Changi Jail Darts Championship

My father is still alive but his memory is not good and he doesn't talk much of his dreadful time in Changi. He was taken prisoner shortly after his ship docked in Singapore. He believes the name of the ship was the 'Andes' which went to the East via Halifax, Canada, Trinidad, South Africa and India.

Whilst in prison the prisoners decided to hold a darts championship between all the Japanese prisoners in that area - not just in Changi. The darts were made by one of the men - from spokes they pinched from a Japanese soldiers bicycle - and the dart board was home-made too. My father won the championship and was presented with a cup, engraved with his name, which one of the men had made by gathering all sorts of metal and melting it down and fashioning it into a kind of trophy. My father treasured this cup.

Unfortunately, on the was home to England he was very ill with beri-beri and asked his commanding officer to look after the cup for him. This man's name was Capt. Seaboln. Sadly they lost contact on embarkation and my father has not seen the cup since. He had no idea where Capt. Seaboln was heading so he never found his precious trophy. He also had a Samuri sword which was stolen from under his bunk on the boat going home.

I know it would mean the world to him to find these items - but especially the cup with his name on. He cannot remember the name of the ship that brought him home to England but he thinks it could have been an American ship - possible one of these: Mount Vernon, Mount Manhattan or Miss America. If there is anyone still alive who knew my father in Changi, or who knows where the trophy is, I would love to know. My father is 85 now, has had a serious heart attack and suffers from Parkinson's disease. If I could reunite him with anyone he knew, or his darts cup, before I lose him I would be so pleased - and he would be absolutely delighted.

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