Sapper Alastair Mackay Dick went to Malaya in 1926 as a 21-year-old to become an assistant to the Manager of a Rubber Estate, in Perak State. When war broke out, he joined the Johore Volunteer Engineers and was mobilised to defend against the Japanese from the Malay Peninsula to Singapore during WWII. Following the surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, Dick was sent to Changi to be a prisoner of war (POW), and put his working experience on a rubber plantation in Malaya to good use by joining the Changi Rubber Factory as a rubber tapper. As a part of the rubber tapping team, Dick was responsible for collecting latex that was subsequently used in making needles, new shoes, as well as in repairing many other items. This book authored by Captain John G. Clemetson, the officer in command at the Changi Rubber Factory, also left his autograph in the book for his co-worker, Dick. The Changi Rubber Factory started days after the men were taken in as POWs. Together with Captain Bellingham Smith, Clemetson decided to start a pioneer workshop for the benefit of the Volunteer Forces, and started to seek out tools, timber and all sorts of other materials to make or repair things. This kick-started the factory that eventually helped to address repair and shortage issues within Changi. Within this book are illustrations by British artist and former POW, Des Bettany, who carried small sketch books with him and recorded his journey and experiences in Malaya and Singapore. Together with Clemetson, Bettany’s illustrations in this book record the hard work, resilience and creativity of the men working in the Changi Rubber Factory.
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