Trip to Weifang ...
January 2006.

On the second day,
in the cold Winter morning we drove to
Number Two Middle Class School ...

We went into the main building to pay our respects to the Headmaster ...

This building was --- Block-23 --- 60 years ago.

... the map of "Number Two Middle Class School"
The main building is aproximately at the centre of the image ...

We received from Mr. Sui Shude a street map of Weifang and our first task was to situate our old compound on the map which is now the location of the Number Two Middle Class School ...

... the few following pictures are linked to a bigger one ... just click on them.

Weifang city road map ...

... approximate location of the camp ... ...

... and where "is" the Camp ...
1) there is a school
2) there is also a hospital

... if we supperpose Father Verhoeven's sketch of the compound on the street map ...

... we can also combine Father Verhoeven's map with the "Number Two Middle School" map ...
- The two remaining Jap villas and Block-23 correspond.
- The other "old" and existing constructions are not within the school's perimetre.

... seen from high above ...

... the School's main building ...

View of the School's main building which was our former Block-23 recently demolished.

We were met by the School's headmaster ...

... so, we were introduced in the conference room and comfortably seated.
After polite exchanges ... a goup picture was taken of our little group ...

--- the traditional group-picture ---
Colette, Yves, the Headmaster, Leopold, Nicky and Mr. Sui.

... as soon as we left the main school building I was already wandering on my own with my camera to find out the location of our old Block-22 which I presumed was North of the building we just exited.

The "Group" was going the oposite way: Southwards in direction of the two old remaining villas that had been occupied by the Japanese during WWII. One of those "villas" had become a museum and we were scheduled to visit it.

The "Goup" came to see what I was looking for:
--- and just behind this huge administrative building looking North we saw a new sportsfield with green grass that is proudly named: the "Eric Liddell sports field" ---

"The Eric Liddell Sports Field"

[... you must read: "... from March 1943 to August 1945 ..."]
In 1942, we were under "house arrest" ... in various parts of China.

The museum in a Japanese's villa ---

Very interesting indeed.
The walls are covered with data explaining to the younger generations about what happened --- 60 years ago. The past history of the Weihsien Missionary School and No.2-Middle-Class-School are not forgotten.

--- in a special room with No. 2-Middle-Class-School's trophies ---

From left to right:
Mr. Xu, the English Teacher; Yves, my brother-in-law; the two sisters, Nicky and Colette; Leopold Pander (that's me); Mr. Chen Jiabang, the schoolmaster; Mr. Sui Shude,director of Translation Centre of Weifang Foreign Affairs Office, and Mr. Jia, the deputy Schoolmaster;

--- the schoolmaster opened a door leading into a very small room --- a piano --- He told us that this piano once belonged to the Weihsien concentration camp and was played 60 years ago --- by prisoners ---

--- the other Japanese villa was also transformed into a museum --- and we took more "souvenir" pictures ...

... when we came out in the open, it was the mi-morning break for the students ...

From left to right:
Mr. Xu, the English Teacher; Mr. Jia, the deputy Schoolmaster; Yves, my brother-in-law; Mr. Sui Shude,director of Translation Centre of Weifang Foreign Affairs Office; Leopold (that's me); Mr. Chen Jiabang, the schoolmaster; and the two sisters, Colette and Nicky.

We said farewell to the No.2-Middle-Class-School staff, climbed into the car and drove around the corner to --- what had been our Block-50 ---

We arrived at a small square with two "old" buildings facing each other. One of them was our "Block-50" where the male batchelors lived, and the other "old" building was a Jap-Villa probably a warehouse. In between was "Lover's Lane". The boundary wall was "in between and certainly demolished a long time ago!

... the "old" Jap Villa in the foreground and block-50 in the background.

... on the other side of the little square we found what remains of our "old" Bolock-50 now a "home" for retired doctors ...

The "Eric Liddell" monument situated next to our "old" Blocks-59 & 60 that have been safeguarded by the Weifang authorities and are acutally being renovated to house small families. [click here]

... we did not visit (inside) the Hospital because it was still used as a "hospital" and still many patients were under care at the moment. There was no reason to disturb the service ...

... we walked around the hospital's perimetre and found an enrance on the East side with a long corridor. At the very end of this corridor, was a room --- about 6 feet by 12 ...

--- a very spooky corridor under the hospital at 50cm. beneath ground-level. The entrance is on the East-wing --- A nightmare vision --- I thought I was followed by ghosts !! Didn't stay too long in there --- [click here]

... the complete list of names (as they were in 2006) represented in two big sections on the garden "remembrance" wall. To find your name, just click on the picture and use the "zoom" tool + the scroll bars. You should be able to find it. Some names are missing ... however ! My little sister's name, (she was born in camp on July 7, 1944) is not written on the wall ...

looking North towards the Hospital ...

looking the other way, to the South towards the river ...

... they were cold, tired and hungry ... so, with regret, I put my camera back in its case and we left the "old" Weihsien Concentration grounds for ... lunch.

© photo by courtesy: Mr Sui ShuDe.

Leopold and Nicky in Weihsien, Ledao Square ---