This May, a powerful and poignant new title, Half a Banana, is set to shed fresh light on a little-known aspect of World War II. Based on the wartime diary of Peter Kemmis Betty, a young Gurkha officer captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore, the book offers an intimate, often surprising portrait of life inside Changi prisoner-of-war camp.

Unlike most POWs who were sent north to endure the horrors of the Burma/Thai railway, Peter and his childhood friend Alec Ogilvie remained in Singapore for the entirety of their captivity. Together, they helped manage the vegetable gardens that sustained over 17,000 Allied prisoners — a quiet act of resilience and ingenuity that came to define their experience.

Through Peter’s diary, readers witness not only the hardship and uncertainty of imprisonment, but also the enduring loyalty, spirit, and humanity that flourished behind the wire. Half a Banana is both a tribute to friendship and a compelling eyewitness account of survival, told without bitterness and rich with understated courage.

Published to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, Half a Banana is now available from [email protected] and Amazon. Profits from the book will go to Pahar Trust Nepal, supporting schools in the foothills of the Himalayas.