Harrying Japs Behind Salamaua In 1942

Memories of a Small Party of NGVR Men

By N. M. Bird

r I A HIS is Part II of an article, wherein are described the interesting experiences of a small party of members of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. Two detachments of NGVR w'ent into the mountains between Salamaua and Wau when the Japs invaded in 1942; and there

they remained, their numbers steadily decreas ing, until December, 1942.

They were scouts, guides, patrolmen, and directors of native labour for the military forces which were slowly coming to their aid. They carried on a sort of guerilla war against the Japs. Their achievements, unsung and even un recorded, helped our commanders enormously when the time came to throw the Japs out of New Guinea. They had maintained an organi sation in the inhospitable jungle, and had kept contact with the natives.

As this modest narrative indicates, they had innumerable adventures—most of which are now forgotten.

Section 11.

NOW there entered a hitherto unknown element, one Major Fleay, com mander of Kanga Force, Wau.

“Hump” did not return to Mubo, but re mained at Fleay’s HQ.

Fleay decided that as the Fifth, at Mubo, and the Force, had been in two major actions, they were due for a spell, so he sent another detachment to Mubo, together with a few NGVR, from the Lae end.

Captain Winning’s party moved out, to gether with the Force —the Fifth to spread themselves through the Bulolo valley, and the Force to hole up at Ballams, electing to remain there rather than be run around by HQ and “Hump.” Force now consisted of some half-dozen NGVR men who had elected to remain under Captain Winning. We still called ourselves the Force. The rest had left Mubo by ones and twos, some time before, and pre sumably had found their way south westward.

Time dragged along in blissful quiet for the Force, at Ballams. Members went to Wau for mail, which was now coming in regularly by plane transport from Moresby. Captain Winning was back at Mubo, and patrolling the country with John Murphy.

Then the world blew up around the ears of the Force.

Late one afternoon, a red glow appeared over Bulolo —then Wau itself was ablaze.

A member of the Force arrived at Ballams from Wau, and reported that the enemy was advancing up the Markham and the Snake, onto the Bulolo Valley, and through the Buangs. There had been a battle at Mubo, it was said, and the Fifth party had been wiped out.

In the meantime, Wau burned, and the Fifth, from Wau, streamed out along the Kaisinik road. “Hump” appeared like magic at Kaisinik. The Force breathed freely again. While “Hump” was at Kaisinik all was not too bad —as a barometer, “Hump” was infallible.

A detachment of the Fifth arrived at Ballams, to go forward. “Hump” ordered a post to be established at Skindewai.

There were arguments. A post was to be established at the Summit (about 5 miles from Ballams). More arguments, to and fro. A post was to be established at House Karuka (about half-way to the summit). A detachment, commanded by Lt. Wylie, of the Fifth, finally got away.

IT was now raining in sheets. A message came through, addressed to Lieut.

Wvlie. at his post at House Karuka.

“Nobby” (Lieut. Noblett), QIC Ballams, came over to the beds of the Force, and called for volunteers to take the message.

Beds creaked —but no one was hurt in the rush. Finally, Archie Graham, amid a few pithy comments, volunteered to go.

Archie’s friend (me) spoke up to say that Archie was not fit to be trusted alone on such a night, or any other night, and that he’d go with Archie, to look after him.

The Force held a hurried conference and made plans to be effective in certain circumstances, and the pair set out for House Karuka, with a lighted lantern.

Both knew the location of House Karuka, and the turn-off could not be missed, even on such a night as this. A large Karuka palm grew beside the road, and one large root arched out over the road at barely head height.

The pair slipped and floundered along the road in the pouring rain, with the lighted lantern —this last to give Wylie’s sentry, on the road warning of their approach. (Wylie’s detachment were rather trigger-happy). The turn-off was reached, after the pair had fallen on the lantern, crushing it into the mud.

There was no sentry. We debated the. advisability of climbing up to the house, with the possibility of being shot by Wylie’s party. We decided to push on to the Summit, sleep, and return to look for the sentry at daylight.

Reaching Summit, we found the house occupied by one lone and scared native.

He had come from Mubo the previous day.

The pair slept, and arose betimes to greet a pair of Wylie’s men, sneaking along the road. They seemed surprised to see the pair—they had expected Nips.

One of Wylie’s men had heard Nippon drilling at the Summit in the early morn ing.

THE rest of the Force arrived —all five of them. We decided to push on to Skindewai, to give whatever assistance was possible to men of the Fifth now coming up from Mubo.

Some distance along the road, the Force met a long fine of native carriers, and two Vickers guns were among the loads carried. We pushed on, passing numbers of the Fifth and had word of Lieutenants Hicks and Demerick. We reached Skindewai, to find more of the Fifth arriving, and pulling out for Ballams, but Dick Demerick had not arrived.

The Force decided to sleep at Skinde wai and go forward to find Demerick in the morning.

However, Dick came in late p.m., with the true story of the evacuation of Mubo.

There had been no fight, and no Nips.

Someone —to this day unidentified —had spread the alarm that the place was sur rounded by Nips—and the Fifth just went away from them.

The Sgt. i.c. (Vickers) at Gadagasul was located and questioned, and con gratulated on getting his guns out. He stated that those seen bv the Force were not his; they were from Mubo. His were at Gadagasul, in the pits, covered with water-proof sheets—he had had no time to get them out, so he took out the locks and threw them away.

The Fifth now were all accounted for, and they left for Ballams next morning.

The Force gathered up what stores had not been trampled into the mud and hid them in the bush, returned to Ballams — to hear of the flight of transports which had arrived from Moresby and circled the drome. But they could not land —our men had blown a lot of holes in the drome before they left.

The retreat to Moresby was checked.

Major Fleay returned to a ridge above Kaisinik and made camp, collecting his scattered troops, and later reoccupying what was left of Wau. “Hump” was still at Kaisinik. The Force smiled, their faith in his powers as a barometer justified.

THE Force remained at Ballams. Wylie brought his men in from House Karuka.

A couple of days passed. Major Fleay ordered a post to be established at Skin dewai, and he said that the Force were to go forward and set up an OP at Mubo.

The Fifth moved to Skindewai, accom panied by the Force.

Archie Graham and Fred Leather went down to the saddle, followed by this writer, with a few natives, salvaging gear from the road, where it had been dropped by the “retreating” Fifth.

Archie and Fred reached the Saddle without seeing any sign of Nippon. They were met at the hospital above the Saddle by this writer. Archie and Fred decided to sleep at the hospital and go to Mubo in the morning. The writer returned to the house at Gadagasul with his loaded natives, reaching it at dark, in pourmg rain. , , Having no change, I peeled my clothes off and gave them to the natives to dry, and seating myself on a box, thought fully pulled close to the fire by the natives. I suddenly realised the nature of the box and opened it. It was a Vickers spare-parts box—one of a pair in

(Continued on page 51)

the house—filled with the usual spare parts for Vickers, including spare bolts.

I visited the guns next morning. They were in good condition under their water proof covers, only the locks being miss ing. So the Sgt. i.c. Vickers had been right; he had thrown the locks away. I returned to Skindewai next day and carried in the salvaged gear, and carried on with this job for some days after.

Archie and Fred went on to Mubo, to see Nippon occupy Mubo.

Nippon seemed unable to believe his luck, and was very suspicious. The last time he had seen Mubo, he got the father of a thrashing.

Archie and Fred returned to Skindewai and reported, and moved out again to establish an OP behind Mubo. at Nippon’s back door, just across the Buiapal Creek and on the slope of the Mat Mat ridge.

The other end of the ridge was occupied by Nippon, in our Force’s old Vickers position. I was left to run supplies to the Force.

The Force now consisted of Archie Graham, Geoff White, Bruce Frazer, Gordon Kinsey. Albert Pauley, Fred Leather and this writer.

A VICKERS was set up at Wrights Creek, about half an hour’s walk from Skindewai, and the Fifth sent a party every day to man it. The war commenced at 7 a.m. sharp, and ended at 5 p.m., when the Fifth returned to Skindewai for food and sleep, taking the lock of the Vickers with them to prevent Nippon breaking any rules as to when the war should start. Overtime was strictly taboo.

Leaving Skindewai behind and pro ceeding warily (the Vickers party had an unhappy habit of setting booby traps on the track when they came in at night) the writer set out with a load of supplies for the Force.

Passing the Vickers’ post, I was asked if I had brought the lock for the Vickers I had not.

Returning hurriedly in the afternoon— to get in before the Fifth set their booby traps—l called out and asked who had been the bunny to go back for the lock.

No answer. A shrewd suspicion was satisfied when I climbed up to the gun and investigated. There was no lock' The fifth now discarded the Vickers and ‘ set up a post at the house at Gadagasul (the house of the Vickers’ Spare Parts) This post was manned by a party who were relieved every seven days Nippon paid a visit, but the Fifth were absent. Nippon left things as he found them, except to move a booby trap to another position. Luckily, this was located and no one was hurt.

Captain Winning had been at Busama when Mubo was evacuated, and now he returned to Bulwa via the Buangs but -“e was laid UP with very bad feet. He later came to Skindewai. and prepara tions were made for a raid on Mubo.

COLONEL FLEAY (he had been pro moted) came to Skindewai (his furthest move to date) and mud maps were made to help him grasp the details of the area. In spite of protests by Norm Winning and others, including the Force he ruled that the attack must be made from the main road, the raiding twtof y iv/r 3 , se P a **ate at the turn-off to the Mat Mat, half to go on to Mubo, the others to go up the zig-zag to the Mat Mat. Both parties were to be covered bv Bren gunners on Vickers Ridge. Both at tacks were to be made upljill The party moved in. Reaching the tum off to the Mat Mat zig-zag, the oartv 5 unJP’nSS ?’S eill 0f the Fifth. tetS Lt. and MM) taking the party for Mubo, \

and Pleay himself in command of Mat Mat party.

Billy Drysdale (Lt. of the Fifth) who was leading, stepped on a land mine, and was blown into the air. The party pulled Bill to the side of the track, where his wounds were dressed. Matey (one of Drysdale’s men) walked onto a second mine, on the first lap of the zig zag Luckily, he was blown clear and not seri ously hurt.

Nippon swarmed like a bee-hive, and Colonel Fleay yelled that the party was off and went along the Waipali road, followed by some of the Fifth Norm Winning, with what he had left of his party, carried Bill out and got him over the Bitoi bridge. Bill O’Neill in the meantime, checked the Japs on the main road, with a bitter fire.

The writer picked up Bill Drysdale, with the few natives he had with him to carry spare ammunition, and got him to the Saddle Here Captain Winning set up a l Ll pP t - O’Neill’s party get a U P fbc road to Gadagasul.

The Japs caught up with us, and there was a brief brush at the Saddle. The natives who were carry j on. Later they moved out d6d Loyalty Medals - The Fifth Lieut. Drysdale died a while later, while being carried. The writer and his natives 111I 11 ? 1 01 P Gadagasul, near a Pho™ baniboo, digging his grave with sharpened sticks and one small knife.

We caught up with the Fifth at Skinde wai, and a conference was held and heads counted. Drysdale was dead, two were wounded and Fleay was missing. He was o ca ‘ ed m m l I? 3 ? later by a selrch paTty C ?, t —t l6 had taken the old the Gadtgaluf trail Wa ‘ Pali> inStead of Op he TS r °livH, ma T in S d at „ Mubo in the arrived in w£, J nde f> end ent Co. now MajOTMa“adS UPder COmmand of TT was now decided that a small party A go to some point between Mubo and Komiatum, and clean up a Nip patrol or two, including any enemy supply 3 lines that might come along. y

The whole area raised its eyebrows was* to'comprise* 5 Captain Norm 1 Winning Major Macadle, the Major’s batman Lieut. Dick Demerick, a sergeant from the * L

Sixth, another from the Fifth, and the writer.

This suicide party duly left, and camped beside a small creek on a hillside below Waipali. During that night it rained.

Sheets of water swept down the hillside and washed out the suicide party.

Next morning, after a debate, it was decided to cross Waipali Bridge in the afternoon, when there was small chance of our being seen by a Nip patrol. Gear was dried during the wait, and the party moved out, following the small creek to the Bitoi. This creek had been washed out, twenty feet wide, by the heavy rain the previous night.

The Bitoi was found to be a raging torrent, with logs and rafts of debris be ing swept along. The bridge was gone.

Major Macadie had complained of a sore throat the previous day. I diagnosed his trouble as MUMPS.

It was decided to try to fell a tree across a narrow place in the gorge, while I went higher up, to try and locate an old bridge I had known there, years before.

Leaving a few natives to hack at the selected tree with one small tomahawk, I moved up the gorge—to meet there a native, with a written message from Geoff White, stating that Nippon had located their OP and had chased out the Force, which was now at Waipali.

I returned to the others with the sad news, and it was decided to move up to Waipali and hear the full story, to await the falling of the flood in the Bitoi, and to give Mac’s mumps a chance to settle down.

At Waipali, a conference was held, and it was decided to call off the suicide stunt and return to Skindewai. In a couple of days, Major Macadie was able to move around, and the party (now including the Force) left for Skindewai.

HERE, a further conference decided to abandon Skindawai as a forward camp. The houses were demolished, and our complete party left for Wau. It was now mid-December, 1942.

In Wau, the Force met many NGVR from Lae end, enroute to Australia on leave.

The Force accommodated itself in Bernard Smith’s house, and dreamed dreams of leave “South” and daily fare welled the NGVR who were being taken out by air transport to Moresby.

But it wasn’t as easy as that. Colonel Fleay objected strongly to the NGVR go ing out; and when the Force was all that remained of the NGVR, he posted an order that no more were to leave the area. Marsden, medico for Kanga Force, and MacCracken, of the Sixth, responded nobly—and the last of the Force gaily entered transports for Moresby, and their well-earned leave “South.”

All, that is—alas and alas —but the writer. He remained, to hear later of the disbanding of the NGVR.

The Battle of Wau has already been well described. The Force had no part in it. It is not their story.

So ended the Force. It was a sad, mad, ill-fed, ill-clad and undisciplined rabble, maddened by frustration, who climbed mountains, swam rivers and waded swamps in all weathers, day or night; who performed, more or less cheerfully, the jobs allotted them. Now, their ex ploits are forgotten and unsung. Vale, the Force.