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hardback HK$250
Hong Kong University Press
Paddyfield.com
More reviews by Richard Garrett
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The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru: Britain's Forgotten Wartime Tragedy by Tony Banham
This is yet another indictment of Japan's atrocious treatment of their Prisoners of War. In this case prisoners were put on an armed boat, the Lisbon Maru, to ship them from Hong Kong to Japan. Not surprisingly, the ship appeared to be a Japanese troop carrier and it attracted an Allied attack. Although the tragedy that followed was initiated by friendly fire, the result was entirely the fault of the Japanese. The basic facts concerning the Lisbon Maru are known to anyone with some knowledge about Hong Kong during the war, but the story is much more than the simple fact of the sinking.
TONY BANHAM's new book THE SINKING OF THE LISBON MARU: BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN WARTIME TRAGEDY is not just about the actual sinking of the Lisbon Maru -- it tells the story of all those involved: the POWs, the Americans who fired the torpedoes and the Japanese. This story is told on a personal level using the first-hand reports of those who were there as well as using the available records. The details cover the lead-up to the ship sailing from Hong Kong right through to the end of the war and what happened to the survivors.
The story is about the men who were captured at the fall of Hong Kong and who then had to endure the horrors of the Lisbon Maru. Their ordeal did not end with the sinking: those who survived suffered further hardships and trauma at the hands of the Japanese. For those who made it home there was sometimes the horror of the memories to live with, which made life almost unmanageable for some.
The submariners aboard the USS Grouper, the submarine involved, are also covered. They were keen to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbour and finding an armed ship that appeared to be a troop carrier seemed to be a God-sent opportunity. Imagine their horror when they heard that it was carrying POWs. However, the survivors never blamed the Americans and after the war there was some contact and enduring friendships were forged. There is less detail about the Japanese apart from the recounting of their atrocities. An Appendix covers the trial of the ship's captain, and a story about a post-war encounter that showed that at least one of the Japanese showed some remorse for his actions.
The main impact of the book is the inhumane treatment meted out by the Japanese. This had started in Hong Kong where the POWs were herded into Sham Shui Po camp. Conditions there were terrible with most men suffering from some form of nutritional deficiency. When the time came they were happy enough to leave the camp on the basis that something different was likely to be better.
Banham, in parallel, traces the track of the American submarine, the USS Grouper, and its crew. The first chapters relate how the two groups, unaware of each other's existence fatefully came together in the sea off Shanghai on 1 October 1942. Although a total of six torpedoes were fired only one did any damage, the others missed or failed to detonate. The one that did hit, did so near the rudder and holed the hull, but the ship stayed afloat for more than 24 hours. During that time all the Japanese on board, troops and crew, were safely taken off but the POWs were locked in the holds with no food, water or fresh air. It is clear that the Japanese intended that they should all go down with the ship; indeed one is reported as saying as much.
There was much loss of life amongst the POWs on board, but as Tony Banham relates there was a break out from the holds and many escaped into the sea. Even there the Japanese tried to shoot them until it was clear that some would survive to tell the tale. These had either managed to make it to nearby islands or had been picked up by Chinese fishermen. However, by the time the Japanese started to pick up survivors about half the 1834 POWs on board had died. They then rounded up the rest of the survivors, although three men managed to avoid capture and eventually made it back to tell the true story of what happened. Virtually all of this loss could have been avoided had the Japanese acted in a proper humane way and taken the men off at the same time they transhipped their own troops. A tragedy it certainly was, but not one that could be blamed on the Americans.
Those lucky enough to have survived then had to endure the all too familiar horrors of a Japanese work camp. Working on the docks at Kobe they had some opportunities for pilfering extra food and that helped some survive. Nevertheless there were many who succumbed to disease and maltreatment. The Japanese surrender stemmed the suffering although even then some didn't make it home, and for those who did there was still the ordeal of settling into a world they hadn't known for over four years. The miracle is that some pulled through and went on to lead full and happy lives.
TONY BANHAM has done an excellent job in tracking down survivors of the tragedy and recording their stories. As he himself notes this has been done just in time as the number of survivors shrinks with each passing year. The book is yet another indictment of Japan's wartime behaviour. By relating individual experiences it brings home the effect of that behaviour on people like you and me, and the memory will stay with us forever. Such stories should remain fresh in our minds so that we can avoid them in the future.
Read this book and wonder at man's inhumanity to man, but also marvel at how men can survive such inhumanity. It is a must for any student of the War in Hong Kong and an education for everyone.
Richard Garrett
29/06/2006
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Richard Garrett is a HK-based civil engineer, writer, historian and collector of antique firearms. He is a member of the Arms and Armour Society and the Society for Army Historical Research and an Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies at the Hong Kong University.
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