Boy Scout Group, Weihsien - 1945

"All for one, and one for all"

Standing: (from left to right)
Eddy Cooke // David ???//Richard Jones//George Wats (Porky)//John de Zutter//Gui Chan//Mickey Marques//Johnny Beaten-Georgiles.

Sitting:
Peter Turner//Alby de Zutter//Father Palmer//Cockburn//Father E. Hanquet//Sotolongo??//???.

Front row:
Jacky Campbell//Michael Turner//???//Eddy Chan//Vova Bonner.

Boy Scout goup

Zandy Strangman
Jul 19, 2002 18:15 PDT

Hi Everyone,
Can anyone help identify the individuals in this latest Scout group photo?

It apparently was shot at the same time and location as those previously circulated by Christine. But this time we think we have 7 positive and 2 possible IDs. In my opinion, the abundance of trees suggests the location is camps 'Main Road'.

The photo came to me per courtesy of Janette Pander. (my neighbor in camp)

Joyce......Ivonne thought you would have a 'special' interest in this photo copy I showed her, yesterday, and she intended to 'MAIL' you a photo-stat of it. I convinced her this way would be quicker and clearer but that was before I 'struck a snag' forwarding it on, to the Weihsien site. Rejected for it's size or something to that effect! So, here goes a 2nd time.

Fred.......is your brother Bobby one of the boys on the right hand side?

Thanks for taking the time to look at it..............Zandy Strangman

Ron Bridge
Jul 20, 2002 00:58 PDT

The Copy of the photo was missing from msg received by me. I have 12 pictures Scouts/Guides/cubs/brownies but they are small and very faded if you are talking about those with the trees and number on the wall behind the groups they were taken in the grounds near the hospital.

Rgds
Ron Bridge.

Zandy Strangman
Jul 20, 2002 02:35 PDT

Thanks to all of you who came back informing me that 'no attachment 'came thru. but my ' sent box' for my 3rd attempt now shows it with the proverbial 'paper clip' motif. Here's hoping!!!!

Be patient, I'll get it to you some how.!

Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Jul 20, 2002 18:53 PDT

Thanks Sandy. Yes Yvonne did tell me about the photo and my brother Eddie is thrilled at the thought a getting an old boy scout photo. Unfortunately your transmission to me did not work so I will wait for Yvonne to give it to me. Thanks very much. Regards. Joyce.

Zandy Strangman
Jul 21, 2002 05:04 PDT

Hi Joyce ,

Everyone must be 'sick to the back teeth' of reading about this photo that stubbornly ' never appears'. I can't see any reason for it not getting thru, as I had no problem sending it to someone else, not on the Weihsien site.

So this is my final attempt to get it thru electronically, I've asked Janette to re-forward it from her end, again.

Zandy

Fred Dreggs
Jul 24, 2002 00:34 PDT

Hello Zandy.

Received your scout photo OK. It certainly came out clearly. No, my brother Bobby is not in that photo.

As to the ball-game at camp. Yes, I seem to recall that particular game as being very exciting and the talk of the camp for quite a while. As a matter of interest, the window in our "cell" was busted by a softball a couple of times and wooden slats had to be affixed but I have no idea how that was arranged given how hard it was to get wood, also glass was impossible to get so my Mum covered the window with cloth.

Just a bit more Weihsien camp trivia!

Cheers
Fred

Leopold pander
Jul 26, 2002 04:22 PDT

Hello,

A short message I've just received from Janette,

We will keep you informed --- as soon as we've seen Father Hanquet

Best regards,
Leopold

----- Original Message -----
From: LEY Pierre
To: PANDER LEOPOLD
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 12:22 PM
Subject: photo Hanquet

Could you send word to "Topica" that we are now asking Father Hanquet for all the details concerning his photo, and any others, also if he remembers anything about Japanese photographers in camp (?!)

As for Father Verhoeven, we'll ask him too, and we are trying elsewhere...

In his book "The Enemy Within" F. de Jaegher tells about Japanese propaganda photographers active and very present when the Allies were waiting at Peking railway station (chapter 8, 3rd. paragraph)

Till next!.... Janette

Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Jul 28, 2002 20:35 PDT

Zandy,

The boy next to John de Zutter was called "Porky" and the boy next to Father Hanquet is "Sotolongo". My brother does not know their real names, nor does he know the date of the photograph. Also, he said the baseball umpire was in fact Huzzi Rumph's father. The other umpire "Pineapple" was so-named because the Weihsien band was called "The Pineapples" .

All this info comes from my brother Eddie.

regards to all
Joyce

Zandy Strangman
Jul 29, 2002 00:45 PDT

Joyce,

Thanks for that bit of info. I thought that was 'Porky', as well. But without his trademark ' slouch cap ' , I wasn't sure. Many-is-the-time he demanded, "Don't call me Porky, my name is George Watts! " So he kept getting Porky to the end.

Never heard of Sotolongo!

Besides Haazi's immediate family of 4, there were 2 other Rumpfs. I presume a couple. (she was W. Russian.)

Neither of them was the baseball umpire, I mentioned . As I said I wasn't sure of his surname. It was something like Rolf or Ralph. It could have been Karl Roulf and closer to 40 than 50 in age. And definitely one who was repatriated in '43.

After nearly 60 years, I guess we can expect to be some what ' foggy' in our recalling powers.

Cheers.........Zandy

leopold pander
Sep 14, 2002 09:10 PDT
Hello
About the boy scout's photograph !

Of course we asked Father Hanquet --- who was who !?

From left to right ---
The standing row; ----------
Eddy Cooke,
David ?,
Richard Jones,
George Watts (Porky),
John de Zutter,
Gui Chan,
Mickey Marquès,
Johnny Beaten-Georgiles,

The sitting row; -----------
Peter Turner,
Alby de Zutter,
Father Palmer,
Cockburn,
Father E. Hanquet,
?,
?,

Front row; -----------
Jacky Campbell,
Michael Turner,
?,
Eddy Chan,
Vova Bonner.

The picture was taken on the South Field and the wall in the background, is the camp's boundary wall.

The photographer was somebody of the Cheefoo School staff. Who? Father Hanquet could not remember.

The motto was --- "All for one, and one for all"

The emblem was, a lily flower on a clover embroided by the boys' mothers and sisters. Father Hanquet explained that the Japanese forbade us to use the emblems of the Royal Families. The "fleur de Lys" is the emblem of the Kings of France and that is why the clover was used. But what the Japanese did not know, was that the "clover" was the emblem of the Scouts of France. !! The scarf, was a white handkerchief dipped into blue ink.

Father Hanquet writes ;
"The very beginning of the Scout patrol was constituted by 7 or 8 boys. Junior Chan, a Canadian-Chinese, catholic of 14 years old who could be the patrol leader, Sandy, an Eurasian, the de Zutter brothers, Belgians of 14 and 12 years, and also 3 to 4 Britons. There was a good mixture of Catholics and Protestants and there even was an Orthodox boy. With A. Palmers, we decided to give the responsibility of the group to Cockburn and we accepted to work more as assistants than as priests. "

Best regards,
Leopold

Stan Thompson
Sep 16, 2002 08:22 PDT

Thanks once more for the pictures.

Re picture no. 11 (the boy scout group in the second picture on page 1 of the sancton pages (at http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/sancton/index.html ), I have the following names to offer (after consulting with my brother Paul; and indirectly with Norman Cliff):

BACK ROW (viewer's L>R) / ??? / David Birch / Paul Thompson / Alec Luxon / Stanley Thompson / Torje Torjesen / ? Kerry /

MIDDLE ROW / Hakon Torjesen / James Taylor / George Bell / Mr Stanley ("Stan Man") Houghton / Murray Sadler / Stephen Houghton / Peter Bazire /

FRONT ROW (squatting) / Robin Hoyte / ? Warren / ??? /

Perhaps David Birch can fill in some of the blanks.

If indeed Eric Liddell had been our scoutmaster, and Stanman had taken over the job, that would confirm the date of the photo as "Summer 1945". (or did Liddell serve as a sort of 'Assistant Scoutmaster for Sports' for several of the troupes ?)

Stanley Thompson

John de Zutter
Oct 20, 2002 07:57 PDT

Hello everyone! I recently tuned in to the Topica Weihsien site after a very long absence. In the recent e-mail exchanges I recognize the names of two people I knew in the camp, Fr. Hanquet and Joyce Bradbury(Cook).

My name is John de Zutter. My brother, Albert, our parents and I were part of the Tsingtao contingent in the Weihsien camp. I was a couple of months from my 16th birthday when we left the camp in September, 1945.

We lived in block 2 (Gilkey's map, the bottom of the "L") just above Joyce and Eddie Cook and their parents. It was, I believe, the only 2nd floor single family quarters in the camp. The room was surrounded by glass windows. It was cold in the winter and hot in the summer, although we could open the windows to catch whatever breeze there was.

After the war we spent two more years in Tsingtao. In late 1947 my brother and I went to the U.S. to attend school while our mother went on to Belgium. Father stayed in China to try to wind up his business affairs. In 1949 he left on the last ship from Tsingtao with the U.S. Navy before the communists moved into the city, and eventually wound up in Belgium. We were all reunited in Belgium and a year later emigrated to the U.S. My brother is in Missouri and I live in New Jersey, about 50 miles from New York City.

I have been reading the recent correspondence on the website and am delighted to hear that Fr. Hanquet is doing well and has been active in the recent exchanges. I have fond memories of Fr. Hanquet, both as a scout leader and a friend who took interest in us and made our lives in the camp better

The discussion about the scouts brought back pleasant memories about the scouting activities in Weihsien. I still have the green hexagonal cloth scout badge with the fleur de lis embroidered in gold (yellow) and "WEIHSIEN" directly below the symbol. The edges are stitched in yellow also.

Some other scouting treasures I have are a Bookbinders Proficiency Certificate signed by McChesney-Clark and J. Wilfred Cockburn.. Another certificate for the Athlete Badge is signed by Cockburn and Martin(?). I also have the Weihsien Tenderfoot Test signed by Emmanuel Hanquet on May 25, 1943. The heading on this certificate is "AMICALE DES JEUNES" below which are the words " Un pour tous, tous pour un." I was a member of the Eagle patrol and with the guidance and encouragement of Fr. Hanquet and Mr. Cockburn eventually became patrol leader.

My scout logbook from that period describes some little tasks or "good deeds" that we, as scouts, were asked to perform as a service to the community: Sifted coal and carried water for man at boiler. Carried 3 garbage boxes to dump. Carry parcels for Post Office. Carried and dumped 2 boxes of ashes for bakery. Shovel and carry coal for man at boiler.

As scouts we had to know where all the doctors lived and the logbook lists the doctors and their locations. Dr. Corkey, Block 6/1; Chan, 5/3; Robinson, 1/2; Grice, 42/5; Prentice, 50/D and Hopegill,?.

In some of the Topica e-mails mention was made of a picture of the scouts that included Fr. Hanquet and a number of the scouts. I have not been able to find this picture and wonder if the person who has it could send me a copy at jj-@optonline.net.

I also would like to accept the very kind offer from Leopold Pander for the archives in Word format. Many thanks, in advance

Before signing off, I'd like to say hello to Joyce who appears to be a frequent contributor to this group.

John de Zutter

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