大象传媒

My father spent 4 years in a Japanese P.O.W. camp from Sept. 15 1942 until the end of the war. As my father died on April 18 2001 he is no able to tell you his story. However I have found a paper which he was writing, about the fall of Hong Kong and his transfer to the P.O.W camp in Japan. Although for some reason he did not complete the page, he has been able to clearly show what happened in those few days of capture. I would like to share it with you and shall write it word for word as he wrote it.

"Hong Kong was bathed in the early morning sunshine. It seemed peaceful. The only thing that marred the scenic beauty was the presence of hundreds of Rising Suns that fluttered from the houses. The last sporadic fighting had ceased yesterday with a last ditch stand on the Stanley Peninsula. Now we were waiting. A weary line of troops were straggling back from Wanchai onto the city. It seemed ironic that such desperate struggles would take place in the red light district where the soldiers in happier times were wont to spend their leisure. A company of the 1st Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment swung into view. They marched at a steady orderly pace looking straight ahead. Their faces were set under a grime of dirt and showed no emotion. Most had torn uniforms and quite a few men had crudely bandaged wounds. And yet overall there was a certain proud dignity in their bearing as if surrender was not of their doing. We watched them pass in silence except for a nod to men we knew and made our way to the quarters.

Ken and I got there without incident. Japanese Marines were stationed at ten yard intervals along Queen's Road East. They gazed impassively at us as we passed while we looked straight ahead. Arriving at our quarters we found that our Chinese Amahs making ready to leave. They were going to make their way across the harbour to Kowloon to relatives. We just wished them luck and gave them about two hundred dollars that we had on us. It did not seem to have much value for where we were going and it would keep them in food for some time. We shook hands rather formally and escorted them down to Garden Road. We never saw them again. Returning to Scandal Point we found that someone had discovered an emergency food cache and a stream of men were carrying away canned goods by the carton. We resolved to have our last meal in the grand style so we helped ourselves freely to a varied assortment of vegetables, soups and fruit.

That night we took over a room in part of the Headquarter building. Scrounging some candles and a couple of sheets we really laid on a spread. Water was kind of difficult to obtain but we got enough to get our stew going and one of our guests had produced a metal wash basin so we were in business. That stew finished up more like a pudding with the amount of vegetables and meats that we threw in it. Nevertheless with the table laid Ritz style and a stack of biscuits and canned fruit scattered liberally it looked pretty good. We had stuck the candles in beer bottles and under the circumstances the whole place looked as good as a night club. In fact, later on we fed a near millionaire and he said that he had never had a meal so welcome. He was one of a party of Hong Kong Volunteers that had been dogging the Japanese for about a week and was just about on his chin strap.

Next morning after an uneasy sleep we were told by our officers to line up outside where we were to be marched off to an unknown destination. Grabbing anything that might have some possible value in the uncertain future we lined up. A section of Japanese troops had arrived and we were escorted down to the Star Ferry. Arriving there we waited there for a few hours while prisoners were being brought in from all parts of the Eastern end of the Island. It must have taken about ten hours to reach Shamshuipo which was to be one of the prison camps. It was the Middlesex Regiment Barracks and it drew some comfort as we approached. We were not to know that during the fighting it had been looted by the Chinese. Looting Chinese can give a plague of locust a few pointers. When we poured into the barracks it was evident that only the shells of the bungalow buildings were left. Every fixture had gone. Electrical conduits, plumbing and even the window and door frames."

And there it stops - maybe he meant to continue at a later date. The paper is quite old so I do not know why he did not continue. I know that throughout his 4 year ordeal he never held any hatred of the Japanese and that was still so even up to his death.

My father was Sgt. Frank Baker Clifford - Royal Army Service Corps. S/54896. He also made a roll list of N.C.O,s and other ranks of 12 Coy R.A.S.C. at Shashuipe P.O.W. camp (8th Dec.1941) and had starred them as killed, died and missing as well as those encamped. Should anyone be looking for a name of a relative that may have been captured in Hong Kong, I may be able to help.

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