Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen Throughout th e years of our internment, until the fall of German y in 1945 when it was no longer sent in to us, the columns of The Hong Kong News continue d to be our main source of information. Adde d to this were the titbits of news brought in by the late arrivals to the camp and the uncertain traffic of patients who, through the persistent efforts o f Dr Selwyn-Clarke, were sent into town for X-rays or for specia l treatment requirin g a more protracted stay . Ou r Vice Chancellor , afte r a n absence of several months for a stomach com plaint , cam e bac k with a good dea l of authenti c information. Th e war was going well, he said, and I remember him trying to describe for us , with pencil and paper, th e air offensive agains t Germany how nigh t afte r nigh t Allie d bomber s woul d se t ou t t o delive r systematic 'carpet' attacks on German cities. His news of family and friends were the most satisfying for me. He had seen M.K. L o and other members of my family. M y sister Eva had called on him during one of her lightning visits to Hong Kong. She was concerned about my health and was trying to get me out of Stanley so that I could join the others in China. M r Sloss said tha t they al l appeare d wel l bu t th e genera l situatio n demande d thei r apparent detachment. They wished to assure me that a lack of direct contact did not in any way mean a lack of interest in my welfare. Mr Sloss had managed to arrange through M.K. Lo for parcels to be sent to University staf f bot h in Stanley an d a t Shamshuipo an d was to be personally responsible for payment t o be made after th e war. Soo n afte r hi s retur n som e membe r o f th e Universit y staff , including myself , woul d receiv e a parce l eac h wee k fro m a n un known sender. H e also gave us news of Lindsay Ride, Professor of Physiology, who had made his escape from Shamshuip o Camp. Now a Colonel , Rid e heade d th e Britis h Arm y Ai d Group , a n organi zation which could be described as Hong Kong's resistance movement operating from China . Gordo n King, Mr Sloss said, was arranging for forme r student s fro m Hon g Kon g Universit y an d other s to b e 126 admitted int o Chines e universitie s which , movin g ahea d o f th e Japanese advance, had set up institutions in and around Chungking. He als o practised hi s profession - Madam e Chian g Kai-She k wa s one of his patients. In view of my children bein g in the care of his wife i n Australia, thi s news cheere d m e very much . I had waite d with increasin g impatienc e fo r m y tur n t o b e sen t ou t fo r X-rays . Professor Digb y ha d been concerned fo r som e time over a vague, non-specific pain in my back. Unfortunately, mine was not considered an urgent condition and , in fact, m y turn never came. Meanwhile , Mr Sloss's news alleviated the frustrations o f waiting. We receive d th e occasiona l Re d Cros s postcar d an d t o som e there cam e a s well the rare letter from overseas . These comprise d the sum total of our legitimate means of communication. Illegitimat e sources included underground contacts, secret radios hidden within the camp - i t was said by some that there were three and we were transmitting a s wel l a s receivin g message s - an d th e occasiona l Chinese-language newspaper passed over the wire by the Formosan guards who traded wit h our own blackmarketeers. On e was never certain as to what constituted news or what was merely rumour, but each item was analysed, rationalized and embellished by those who classed themselves as experts before it was promulgated to the rest of th...