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Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Sun, 31 Dec 2017 at 15:32
Re: [weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Spectacular drawings and paintings! Thank you for calling these to our attention, Leopold. Clearly Jacqueline is a genius with many talents. Did you all notice the note in the lower corner of Jacqueline’s poster that children under age 16 are not permitted to attend this performance and that those age 16 will be admitted only if accompanied by an adult? Oh, my sakes! I was only 12 years old or even younger. And our Chefoo School teachers — who were our substitute Daddy and Mummy for more than 5 years—preserved my childhood. I do NOT regret that for even one minute. I am grateful that to the best of their ability they protected our innocence and our childhood. Today? I would love to see that show.
In I985, the 40th anniversary of our liberation, I was in progress of writing a story about Weihsien for The Philadelphia Magazine, distribution=one million. (By the way, Leopold has posted my story on the Weihsien web site: Song of Salvation at Weihsien Prison Camp). So in 1985, I traveled to England to interview as many of our Chefoo School teachers that were still living and available. By this time, I had been administering for almost 10 years a residential program for adolescents. So I knew a great deal about the adolescent psyche. Since I can remember only once being afraid as a child in Chefoo or Weihsien, in England I asked Miss Ailsa Carr, the principal of the the Chefoo School Prep School, what grown ups were feeling in Weihsien. I was astounded at her answer. Our teachers had insulated us in Weihsien. Surely THEY were not afraid. Miss Carr said that she prayed every night that when the Japanese lined us up at the death trenches positioned that our bodies would fall into these pits, that God would let her be shot one of the first so that she did not have to see the killings.
Grown ups in Weihsien must ALL have known of the Japanese atrocities at the RAPE OF NANKING. We children knew none of that.
I have never forgotten Miss Carr’s memories. I continue to be eternally grateful for these teachers who preserved my childhood.
And I am grateful for all the Weihsien heroes like the Salvation Army Band, like Eric Liddell who created athletic events for us children and teenagers, like those who created dramas and musical concerts, like those who taught the hundreds of children in the camp, like those who lead religious services.
We know now that the Japanese dug trenches over the wall beyond the hospital where we lived to stop Chinese from black marketing over the wall. Apparently Miss Carr envisioned these as death pits.
Bravo to all of our heroes, like Jacqueline.
Mary Taylor Previte
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Cc:pamela@hendersonhouse.com,'Natasha Petersen',kanganan@gmail.com
Sun, 31 Dec 2017 at 08:51
RE: [weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Hi,
Emmanuel Hanquet often mentioned the play: Androcles and the Lion. He was one of the Roman soldiers covered with tin cans. As his legs were white and skinny, they were painted in iodine tincture to make them look healthy. He always laughed heartily when telling me that … and that the frightening roar of the lion in the play was originated by the terrific voice of his colleague: Father deJaegher.
True. We were undernourished but thanks to people like Jacqueline and Mrs. Bazire … we made the best of it …
http://weihsien-paintings.org/Christian_deSaintHubert/paintings/leftFrame.htm
… the poster is in the middle of the column …
Happy New Year
Leopold
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Sat, 30 Dec 2017 at 18:25
Re: [weihsien_camp] (Weihsien camp) Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Peter,
you have posted on Leopold’s Weihsien-paintings web site, some of your mother’s Weihsien posters, haven’t you? Would you show them here for folks who have not seen them?
Peter’s mother, Eileen Bazire, a teacher in the Chefoo School, was a genius in both art and music. She shared these talents generously.
Peter surely has his mother’s musical talent and still plays in musical groups in and around Bath, England. Peter played in Weihsien’ Salvation Army Band. He still has the trumpet he played in Weihsien. It was a trumpet, right, Peter?
Mary Taylor Previte
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Cc:pamela@hendersonhouse.com,Natasha Petersen,kanganan@gmail.com
Sat, 30 Dec 2017 at 18:04
Re: [weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Mieke,
Are you able to show us Jacqueline’s drawing on the poster for the Weihsien theatre group? Does it have the required Japanese chop or stamp required before a sign of poster could be publicly posted?
I remember the play, Androcles and the Lion, but not Red, Hot and Blue. To costume the ten Roman guards with armor and helmets in Androcles and the Lion, stagehands soldered together tin cans from the Red Cross food parcels. The church was always jammed for these performances.
What a miracle! Creating concerts and theatrical performances right under the noses of the Japanese.
I was invited last month to fly across the continent and give a speech in Bellingham, Washington, on the theme “Our teacher created a miracle, preserving our childhood in the midst of a bloody war.”
The sponsors had heard me tell the story of Girl Guides, Brownies, and Boy Scouts in Weihsien, a broadcast that started on National Public Radio two years ago and seems to have been repeated in the form of a blog several times. After each, I get letters and persistent requests of every kind.
Mary Taylor Previte
'Peter Bazire' psbazire@yahoo.co.uk [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 at 22:47
[weihsien_camp] (Weihsien camp) Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Dear All,
In Weihsien my mother got the job of arranging concerts, assigning practice and rehearsal times in the church and elsewhere where there was a piano. When she was 80 she wrote her life story, much of which was about all the years in China. Here is a brief mention of Jacqueline de Saint Hubert:
“A fine coloratura singer, Jacqueline de St Hubert, nearly always wanted a flute obbligato. George Foxlee obliged. I enjoyed writing out the (obbligato) part. I also arranged music for various groups such as piano trios etc.”
So Jacqueline de Saint Hubert was widely gifted in Weihsien.
Warm regards to all,
Peter (Bazire)
'Mieke Kiebert-Melief' miekemelief@kpnmail.nl [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 at 12:50
RE: [weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Dear All,Jacqueline de Saint Hubert Mc Lean drew the poster of the theatre group in Wiehsien, called Red Hot and Blue. Anne de Saint Hubert, who is her niece and lives in the UK kindly gave me permission to use the picture in my book (biography of the De Jongh familiy, Tientsin Weihsien 1919-1946). So Jacqueline had talents in many fields.
Happy New Year,
Mieke Melief, niece of Ann de Jongh
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 at 20:52
Re: [weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
What a delightful story!
Mary Taylor Previte
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Cc:Janie,J Davis,Barb Spollen,Marjorie Kinnaman,Leslie Lyon
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 at 15:42
[weihsien_camp] Jacqueline de Saint Hubert
Hi all 😊
Jacqueline de Saint Hubert and her family were in camp. Remember?
She will be on CBS News:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ballet-teacher-still-inspiring-students-after-decades/
thought you would like to know and watch the program.
X’mas is already behind us so … a GREAT & Happy New Year to all …
Bien amicalement,
Leopold
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 at 15:41
[Attachment(s) from tapol@skynet.be included below]
RE: [weihsien_camp] 1914-18 Chinese Labour Corps [3 Attachments]
Hi ! 😊
Thought you would like to know … the ceremony is already in the Weifang newspaper !
Best regards,
Leopold
From: Leopold_Pander [mailto:pander.nl@skynet.be]
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 9:21 AM
To: 'Nicholas Kitto'
Cc: 'LI Xiang'
Subject: RE: [weihsien_camp] 1914-18 Chinese Labour Corps
Dear Nicholas,
Arras is now a beautiful city. If you search the Internet for a view of Arras in 1918 … it was a completely destroyed city. Arras was on the Western Front and bombs rained over the city during WWI.
In the now very attractive townhall we received flyers in French and in English with many interesting photo reproductions. I am certain that the municipal authorities will shortly expose all these interesting documents in a same place in the form of a museum. Around Arras, in Northern France are cemeteries to be visited …
Here is a copy of part of the flyer … in English:
… all the best,
Leopold
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
THE CHINESE LABOUR CORPS THE WESTERN FRONT
By the autumn of 1916 the demand for labour to carry out vital logistical work behind the Allied lines on the Western Front was becoming critical. The catastrophic losses suffered by the British during the Battle of the Somme meant that practically every able-bodied serviceman was now needed for fighting and the government had to look to her Empire and beyond to meet the ever growing need for skilled and unskilled labour to support the army. Indian labour units had been at work in France and Belgium since 1915. Other labour contingents would soon follow from South Africa, Egypt and the Caribbean and in October 1916, following an example set by the French; the British approached the then neutral Chinese government with a plan that would lead to the formation of the Chinese Labour Corps.
The Corps was to be non-combatant but part of the British army and subject to military control. They would carry out mainly manual tasks in the rear areas and lines of communication, building and repairing docks, roads, railways and airfields, manning ports and railheads, stores and ammunition depots, and working as stevedores and crane operators unloading ships and trains. In time, skilled mechanics would repair vehicles and tanks and later, after the Armistice, the Corps would undertake much of the dangerous and unpleasant work of battlefield clearance.
The call for volunteers was spread by public proclamation and by British missionaries in the field. The rewards offered were tempting enough to encourage thousands of men, mainly poor peasants from the northern provinces of Shantung and Chihli, to offer themselves for three years' service in an unknown country on the other side of the world. In addition to a daily rate of pay much higher than most were used to, food, clothing, housing and medical support would be provided, and the labourer's family would receive a regular separation payment until his return.
At the recruiting depots, the volunteer labourers (or gangers) were formed into companies of between 300 and 500 men under the charge of a British officer with each company organised into platoons and sections under British and Chinese NCOs. Before departure, the companies were drilled and exercised, route marched and paraded: those who displayed most discipline would be rewarded with the best berths on the long voyage to Europe.
The first transport ship carrying 1,088 labourers sailed from the main depot at Wei-Hai-Wei on 18 January 1917. The route took them across the Pacific to Vancouver, where they boarded a train for the week-long journey across Canada to Halifax on the east coast. There another ship took them across the Atlantic to Liverpool and from there to France. In all, the entire journey took three months.
By the end of 1917 there were 54,000 Chinese labourers with the Commonwealth forces in France and Belgium, some of whom had been recruited from the resident Chinese populations of Canada and other Allied countries after China had entered the war that August. The Chinese quickly earned a reputation for hard work, ingenuity and improvisation. By the beginning of 1918 special efforts were being made to bring over more mechanics and skilled men but in March the Admiralty declared itself no longer able to supply the ships for transport and the British government were reluctantly obliged to bring recruitment to an end. The men already serving in France completed their contracts and at the Armistice, the Chinese Labour Corps numbered nearly 96,000 (with a similar number serving with the French) and in May 1919 as many as 80,000 were still at work.
The Dead
Though concentrated behind the Front, the work at the Corps was not without danger. Sea ports and depots were targets for air raids and long-range bombardment, and there were many accidents associated with the handling of unstable shells and explosives. In all, nearly 2,000 men from the Chinese Labour Corps died during the First World War, some as a direct result of enemy action, or of wounds received in the course of their duties, but many more in the influenza epidemic that swept Europe in 1918-19.
The labourers who died were classified as war casualties and great pains were taken to mark their graves in an appropriate way. All headstones, which are of the Commission's standard war pattern shape, bear inscriptions in English and Chinese characters and were carved by men of the Labour Corps who stayed behind in France on the expiry of their terms to do so. In addition to the labourer's name and date of death, each carries one of five standard dedicatory inscriptions.
The dead of the Chinese Labour Corps are buried in numerous cemeteries in France and Belgium. Those listed overleaf are perhaps the most significant.
From: Nicholas Kitto [mailto:njkitto@mac.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 6:55 AM
To: tapol@skynet.be
Subject: Re: [weihsien_camp] 1914-18 Chinese Labour Corps
Hello Leopold,
Last time I tried I was still unable to post to the group.
I was going to answer the earlier post on the Chinese Labour Corps but the information in the links below most likely covers anything I would have said, and more!
In September 2008, I attended an international conference on the CLC which was organised and hosted in Weihai by the Weihai Municipal Archives. Weihaiwei was the port through which most of those recruited by the British were processed and shipped-out (and the numbers were ultimately significant … around 100,000, I think). There was another shipment port further south but I recollect the vast majority (at least for the British army) went through Weihaiwei (this is probably all covered by the TNA blog below).
I have a friend in the Weihai Municipal Archives and so may be able to help if anyone has a specific question.
Best wishes
Nick
Nicholas Kitto LRPSClearwater Bay
Hong Kong
tel. +852 94692584
Photographing Heritage
http://nicholaskitto.com
On 12 Dec 2017, at 15:45,
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
Dear Albert,
If you search the Internet, you can find quite a lot of info about this period of our history … in English as well as in French.
http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/chinese-labour-corps-western-front-2/
https://cn.ambafrance.org/Interview-de-Li-Ma-historienne-sinologue-specialiste-des-travailleurs-chinois-venus-en-France
http://centenaire-14-18.ecpad.fr/wp-content/uploads/dmm/pays/vietnam.pdf
Bien amicalement,
Leopold
From: weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com [mailto:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 11:21 PM
To: weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [weihsien_camp] 1914-18
Dear Leopold,
I had no idea of that history, so I was among those who were ignorant of it. Were they recruited, did they volunteer, or how did it come about that they came to France to participate in the war effort? There must have been some official mechanism to take care of such things as passports, visas, transportation, food and lodging, yes?
Best regards,
Albert
On Monday, December 11, 2017 10:22 AM,
"tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]"
Hi ! 😊
I was recently contacted by Li Xiang, young and dynamic, Weifang born, actually living in France and very fluent in French. He came to see me on behalf of Mr Sui ShuDe for the Weifang Museum ― our old Hospital in Weihsien. We sympathised. Li Xiang has a great interest in our recent past and also of the events that occurred in Northern France during WWI (1914-18)
I knew that the French ― in Indochina at the time ― accepted the help of many thousands of locals to help them on the Western Front. They worked in the background, but may were killed all the same. I did not know that the British and the French too solicited the help of the Chinese. Thousands came on the Western Front, many died, many returned to their homeland after the war and many stayed in France, got married and had families.
Nowadays, people out here don’t seem to remember that and for the younger generation, it is totally ignored. We must tell them.
…
Yesterday, we went to France, to Arras … for the inauguration of a new monument to remind us of this period of our recent history. It was very moving with speeches … important people … flags … national anthems …
Li Xiang is the tallest in the middle of the last photo.
Best regards,
Leopold
.jpg)
... after the ceremony at the monument, we were all invited by the Mayor of Arras in their beautiful townhall for a drink and various speeches for the memory of the Chinese who generously came to the Western Front in 1914-18. Li Xiang can be seen on the scene at the right. Pierre, Janette and Nicky are in the public at more or less in the middle of the picture. I am behind the camera !!
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 at 14:36
[weihsien_camp] : Eric Liddell and China
Sent from my iPadBegin forwarded
>
> Thought you might like to see these two videos about Liddell.
Subject: Eric Liddell and China
>> Thought you might like to see these two videos about Liddell.
>
> You may remember the people in these two videos.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ1m2k-DKk8
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yju6C3I-iQ
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Thu, 7 Dec 2017 at 14:50
[weihsien_camp] Call to our Chinese friends of Weifang
Message to our Chinese friends of Weifang,
… it is now about twenty years that we (the children of Weihsien) are writing our memories of what we endured during two and a half years in a concentration camp held by the Japanese just outside your city.
Life was not easy for us and ― I am sure ― that life was not easy for you too … living in the city just outside our prison.
Write to us. Write your experiences in your words of how life was in those days … of how you helped us with more food … of how you endured the Japanese rule?
You can write in English. You can write in Chinese too. Send me your messages to: tapol@skynet.be
For our younger friends: question your parents and grandparents for the sake of “history”
Warmest thanks,
Leopold
(webmaster for www.weihsien-paintings.org)
PS … Just finished updating book-2 of “The Children of Weihsien”http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/I_Remember/ALBUM/Book_2/2017-1207-Book2-WEB.pdf
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 at 02:38
[weihsien_camp] Kathleen Nordmo Rictor: of Chefoo and Weihsien history, was promoted to heaven on December 9th.
Sent from my iPadBegin forwarded message:
> From: Audrey Horton
> Date: December 12, 2017 at 2:09:41 PM EST
> To: MTPrevite@aol.com
>
> Dear Ones:
> Date: December 12, 2017 at 2:09:41 PM EST
> To: MTPrevite@aol.com
>
Subject: Fwd: Kathleen Nordmo Rictor: of Chefoo and Weihsien history, was promoted to heaven on December 9th.
>> Dear Ones:
>
> Please excuse the brevity of this letter at this time. Kathleen was born in Shanyang, Shaanxi, China on January 15, 1930. Our father delivered her. She would have been 88 on January 15, 2018.
>
> On Saturday, December 9th, she had a joyous reunion with her beloved husband of 59 years, parents, siblings and many other loved ones. She received her rewards from her precious Saviour for her faithful service to Him.
>
> June 19th, 2017 she lost her husband and on November 18, 2017 she lost her home with its 59 years of memories in it.
>
> During the time her house burnt to the ground on November 18, 2017 she is believed to have suffered her heart attack which affected her ability to walk. She no longer walked. All six inhabitants of the house escaped the fierce fire with no injuries. Everything else in home was lost plus four vehicles outside. A granddaughter and her husband and three little boys, 4, 2, and 7 months, had moved into Kathleen's house after Kathleen's husband's death on June 19th to take care of Kathleen.
>
> Thank you for your prayers for her family. They had not expected her death this soon though they knew she was failing..
>
> Kathleen's sister
> Audrey Nordmo Horton
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Thu, 7 Dec 2017 at 15:06
Re: [weihsien_camp] Call to our Chinese friends of Weifang
What perfect timing for your letter, Leopold.
TODAY, December 7 in the USA, is the date the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor and then entered the war.
The very next day, the Japanese appeared on the doorstep of our school in Chefoo (Yantai). A Shinto priest performed a ceremony on our ball field and said the school — our beautiful school — now belonged to the great emperor of Japan. Our lives changed overnight.
Mary Taylor Previte
tapol@skynet.be [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Thu, 7 Dec 2017 at 14:50
[weihsien_camp] Call to our Chinese friends of Weifang
Message to our Chinese friends of Weifang,
… it is now about twenty years that we (the children of Weihsien) are writing our memories of what we endured during two and a half years in a concentration camp held by the Japanese just outside your city.
Life was not easy for us and ― I am sure ― that life was not easy for you too … living in the city just outside our prison.
Write to us. Write your experiences in your words of how life was in those days … of how you helped us with more food … of how you endured the Japanese rule?
You can write in English. You can write in Chinese too. Send me your messages to: tapol@skynet.be
For our younger friends: question your parents and grandparents for the sake of “history”
Warmest thanks,
Leopold
(webmaster for www.weihsien-paintings.org)
Mary Previte mtprevite@aol.com [weihsien_camp]
To:weihsien_camp@yahoogroups.com
Tue, 5 Dec 2017 at 23:37
[weihsien_camp] Fwd: BBC News: Chariots of Fire athlete Liddell gets Scottish rugby cap
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Neil Yorkston
> From: Neil Yorkston
> Date: December 5, 2017 at 2:27:01 PM EST
> To: Anne Mak , Mary Previte
> Subject: Fwd: BBC News: Chariots of Fire athlete Liddell gets Scottish rugby cap
>
> Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.
> Dad
>
> On 5 December 2017 at 07:19, Anne wrote:
>
> I saw this on the BBC News App and thought you should see it:
>
> Chariots of Fire athlete Liddell gets Scottish rugby cap
> The daughter of Eric Liddell is to accept an international rugby cap in honour of her father.
> Disclaimer: The BBC is not responsible for the content of this email, and anything written in this email does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the email address nor name of the sender have been verified.
>
> Anne
> Date: December 5, 2017 at 2:27:01 PM EST
> To: Anne Mak
>
Subject: Fwd: BBC News: Chariots of Fire athlete Liddell gets Scottish rugby cap
>
> Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.
> Dad
>
> On 5 December 2017 at 07:19, Anne
>
> I saw this on the BBC News App and thought you should see it: >
> Chariots of Fire athlete Liddell gets Scottish rugby cap
> The daughter of Eric Liddell is to accept an international rugby cap in honour of her father.
Disclaimer: The BBC is not responsible for the content of this email, and anything written in this email does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the email address nor name of the sender have been verified.
>> Anne
