardens which became a lifeline for them and thousands of other Allied prisoners.
The diary, now published by his son Richard Kemmis Betty, who lives near Warminster, offers a detailed and moving account of life in the camp – not just the hardships, but also the extraordinary resilience, friendships and morale-boosting efforts that shaped the prisoners’ daily lives.
“My father was a Gurkha Officer captured by the Japanese in 1942 and spent over three years as a prisoner in Singapore’s infamous Changi camp,” said Richard.
“Half a Banana is based on Peter’s own diary – a vivid, often deeply personal record of how he and his childhood friend, Alec Ogilvie took on the vital work of managing the vegetable gardens. At a time of great uncertainty and hardship, their friendship and quiet determination not only helped maintain morale but provided much-needed food for over 17,000 fellow POWs.
“The diary isn’t grim – it’s deeply human and often surprisingly uplifting. My father bore no bitterness, even after three and a half years in Changi. He wrote about the creativity, loyalty and dignity that helped them all endure.”
The Kemmis Betty family moved to Warminster in the mid-1960s when Peter took up a senior Army role at the School of Infantry, following previous appointments at the Regular Army Commissioning Board in Westbury. They lived in Oxendene Road, and Richard and his brothers recall fond memories of walking their Labrador ‘Sunray’ on the downs, playing near the Saddle Club, and being introduced to golf at West Wilts Golf Club, where Richard remains an active member.
Half a Banana is described as “a powerful account of life in Changi… a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.” It also highlights the little-known role of POWs who remained in Singapore, providing food and maintaining morale among the 17,000 prisoners in the camp from 1942 to 1945.
Proceeds from the book are being donated to the Pahar Trust Nepal, a charity founded by Gurkha engineers to support schools in rural Himalayan communities, in a tribute to Peter’s long association with the Gurkhas. The hardback edition is available now on Amazon.
The cover for the book was created by local artist Nick Andrew who is based at Bull Mill Studio in Crockerton.
For more information, Richard Kemmis Betty can be contacted on 07748 846919.
