Half a Banana: The Diary of a Gurkha Officer, 1942-45

Join Richard and David Kemmis Betty as they recount their father’s experiences as a British Indian Army officer fighting in Malaya and imprisoned in Singapore during the Second World War.

Peter Kemmis Betty was a young officer serving in the 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles when he was captured by the Japanese in 1942.

Rather than being sent to the infamous Thai-Burma railway, Peter and his lifelong friend Alec Ogilvie were held for over three years in Singapore’s Changi camp. Together, they oversaw the gardens that helped keep 17,000 Allied prisoners of war alive, all while trying to preserve a sense of dignity and normality behind the barbed wire.

Re-published to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, Peter Kemmis Betty’s Changi diary is one of the most complete pictures of what it was like to live through such difficult times. It is a surprisingly uplifting story of courage and loyalty, showing how these determined prisoners made the most of their hardship, despite the hunger, sickness, mistreatment and boredom they experienced.

About the speakers

The diary will be recounted by Richard and David Kemmis Betty, with special guest Khadak Chhetri.