Tenko

First broadcast: Thursday 23 December 1981

December 1942. It is monsoon season and having been in the camp for ten months. There is heated debate over how to celebrate Christmas until Mrs Van Meyer provides a compromise solution. Beatrice has become obsessed with the threat of beriberi and the possibility of obtaining Vitamin B1 from some bean plants provided by Yamauchi. While outside the camp on a work party the women see some white male prisoners and when the Japanese make preparations for an unspecified event, Sally wonders if it could be for a visit from their men. A tenko is called at which Yamauchi tells the women that they will be moving to a new camp. Despite this news, the women still plan to have their ‘Christmas dinner’ and to hold a concert the night before they leave. Marion asks Yamauchi if he can provide the names of the male prisoners at the nearby camp before they depart. She and Sister Ulrica both fear that there may not actually be another camp and that instead they are to be killed. The women prepare for the meal and the concert. Although she has contracted beriberi, Mrs Van Meyer is determined to perform. The concert is a great success with Rose as ‘master of ceremonies’ and the initially reluctant Blanche throwing herself into it. Ulrica tells a now very distressed Beatrice that she has secured jars of yeast tablets, containing the vital Vitamin B1, from the guards by giving them pages from a Bible to use as cigarette papers. The list of male prisoners is put up outside the cookhouse. While Rose and Debbie receive good news, Sally is heartbroken to discover that her Peter is not on the list. Yamauchi confirms with Marion that the list of male prisoners is complete. When she asks him for details of the journey ahead of them he evades her questions. The women are escorted out of the camp and head off into the jungle.

First broadcast: Thursday 17 December 1981

Blanche and Debbie are interrogated but they claim that no-one helped them to escape. They are tied to poles in the compound and many of the prisoners’ possessions are burned as punishment. The women round on Marion and Rose for betraying Blanche and Debbie. Sister Ulrica announces that from now on the Dutch will exist separately from the British and will therefore be no longer held responsible for their actions. Most of the women begin to accept Marion and Rose’s decision, but the latter finds this kindness difficult to deal with. Yamauchi refuses to see Marion. Dorothy and Sally have a run in with Sister Ulrica and some other Dutch prisoners and the nun becomes even more determined that they should remain separate from the British. Yamauchi recruits Christina to work as his secretary. Marion succeeds in securing an audience with Yamauchi and he agrees to release Debbie due to her youth. He goes on to tell her that he might spare Blanche if the women can make 500 hats for workers outside the camp in seven days time. The hat making starts slowly and there are fears that the task ahead of them is impossible. Blanche’s condition is worsening day by day and Rose is wracked with guilt. Yamauchi points out to Sister Ulrica that she and her fellow Dutch prisoners have stayed separate from the British and yet live under the same God. Ulrica cannot deny it and she and the Dutch offer their services in order to save Blanche. The women learn that they have less time to make hats than they thought and are forced to redouble their efforts. After a guard torments Blanche, Beatrice sings ‘Jerusalem’ aloud in the compound, in order to demonstrate her support. The women elect to work through the night. The next morning Yamauchi announces that the women can work in the compound that day, allowing them to continue to make hats before the deadline. When the lorry arrives the hats are counted and the total is 506. Blanche is accordingly released and taken to the sick bay.

First broadcast: Thursday 10 December 1981

August 1942. One of the boys turns thirteen and is transferred to the men’s camp. His mother is grief-stricken and disobeys Sato’s orders to move away from the main gate, but her fellow prisoners come to her support and surround Sato threateningly. Marion meets with Yamauchi and instead of receiving a punishment for their behaviour, as she fears, he offers them a chance to write postcards home. Beatrice prepares Debbie for her mother’s death and seeks Blanche’s help in obtaining morphia for a Dutch patient, but she refuses. The women are indignant when they learn that their postcards home must include a compulsory propaganda sentence, however, the ridiculous options provided provoke much hilarity. Blanche loses patience and suggests the formation of an escape committee, but Marion will have none of it, not least because of the possible repercussions for those left behind. Judith asks Marion to take care of Debbie just before she dies. Blanche is determined to escape and asks Rose to come with her. Rose refuses now that she knows there is a men’s camp but promises not to tell anyone about Blanche’s plans. At Judith’s funeral, Sister Ulrica observes Nellie crossing herself and questions her about her faith. Blanche begins to gather various items for her escape bid, some of which belong to Mrs Van Meyer, who complains to Marion about the various thefts she has suffered. Debbie observes Blanche hiding more materials for the escape and threatens to tell the others unless she takes her too, but she refuses. Blanche says goodbye to Rose. That night, Debbie follows Blanche out of the hut. Dorothy comes across them at the perimeter of the compound and promises Blanche that she will tell no-one. Rose learns from Dorothy that Debbie is with Blanche. Rose wakes Marion. Marion decides that for Debbie’s sake they must alert Yamauchi to the escape bid. The next morning, Debbie and Blanche are marched back into camp and placed in the punishment hut, while Marion and Rose are left to contemplate their actions.

First broadcast: Thursday 03 December 1981

June 1942. The women play rounders in order to raise their spirits. Sally is due to give birth in less than two months and Yamauchi is keen that the baby is born healthy for propaganda reasons. There are even hopes that he may agree her transfer to a Dutch hospital for the birth. The women are competing in a general knowledge quiz organised by Rose when Sally goes into labour. Marion pools meagre equipment for the delivery and now that Sally is going to give birth in Hut 1, arranges the necessary moves between huts. Beatrice is plagued by fears about the birth. Few of the women can sleep as Sally’s labour continues into the night. The baby is eventually delivered stillborn. Kate comforts a distressed Nellie. Marion suggests that Nellie moves into the same hut as Sally to help her get over it. Dorothy attempts to find some common ground with Sally, but is rebuffed. Sally confides in Nellie that she didn’t want the baby. Over the next few weeks Sally and Nellie grow closer and come to depend on each other more and more. Sally’s birthday is celebrated with presents, music and dancing. Dorothy begins to spread rumours that Sally and Nellie’s relationship is unnatural. Rose asks Kate about it, but she thinks it nonsense. Judith returns to the sick bay with another bout of malaria. At the meeting of the discipline committee, Madge brings up what she describes as the ‘unhealthy’ relationship between Nellie and Sally. Beatrice volunteers to have a word with Nellie and encourages her to put her nursing before her ‘extra-mural activities’. Sally is shocked to discover some graffiti describing her and Nellie as ‘filthy perverts’ and is disgusted by what is being suggested. Nellie decides to move back into Hut 2. Blanche confides in Rose that she’d prefer to be shot risking escape than slowly rot inside the camp.

First broadcast: Thursday 26 November 1981

Marion is interrogated for hours by the Kempei Tei. Judith is still very ill with malaria. Eventually, a shaken Marion is released and she reveals that the Allies have retreated as far as India. While finishing off the new sick bay, Beatrice quizzes Yamauchi about medicinal supplies but he is not forthcoming. To Marion’s horror, she assumes a car returning to the compound is the Kempei Tei, but the car is for Yamauchi who is driven away. Beatrice questions how she can go on and learns that Sister Ulrica is also much less sure of herself than she appears. Blanche confides in Debbie that she had a child once. Sylvia suspects Blanche of fraternising with the enemy, an activity which Blanche witnesses Dorothy engaged in. Beatrice asks Blanche if she can source any quinine and she in turn asks Dorothy, but she refuses to help. The sick bay is completed and the women celebrate. Judith’s condition is worsening. Rose and Blanche learn from Shinya that the Red Cross parcels have arrived and along with Dorothy  they elect to go and count them. However, they are discovered by Shigawo and two other guards who attempt to rape them. Rose screams out for help and the rest of the camp is alerted including Sato who interrupts the situation. In the tenko line, Blanche passes on the quinine she managed to secure, before she, Rose and Dorothy are interrogated. Dorothy refuses to say that it was attempted rape and she is freed while Rose and Blanche, who are considered to be lying, are staked out in the sun. Sylvia overhears Dorothy tell one of the guards that she lied for him and Marion informs Yamauchi. Rose and Blanche are released. Blanche attacks Dorothy for lying, but Marion, like Yamauchi, insists that there must be no reprisals. A recovering Judith thanks Blanche. Blanche threatens Dorothy in private. The Red Cross parcels are distributed as the shamed guards are marched away from the camp.

First broadcast: Thursday 19 November 1981

Violet is buried in the compound. A month later Yamauchi reports the latest successes of the Nipponese forces. Beatrice is concerned that more women are falling ill every day. Marion explains that she has put in a request for more medicine and that a visit by a Medical Officer is expected, but there are doubts that one will ever arrive. Marion fails to enlist Rose to help with a teaching rota for the children. Dorothy also refuses to get involved and tells Marion that she no longer believes in God. Ulrica pulls up Marion for the British lack of attendance at her services. Sally confides in Nellie about her fears for husband Peter’s safety and her pregnancy. Beatrice advises Judith that she should not let Debbie associate with Blanche. Rose reveals details about her past to Blanche. Judith is unable to attend a night-time tenko as she has contracted malaria. The next morning Marion asks Yamauchi for more quinine and an additional hut to use as a sick bay. He refuses to provide either but agrees that in future the sick can be excused tenko. Marion coordinates the transfer of women between huts so that one may be used as a sick bay. Christina also succumbs to malaria and is moved into the sick bay while Blanche, Debbie and Dorothy move in to Marion’s hut. Sally is uncomfortable about Dorothy’s presence due to her pregnancy. Marion calls a meeting at which she suggests a new division of duties and the formation of committees, as well as an idea she has had about rebuilding a burnt-out hut as a sick bay.  In response to recent criticism, she also asks the women to vote on who they want as their leader. The women unanimously agree that Marion should lead them and subsequently pull together to rebuild the hut. Yamauchi is surprised by their efforts. Blanche has a hair-cut. Ulrica gives Beatrice some medicine that the Dutch failed to volunteer to her earlier. When a car arrives in the compound, the women think that the M.O. has finally arrived but it is in fact the Kempei Tei (the Japanese secret police) who have come to question Marion.

First broadcast: Thursday 12 November 1981

February 1942. The Dutch have their first tenko and the Japanese select Sylvia to teach them how to bow. Marion welcomes Sister Ulrica to the camp. Dorothy is concerned about Violet, but Beatrice insists that she is a healthy baby. As the leaders of the British and Dutch prisoners, Marion and Ulrica are informed by Yamauchi that all prisoners without exception must work from now on and that a trader will come to the camp. The trader visits and Dorothy buys an egg for Violet. Marion and Sister Ulrica agree to cooperate just before a group of younger prisoners are suddenly taken away from the camp by the guards. Those who are left behind fear the women are being raped. The group returns hours later and describe how they have been felling trees in the jungle. The trader’s wife, Lia, arranges to meet Dorothy at night, outside the camp in order to provide her with milk for Violet. Dorothy offers her services to a Dutch woman called Mrs Van Meyer, to make money to pay for the milk, and asks Nellie to watch Violet as she makes her rendezvous with Lia for the first time. Several women begin to help Dorothy with her nocturnal smuggling. Violet develops diarrhoea. Beatrice becomes aware that something is going on and demands that Marion enforce some discipline. When she also notices the barbed wire scars on Dorothy’s back, Blanche and the other women come clean about their activities. When the Japanese discover the smuggling operations, Yamauchi withholds food rations. The women start blaming each other until Marion intervenes. Lia is tied to a post inside the compound and the women are forbidden from tending to her. Nevertheless that night Dorothy goes to Lia with water, desperate for her forgiveness. By the next morning’s tenko both Lia and Violet are dead.

First broadcast: Thursday 05 November 1981

Kampong Getah, February 1942. The exhausted women arrive at a camp in a jungle clearing in which they are to be imprisoned. The survivors who found each other on the beach have been joined by another group of women at a transit place, who include: Dr Beatrice Mason; a young mother named Dorothy Bennett – whose husband has just been murdered by the Japanese – and Violet, her baby; forthright cockney Blanche Simmons; public school-educated Sally Markham; general’s wife Sylvia Ashburton, who knows Marion; and mother and daughter, Judith and Debbie Bowen. The women are divided into two huts which are filthy and infested with cockroaches. Beatrice requests that all medical supplies be pooled. Lieutenant Sato orders the women to line up outside for their first tenko and they meet Captain Yamauchi who describes them as “fourth class women” and threatens them with time in a punishment hut if they disobey orders. The women are asked to give their particulars over, before being served a meagre rice meal in the cookhouse. Marion reveals she has a crystal set with her that she was taking home for Ben. The next morning the women are wakened for another tenko during which Sylvia refuses to bow to the Japanese. When Sally faints, Sylvia is forced to relent. Sally reveals that she thinks she might be pregnant and Beatrice advises her to rest. Sylvia is caught using Marion’s crystal set and is thrown into the punishment hut. The women decide to elect a spokesperson and Marion is chosen. She seeks an audience with Yamauchi to intercede on Sylvia’s behalf. A new group of Dutch prisoners arrive led by Sister Ulrica. Sylvia is released. Beatrice announces that she has heard from the Dutch that the Japanese have taken Singapore.

First broadcast: Thursday 29 October 1981

10 December 1941. Clifford and Marion offer their services to Dr Mason at the hospital. Clifford learns that several key British vessels, the Repulse and the Prince of Wales, have been sunk by the Japanese. Sister Ulrica returns to the abbey and Father Lim hands over the money she has been seeking. Bernard and Rose confront Clifford and Jack at Raffles about the lack of information on the invasion. Marion holds a meeting of army wives in order to set up relief centres and recruit volunteers to take in refugees. Simon meets Christina again and learns that her mother is ill. During Christmas celebrations at the Jeffersons, the news breaks that Hong Kong has fallen. Despite the doom and gloom, New Year’s Eve is celebrated in style. Clifford tells Marion she must leave on a ship bound for Australia and Dr Mason tells her nurses that they must do the same. Simon brings Christina to the shipping offices and pulla a gun on a clerk when she is refused a ticket. Marion and Clifford share a tearful farewell. Rose and Bernard also make the sailing. The ship is packed full of passengers and many have to sleep in the corridors. The following night the Japanese torpedo the ship. The terrified passengers abandon ship. Marion makes it to a lifeboat but Vicky struggles in the water and drowns. The next morning the survivors of the shipwreck wake on an island beach. Marion unsuccessfully tries to find Vicky. Kate, Tom and Nellie are reunited, as are Rose and Bernard. The survivors take shelter from the sun at a hut in the jungle. A truck carrying Japanese soldiers pulls up. Several male survivors run away and are shot. The women are forcibly separated from the men and the two groups are marched off in different directions.

First broadcast: Thursday 22 October 1981

5 December 1941. British Colonel’s wife Marion Jefferson is convinced that her existence in Singapore – an endless round of shopping and dinner dances – is a pointless one. She confides in her long-term friend Vicky that she has decided to return to England to be with her son Ben. Colonel Clifford Jefferson inspects a British command post in the jungle to see if they are capable of withstanding a possible attack by the Japanese. He is dismayed and angered by what he sees and dresses down the Major posted there. Sister Ulrica arrives in Singapore determined to retrieve monies owed to the St Thérèse mission. She refuses to either accept or listen to the excuses of Father Lim and elects to wait in the abbey cloisters until her request is satisfied. Journalist Bernard Webster is increasingly concerned by the population of Singapore’s lack of awareness of a potential Japanese invasion. His beautiful, if self-obsessed, partner Rose Millar, suggests that he broadcast what he knows on his live radio show. British officer Simon Treves is entranced by a Eurasian girl called Christina Campbell who agrees to give him a tour of Singapore. Thanks to her fellow nurse and friend Nellie Keene, Kate Norris receives permission from her uptight superior, Dr Beatrice Mason, to attend a dinner dance with her partner Tom Redburn. At the same event Clifford relates to Marion, Vicky, and her husband Jack, his concerns about the gradual disappearance of the island’s Japanese population. Bernard gives his live radio broadcast and reveals the poor state of the island’s defences before he is forcibly taken off air. Kate and Tom become engaged and spend the night together in a hotel. That same night Clifford receives word that the Japanese have landed on one of the island’s peninsulas, shortly before several Japanese aircraft bomb the city. Beatrice Mason and her nurses are kept busy treating the many injured and are aided by the arrival of a group of nuns led by Sister Ulrica. Clifford and Marion hear that the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbour. The Colonel is convinced that the British will not win the war and tells Marion that she must leave, however, she now intends to stay.