Dysentery in the Camp

I was the first one at the camp to have dysentery. And I am, I don't know if I am the only guy that got out but one of the only guys that got out. And I had it first. I don't know how I made it, you know, through there. But some men were going twenty-two days without going to the can. They weren't getting enough to eat to go to the can. I was going forty times a day, not passing nothing but trying to all the time. After the mucus lining in my intestine started to come out, you know, had little gobs of it when I was passing out. But straining all the time to go, and oh Jesus, I went through hell for years for that. Interviewer: How long did you have the dysentery? Until I got home. Interviewer: Okay, so it was right through until the very end of your captivity. I had over a hundred ulcers of the intestine when I come home.

Mr. Bembridge recalls his suffering with dysentery within the camp and how his health was affected by this.

Howard Bembridge

Mr. Bembridge was born May 22, 1923 in Saskatchewan. His father was a sergeant major in the First World War and rarely spoke about his service. Being the third oldest child of four, Mr. Bembridge achieved a grade 8 education and at age 14, went to work with the Canadian National Railway. At age 17, he decided to join the military and enlisted with the South Saskatchewan Regiment and moved to Fort William, Ontario for six months. Having a rocky relationship with his sergeant, Mr. Bembridge made a quick decision to join the Winnipeg Grenadiers who were destined for Hong Kong. Having experienced harsh and brutal conditions during his captivity, Mr. Bembridge was hospitalized for a period of time and later returned to Saskatchewan with his family.