Half A Banana

The diary of a Gurkha officer imprisoned by the Japanese during World War Two. Amidst starvation, disease and brutality, the creation and tending of vegetable gardens became a vital lifeline, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. 'Half A Banana' tells the unusual wartime storyof Peter Kemmis Betty and Alec Ogilvie,childhood friends who as Gurkha officersfound themselves captured by the Japanese in1942 and marched to Changi prisoner-of-warcamp in Singapore. Two of the few whoremained for thewhole of their captivity in Singapore,they helped to manage the gardens thatproduced food for thousands of fellow Alliedprisoners. During these years Peter Kemmis Betty kept adiary of life at Changi, where with no sense ofan ending the prisoners did everything possibleto maintain morale, developing a deep loyaltyto each other. Their enterprising spirit wasepitomised not just by the hard work on thegardens but by the many efforts prisoners madeto lead a 'normal' life. Despite the toughnessof their lives Peter harboured no bitternesstowards the Japanese. Published for theeightieth anniversary of VJ Day, the diary paints one of the most completepictures of what life was like in Changi from1942 to 1945. Profits from this book are being donated to thePahar Trust Nepal, a charity set up by twoGurkha engineers to support schools in thefoothills of the Himalayas.