大象传媒

This is Michael Charnaud鈥檚 story: it has been added by Pauline Colcutt (on behalf of the Fernhurst Centre), with permission from the author who understands the terms and conditions of adding his story to the website.

An unusual and true story of a young boy who with his mother became a prisoner of both the Germans and the Japanese May 1942 - August 1945

CHAPTER 3 - THE JOURNEY TO JAPAN (PART TWO)

At 1.00 pm we dropped anchor at a small port and seaplane base about 25 miles south of Yokohama. The German major , 鈥淟ittle Willy鈥�, was met by a launch and was sped ashore, obviously in a hurry to get to his embassy. In the air there was tremendous activity from an aerodrome close by, with all sorts of small planes taking off and landing and doing aerobatics. A Japanese small boat came along with trinkets to sell, small little parasols and fans etc. some of which Mother bought for me. I have no idea how she paid for them, possibly it was with yen left over from her visit to Japan as a tourist three years earlier. The following morning at about 7.00 am a pilot boarded our ship and took us first into an anchorage in the outer harbour of Yokohama, and then next day we moored onto a buoy in the inner harbour, where we just sat for a further nine days. We finally got a berth on the 3rd July and then we were all transferred to yet another German ship the Hamburg - America line 鈥淩amses鈥�.

This too was an elderly ship of about 10,000 tons which was moored alongside another German ship called 鈥淗aveland鈥� which in turn was moored to the quay. There was plenty of comfortable accommodation, in open holds and it was back to hammocks once more, but the crew from the Captain downwards were all very courteous and polite and helpful in every way. For the first time since we were captured we had the opportunity of reading a Japanese English Language newspaper, and learnt of the defeat that they had suffered at Midway. On board the Ramses we met up with a further 32 prisoners including one woman, from a Greek ship the 鈥淧agasitikos鈥� with whom we were all to share our future fortunes together. All around us there was tremendous activity in the port and on the wharves nearby. There was a large French liner of over 20,000 tons (presumably Vichy) and another similar sized Japanese one both of which had their decks packed with troops which departed shortly after our arrival.
Everywhere tugboats were working, the warehouses and docks were swarming with workers, coming and going and loading etc. As far as the eye could see, spread out before us was the great busy port with all its buildings in pristine condition, untouched by the war. When we were to return three years later to the same part of the harbour, there was to be scarcely a brick higher than three foot off the ground!
The humid heat was incredibly oppressive. Little did we know but we were in one of the hottest recorded Japanese summers. To add another problem to the heat, shortly after our arrival they started to load barrels of whale oil which has an all pervasive fishy odour which permeated everywhere, adding to our discomfort.
On the morning of the 10th July all the prisoners were assembled on the deck and we were given a short address by the young German assistant Naval attach茅, Captain Sauerland. He gave us all a pep talk saying:
鈥淚t is impossible to tie up valuable shipping in time of war just to hold prisoners. So it has been decided that all of you, with the exception of the Service Officers who will go separately to a military camp, will be transferred to a camp in the country where you would still remain German Prisoners, but will be under the direct control of the Japanese Police for day to day supervision. You will be leaving later this evening by train for your new destination at Fukushima. where the accommodation will be good鈥� When he had finished making his speech, and everyone was dispersing, Mother without saying a word to anyone else suddenly stepped forward and went up to him and said:

鈥� Sir excuse me, but I have a request to make. I do not trust the Japanese and I have in this small parcel all my family jewels and trinkets that have been handed down to me. Please Sir , I would kindly ask you to put them in the German Embassy safe, and return them to me after the War is over.鈥�
The fair haired young Captain was completely taken aback. He drew his heels together standing sternly to attention and then replied in a very serious and rather severe voice:

鈥淢adam I would like to remind and also to inform you that our two countries are at War. Your request is rather impudent and imposing I really cannot consider it.鈥�
鈥淵ou are a German Naval Officer and a member of the Embassy Staff鈥�, Mother quietly but firmly retorted, 鈥� Should a Royal Navy Officer have a similar request for a reasonable favour from a German Lady, he would naturally know that he would be honour bound to try to help her, and all I plead with you is to act in a like manner to a British Naval Officer鈥�.

The comparison had now caught the Attach茅 on his weak spot, and he shifted around not quite knowing what to say in reply to her argument, but eventually responded :

鈥淲ell alright then I will do what you say. But please understand this. Neither you nor I have any idea how this War is going to end, and providing you accept my assurance that I will try my best with no guarantees at all, then I will do what you ask of me.鈥�
鈥淵es I quite understand your position and I am very appreciative, and I am quite willing to accept that risk鈥�, and so saying that she handed over the package. The later consequences of this charming little tale will be told when the War with Germany finally ended in May 1945 but we still continued to be prisoners for another three months!
The handing over ceremony took place at 6 o鈥檆lock that evening on the 10th July to the Japanese representatives from the Foreign and Interior Ministries. The 137 prisoners from our lot were all very apprehensive, as were also the German crew who appeared sympathetic seeing us go into the unknown. First we were put on a train to Ueno Station in Tokyo, from where we had to change on to the Tohoku Line to travel North. It was 11.40 pm before we were finally underway, with the train chugging and trundling northwards slowly throughout the night. In the morning as we awoke we were passing through wooded and very lush countryside, all dripping wet from the warm overnight rain. We were handed for breakfast, bread and a small tin of smoked eel fillets to go with it, which was tasty and helped quieten our anxiety. At 8.30 am the train finally pulled into Fukushima Station where we were met by buses to take us to what was to be our home for the next 3 years.

CHAPTER 4 - FUKUSHIMA INTERNMENT CAMP 1942. (PART ONE)

It was a hot sunny morning when we finally got out of the train and the women and children boarded buses, whilst the men walked to our new destination. We began to have our first view of a Japanese country town as we passed down the High Street of Fukushima which was a town then of about 50,000 people . Today it is over 6 times that size. Most of the buildings were low shops with only the occasional large concrete building. We drove past the Bank of Japan and the Prefectural Office (Like an English County Hall) heading north into the countryside of rice paddies for about 2 miles when at last we arrived at a large imposing modern, Gothic style building set in its own grounds of about 3 acres, and surrounded by a six foot high solid brick built cement rendered wall. We drove in through imposing wrought iron gates with a sentry box on either side to disembark at the front main entrance. Seeing the fine quality of the building topped with a cross, that we were to be housed in was pleasantly reassuring, as was our initial reception in the large wooden panel floored community hall at the southern end of the building.

We were directed to the Large Assembly Hall where we gathered to be given a lecture by the Camp Commandant or Head of Police who spoke in a sharp barking tone, whilst his speech was translated by a short grey haired Interpreter Mr Midorikawa who spoke with a pronounced American accent in a high pitched voice.
鈥淚 welcome you here now into the 鈥淧refectural Civil Internment Camp鈥� as German prisoners but under the supervision of the Prefectural Police. Under Special Orders of the German Authorities, the camp is to be designated a 鈥淪ecret Establishment鈥� for reasons of Security. Therefore your presence here will not be notified to the Red Cross or Neutral Powers for any visits or receive any outside comforts.鈥�
In other words we would be completely isolated from all contact with the outside world and without any redress to any outside authority. The Commandant continued speaking correctly outlining briefly the camp rules in that very peculiar and idiosyncratic authoritarian style so typical of the Japanese. After the speech we were all led into the dining room and given a bowl of thin soup and a couple of slices of bread.. I heard one of the seamen shout out to his pal ahead of him in the queue:
鈥� And what鈥檚 the meal like Jimmy?鈥� and back came the brief answer:
鈥淣辞飞迟!鈥�.

This was followed by an allocation of rooms. The building was built in the shape of the letter 鈥� E 鈥� with the three arms pointing rearwards east. The northern section, both upstairs and down were allocated to the women and children. The central Section downstairs held the guards quarters, dining room and on the right of the Main Central Entrance, was the Commandants and guards main Office. The men had the whole two thirds of the upstairs part of the building which was separated from the womens鈥� by large steel double fire-doors which were kept permanently locked. On the southern side upstairs were two large rooms, one which housed about 30 mainly Greek seamen, but also a lot of other nationalities. The other room was smaller and housed about 15 Geordie seamen from the British Ships. Also upstairs in the central rear portion was a Chapel for Church Services.

Mother and I were allocated a room upstairs in the front. It was 8ft x 10ft in size and we shared it with another lady Mrs Phyllis Hercombe who was in her mid-thirties with a trim peroxide dyed blonde 鈥淓ton Crop鈥� hairstyle.. She and her husband John had lived in Penang and on hearing about the outbreak of war and the sudden Japanese invasion from Thailand, made a quick snap decision to escape by driving all night down to Singapore. Their quick thinking was rewarded by being lucky to board one of the last boats away from Malaya. Like all who escaped from Singapore they had undergone a frightening voyage through the Java sea, their convoy being constantly bombed and machine gunned by Zero fighter bombers. Miraculously the ship escaped and they survived and made it to Darwin. Her husband was now in the Army and had advised her to get out of Australia, whilst the going was good, hence her trip.

Our small room was furnished with three 鈥渢atami鈥� mats which were 6ft x 3ft in size and made of closely packed rice straw, about 2 inches thick with a thin closely smooth reed top covering. On these we lay, slept, talked etc. Also we were issued with a thin cotton mattress, and a thick cotton filled quilt and a soft pillow after representations were made, as to start with we had been issued with a hard Japanese densely packed straw head rest. There was also a built in cupboard with sliding doors for our meagre possessions. The heat those first few days was absolutely unbearable and during the day we were besieged with swarms of flies, and at night we were eaten alive by the millions of mosquitoes that bred in the paddy fields directly opposite and all around the camp. At night too there was a deafening orchestra of thousands upon thousands of frogs all croaking in a dramatic cacophony which soon lulled us to sleep All the time for the first five days we were confined to our quarters and not allowed outside at all and we spent the whole day swatting flies and wiping the perspiration from our dripping bodies.! On the sixth day we were allowed out for just half and hour, but soon we were allowed out more, but even then for only a couple hours during day, but it was a welcome relief considering the temperature. For the record it was 37.3 degrees C on the 17th July, which was the highest figure that had ever been recorded at Fukushima, and on the 15th August the temperature rose to 39.1 C an all time record which I believe still stands to this day!

The building that we were housed in had belonged, and had been purposely built by a French Canadian Order of Nuns called : 鈥淣otre Dame de Protection鈥� and was completed only in May 1935 i.e. only 7 years prior to our arrival, with the main building materials transported from Canada. The total cost of the building was 300,000 Yen and its inauguration was celebrated with the gift of a statue of St Rosario sent from a similar Convent in Chicago which stood in the entrance Hall overlooking the area where our constant punishments would take place.
Also to inaugurate the opening, the local parishioners had donated pine trees, camellias, flowering cherries, maples and azaleas for the front garden, all of which were doing well when we were there. Up the front walls of the building grew a pretty yellow thornless banksian rose which was such a joy to us as it was festooned in blossom in early spring, that I now grow a huge one over our garage in England to remind me of the pleasure that those roses gave us after the harsh winter under the cruel conditions that we were about to endure.

It was only at the end of June that the Bishop of Sendai who was in Tokyo at the time was told by the Ministry of the Interior that they wished to commandeer the Convent for use as an internment camp for German prisoners . He telephoned the convent and spoke to Sister Saito, with the request that within the space of one week, the nine nuns living there ( four of whom were French Canadian ) would have to depart. All personal items belonging to the Order were locked in the upper floor attic, into which I only was able to enter a couple of times during our whole stay. The nuns were moved to another convent in Aizuwakamatsu for the duration of the war
.
Our life started to develop a standard ultra strict routine. In the main hallway by the staircase and opposite the Guards Common room there was a large bell belonging to the convent that was tolled at 6 am . As the string was pulled it gave a deep resonating ring that not only echoed with sound, but later was to be a signal for grief and pain as underneath it became the punishment centre. Here underneath it inmates, myself often included, would be forced to stand for hours on end, or even worse on occasions be made to kneel on the hard floor. On the sound of the bell ringing at dawn, we would rollup our beds, get dressed quickly and stand in line down the corridor. The guard would come and shout 鈥淏anjo!鈥� and then in Japanese shout 鈥榠chi鈥� or 1, 鈥榥i鈥� or 2, 鈥榮an鈥� 3 etc. Each one would then shout out in response in Japanese their own respective camp number which was printed on a small 2 鈥� wooden oblong slab that we wore round our necks continuously . Mother was numbered 鈥�75鈥� and I was 鈥�76鈥�!. We were then free till 7 for washing cleaning etc. and at 7.20 went to the dining room for breakfast, watery tea and a bun. Then the boring day would commence and drag on, with endless talking, chess etc till finally a further roll call and lights out at 9.00 pm.

Cont/鈥︹�ee A Child鈥檚 War part seven

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.