chapter 10

Back in Sydney as a wife and mother, I tried to put my imprisonment by the Japanese well behind me and get on with my life. Bob and I were too busy rearing our sons to travel much. When our sons were in their teens, we took them to Indonesia and later Hawaii and Hong Kong for holidays.

They seemed to like it and they all have now travelled extensively including backpacking through Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Two of them have been on round-the-world trips for extended periods.

In 1986, Bob and I went to China with Stanley (Stan) Fairchild and his wife Jane. I have already mentioned Stanley's prowess as a blackmarketer in camp and his work with Father Scanlan. Stan subsequently became a respected business-man and the father of two daughters. Stan's wife Jane (nee Thompson) was the woman who shared my flat in Singapore. I introduced Jane to Stan.

We went by car from Tientsin to what was the Wei-Hsien internment compound and then we went to my old home at Tsingtao.

The compound still exists and from what we could gather it is now a hospital. Stan met one of the Chinese who used to blackmarket deal with him during the war. The insulator cups from the electrified wire fences are still on the compound walls and many of the buildings are still in use. The hospital, church and Japanese officers' buildings still stand. We located the kitchen where my father worked. Memories flooded back for Stan and me.

We could not locate Eric Liddell's grave [58] but since our visit a memorial has been erected to his memory at the site. It was difficult to orient myself because of the passage of time and changes in the camp compound buildings.

[58] In March 1991, a two-metre granite stone from Scotland's Isle of Mull was taken by train to Wei-Hsien from Hong Kong and erected above Mr Liddell's grave in the former camp compound. Engraved on the stone in English and Chinese is the following quotation from Isaiah Chapter 40, Verse 31 in the Old Testament of the Bible:

"They Shall Mount Up
With Wings As Eagles
They Shall Run
And Not Be Weary."

This monument was put in place because the Chinese authorities refused permission to place a headstone on Liddell's gravesite. The monument was dedicated in June 1991. The stone was provided by the Eric Liddell Foundation which was established in 1990. Based in Hong Kong, the foundation's objectives include helping promising Chinese and British athletes.
South China Morning Post, March 22, 1991.
Bradbury family collection.

In my memory the camp compound was fairly large but I found it was only about 380 square metres in area. It was hard to imagine that all those people ― about 2000 ― lived in such a small area for nearly four years.

New buildings have been erected since the war. Because these buildings are in the same style as the original buildings it was difficult for me to pick which was which. The fields outside the compound are now built upon and the main entrance to the centre has been moved.

We stopped to look at the Wei-Hsien town centre and speak to the local people who came up to us with big smiles and gestures of friendship. I had a little difficulty talking with them because the Shantung dialect has now been superseded by Putunghwa Mandarin. We got along quite well with the locals. Many had obviously never seen Europeans before. They were intrigued by the height of Bob who is almost two metres tall. While in Wei-Hsien, Bob went into one of the local restaurants to get a table for lunch. Believing he could communicate sufficiently well to buy a bottle of the famous Tsingtao beer he tried to order one. Being met with blank stares he indicated an empty beer bottle on another table and pointed animatedly at it while waving some money in the air. The staff seemed to understand and he was soon brought a bottle on a tray. The only trouble was that they gave him an empty bottle. Shortly afterwards, Stan, Jane and I arrived and pretty soon we were sampling Tsingtao beer. Bob has since given up trying to speak Chinese.

We found Tsingtao had changed a lot. It has gone from being a relatively small city to a large, thriving city. It is still laid out as I knew it and the International Club and Edgewater Mansions still exist. We visited the International Club which seems to be a workmen's club and I was saddened to see the splendid parquetry floors badly scratched. Spittoons were everywhere and the whole place badly needed restoration. Without difficulty, we found my old home which now appears to be a home for elderly Chinese. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to enter the house and the people there seemed somewhat suspicious of us. Consequently, we did not stay long.

We went to my old school (Tsingtao Holy Ghost convent) which now appears to be a college where technical and science subjects are taught. I was allowed to walk through but my husband was not. Like the International Club, the old convent building was in a poor state of disrepair. The former Catholic church nearby has physically suffered vandalism. All its ornaments and stained glass windows are missing. Plain glass has replaced the stained glass and each pane had a bullet hole. We were only allowed into the church after producing our business cards which the caretaker, who obviously could not read, insisted upon seeing.

The Tsingtao Lutheran Church is still being used as a church and we were given a friendly welcome by its German minister. I understand the German naval officers and men from the ill-fated cruiser Emden worshipped at this church before World War I (1914-1918). In the early days of that war, the Emden was engaged by the Royal Australian Navy cruiser Sydney in the Indian Ocean near Cocos Island and was destroyed by the Sydney.

At every opportunity in China, we sampled the local Chinese cuisine. The quality of the food had not changed and we thoroughly enjoyed the meals which were cheap and plentiful.

As we toured these past sites closely involved with the story of my life, I remembered that just before the American parachutists landed in our camp there was a camp rumour that all internees were to be taken to Shanghai. It was claimed we would be permitted to take only a small bag of toiletries. I have since heard alarming stories that the Japanese intended to execute us in Shanghai using specially constructed death chambers. I was even told the alleged location of these facilities. Because this story has not been confirmed by me I mention its existence as an unconfirmed allegation only.

There may be justification for believing such a Japanese action possible when one remembers the murder of almost 2000 Australian prisoners of war at Sandakan by the Japanese after the war was over. At Wei-Hsien we were still under Japanese guard two days after the war ended. I did not know the war had ended until the American parachutists said so.

On our return to Tsingtao after our release from the camp, we were told by my uncle André that some of our former German neighbours had suggested to the Japanese that we be given striped clothing to wear and be forced to have our heads shaven.

#