Long Night's Journey into Day: Prisoners of War in Hong Kong and Japan, 1941-1945

451 Pages·2001·2.82 MB·English

by  Charles G. Roland

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Long Night’s Journey into Day
Prisoners of War in Hong Kong and Japan,
1941-1945
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Long Night’s Journey into Day
Prisoners of War in Hong Kong and Japan,
1941-1945
Charles G. Roland
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This book has been published with the help of a grant from Associated Medical
Services Inc., through the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine Program. We
acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing pro-
gram. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Roland, Charles G., 1933–
Long night’s journey into day: prisoners of war in Hong Kong and Japan,
1941–1945
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-88920-362-8
1. World War, 1939–1945—Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 2. World War,
1939–1945—Medical care—Japan. 3. Prisoners of war—Health and
hygiene—Japan. 4. Prisoners of war—China—Hong Kong. 5. Prisoners of
war—Japan. I. Title.
D805.H85R64 2001 940.54’7252 C2001-930465-X
© 2001 Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L3C5
Cover design by Leslie Macredie. Front cover photograph of HMCS
Prince Robert returning to Canada with ex-prisoners of war, October
1945. Back cover photographs, top to bottom: Salesian Mission near
Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong; aerial view of Camp 5B, Niigata; interior of
barracks at Sham Shui Po POW Camp, 1944; Lye Mun Passage sepa-
rating mainland and Hong Kong Island.
Printed in Canada
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be
reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechani-
cal—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photo-
copying, recording, taping, or reproducing in information storage and retrieval sys-
tems of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to the Canadian
Reprography Collective, 214 King Street West, Suite 312, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3S6.
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to the medical officers, nurses,
and medical orderlies who endured captivity in the
Far East and who laboured under the most appalling
difficulties to care for their patients,
and
to Connie Rankin Roland, who participated actively in
the research and who helped and inspired in many
other ways.
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“We live not as we would but as we can.”
–Menander
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Contents
Illustrations and Tables ....................................................................... xi
Preface .................................................................................................... xiii
Acknowledgments ............................................................................... xvii
Abbreviations ....................................................................................... xxi
Hong Kong Chronology ..................................................................... xxv
1. Hong Kong before 8 December 1941 ........................................ 1
2. The Eighteen-Day War: 8-25 December 1941 .......................... 13
3. The Prisoner-of-War Camps and Hospitals ............................. 45
4. Prisoner-of-War Life in Hong Kong ......................................... 91
5. Trying to Cope with Too Little Food ........................................ 127
6. In Sickness, Rarely in Health: Life and Death
in the Camps and Hospitals ...................................................... 155
7. The Overseas Drafts .................................................................... 207
8. POW Camps in the Japanese Home Islands ........................... 225
9. Less than Perfect Soldiers ........................................................... 303
10. The Journey EndsÑBut It Never Does .................................... 321
Notes ...................................................................................................... 329
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 375
Index ...................................................................................................... 405
ix