Background and information to World War 2 poems by Mary Thomas. For use by teachers and students in understanding war from the perspective of women civilians interned at Changi Prison in Singapore between 1942 to 1945.

1. Thoughts in Changi Gaol
PoemwritteninAugust1943 on beingtoldthatthe Germanshad hangedsixteenyearoldgirlsinthe
streetsof Osloforrefusingtoworkin Germany.
It’strue we are runby committee
Whichgivesusa paininthe neck:
It’strue anda trial and a pity
Our schoolgirl complexion’sawreck:
It’strue if the foe’sfull of whiskey
We’re apt to getslappedorbe slanged,
But the girlsof sixeteencanbe frisky –
The certainlyhaven’tbeenhanged.
It’strue that the foodisrepulsive
Andquite insufficientaswell:
If you speakto a man,all impulsive,
They’ll possiblybeathimtohell.
Our governmentmayhave rewarded
The prudence of those whoescaped:
But dull thoughourlife isandsordid
We certainlyhaven’tbeenraped.
It’strue that ournervesare in tatters,
Our tempersalarminglyfrayed,
It alsois true,if itmatters
We chancedall these thingswhenwe stayed.
It’strue that we lie,steal andbackbite,
That mostlyourmattershave fled.
It’strue that we slanderandcatfight,
But still,all the same,we’re notdead.
It’strue whenwe getoutof prison
We’ll half of uslandon the shelf:
The splendidnewworldthathasrisen
Won’toffermuchcomfort or pelf.
Starvationandstrikesforour suppers,
Andslumpsandrevoltswithourtea,
Andevenif downto ouruppers
At least,oh,at least,we’ll be free.

2. Agony Column
Can I bearit any longer,
Queuesandconcrete,dustandnoise?
Chill distaste isgrowingstronger
Evenfor so-calledjoys.
Mince at lunchnolongerthrillsme,
Eggs at supperleave me cold
Andit verynearlykillsme
Whenthe cigarettesare sold.
Sittinglike alonelypigeon,
Wonderinghowtocharm the time –
Shall I learna newreligion?
Shall I start a life of crime?
Tunnel underthe foundations?
That wouldtake a yearor two!
Reconstructthe League of Nations?
Start a private insectzoo?
Shall I jointhe busybobbies,
Changi’sgiftedC.I.D.,
Pokingintopeople’shobbies,
Countingbunsandcups of tea?
Shall I loose myinhibitions?
Shall I take to sweeping drains?
Sendround‘news’inneweditions?
Date withotherwomen’sswains?
No,I will not:there’salimit.
No more evilswillIchoose:
Thus to fill mycupand brimit
Frankly,flatly,Irefuse.
There’sone certainwayto banish
All the plaguesatone full sweep:
Wallsand Women!Presto!Vanish!
Come whatmay I still cansleep.
Changi,February 1944
The gates,theyare not shut,butonlyguarded:
The windowsare notsealed,butcloselybarred:
The walls,theyare not spiked,onlyunscaleable:
The stars are not shutout, onlythe landscape.
The torrent of humanvoicesislike atorment,
It isa mill,grindinghearingtonothing,
It islike a sea,poundingawreckedmanto pieces,
It islike a hammer,crushingastick to an anvil.

3. About Mary Thomas
Mary Thomas,a formerinternee of the Japanese,1942-45, was bornon December13, 1906. She
was the eldestof 6 childrenof the rectorof a small village inthe CotswoldhillsinGloucestershire,
England. The childrenwere senttoboardingschoolsandwhenMary was18, she attendedStAnne’s
College,Oxfordandtooka degree inthe HonoursSchool of ModernHistory.The nexttwo yearwas
spentinBritishColumbiawithanauntwhowas also hergodmother.Heraunt had marriedandlived
inVancouverIsland.
In Vancouver,Mary didsome part time teachinginBritishColumbia butdecidednottosettle in
Canada because she wantedtosee more of the world.She returnedtoBritainviathe Pacific,staying
for 10 dayswithfriendsinHongKong.She alsospent 5 monthswithhereldestbrotherwhowas a
managerof a tea estate inCeylon and6 weekswithfriendsatChittagonginBengal before returning
to England.
Mary thendidanotherstintat teachingbutneverfeltathome withthe teachingvocation.She took
a secretarial course andsubsequently becameasecretaryat the CotswoldEquitationSchool at
Burford,inOxfordshire,6milesawayfromherhome village.She learnttoride andhelpoutwith
horsesinherjob but war withGermanybeganin1939 and the school wasshut down.
Mary triedtojointhe BritishNursingService asavolunteerauxiliary(alsocalledV.A.D.inWorldWar
1) but there wasa waitinglistof 20,000 and herhopeswere slimof beingselected. She thenapplied
to jointhe Women’sLandArmybut there wasa waitinglistof 8,000.
Circumstancestooka turnwhenherbrother,FrancisThomas (whojoinedStAndrew’sSchool in
Singapore asa teacherin 1934 andwas on home leave inEnglandasassistantmasterat the school)
suggestedthatshe joinhimin Singapore totake up a teaching.job1
Both siblings landedin
Singapore inthe morninginDecember1939 andwere sooncaught up byeventsof the PacificWar.
Whenwar broke out, Mary joinedthe VoluntaryAidDetachmentandbecame assistant
superintendentata firstaidpost whichwasbased inSt Andrew’sSchool.Whenmanycivilian
womenwere encouragedtobe evacuated,Mary stubbornlyrefusedbecauseshe wantedtoremain
behindtohelpnurse the wounded.
WhenSingapore surrenderedtothe Japanese February151942, the remainingAlliedcivilianmen,
womenandchildrenwere roundedupandinternedinagroupof housesinKatongwhere the men
were separatedfromthe womenandchildren.On7March the men,ledbythe GovernorSir
ShentonThomas,were marchedtoChangi Jail.The followingday,8March, the womenandchildren
followed,leavingKatongatteno’clockinthe morningandarrivingat Changi Jail at five o’clockinthe
afternoon.
Mary wasinternedatChangi Campfrom March 1942 to May 1944. Duringher interment atChangi,a
camp magazine POW-WOWwascirculated andonoccasion,she wouldwrite forthe magazine.
Thomasgot intoserioustrouble whenshe wrote apoem,Changi Lullaby,whichincludedareference
1 Born in April 1912,in Westcote, England. Francis Thomas (1912-1977) was the 4th child of Rev. J.A. Thomas
and Mrs Thomas in Westcote. He was the third son of the family.Francis Thomas became later made
Singaporehis home and became a member of the Labour Party in Singapore in 1948 and President of the
Labour Front in 1950. He was appointed as Minister of Minister of Communication and Works in both Labour
Front Governments between 1955-1958.He resigned his position in 1959 and returned to his teachingjob in St
Andrew’s becoming Principal of the school from1963 to 1974.He died of cancer in 1977.

4. to “the clash of a chain”to spoke aboutthe harshnessof prisonlife inChangi.The Japanese
authoritiesthoughtthiswasareference tofetters butinfact,the chainswere lavatorychains,which
were pulledmore orlesscontinuouslythroughthe night,asaresultof the diureticeffectsof the
prisondietandthe boutsof dysenterywhichkeptmanyprisonersill. Thomasreadthe poemina
deadpanvoice tothe Japanese commandant andshe was escapedwithatelling-off andawarning
to confine herremarksto topicsnotconnectedwithinternment.
Duringher stayin Changi, Mary suffered terrible illness andspenttime betweenChangi Prusiband
MiyakoHospital (formerWoodbridge Hospital). She wasable togetherhands on an embroidered
tablecloth,lootedfromFullertonBuilding,withsignaturesof interneesinChangi prisonandstaff at
MiyakoHospital,1942-43, whichwas donatedtothe Imperial War Museum.The rectangularblue
tableclothbears126 embroideredsignaturesinvariouscolours.2
Afterherrelease Marymade her wayback to Englandand became a teacheronce more.Her
youngestbrother,Christopher,wasmissing,presumedkilledinactioninBurma,andFrancis,having
beena prisonerof warin Changi,ThailandandJapan,resumedhisteachingdutiesinSingapore
before becomingMinisterof WorksandCommunications,1955-58.
In the post-warperiod,Marynevermarriedand became closelyconnectedwiththe Societyof the
SacredCross, a contemplativeAnglicanorder basedatTymawrConventnearMonmouth.Atthe
time of her deathshe wasa long-standingassociate of the community.Formanyyearsshe livedin
Monmouthshire andbecame asupporterof PlaidCymru.Inher ninetiesshe wrote alettertothe
Monmouthshire Beaconinacontroversyoveran initiative toassociate MonmouthwithaJapanese
town,IshikawaMachi. Mary’s letterdescribedbrieflyherowntreatmentatthe handsof the
Japanese andsuggestedthatitwasnowtime to move on andthe dispute wasresolved
As hereyesightfailed,Marymovedintoresidential care.She diedonFebruary9,2009, aged102
(Citedfrom:http://www.militarian.com/threads/mary-thomas-rip.4638/)
2 http://craftivism.com/blog/tag/changi-quilts/.Other pieces of embroideries from this period includethree
quilts.One quiltnow hangs at the British Red Cross museum in London and another two quilts atthe
Australian War Memorial Museum,Canberra.The whereabouts of the alleged fourth quiltis unknown. Three
quilts areknown to existand it is probablethatthere was a fourth as the quilts were intended to be presented
to the Red Cross Societies of Britain,Australia,Canada and Japan atthe cessation of hostilities.