From: Gay Talbot Stratford
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 8:09 PM
Subject: Re: Weihsien photographs

Greg,
I received a copy of the photograph from Desmond Power, who was an old family friend. He explained that it was taken by a Japanese press photographer in 1943, and it had come to light from one of his sources. There were three girls in the foreground, one Irecognised as Barbara Barnes. The other two were Greek I think. I have not read your book, so cannot confirm or deny that the photograph was in your book. Perhaps Desmond can help.
Best wishes,
Gay

From: Pamela Maters
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 9:28 PM
Subject: Re: Weihsien photographs

If they were Greek, they were probably the Marinellis girls. I don't recall their names, but they would be the sisters of Alex Marinellis
Pamela

From: Leopold Pander
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 4:04 PM
Subject: greg's portraits

Hello,
Could "07b" be Father deJaegher?
Best regards,
Leopold

From Zandy,

Hi Leopold,
Here is one 'certainty'.......
#10b is W.H.(Tony) Tolland (aged 58 at release) A Brit. from Peking and old family friend.
All the best ,
Zandy

From Zandy,

Sorry Leopold, absolutely not! Fr. de Jaegher wore glasses and had a round face. If I can locate the photo (I mentioned earlier to you) I'll forward it and you will see what I mean.

I've been looking long and hard at #08e and the boy looks very much like John Beruldsen (14)who was a year older and a grade above me at the Peking American School.

Zandy

From: Bob Bradbury
To: info@weihsien-paintings.org
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 11:44 PM

I think 16D is photo of one of the Turner twins, probably Michael who were in compound No. 2 right next door to our room. The other twin was Peter and he had a limp and wore a brace on one leg. Barbara Turner, their younger sister was also in the same room. Jopyce Bradbury/Cooke

From: sancton
To: tapol@skynet.be
Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 1:52 AM
Subject: Weihsien photos

Dear Leopold: number 30a in the photos is Gay Talbot Stratford.
Hope all is well. Thanks for the photos, they are very interesting, though Gay is the only person I recognise. Christine Talbot Sancton

From: Judith Hamins
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 1:58 PM
> To: Greg Leck
> Subject: Weihsien photos
>
> Greg,
>
> photograph 29a of the Weihsien archive is certainly Rochelle Roche, my
> eccentric neighbor who taught me how to cook and who amused all of us.
>
> photo 29c looks like Donald Zimmerman, the son of A. and Dina Zimmerman.
> Donald was a successful businessman in northern California. He passed away a
> few years ago.
>
> regards,
>
> Judith Hamins

From: Leopold
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 12:23 PM
Subject: portraits,

Hello,
I met Father Hanquet this morning and showed him all the portraits. At first, he didn't recognize anybody but told me that 17a could be J. Goyas --- who was very active in the black-market business ---
all the best,
Leopold

From: Alexander Strangman
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 3:00 AM
Subject: Re: portraits,

Fr. Hanquet is too kind in pointing out Goyas was simply 'involved in the 'black-market' business'! Because in our Weihsien terminology, camp 'black-marketeering' was almost considered an honorable 'profession' but there was nothing honorable about our FAT 'friend' Goyas' activities there.
You see, even in camp he was not adverse to doing a bit of trading (solely for his own benefit) in jewelery, preferrably of the golden variety. I've got no idea where his money came from, but no surprise, he always came out the winner in each of his lop sided deals.

But what Goyas was more notorious for in camp, and Fr. Hanquet may remember this, was his blatant avoidance of any work detail and shamelessly refusing to do his share of work in camp?
I'm sure Langdon Gilkey covered this episode in his book, and who better placed to report on the fat man's LAZY trait than the author of 'Shandung Compound', who just happened to be on the 'Work Detail Committee' himself, at the time.
Finally, it was also common knowledge the WDC discussed various options to try and force him into complying with his obligations but for one reason or another, it was all to no avail.

However, in my opinion the face in 17a isn't that of Goyas! The 17a 'snap' looks like an extraction from the photo of the girls playing softball. 17a matches the face of the man wearing white overalls and being near the bakery suggests he was having a break from all that heavy work, 'kneading' dough! But that sort of dough was definetly not Goyas' type!
Furthermore, he was a lot more rotund than the man watching the game.

From: David Birch
To: Weihsien
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 4:01 AM
Subject: Re: portraits, and "Uncle Jacob" Goyas

Very interesting observations Zandy! Your reminiscing causes memories to flood back to me too! I clearly recall some of the younger children facetiously referring to Goyas as Uncle Jacob. I don't think anyone really had any sort of respect for the old slacker! I also recall hearing, way back in those far-off days, that when Jacob Goyas refused to do his share of work at the pump by the ladies' showers, Mr Stewart, whom we all respected greatly and who trained many of us boys in Block 61 in a sort of Weihsien Camp Cadet Corps, Mr Stewart was reputed to have given this rotund sluggard a well-deserved black eye! Whether it actually happened or was just part of camp legend, Goyas certainly had it coming!

Again Zandy, thanks for the recollections - you certainly have a sharp memory after more than sixty years since liberation!

Regards

David Birch

From: Joyce Cook
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 4:52 AM
Subject: Re: portraits, and "Uncle Jacob" Goyas

I also recall stories about him lending people money in the camp on condition the borrower signed an IOU for redemption after the War ended. My girl friend told me ( and she is still alive) that he had a pile of IOU's in his hand one day and he was counting them up. My mother remarked in the camp that he was disgusting. He was short, fat and with a tanned complexion. My father was wary of him because he was told that he was a spy for the Japanese. He was very affable when met walking around the camp but nobody trusted him. Joyce Cooke (Bradbury).-----

From: "Greg Leck"
To: <weihsien@topica.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 5:48 AM
Subject: RE: portraits, and "Uncle Jacob" Goyas

>I think Goyas, who was a Uruguayan merchant, was beaten up by two taipans in
> camp, after he refused to do his assigned duty rotation at manning a pump..
>
> Such beatings also occurred in other camps, though usually as the result of
> personal animosities.

From: David Birch
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 6:21 AM
Subject: RE: portraits, and "Uncle Jacob" Goyas

Greg,

That is interesting! I was thirteen years old when I manned that very pump at the ladies' showers'!

Weihsien had a very well-organized and run camp committee, as I'm sure you well know through all your research for your book. This committee was in turn broken down into other committees, one of which was Weihsien Camp's highly respected Discipline Committee. Any acts of violence would certainly have been reported to the Discipline Committee which was headed by a very fair, but firm, Scotsman named Mr McLaren. No one wanted to be reported to McLaren and so such incidents would have been few and far between.

Uncle Jacob was a bit of a legend to us youngsters in the camp. Actually, as Joyce recalls, he was quite friendly. But just don't try to enter into business dealings with him.

David

From: Pamela Maters
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 5:56 PM
Subject: Re: portraits, and "Uncle Jacob" Goyas

I'm johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but wasn't Goyas the gentleman -- and I use the term loosely --who was kicking himself in the butt because he had 7 passports to countries in Central and South America, and happened to show the wrong one to the Japanese, so ended up in camp? It's understandable, under those circumstances, why he felt he didn't have to raise a finger to help...!poor guy.
Pamela

From: Fred & Coral Dreggs
To: Ex-Weihsien internees
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 3:44 AM
Subject: Goyas (I refuse to dignify him with the word 'Uncle")

Zandy.

I congratulate you for airing subject matter and opening up a can of stinking worms, given that Goyas, in my opinion , was the smelliest of all. He makes our (Aus) Ned Kelly a saint in comparison. When I was around 17/18 years old, I remember my parents dealing with him. Firstly, my mother had to trade some jewellery to get half a dozen eggs. That's all very well under our conditions but 3 of them were cracked and rotten. Do you think he would make it up? No way in the world! Secondly, my father traded his gold Hunter watch, (earlier belonging to his father), and would have been my inheritance one day, for a measly pound of sugar.

The comments I have read so far on the Topica site seem to lean towards being Mild. He was, without doubt, the laziest,greediest and most horrible person it was my and my family's misfortune to have ever met. On a more productrive note, I think it would be great if Lucy Lu,Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs, Weifang, could be made aware of that particular situation and the disgust held by the internees at that time.

Insofar as IOU's are concerned, I don't believe that existed as there would be no way in the world that Goyas could ever hope to reedem them after the war.

Alfie(Fred)

From: "Sylvia Walker"
To: <info@weihsien-paintings.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 3:30 AM
Subject: Pictures

> Hi Greg
> 03b is me - Sylvia Tchoo
> 04a is my Mum Lillian Tchoo
> 04b is my Dad Roy Tchoo
>
> What a magnificent job you have done - it's all amazing Regards and thanks
>
> Sylvia Walker in Australia
>

From: Brian Butcher
To: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 3:35 AM
Subject: Names

Hello Leopold,

I don't know if you received my last email about the pictures in Greg Leck's
book but I am certain that 8B is my mother, Elsie Butcher; 8D is my father,
Will Butcher, and 8C is me, Brian.

Brian

From: Albert de Zutter
To: info@weihsien-paintings.org
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 7:09 AM
Subject: Picture i.d.

Picture No. 16d is Peter Turner, not Michael Turner. The Turners lives in the same block as the De Zutters. The boys were my age and I knew them well. They were fraternal twins, and did not look much alike.

Albert de Zutter

From: bobbie backhouse
To: info@weihsien-paintings.org
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 7:54 AM

15a is Sheila Livingston McNeil

From: Albert de Zutter
To: info@weihsien-paintings.org
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 3:53 AM
Subject: portraits

Leopold,

I believe that portrait No. 22b is Yvonne, originally from Tsingtao. Joyce Cook Bradbury would know for sure, and would know her last name. I saw her with Joyce and Joyce's husband when they visited San Francisco from Australia about 10 years ago.

From: Joyce Cook
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: portraits

Yes I thought it might be Ivonne Ozorio now Rozicki and when I see her I will show her that photo. Joyce.

From: bobbie backhouse
To: info@weihsien-paintings.org
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:52 AM

16a is Dennis Carter

11a is C.T. Tommy Hall

From: Pamela Masters
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 1:12 AM
Subject: My AKA???

Regarding Greg's photos: I've just checked them over, and I believe 10e is Sharon Talati, a gifted pianist who put on several terrific concerts for us in camp. 10f could be her mother, Mrs. Talati. She and her husband owned Talati House Hotel in Tientsin. Maybe Des Power could verify this. -- Pamela Masters