70 Year old 'Diehard' to Walk for War Heroes
Between 10th and 16th October this year 70 year old retired “Diehard”, Major Brian Finch, walked with his daughter Catherine from coast to coast across Devon along the 117 mile Two Moors Way to raise money to help heroes of the Second World War.
These heroes were not trained soldiers, but unarmed Chinese fishermen who risked their own lives to save hundreds of British prisoners of war from death in 1942.
An account of the courageous action of the fishermen, details of the walk and how you can help can be found on the pages of this website.
70 year old retired Diehard, Major Brian Finch, walked with his daughter Catherine from coast to coast across Devon along the 117 mile Two Moors Way to raise money to help heroes of the Second World War.
These heroes were not trained soldiers, but unarmed Chinese fishermen who risked their own lives to save hundreds of British prisoners of war from death.
In a little known incident in October 1942, a Japanese cargo ship, the Lisbon Maru, was transporting British prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan when torpedoes struck the ship off the coast of China. The Japanese soldiers on board battened down the hatches hoping the prisoners would all drown. Although many managed to break out, they came under heavy fire from the Japanese soldiers as they tried to escape.
Local Chinese fishermen, undaunted by the Japanese rifle fire, immediately took to their boats and through their selfless courage managed to save the lives of hundreds of the prisoners.
The money raised by the sponsored walk will go to the Lisbon Maru Association, based in Hong Kong, which works to keep alive the memory of this tragedy and helps to support some of the surviving fishermen. The Association will commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the event next year.
As a member of the Middlesex Regiment (known as the Diehards), Brian has met a number of former prisoners who were on board the Lisbon Maru -- one of them was still serving when he first joined the Regiment. He is keen to do what he can to show his gratitude to these heroic fishermen on behalf of those whose lives they saved.
Brian will be joined on the Two Moors Way by his daughter, a keen walker who also has a military background.
News on Publicity and Fundraising
Walk Complete!
Brian and Catherine successfully finished the walk on 16 October as planned.
For details see
The Chinese Weekly
This London-based Chinese weekly newspaper has published two articles:
Chinese Central Television
This is the main state television broadcaster in China. The European desk in London has expressed considerable interest in this story, although specific plans for their coverage are not yet known.
Britain at War
The magazine published a full page news feature in the September issue
BBC
BBC Radio interviewed me on Thursday 13 October. To hear the interview go to this link
and wind forward about 1 hour 50 minutes.
Fundraising in the UK
Brian is spreading the word through a leaflet campaign which is having some success both in rasiing funds and raising the profile of the campaign. He is grateful for the donations he has received as a result - some anonymous. He and his wife had a successful weekend fundraising at Trago Mills in Newton Abbot on 17 and 18 September.
Fundraising in Hong Kong
An event is being held at Delaney's on 29 September to launch fundraising efforts in Hong Kong.
All are welcome; just turn up. For more information contact:
the Lisbon Maru Association (lisbonmaru_yahoo.com.hk) or cathyfinch8_hotmail.com
Two Battlefield Tours are being arranged by the Lisbon Maru Association on 9 and 16 October to help raise funds. For details see the poster
BritainatwarmagazineNews_P11.pdf
Delaney Invitation.pdf
HKBattlefieldtour.pdf
Sponsored Walk for the Lisbon Maru Association October 2011
Sponsorship
Contributions are requested to help the work of The Lisbon Maru Association, in particular to support the heroic Chinese fishermen who risked their lives in 1942 to save hundreds of British Prisoners of War. Any individual, group or organisation is welcome to contribute as much or as little as they wish and can afford. Because the Lisbon Maru Association is based in Hong Kong, Gift Aid in the UK does not apply. There are links below to a sponsorship form which may be used for group collections, a foldable leaflet and two posters which can be downloaded and printed for display.
UK
Payments can be made in person to: Brian Finch, Roundelay House, Chawleigh, Chulmleigh, Devon EX18 7HT. Cheques should be made payable to "Lisbon Maru Account"
Or direct to:
Lisbon Maru Account
Sort Code 40-42-29 Account Number 21416499
HSBC South Molton Branch, 25 Broad Street, South Molton, Devon EX36 3AQ
Hong Kong
Payments can be made in person to: Mr Kent Shum, The Lisbon Maru Association of Hong Kong, Rm 403, 4/F, Fook Hong Industrial Building, No. 60-62, Tong Mei Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
The Lisbon Maru Association of Hong Kong
HSBC Account Number: 809-200538-292
Poster.pdf
Sponsorship Form.pdf
leaflet 1.pdf
Dongji poster.pdf
Heroic Chinese Fishermen Rescue British Prisoners of War
from Sinking Ship under Fire from Japanese
In 1942 the Japanese cargo ship Lisbon Maru was being used to transport British prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan to act as slave labour. As the ship was passing a group of islands off the coast of China -- Dongji in the Zhoushan Island Group -- it was torpedoed by an American submarine.
The prisoners were kept in three holds and when the torpedoes struck, the Japanese soldiers on board battened down the hatches to keep the prisoners contained, no doubt hoping they would all drown when the ship sank.
A breakout was organised, but as the prisoners got out of the holds they were fired on by the Japanese troops. They jumped into the sea and the Japanese continued to shoot at them. Some were shot and some drowned.
The local fishermen from Dongji watched with horror as this tragedy unfolded and immediately took to their flimsy craft, determined to do what they could to rescue the prisoners. Taking to the sea in this way in the face of Japanese rifle fire showed exceptional courage, because China and Japan were at war at the time, and they knew the Japanese would show them no mercy.
Altogether these courageous fishermen saved the lives of 384 prisoners and took them back to the islands. The locals were very poor with barely enough to feed and clothe themselves, and certainly nothing to spare. But they all pitched in and scraped together what they could find to feed and clothe the prisoners, all of whom were poorly clothed and many were completely naked. Some of the prisoners spent the night in the local temple, others in the villagers' houses. The next day the Japanese troops came to the islands to round up the survivors. Unwilling to impose further on the goodwill of their hosts, the prisoners quickly gave themselves up and were retaken prisoner and continued their unwelcome journey to Japan and slavery.
However, the local islanders successfully hid three of the prisoners until the Japanese had left, and eventually these men managed to get to the mainland and make their way to Chongqing in central China where they used the local radio station to broadcast to the world an account of the incident and the appalling behaviour of their captors.
Altogether 828 of the 1,834 prisoners on board perished in the incident, and but for the heroism of the Chinese fishermen this figure would have been much higher.
Further details can be found on The Tragedy page.
The Tragedy
A comprehensive account of this tragedy can be found in the book: "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, Britain's Forgotten Wartime Tragedy" by Tony Banham, published by Hong Kong University Press, ISBN 962-209-771-5. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in details of the incident. There is a useful summary on the Lisbon Maru website.
In July 2010 the Chinese authorities opened the Dongji Museum of History and Culture, largely dedicated to commemorating these events of October 1942. The museum has a Chinese language website which provides a detailed account describing the incident from the Chinese perspective. Brian Finch has translated the website and the translation can be found on the link below:-
Notes on the translation.
1. The place names may cause some confusion. Zhou Shan is a county in Zhejiang Province in eastern China, made up of a group of islands. Zhou Shan is also the name of the major island in the group. Within this group lies a sub-group of islands known as Dongji (which means extreme East; it being the most easterly part of China). Dongji is also the name of the principal town or township. There are four inhabited islands in this sub group, two of which, Miaozihu and Qingbang, are referred to in the account.
2. Figures. The figures for casualties and so on differ in significant detail from those given in Tony Banham's book. Tony Banham has commented that oddly, the Chinese figures are taken from a Japanese source: the wartime propaganda newspaper called Hong Kong News.
"Hymn of the Lisbon Maru"
Music courtesy of Ian Parkinson
Lyrics courtesy of Franklee Speaking
Dongji Museum of History and Culture.pdf
HYMN OF LISBON MARU.pdf
The Two Moors Way
Brian and his daughter Catherine completed the 117 mile Two Moors Way in 7 days, 10-16 October, 2011.
The walk began on the south coast of Devon at Wembury
continued across the wilds of Dartmoor
through the rural heartlands of mid-Devon
Across Exmoor
Ending at Lynmouth on the north coast of Devon
A full account of the walk can be read here:
Walk for War Heroes.pdf
The Walkers
Brian Finch
A 70 Year-old former 'Diehard'. He is doing the walk to raise funds to help support the fishermen and as a way of saying 'thank you' to them for saving the lives of so many members of his regiment and others. As a Chinese speaker, Brian translated the Dongji Museum website.
Brian Finch Profile.pdf
Catherine Finch
Born in Hong Kong, Cathy spent most of her formative years there and has now adopted it as home. She has also worked in London, where she joined the TA and so shares something of her Dad's military background.
Catherine Finch Profile.pdf
The aim is to collect as much money as possible for this worthy cause, so I would welcome anyone who wants to join me, either as individuals or groups, bringing sponsorship with them. I would suggest you aim at a mimimum of £100 for individuals and say £1,000 for groups (depending how many in the group). But this of course is not compulsory. If you are collecting money, please ensure you have the necessary permissions or licences. The Sponsorship page has details of where to pay in the money and also a downloadable sponsorship form which can be used for collections. Please send me the forms when they are completed.
If you want to take part, please notify me by supplying name, address, telephone number and E-mail address to: bfinch_tiscali.co.uk by 3 October 2011.
Everyone will of course be responsible for their own support, safety and wellbeing, and individuals need to be experienced walkers with proper equipment, including food, water, maps, compasses and emergency supplies. Groups need to be properly organised and led by someone with experience. The terrain and navigation on some parts of the Two Moors Way can be challenging, particularly in bad weather.
There will be no set starting or finishing times. This is not a race, and the aim of each day's walking is to complete that stage and be fit to carry on the following day with the next stage. Large groups should aim to walk in separate small groups where this is possible.
I look forward to meeting lots of fellow walkers - perhaps we could have a celebration in Lynmouth on the evening of 16 October at the end of the final stage!
For those who find themselves in Hong Kong, you may instead like to join the Battlefield Tours being arranged by the Lisbon Maru Association on 9 and 16 October.
JOIN THE WALK.doc
The Lisbon Maru Association
August 2005 marked the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War (or the War of Resistance Against Japan as the Chinese saw it). In 2004 the authorities in Zhoushan began to plan for a ceremony to be held to commemorate the sinking of the Lisbon Maru and the part played by the fishermen in saving the lives of British prisoners of war. Officials went to Hong Kong to try to find some survivors. They contacted the Second World War Veterans' Association in Hong Kong and were assisted by the Chairman, the late Nelson Mar, BEM. With the help of Tony Banham, the author of the book on the sinking, Mar was able to track down a former coastal gunner, Charles Jordan, who had survived the incident and was living in the UK.
Jordan was duly invited to the ceremony in 2005 where he had an emotional reunion with the fishermen who had saved his life as well as the lives of hundreds of his comrades.
This experience spurred Mar to set up the Lisbon Maru Association in Hong Kong, with the aim of keeping alive the memory of the tragedy through publicity and other means and helping to support the surviving fishermen and their families. Although sadly Mar died in November 2009, the Association continues to flourish and maintains strong relations with the Zhoushan authorities. The courage of fishermen provides one of the finest examples of people-to-people co-operation between China and Britain, and the Association is keen to build on this past example for the future, by encouraging scholarships and educational and cultural exchanges.
The Lisbon Maru Association has kept in touch with the Dongji Museum and has arranged for regimental plaques from those units whose members were on the ship to be put on display there.
The Zhoushan authorities are arranging to send two elderly fishermen, who were involved in the rescue, to the UK in 2012, to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking. Brian Finch will host their visit to the UK, and is planning to arrange a reunion with some of the remaining survivors from the Lisbon Maru as well as a presentation formally thanking them for the courage they showed in rescuing British prisoners of war.
READERS IN HONG KONG AND CHINA
Please note that wix.com, which hosts this webste, has blocked attachments for all its websites in China and Hong Kong. The result is that those using the website in Hong Kong can only read the main pages and are unable to access the various links, which contain a lot of useful information.
I have therefore set up an alternative website hosted by Yola.com, which does not have the same restrictions. The new site also has some Chinese pages. The link below should redirect you to the other website. If this link does not work, simply copy and paste the address into your web browser and this will open the new site.
Please accept my apologies for this inconvenience, which is outside my control.
walkforwarheroes.yolasite.com
The Diehards
On 16 May 1811 a British force under Marshall Beresford with elements of the Spanish and Portuguese armies fought a pitched battle near the Spanish village of Albuhera to prevent French troops under Marshall Soult reaching the town of Badajoz.
This was the bloodiest battle of the whole Peninsular War; thousands were killed on each side. Much of the day was spent in fierce musketry duals as each side sought to gain advantage. Although the French, with the help of Polish lancers, gained the first initiative, the sheer determination of the defenders held them at bay until they were finally defeated by a counter-attack and forced to withdraw from the combat, leaving the British side victorious.
During this bloody day, many units were inspiring in their courage, but none so much as the 57th Foot (later to become The Middlesex Regiment), under their Commanding Officer Colonel Inglis. The casualties they suffered were horrendous, 89 killed and 339 wounded out of a strength of 647 all ranks; but they closed ranks as their comrades fell, showing great stoicism and determination to hold the line and keep back the enemy to the last. The 57th won high praise from many quarters, including from Marshall Beresford personally, and through their courage in this battle earned the immortal nickname "The Diehards".
2011 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Albuhera. Brian went with a group of others from many of the regiments involved to visit Albuhera in May this year and pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives for their country so many years ago. Their memory lives on in history.
The Diehards have fought bravely in many battles since then. One which stands out is the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 when once again the regiment showed its tenacity and was amongst the last to surrender to the Japanese against overwhelming odds. The regiment was one of the largest groups of prisoners on board the Lisbon Maru and it was their Commanding Officer, Colonel "Monkey" Stewart who organised the breakout from the ship's holds.
Contacts
In the UK
Roundelay House
Chawleigh
Chulmleigh
Devon EX18 7HT
Tel: 01363 83078
E-mail: bfinch_tiscali.co.uk
In Hong Kong
Kent Shum
Rm 403, 4/F
Fook Hong Industrial Building
No. 60-62, Tong Mei Road
Mong Kok
Kowloon
Tel: 93839630
E-mail: lisbonmaru_yahoo.com.hk
