Greg Leck is one of the foremost experts on Japanese internment camps in China. The grandson of an Old China Hand who served in the Chinese Maritime Customs, and the son of a woman who was one of the last Britons to leave Shanghai, he grew up hearing stories of China and internment. ...
LANGDON GILKEY'S SHANTUNG COMPOUND
... "Twenty years later, one of the internees, American theologian Langdon Gilkey, wrote Shantung Compound to recount the experience of this community of prisoners. "[I]internment camp life," writes Gilkey, "seems to reveal more clearly than ...
a "pot-pourri" unexhausive quantity of texts of what we - children and teenagers - remember of the two and a half years spent in a concentration camp under Japanese domination ...
The Eric Liddell I knew
Eric Liddell was my hero long before the 1981 Academy Award winning movie, Chariots of Fire, brought him to the attention of the world. Interned together in the Japanese concentration camp in Shandong, Weifang, during the War of Resistance, I was mesmerized as "Uncle" Eric gathered us boys around and told us his stories. We sat spellbound, imagining his world ...
Hersey was born in Tientsin, China, the son of Grace Baird and Roscoe Hersey, Protestant missionaries for the Young Men's Christian Association in Tientsin. Hersey learned to speak Chinese before he spoke English; Hersey's novel, The Call (1985), is based on the lives of his parents and several other missionaries of their generation. John Hersey was a descendant of William Hersey (or Hercy, as the family name was then spelled) of Reading, Berkshire, England. William Hersey was one of the first settlers of Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635 ... etc.
This Monday, 21st, February 2005 will mark the 60th anniversary of our beloved hero Eric Liddell's passing.
You will be interested to know that Pure Gold has been translated into Chinese in advance of Beijing Olympics '08. The attached file gives the English version of a Foreword I was asked to write for the Chinese edition..
"How ironic that the "Happy Way Courtyard" became an emblem of oppression under the heel of Japanese militarists! That which had formerly been a stronghold of conservative Christianity was drastically changed. For three decades these walls had housed a hospital, with nurses training school and doctors' residences, a Bible women's training school with dormitories, elementary ...
The book presents a
sharp contrast when Pamela Masters, her two sisters and her parents enter Weihsien
Prison Camp in March '43. Masters vividly describes the hardships the prison
inmates suffered. . . .and keenly portrays the variety of characters inhabiting the
camp. Masters' tale is well paced with incidents of sadness and loss being
balanced by moments of humor and hope."
George Lloyd, The Mountain Democrat, Placerville, CA.
`I heard from someone who speaks Japanese that they have received orders that if the Allies set foot on Honshu or Kyushu, their home islands, we are all to be eliminated and the guards then have to fall on their swords,' Grandpa said, with a certain relish.
'Bert, not in front of Ronald, please,' Granny said.
Then turning to me,
'Do not worry, nothing like that will happen. When we win the war we will go back safe to home.'
I was not sure whether to believe
Granny or Grandpa ...
" As we went through the Chinese city, the bystanders watched us with pity, saying in Chinese "O, they will eat much bitterness now. They have nothing but bits and pieces." When we reached our camp which was about two miles away, we were assigned to our rooms. Seventeen people - male, female and children - slept in ours. There were no beds so ...
A BOY'S WAR is a true story of a boy in China in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. Yet it is an account more about children and their adventures than the atrocities of a deathcamp. And it includes glimpses of Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell not included in Chariots of Fire.
What might have been simply a tale of an agonizing separation of a schoolboy from his parents—a separation that spanned six years and included war, danger, malnutrition, and tragedy—is a story that ...
This is my story as I remember it. Born into the dual culture of pre-Communist China,
which I came to love, and a family with whom I interacted too little, my journey has been
one of starts and stops, ups and downs and dark nights followed by kyema, a new day.
Most of my childhood memories are of boarding school and ...
In the so-called "concessions" of the treaty ports Tientsin and Shanghai, foreigners live off the fat of the land. They are exempt from Chinese taxes, they stand above Chinese law. And all quite above board, their garrisons and police are there in force to protect their special status. To third generation settlers this world of privilege is the only world they know, so all the greater the shock when the unequal treaties are abrogated and they find themselves outsiders, held as contemptible as their grandparents against whom the Boxers rose in such bloody revolt.
Throughout my life I used to hear my mother and my aunts and uncles talk about the old times, about their life in Russia and China. I always listened with fascination. Grandma Aida had a wonderful memory, and she often told us stories about the early days. She died in 1979 at the age of ninety and ...
Behind an Eight-Foot Wall
By April 1, there were 1,751 enemy
nationals, principally from Peking, Tient‐
sin, Tsingtao, and Mongolia, who had
been gathered in the Weihsien Civilian
Assembly Center "for their safety and
comfort." The promise of "every culture
of Western civilization" did not seem
likely, especially as we viewed the
watchtowers at each corner or bend of
our eight‐foot wall, each with machine
gun slots and some with actual machine
guns pointing toward us.
But we were here and we ...
" Six months before our arrival in Weihsien, Allied personnel from all over Japanese-occupied North China had been rounded up to go into internment.' In Peking and Tientsin the Chinese populace lined the streets to witness the strange spectacle of hundreds of British and Americans of all ages and backgrounds struggling through the streets, dragging the luggage allowed them in the official circulars just sent out. It was a deliberate act of humiliation by the Japanese.
They were from all walks of life ― lecturers and professors ...
" This is a unique book, in that for the first time a description has been given of all the Japanese civilian internment camps in China and Hong Kong. Here the story is told of the major events affecting Allied personnel in China following the raid on Pearl Harbor. A brief history is given of each of the internment camps ― the food, the accommodation and experiences of the inmates. Certain conclusions are formed about the failure of the Japanese government to make adequate provisions for the 11,000 prisoners, half of whom were women and children. The defeat of the Japanese could have ended in the wholesale killing of prisoners ...
" For almost 20 years, she and her husband, Bob, have spent time researching material for this book for her family, friends and people interested in her life and the intriguing lives of her antecedents. Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke) also tells how she progressed from her wartime childhood adversity to a full life after World War II. Despite internment by the Japanese she is not embittered. Today, she ...
What a mess we came into!!
The new Concentration Camp for all North China except Chefoo, was far from ready for us. No
food, no stores, no furniture, fresh paint in many
rooms, sanitary arrangements NIL, all water to be
carried from wells several blocks distant!!
" ... Cockburn and MacChesney
Clark, both old British
teachers, were, like us,
regretting the lack of
educational activity for
the young. All four of us
were former scouts and
it seemed to us to be a
good idea to use scouting
methods to bring into being something educational despite the limitations of our imprisonment. We decided to think
about it and to ask the
opinions of others. Ideas
were exchanged, and the
contacts developed
quickly.
We shouldn’t ...
Based on the available Anglo-Saxon sources and Anneke’s memories, a comprehensive picture emerges. Compared with the Indonesian camps differences are obvious: no separation of men and women, no harsh treatment, no vexation, and the freedom to organize camp matters as the internees wished. Still the camp was overcrowded, facilities were poor, and ...
(Book in Dutch!)
... " As I said, it took a year of careful working out
and fitting together of these principal elements in our
plan, but finally all was ready. The date was set; we
had word from the guerrillas that they would meet us
at the cemetery and lead us to their hideout
headquarters. We were confident we could reach
there by the time the roll call was taken next day in
camp. Everything was set; Tipton and I were geared
up for our effort.
Three members of the governing committee ...
Pour un avocat français, il n’est pas facile de gagner sa vie à Tientsin pendant la guerre, après le départ des Américains, des Anglais et des Belges au camp de Weihsien. Au lieu de me parler de ses difficultés, Bogart ne dit rien. Je découvre un jour qu’il a vendu nos douze assiettes en argent massif, un cadeau de mariage de ma grand-mère, et je m’aperçois qu’il boit trop au cours des cocktails et pendant les dîners auxquels nous ne refusons jamais de nous rendre car c’est en prenant un verre et ...
... " We consulted Tommy Wade as to the most suitable place to get over the wall, and it was decided that a small watch-tower in the middle of the west wall was the ideal spot. An indentation in the line of the wall obscured this section from the direct rays of the searchlight on the north-west corner of ...
... " The early rising was particularly difficult to achieve without disturbing others. He was a large man and the meagre diet was a test for him. However, his friends found ways of supplementing his diet. The lack of food did not prevent him from expending energy. For instance, one day he broke the anvil. From that time on he was known as Father Steel-hammer.' ...
A NOVEL:
...NANCY
Oxford
1975
We didn't talk about it afterward. Not to loved ones, or to neighbors who stared at us from across the street, or to the newspapermen who were curious to know more about these lost children, returned from the war in the East like ghosts come back from the dead. We quietly packed it all away in our battered suitcases and stepped awkwardly back into the lives we'd once known. Eventually, everyone stopped asking; ...
... " Vers cette époque, Tipton et moi convînmes de travailler ensemble pour établir des contacts avec l'extérieur et, si possible, nous évader l'un et l'autre. Petit à petit cartes et renseignements de tous ordres sur la topographie de la région, l'emplacement des unités ennemies et des unités communistes, s'accumulèrent. Nous apprîmes aussi à notre grande joie que des guérillas nationalistes se trouvaient non loin et grâce à mes fidèles coolies- vidangeurs, je ...
... " When, therefore, Chinese appeared outside the wall with eggs, peanut oil to fry them in, sugar, jam, honey, fruit, and poultry, you can guess what happened. Soon a brisk trade was going on over the wall. We had been strictly forbidden to have any relations with the Chinese, and if the Chinese had relations with us the Japanese suspected us of plotting against our captors, or at least it was considered an unfriendly act. Still, the hungry internees thought the danger worth running, while the Chinese were ...
... " During the next thirteen years, the Author lived and taught in Tsienan, Hung-kia-lou, Shantung Province, China except for a two year period during World War Two when she was interned in a Japanese concentration camp at Weihsien, China. The mission, and this story, concluded in 1946 when Sister Servatia was driven from China by the Communist Regime which took over the country.
This Mission Story is one of prayer and laughter, suffering and celebration, education and experience, and most importantly, friendship, respect and love.
... " With a lot of time on my hands, I began to sketch, and
found that there was quite an artists' colony in camp to
encourage us beginners. Tommy Knott had been a
professional cartoonist before the war. My brother Rupert
was taking lessons from him. I benefited greatly as
Tommy's clever techniques were passed on to me. I also
began filling a small sketchbook with drawings of camp
buildings, portraits of friends, and, for want of a more interesting subject, innumerable drawings of my left
hand. Seventy years later, I still have my little
sketchbook, ...
... " Together with 93 other children, Norwegian AnWei Jensen spent her early years in the Weihsien prison camp. There were at most around 2,000 prisoners from 20 different nations - crammed together on a six-acre site. How is it that a 3-year-old girl grows up in such a camp, without running water, bare walls, poor hygienic conditions and ...
" The tale of Lilla, the author's great-grandmother, begins with her birth in Chefoo in China in 1882, where she lived a charmed and Bohemian expat life, the younger of a set of 'heavenly twins' from a spirited, unvictorian family. Lilla's eventful life was to span five continents and three husbands, forming a panoramic picture of British colonial life in the Orient (during the Boxer Rebellion, Pearl Harbour, and the rise of Communism) and under the British Raj in India. ...
... " In the blocks we were given one room to
every four people, but as luck would have
it, our family of five was assigned two
rooms. With a view of one of the dormitories, we were flanked on one side by a robust Dutch family that had eleven members and a Belgian family on the other
with a family of four. The Dutch family had
only two rooms and the Belgians one, which ...
... " THEY WERE SPILLING from the guts of the low-flying plane, dangling from parachutes that looked like giant silk poppies, dropping into the fields outside the concentration camp. The Americans had come.
It was August 1945. "Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center," the Japanese called our concentration camp in China. I was 12 years old. For the past three years, my sister, two brothers and I had been captives of the Japanese. For 5½ years we had been separated from our parents by warring armies.
 But now the Americans were spilling from the skies.
I raced for the forbidden gates, ...
Chapter Twelve
"Comes now the last step. It is March, 1943. About noon of the 14th a messenger from good Dr. Hoeppli of the Swiss Consulate comes with the fateful word. We are to be taken to internment camp in a neighboring province. We have ten days in which to dispose of our personal and household effects, packing what we think we will need for an indefinite stay in Weihsien." ...
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" Assigned to Army Intelligence, Hannon reported Japanese installations and airfields. His last mission, as part of six-man team, he parachuted into a cornfield opposite the main gate of a Japanese Prison Camp holding 1500 Allied men, women and prisoners. Due to the Chinese Civil War, the rescue team was unable to move the prisoners. Hannon and two Sergeants remained in Camp where the C.O. and two others left for Tsingtao, a port city of the Yellow Sea. A near moribund lady prisoner, unidentified, known as 'the Yank', held Hannon's interest. His efforts to ...