162
DONALD C. BOWIE
of 230 moved on 20 January 1942 from Hong Kong to Camranh Bay and thence to Sumatra. The 230 regiment left Camranh Bay on 18 February 1942 and landed at Java. The whole Japanese operations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaya and elsewhere had been carried out by only eleven divisions. As soon therefore as Hong Kong fell on 25 December 1941 it must have been Japanese policy to withdraw the fighting troops in order to replace their losses, which had been substantial, reequip and reorganise them for the next operation. The atrocities in Stanley, Happy Valley and elsewhere were carried out by fighting troops flushed by success in battle. I imagine that these must have been withdrawn before our hospital and Hong Kong generally suffered. This seems the most likely explanation for the facts, for as I said earlier Bowen Road was practically in the front line as the fighting ended and the city of Victoria was an exceedingly rich prize.
During hostilities we in Hong Kong learned of the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse off the Malayan coast, which with the destruction also of a large part of the American fleet of course extinguished any hopes of relief. Rumour spread among us and was eagerly passed on that a Chinese army was hastening to our rescue. To those who had watched the failure of the Kuo Min Tang Chinese to make an effective attempt to dislodge the Japanese armies from Canton and South China since 1938 this story was considered to be most unlikely to be true, as so it proved.
Soon after our surrender, nurses and other staff and patients who had survived the outrages of Stanley, Happy Valley, St. Albert's Convent Hospital and elsewhere rejoined Bowen Road and their experiences soon became known to all staff and patients. Even so it came as a shock to many to see and hear Japanese methods with captives. For several nights for example our guards had a number of Chinese as prisoners; these they had tied to trees and seemed to carry out barbarities upon them. Some of our people reported that they had smelt burning flesh and certainly the cries of the prisoners were shattering. Rumour had it that the Chinese were caught looting, of which large numbers were undoubtedly guilty, but this experience shook patients and some staff considerably for a while.
One of the early Japanese officers to visit the hospital expressed surprise at finding women there at all, and advised that they should make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. This warning spread
162
DONALD C. BOWIE
of 230 moved on 20 January 1942 from Hong Kong to Camranlı Bay and thence to Sumatra. The 230 regiment left Camranh Bay on 18 February 1942 and landed at Java. The whole Japanese operations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaya and elsewhere had been carried out by only eleven divisions. As soon therefore as Hong Kong fell on 25 December 1941 it must have been Japanese policy to withdraw the fighting troops in order to replace their losses, which had been substantial, reequip and reorganise them for the next operation. The atrocities in Stanley, Happy Valley and elsewhere were carried out by fighting troops flushed by success in battle. I imagine that these must have been withdrawn before our hospital and Hong Kong generally suffered. This seems the most likely explanation for the facts, for as I said earlier Bowen Road was practically in the front line as the fighting ended and the city of Victoria was an exceedingly rich prize.
During hostilities we in Hong Kong learned of the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse off the Malayan coast, which with the destruction also of a large part of the American fleet of course extinguished any hopes of relief. Rumour spread among us and was cagerly passed on that a Chinese army was hastening to our rescue. To those who had watched the failure of the Kuo Min Tang Chinese to make an effective attempt to dislodge the Japanese armies from Canton and South China since 1938 this story was considered to be most unlikely to be true, as so it proved.
Soon after our surrender, nurses and other staff and patients who had survived the outrages of Stanley, Happy Valley, St. Albert's Convent Hospital and elsewhere rejoined Bowen Road and their experiences soon became known to all staff and patients. Even so it came as a shock to many to see and hear Japanese methods with captives. For several nights for example our guards had a number of Chinese as prisoners; these they had tied to trees and seemed to carry out barbarities upon them. Some of our people reported that they had smelt burning flesh and certainly the cries of the prisoners were shattering. Rumour had it that the Chinese were caught looting, of which large numbers were undoubtedly guilty, but this experience shook patients and some staff considerably for a while.
One of the early Japanese officers to visit the hospital expressed surprise at finding women there at all, and advised that they should make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. This warning spread
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