CO129-579-9 Sino-Japanese War- release of interned Chinese soldiers 27-1-1939 - 7-12-1939 — Page 58

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Sub Inspector.

The six men on being questioned, admitted that they had

escaped from the Camp.

morning.

They were then put under guard in the Police Office until

I visited the Canp at 09.00 hrs. that morning and

questioned the prisoners.

Each man gave his own story of the manner, time and date

of escaping.

They each gave a different date and time, but their means of escape was practically the same, each man swearing that he had got through the barbed wire and over the fence.

and

In the meantime, the man on duty at the gate/Lance-Sergeant

B 401 had found a quantity of clothing in the open nullah running up from the sea front to a spot about 60 yards East of the Camp fence, when the opening finished the rest of the nullah continuing on covered up and underground.

The means of escape was immediately obvious by this discovery, and walking through the Camp grounds in a line probably taken by the nullah underground, found a manhole between the last two huts of the first line of huts. This manhole had been recently moved and had been covered over with sand to cover up the traces, but the sand was wet and quite apparent that it had be en recently put on.

Another manhole was found between the last hut and the Military Section of the Camp, but this one was in the open and in view of the Military. This mahhole had not been touched.

With help of two Sanitary coolies, the lid of the manhole between the huts was lifted up and the hole revealed a shaft (more than big enough for a man's body to pass down), and iron rungs to enable one to get down comfortably.

The nullah was about 15 feet below earth surface. I went down to investigate.

The nullah is a circular cement structure and was almost dry.