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Working on the Railroad: Siam-Burma Victor Shamrafj[ Born in Russia in 1915, Victor Shamrmffspent his youth in Harbin, Manchuria, where he graduatedfrom the Russian/American YMCA School in 1932. Several years in Hong Kong followed, including a year at the Diocesan Boys' School and a couple of years at the university studying Economics. An apprenticeship in mining that began in Hong Kong brought about a move to Malaya in 1939. Military training from the Volunteers there (and earlier from the Volunteers in Hong Kong) proved usiful when the Japanese invaded in 1941. Most of the war years, however, were spent as a prisoner-ofwar working on the construction of the infamous Siam-Burma Railway. After the war, a varied career as a project manager in the mining industry led to positions asfar afield as Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia, the USA, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Labuan, with retirement in 1987 to Perth, vvestern Australia. I was born in Russia in 1915, leaving with my family when I was about five years old. I spent my youth in Harbin, Manchuria, North China, graduating from the Russian!American YMCA School in 1932 when I left for Hong Kong to enroll in the matriculation class of the Diocesan Boys' School, taking my London Matriculation Examination at the University of Hong Kong a year later. Two years of study at the university followed, where I was a student of Economics in the Arts Faculty. The changing political situation in North China with the occupation of Manchuria by the Japanese, which I witnessed first hand, eventually cut my financial support and terminated my studies. The period of my life at the university I consider to be the best and the most pleasant of all the years I lived in Hong Kong. At that time there 213 214 Victor Shamratff were quite a few Russian students at the university, mainly living at Lugard and Morrison Halls. With me at Lugard were Orloff, Petrovsky and Bard in Medicine and Napoloff, Litvin and Katzin in Engineering. At the top of the hill, at Morrison, there were the brothers Vargas0 ff, Sorokin, EroogaYarugsky among others. Orloff was killed as a young doctor in action against the japanese. Bard made a name for himself as a Medical Officer in the Volunteers during the war and later in the POW camp at Sham Shui Po. I also remember the Tata brothers at Lugard Hall who represented the Tata industrial family in India. Our House Master was Professor William Faid, who lectured in Physics, while his wife jean lectured in Mathematics. The three mid-campus halls - Lugard, Eliot and May - were very similar. The ground floor contained kitchens, a dining-room and two big sitting rooms with the main door leading to the House Master's wing. On the first floor, with the corridor in the middle, there were stall-like rooms on both sides with common bathrooms at the very end. It might be considered rather primitive by modern standards but for us it was functional, comfortable and answered all our needs. Food was mostly Chinese - simple but healthy, tasty and plentiful. It was a peaceful, happy, tolerant academic community. Looking back on it all, one can marvel at the degree of personal liberty that was extended to all of us. After leaving the university I had to look for something practical to keep myself going and to make something of my future. Following a number of jobs I finally took a position in an American hard-rock mine, starting as a Time Keeper, Blaster and then as a Level Boss. My Mine Superintendent was Sam Caldren who had worked in hard-rock all over the world including Russia. He was kind enough to take me as his apprentice and train me in the fundamentals of underground mining. After about 18 months Sam was transferred to the Philippines and, due to circumstances beyond my control, and also for health reasons, I decided to move to another branch of mining - alluvial mining. In the meantime I had applied for, and been granted, British citizenship. Armed with letters of introduction I left for Malaya at the end of 1939, soon securing a dredging job with an American company - The Pacific Tin Consolidated Corporation. Shortly before I left, I had joined the Hong Kong Volunteers. On arrival in Perak State in Malaya I joined the Volunteers Force there and underwent military training. With the attack of the japanese, I fought right through the Malayan...

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