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wire from the broken ladder.
3.
The night in question was very
dark and the failure of the lights on the
northern and eastern perimeter made it
impossible to see more than a few yards
ahead. The nearest sentry was at a post
some forty or fifty yards away; and the
constable on patrol inside the camp was
on the opposite side from the eastern
perimeter. The ladders used in the escape had been roughly constructed from material
obtained from the work-matshed. They were
of a type which could have been made by
Chinese in a few minutes, but it is believed
that they were, in fact, prepared some time
previous to the night of the escape and were
concealed under the earth near one of the huts.
4. It now appears evident that the
escape had been carefully pre-arranged, but that it was carried out without the general knowledge of the rest of the internees who
continued with their normal routine without
It is disturbance when the lights failed.
obvious that it was planned to take place just before additional sentries were posted
at 7 p.m.
5.
Every effort has been made to
prevent a recurrence of this incident, and I am satisfied
that the partial success of the attempt is in no way
attributable to negligence on the part of the officer in
charge or any of the subordinate personnel of the camp
guard.
6. Copies of this despatch are being sent to His
Majesty's Ambassadors at Shanghai and Tokyo.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
(. Cs.hother
Governor.
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