CO129-590-25 Accounts of events leading up to surrender and subsequent treatment of prisoners- etc 23-4-1942 - 28-9-1943 — Page 6

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A Naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Shepherd, has just reached England from Shanghai under the Anglo-Japanese exchange arrangements. He had been caught in Shanghai at the opening of the Japanese war and has latterly been at Wewsing with

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Sir Mark Young, who was removed there from Hong Kong

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Sir Mark had compiled a despatch on the circumstances leading to the surrender of the Colony to the Japanese Forces and this was memorised by Commander Shepherd and the attached two copies have been left with me. A third copy has been supplied to the Naval Intelligence Department at the Admiralty. Annexed to the despatch are a record of Sir Mark Young's statements to Commander Shepherd about atrocities in Hong Kong and some nates which Commander Shepherd has compiled as a result of conversations with

Sir Mark Young relating to his personal treatment, both in the Colony and at Wowsøng.

Commander Shepherd has written a separate report to the Admiralty on general conditions of prisoners of war in the Wowsong camp, and at his suggestion I am asking Major Hicks (N.I.D.4., Admiralty) if we may see a copy. He had no particular information about current conditions in Hong Kong, but we shall be in touch with Sir A. Blackburn who was on the British Embassy Staff in China and was caught in Hong Kong and incarcerated there until he left in the exchange ship.

Commander Shepherd's vessel only anchored for a day in the roads at Singapore, and he has no knowledge of the conditions of the prisoners of war or internees in Malaya. There was, however, one English lady who had been held in Saigon and joined the ship at Singapore, after having a quite comfortable fortnight in a Japanese officer's house at Singapore, during which time she was motored about and saw something of the current conditions in the City. name is Mrs. Keene and she is the wife of Paymaster Lieutenant R. D. Keene, R.N.V.R., and will be arriving in a few days time in the exchange ship. will get into touch with her as soon as possible in order that she may give us her impressions.

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Commander Shepherd's personal impression of Sir Mark Young and his condition is that he is robust and cheerful. He keeps his end up rigidly with the Japanese, refusing to accept benefits or favours from them and has as few dealings as possible with them. He plays a good deal of chess with the British Captain of a merchant ship who is one of his fellow prisoners, and is allowed to take exercise in the camp grounds. He is treated exactly like other prisoners in the camp and has no special privileges. The Japanese have provided him with no money since they have felt unable to decide that he has any equivalent Service rank (in fact Commander Shepherd considers that the equivalent rank in the Navy would be Vice Admiral) and the Japanese really know this, but are unwilling to pay the fairly substantial allowance of that rank. The result is that neither Sir Mark Young himself, nor his Batman, who is a Private in the Middlesex Regiment, have any money and he has not been able to join the Officers Mess where he could get slightly better food, nor buy any of the

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