大象传媒

On the 13th March, 1945, headlines in the Penrith Observer proclaimed "Ten thousand miles to Penrith: From war-swept China to Cumberland. an eventful journey by land, sea and air".

My memories on these pages have largely been based in Trowbridge, but the above headlines tell of an epic journey at the end of World War 2. My wife Monica was too young to remember this, but the events of those months, and the preceeding years in China had a lasting effect on the life of her family. Both Andrew and Mary have sadly passed away, but their story lives on. Their third daughter Rosalind was born four years after their return to England and does not therefore actively share in this part of their memomories, but her daughter Julie has from papers handed down by her Grandmother lovingly compiled a record for the family. Some extracts from 'Thine be the Glory' - 'Memories of a Mum' are given below and subsequent pages.

'For this I know the plans I have for you' (Jer.29;11)

Andrew and I had by this time been studying, working and serving in China for ten and a half years. With the advance of the Communists, we had been trapped for some time in the province (Kansu), and we were now being advised to evactuate. We had word that the way was open through India should we wish to travel for home, and that Andrew would not be conscripted to serve in the British Indian Army. We prayed about this matter, and looked for a way that we could travel from Lianchow (Wuwei) to Lanzhou. We were restricted from travelling round just as we wished, but first had to send for and obtain a special travel permit. This could be expected to take any length of time, perhaps weeks, even months, but at last a permit for us to leave the city was obtained. Our next decision concerned our mode of travel. Heather was by now three years of age and Monica one year old. It was now that Mr. Li,who Andrew had been teaching, was of great use to us. He told us that he would try to get a seat for us in the cab of one of his trucks, but we would have to be prepared and ready to move at very short notice, and so we began to get rid of our belongings. It was only the most essential items that we kept, because we realized that at some point it would be necessary for our plane to fly over Japanese lines. There was no other way out of China so for this reason our luggage had to be very resticted. One afternoon, we had been invited to visit a Chinese Christian, and just as we were getting ready to meet with him, a messenger came into the compound with word from Mr. Li. "There are places in the cab of a truck for you" we were told. "It is leaving for Lanzhou early in the morning" Since we had nearly everything organisd and ready, we continued with our visit to our friend. I was anxious about not being able to obtain suitable food for our children during the long journey ahead of us the coast, although we would be able to get Chinese course food. This wasn't the kind that you might be served in a Chinese restaurant in Britian, but the children could not manage this type of food, so I had spent days before our departure peparing oats. I had help from Chinese to grind the grain then I used a fine sieve to slowly sift the oats into a very fine oatmeal which I packed in several small bags. If I had not done this, I was sure that Monica would not survive the journey. As it was she was an extremely weak little child, more like a frail baby. No milk or other food was going to be available for them at least until our arrival in India. At every inn or mission station, I was later to have a routine of taking out a small pan I was carrying with me, quietly waiting for an opportunity to get a small place on the fire in the kitchen. Often the Chinese working there would grumble at me, telling me that I was getting in their way. Their children were able to live on rice water, but it was foreign children who were more in danger of disease if not properly fed. I recall Dr. Broomhall coming to me in Chengdu and asking me how I was managing with food for the children. He hadn't thought of my brilliant idea!

More on Andrew and Mary Kennedy's escape from China will follow in Part 2.

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