We really ought to thank the Changi Cartoonist, because he drew 2 cartoons or more about the Changi Concert Party as evidence and thus we may now at present time view it. The Changi Concert party, one of the earliest formed ways of humour keeping up moral in Changi. It was formed just two days after the POWs' arrival and it was a simple variety show for people who wanted to perform. They could simply get up there and start performing, and there was no schedule whatsoever.

After that, the Japanese decided to give permission for a permanent concert party , comprising 30 men to be set up. These 30 men spent the next few years of their lives in Japanese captivity putting up shows for the other POWs.

The Changi concert party became more and more popular as it developed, and it went on to be so popular such that a quota system so every man had a chance to see the shows. This remained as one of the only forms of entertainment for all those years. The new shows came out fortnightly, and there were variety shows, musical dramas, pantomines, and serious drama, and of course, other segments too.

Furthermore, there was a 30-piece orchestra, which could be heard every Sunday evening. The concert party had a loyal audience, and they used it as escape from the current lives they were leading.

People who could help with the concert party were all involved as time passed. There were people of all types, and most were those who would make the materials or fix some props. There was always people with the skills to fix any problem. This involvement also helped in making people interested.

In the early days of its founding the POW's used their most plentiful resource of time and had multiple ways, often creative, in finding teh items which were required as props in the concert party. All sorts of props found their way into the camp, through the POWs, who smuggled it in, even though it was forbidden to bring such things into the camp. However, the Japanese were so interesting as to allow those who smuggled the items in to keep them.

A cartoon below depicts the concert party after much more upgrading with more props.

An important part of the concert parties was the concert parties. The men were hesitant about playing women, but as time when on they became better female impersonators. They had the permission from the Japanese to grow long hair, and that made them look very convincing.

When the Japanese started sending POWs to work around the island, the Australians quickly got a reputation for being master smugglers. Anything that could be concealed under a hat, or a g-string was worth a try, and it was just for the concert. This shows just how effective the concert party was.

The prisoners risked a severe beating if caught, but it was often worth it. They were the crutching experts, as shown in the next few acounts.

"I got this small-sized pineapple. I pushed it right down into my crutch, in between my legs. Anyway we marched back home and I was bow-legged all the way, ripped raw and sore. I got me pineapple home, and six of us had a feed out of it, just added it to the rice. It was most delicious. It was well worth the effort"

Snow Peat - Prisoners of War - Australians under Nippon by Hank Nelson

"One of the things that made the Australian POW's stand out was their tendency to look after each other, to lie and steal for each other, to help a mate out of a scrape. This undoubtedly helped to pull a lot of Aussies through the worst of times.

I can't recall any Australian that was ever in a position where there was just himself. But I can recall plenty of occasions with, say, the Dutch or even the British, where a man would by dying and he wouldn't seem to have any mates. He would just die on his own. I don't recall a single Australian dying without somebody to look after him in some way."

Hugh Clarke - Prisoners of War - Australians under Nippon

People who read this may perceive a vacation or a holiday camp at Changi, but the comparisons of those who luckily managed to return from the Thai-Burma Death railway was like returning to a paradisal place. The other activities started to reduce in size and slowly was extinct as most of the people were sent to working parties. However, because of the fact that the Changi concert party was considered as a job for the prisoners by the Japanese, the concert party continued for those years under tha Japanese occupation. The japanese sent them to travel to men on work parties in Thailand and Burma, possibly to keep those in that regions from rebeling by bringing them entertainment. They could also be there for a form of encouragement. Those who were considered sick remained at Changi(about 2000 people), while most of the rest were sent to work on the death railway.