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Martin (H.M. Consul-General at Chungking) died on April 6th. Mrs. Martin fought the Japanese tooth and nail to keep him and herself out of the internment camp and she got her way though she was nearly put up against a wall and shot for her pains. They were allowed to remain in Queen Mary Hospital till the Japanese took it over on January 21st. They were then moved to one of the temporary hospitals (St. Stephens Girls College) in charge of a Chinese doctor, and there he died. The Japanese then again wanted to send Mrs. Martin to Stanley but she threatened to commit suicide, and the Japanese were so impressed that they allowed her to live in the French Hospital till she was sent away with the American repatriates on the strength of her American nationality of origin.
There are two questions which I am always being asked: (1) How is it that Hongkong was captured so quickly? and (2) How did the Japanese behave?
As to (1) the exasperation of the civilian population found vent in the bitterest after-the-event criticism of the conduct of affairs by both the Hongkong Government and the Defence Forces. Probably most of this criticism is ill-informed and it would be dangerous to pass it on particularly as I had no opportunity of learning the official explanation. There are however certain definite impressions left on my own mind, and these are that our troops were quite inadequate in numbers to hold the Colony against a determined enemy, that the anti-aircraft defences were completely ineffective and that both the military operations and the civilian organisation were sabotaged by Wang Ching-wei Chinese. I saw nothing of the close range fighting, but I was repeatedly told that our troops were completely bewildered by the apparent ubiquity of the enemy, as they were being fired on from all sides at once, and that, with their heavy equipment and army boots they were no match in the hills for the lightly clad and rubber shoed Japanese who clambered about as agilely as monkeys. I was also told that we lost heavily in the fighting in the New Territories, that there were no reserves to fill the gaps and that it was due to our troops being utterly exhausted by continuous fighting that the Japanese were able to effect a landing on the island so easily.
I believe our forces claim to have brought down 6 Japanese planes during the eighteen days fighting, I watched the Japanese bombing Mt. Davis Fort, Stonecutters Island, Mt. Austin barracks etc. For the most part they flew at low altitudes and made no apparent efforts to dodge
83
Martin (H.M. Consul-General at Chungking) died on April 6th. Mrs. Martin fought the Japanese tooth and nail to keep him and herself out of the internment camp and she got her way though she was nearly put up against a wall and shot for her pains. They were allowed to remain in Queen Mary Hospital till the Japanese took it over on January 21st. They were then moved to one of the temporary hospitals (St. Stephens Girls College) in charge of a Chinese doctor, and there he died. The Japanese then again wanted to send Mrs. Martin to Stanley but she threatened to commit suicide, and the Japanese were so impressed that they allowed her to live in the French Hospital till she was sent away with the American repatriates on the strength of her American nationality of origin.
There are two questions which I am always being asked: (1) How is it that Hongkong was captured so quickly? and (2) How did the Japanese behave?
As to (1) the exasperation of the civilian population found vent in the bitterest after-the-event criticism of the conduct of affairs by both the Hongkong Government and the Defence Forces. Probably most of this criticism is ill-informed and it would be dangerous to pass it on particularly as I had no opportunity of learning the official explanation. There are however certain definite impressions left on my own mind, and these are that our troops were quite inadequate in numbers to hold the Colony against a determined enemy, that the anti-aircraft defences were completely ineffective and that both the military operations and the civilian organisation were sabotaged by Wang Ching-wei Chinese. I saw nothing of the close range fighting, but I was repeatedly told that our troops were completely bewildered by the apparent ubiquity of the enemy, as they were being fired on from all sides at once, and that, with their heavy equipment and army boots they were no match in the hills for the lightly clad and rubber shoed Japanese who clambered about as agilely as monkeys. I was also told that we lost heavily in the fighting in the New Territories, that there were no reserves to fill the gaps and that it was due to our troops being utterly exhausted by continuous fighting that the Japanese were able to effect a landing on the island so easily.
I believe our forces claim to have brought down 6 Japanese planes during the eighteen days fighting, I watched the Japanese bombing Mt. Davis Fort, Stonecutters Island, Mt. Austin barracks etc. For the most part they flew at low altitudes and made no apparent efforts to dodge
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