1939-02-22 — Page 9

HONGKONG DAILY PRESS

WANTON OF MEN,

CABLES

DESTRUCTION AT SHUMCHUN: CORPSES

MEN, WOMEN,

WOMEN, CHILDREN,

No Excuse That Japanese

Airmen Could Not Have

Seen The British Flag

Member Of Customs Staff Killed By Machine - Gun

(By A Staff Representative)

I VISITED THE SCENE OF YESTERDAY'S BOMB- ING SHORTLY AFTER THE JAPANESE HAD FLOWN AWAY, AND CAN TESTIFY, AS NO DOUBT CAN scores of other people, to the terrible and wanton destruction caused by these people who are engaged in a "civilizing mission" and "the construction of a new order in China. The least I can say, is that, if these barbaric actions are examples of their civilizing mission," then the sooner they commit hari kiri the better it will be for the entire universe.

Out car was stopped at the Sheungshui rallway crossing, as no private cars are allowed on this road. which is now under military control, but we hiked it." and saw everything we wanted to see....

where it had been brought to a halt.

SHUMCHUN

SHEUN SHUIBH

Place marked "A" in the above map is the bridge where the refugees crossed into Bri- tish territory..."B" is the mill- bombe tary camp where two

were dropped. "C" is the Police post where the Indian constable was killed.

MANGLED AND TORN

INDIAN P.C. REMAINED

Refugees Pouring Along Military Road: Casino's Blood-Spattered Floor

(By a "Daily Press Representative.)

I ARRIVED AT SHEUNGSHUI ABOUT 11.30 A.M. THE FIRST SIGHT THAT GREETED ME WAS THE HORRIBLY MANGLED. REMAINS OF THE INDIAN constable who had been killed at the Lowu Railway、 » bridge across the Shumchun River after having declined to leave his post when told to do so by a British sergeant,

३।

His body was lying on a stretcher in the compound

of the police station, where people were being given medical attention.

near

GHOSTS OF THEIR

ANCESTORS!

Ап ovenlog contemporary published the following yester- day!-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1939.-PAGE 9

Refugees were pouring along the military road, and the railway track. Some of the villagers had evacuated into British territory post No. 12, which was the one occupied by the Japanese during their last raid.

Red The

Swastika Society evacuated their refugees in good order and I found some of their group waiting along the military road for food and transportation. SHUMCHUN RUINS The bombed ruins at Shumchun was still smoking and people were As "Miss Wu` was relating this at work putting out the flames. story, wounded were being brought

A part of Shamchun is in farnes, and the terrified popu-. Eation, many of whom have been killed, are streaming across the border Into the New Territories.

This likewise had been riddled AT HIS POST Corpses were still to be seen where from the Casino buildings to be

Hundreds of weeping and wail-' ing refugees, carrying their world- ly belongings, were wending their way to safety under the Union with machine-gun bullets. I was Jack, Women and children were told that several of the passengers bemoaning the loss of their loved had been killed and other wound- ones Wounded were struggling ed by machine-gun die. The train manfully along the road, forcing was a mixed goods and passenger back groans of pain. Ambulances one and was bound from Fanling and police vans were rushing to for" Lowu at the time. and from the scene. Balm ambulances, as well as those

the Tiger

of the Hongkong Fire Brigade.

It was well within British territory.

The Royal Scots camp came hear to being hit. two bombs actually dropping within the camp Fortunately there were no An officer of this fam-

We were stopped by a group of Royal Scots who informed us that sightseers were not allowed to go area. any further but when we told casualties. them that we were from the pressed Regiment told me that the Jap- they permitted us to continue. Onanese flew from Chinese territory the slopes of the hils were to be and tried to hit the wireless sta- seen the Royal Scots in full war tion and the Customs buildings, kit and steel helmets.

MUTE EVIDENCE

but their bombs «fälled to strike their target. It was poor marks- manship. Some thirty bombs in all had been dropped in British territory.

}

SHOT. DEAD

SERGEANT PILE'S EXPERIENCE.

(SPECIAL TO THE "HONGKUNG

DAILY PRESS")

they had fallen. On the road into taken by ambulance to Hongkong. | Shumchun, wounded were being The wounds were clearly trom

brought to the bridges trom which machine-gun bullets, they were sent to Hongkong by

ambulance.

Inside the Casino buliding, the floor of which was spattered with Poignant scenes were to be

blood, there were about 20 wound- witnessed. 'Wounded had.. died

ed persons. One man had both on the road to the New Terri-

feet blown off probably by the tories and the wailing of the "

blast of a bomb. He had been relatives further incensed one

brought from Bhumchun Market. against the utter brutality of

`Leaving the Casino, I walked the perpetrators' of the raid. towards Lowu railway bridge. At Casualties would have been the side of the pleasure pond was greater if partial evacuation had a body, with its stomach shattered. not taken place on account of the a buffalo lay on the other side with Japanese occupation of Namtau one of its legs blown off. last Friday.

FIRST CRATER

THE

HONG KONG

PENINSULA HOTEL;

HONGKONG HOTEL; REPULSE BAY HOTEL;

SHANGHAI

ASTOR HOËSE; PALACE HOTEL; HOTELS LIMITED.

In amociation with the Grand Hotel des Wagons its, Peking.

SCORE OF SHOPS, DWELLINGS WRECKED BEYOND RECOGNITION

No Warning Of Outrage

(SPECIAL TO THE "HONGKONG DAILY PRESS")

A SCORE OR SO OF SHOPS AND PRIVATE DWELLINGS WERE WRECKED BEYOND RECOGNI- TION AND A POLICE SUB-STATION IN THE CHINESE section of Shumchun was totally destroyed as the result of direct hits by the Japanese airmen yesterday, according to a statement made to the "Hongkong Daily Press" by Lieut. H. T. Tseng, officer-in-charge of the Shumchun, Chinese Police Force.

"We had absolutely no warning that the outrage would take place." Lieut." Твеле asserted. "They came at a minute or two before nine o'clock and few to- wards Shumchun from a south- westerly direction. There nine planes in all,

"As "soon as

were

these buildings was peppered with craters and machine-gun bullet marks and the detona- tions sbook the buildings.

severely."

"

TERRIBLE DAMAGE

"The enemy," Lieut. Treng add- ed. "flew over the scene for some thirty minutes dropping bombs they approached and opening fire with machine- Shumchun, they immediately be guns, after which they flew away.” gan indiscriminately to release their murderous cargo and in all

"I have been in the midst of were more than "eighty bombs dropped. Most of these, fell into numerous attacks by air raiders the waterways and the paddy in Canton and other parts pr flelds and actually only a couple China, but I have never seen the of direct hits were made in Chi-like of what occurred this morn- nese territory. One bomb fell nearing. The damage caused in Shur- the Shumchun Hospital. The real chun was far worse than when the damage was, I understand, on the Japanese came here and occupied

the town last November. British side of the border,

"More than forty persons were

"We were entirely at the mercy killed on our side of the border of the murderers and could offer and, so far as I can ascertain, no resistance. We have no anti- over eighty received wounds of a afrcraft guns here so you see it is varying nature.

possible for the Japs to come and

"In the sub-station which was bomb us and attack us from the hit, one of my policemen was ex-air with machine guns with im- ceptionally lucky to have escapedrunity." death: as it was, he was severely Lieut. Tseng concluded by say

"I was standing near Sardah Singh (P. C. B750) when I spot- ted the Japanese planes flying towards us. I yelled to Surdah Singh to rush for cover but he insisted on "remaining at his Dost near the kitchen,” Lance- Sgt. Chris Pile, the Interport footballer, who" was in charge

Miss Wu, who was in charge of of the British police post near

The first crater I saw in British the Shumchun bridge, when

the Red Swastika Camp at the territory was about 25 yards from the Japanese commenced their

Casino,,, told me, "Since the rald Lown Railway bridge. It had des- by the Japanese on Namtau, we troyed part of the permanent way. wanton destruction, told the A scene of horror greeted us as

have been in a state of prepared- Workmen were digging in the "Hongkong Dally Press,” we entered the British side of the

ness to evacuate. This morning. crater for parts of the bomb to railway compound at Shumchun.

"Poor fellow! The last words the Japanese planes appeared from determine its size. Gruesome bloodstains.

heard from him was that he would a south-westerly direction over a almost

Fifteen yards further on, ad- not leave. everywhere, bore, mute evidence of

When I returned to village about. two miles from other bomb had scored a hit on B the tersible work of destruction

I was told that the railway staff the post soon afterwards, I found Shumchun. We saw them divide. reinforced concrete building along- that had been perpetrators of this escaped unscathed but the Chi-him terribly mangled.

He had "Two planes flew direct towards side which a couple of railway car-'injured. international crime. The corpses nese Customs people were not so been killed" outright as a bomb Shumchun Market and started to riages were standing: The build- of the victims of this barbarism, fortunate. One of their staff had scored a direct hit on the kitcher bomb. The other planes few to-ing had been demolished and one torri and mangled beyond recogni- been shot dead by machine-gun and smashed it to smithereens. His wards us at the Casino and we body Was later extracted The

and women and children fre

another had been left side was almost torn out and could hear the bursts of machine-railway carriage had served as the allke, whose ages ranged from a wounded.

parts of his flesh were thrown gun fire as the planes approached barracks for the Indian policemen few months

The casualties in British terri- against a goods wagon some sixty the buildings in which the refugees on guard at the Lowu Railway to grown-ups-were

I know he would not were lodged. being removed from the wreckage tory could not accurately be esti-feet away. and placed in wooden coffins pro- mated, though it is known that have met death otherwise than in REFUGEES MACHINE-GUNNED

"Ten refugees of the camp vided by the Red Bwa ika Society.eight Chinese and an Indian po- the performance of his duty."

who were still in the open İlceman were killed. A couple of Heartbroken

and

Lance-Sgt. Pile said that, when water-buffalo were shot or wound-he saw the Japanese approaching were machine-gunned. We saw children were forcibly torn

ed by shrapnel and a calf had its he ran to the nearest shelter and

bombs failing from the racks away from the coffins which

legs broken. An end was put to be thought that he must have:

and heard them burst along they were clasping and which

the misery of the latter by a Bri-covered, 100 yards in only a few

the railway near the Lown contained the remains of their.

tish policeman.

station." loved ones, who had either been done to death in the bombings or who had been mowed down by the machine- gun of the enemies of their country.

Lion-men,

women

Crossing the bridge, we saw on guard daty, on the British side, three stalwart Indian policemen, and, on the Chinese side, two Chinese Customs officers.

.

I went further on. Two railway carriages, used by the British. po- TELEGRAPH WIRES TORN' He as quarters, were damaged.

There," in Chinese territory, we A reinforced concrete building was

saw similar" harrowing scenes. Amashed to smithereens, and an-Dead and wounded, were seen in other building of a similar kind. different places and those who had five yards away, was partially been killed were quickly encoffin- damaged. The doors of the latter ed. Telegraph wires has been torn has been blown in and the mosqui- down by the concussion and the to netting was tangled beyond re-leaves of trees were strewn almost .pair.

everywhere.

Not a single pane of glass re- mained in the windows of the rail- way carriages. Some yards away, I saw In the sides of several

On top of a railway signal, a Chinese rtag fluttered in the breeze.

I visited the town and was told

goods wagons holes caused by the that the number of killed and

ག

UNION JACK

"seconds...

"Frankly," he admitted to our re- presentative, "I WHA never : 80: frightened before. I think that the

concussion must have shaken me) so much that I was more than scared.

I tried to get to the rail- way station but thought the bet ter of it so I rushed with a Chinese Customs man towards the river, intending to jump m

"If I ran towards the hill 1 would not be living to tell you tnis story because the Japanese were machine-gunning every- body within sight. As soon ža We bad reached a spot of safety, we looked up and, as the planes were flying so low, we could ever see the airmen in their planes.

"As soon as the Japs flew o

CHINA'S

bridge. It was riddled with flying metal from the bomb.

Between the building and the rallway carriages were slx bodies. They had been peasants. It was pitiful to see the small baby and a tiny child which had been killed by the concussion of the exploding bomb

GREATEST HOPE

LIES IN ORGANISATION

OF

GUERILLA WARFARE

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuter)-For the first time since the war in China began the initiative has passed from the Japanese to the Chinese, says the "Manches- ter Guardian.” Since Canton and Hankow fell, the Japanese armies have marked time and the Japanese soldiers, exhausted and disheartened at their officers, are bewildered and åt a loss. Now is the time, one would;

think, for a concerted effort BAPTISM OF FIRE by the Chinese but the truth Is the Chinese cannot make a

(Continued from Pare 1) concerted effort. The area is which, you will notice, is fully two too vast and the communica-miles from the border. Damned cowards, that's what they are.

The rifles inside the tng that the majority of towns- building were twisted and not a people had filed but, almost imme- plece of furniture is intact. Fone diately after the raiders had left. of the big buildings were hit by the policemen were back on duty bombs though the raiders ap- to see that no untoward incidents, parently intended to demolish such as looting, took place. these if they could.

A tour of the town and the surrounding country by the "Hongkong Daily Press" "FO- vealed that Lieut. Theng did noi exaggerate his statements. If anything, the statement was a most moderate one.

"It was only the poor marks- manship which saved the buildings (Ldent. Tseng was referring to the old Casino building and the theatra near by). The countryside all round

Water buffalo at Shumchun Casino with part of one leg blown aff.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

Eye-Witness Saw Bombs Fall On Train

The following eye-witness" story was told to the "Hongkong Daily Fress" by an English gentleman who does not wish to have his name disclosed:---

"I heard the first detonation somewhere around 9.40 am, and at first I thought it was the noise of artillery practice by the mill- tary, but, when explosions shook the house, which is near the golf links, I realized that it was prob- ably an attack by Japanese planes. FOR CHINA

"We could see clouds of smoke, machine-gun are of the Japanese wounded amounted to "nearly one I rushed back to the police post to

LONDON, Feb, 20 (Reuter)—Re- | ascending from the direction of plying, to Mr. Noel Baker in the Lowu Railway Station near the RIDDLED hundred." Most of the casualties see whether there were any casualtions too poor. Going round to the northern occurred when the terror-strickenties and to ascertain the amount The Chinese soldier, says the They flew for well over three miles House of Commons to day, Mr. R. bridge across the Shumchun River. side of the post (Post No. 11). I populace rushed from their houses of damage. I found the mangled paper, is equal to the Japanese, over British territory knowing well A. Entler said that the matter of 1 counted three Japanese planes further measures of British finan- which new into British territory saw hanging up on the side a huge and were immediately machine-remains of Surdah Singh and that but the Chinese officers are hope that we had received orders to keep

ourselves in check Union Jack, which likewise had gunned by the Japanese.

one of the big crates of soild re-lessly interior.

cial support for Ching in pur- and saw bombs fall on to a train been riddled by Japanese machine-

inforced concrete, which formed China's greatest hope lies in the "It's hard to say what they will suance of the League Assembly which was standing at one of the The refugees were fortunately

resolution, passed last September sidings' about 1j miles from gunners. There could have been not hit though it would appear the kitchen to the post, has been organisation of guerilla warfare do next," the officer added, "but I no mistaking that this was our that the Japanese raiders' made

totally demolished.

on a wide scale, if necessary, by can tell you this: All of our posts Our post, as

was still being considered. He frontier, s teen toy, the rape could have every effort to wipe them out. It border, (the noction our in regretted he was not, in a position seen human being fleeing for safe-would appear that, the concentra the border line (the Bhumchun this policy has hitherto been re-manned and our men, as you will to make a statement.

Jected by the leaders of the Kuo- see, are in full kit and steel helmets Mr. Noel Baker commented: "I! ty and used them as targets for tion of refugees hitherto has al-

mintang.

and armed with rifles and Lewis their machine-guns, there can be ways resulted in efforts on the "A section at the railway track

the British Government ^ 'can do The guerilla movement will grow guns no excuse that their airmen could part of the Japanese to destroy has been torn up and a sleeper has and it is difficult to see what the

something they will have a very not have seen the British flag.

"I am not sure whether the Chi-wide support in this House and the them and they will doubtless con- been thrown yards away. In the Japanese can do to check it. In a nese received wurning or not trut Just about Ave yards in front of tinue to be bombed in spite of any middle of the track was a huge year's time the Japanese comman-I have heard it stated that they

country." the Union Jack was a large crater promises that may be made by the crater about ten feet wide and ders will be glad to accept any were told a week ago by their in the middle of the railway line, Japanese.

more than five feet deep. Two peace they can get if they can get enemy that, if they did not come part of which had been torn away Among the wounded were two passenger carriages, which were any peace at all. from the rest, and part has been workers of the St. John Ambulance twisted.

In the paddy-fields, about fifty yards to the south, were a couple of craters caused by exploding bombs and some two -miles further south, a train,

which has been brought to standstill as soon as the Jap- anese planes were sighted, to enable the passengers to flee for safety, was still standing

Brigade.

River).

4.

"The same planes then Bow

on towards the camp of the Royal Scots, and? two. Bombe were dropped nearby. They then circled after a short time and flew away in a northerly direction.

I got into my car and drove ROWING

towards Sheungani Station and proceeded along the railway lines. to terms with the Jape, the terms CHAMPIONSHIPS used by the police for sleeping

There was one bomb crater about to be imposed by the little the quarters were badly damaged and

six feet away from the permanent FINANCIAL AID latter would commence to atrare AMSTERDAM, Feb. 20 (T/Ocean)

track None of the rallway, bridges e riddled with machine-gun

Strumchum on the third day of the The International Rowing A50 across the frontier, in large nam- Refugees were coming were damaged though the rails ballets. The oldes of several goods FOR CHINA Chinese New Year, which is to-

ciation has informed the Nether hers, though not as many as in had been blown up in one place. Magons likewise bear marks of

LONDON, Feb, 21 (Reuter) The | day.

lands Rowing Federation that November when the last mid took "I was struck by the calm of the

machine-gun bullets,

China Campaign Committee an "Apparently, they have carried date for the European Champion place. police and hospital workers who "We were very lucky to have nounces that the first four months out their threat, but that's no ships has now been finally fixed remained at Bhumchum following escaped with so few casualties,” he collection for the International reason for their flying over British | for 8 1 to 3, the contests to the bombing, and it occurred to concluded. "Fortunately, our men Peace Hospital in China averaged territory, killing people on this side me that had others remained as were up and about at the time. £400 munthly beside, 2900 profits and smashing up our property, they during the raid, there would otherwise the camalties would have from the recent Javanese dancers and endangering the lives of our have been fewer casualties,

been far, heavier!!-

display and a special gift of 2700. | men.

take place in Amsterdam,

Lt-Car Churchillis repo On Aug. 30, the International to the police that his car was stom Association will held its annua!

from the Connaught Road park between 3 and 8 pm on Mon congress in Amsterdam: