John George Felford is listed as a civilian internee at Stanley Camp billeted in Block 9 Room 12 . This was part of the main building of St Stephens College. The room accommodated twelve male internees including a number of wireless officers and technicians previously employed by GPO (General Post Office) and some former China Maritime Customs staff and two merchant navy men both of whom died during their period of incarceration.
In the log of internees held at the Imperial War Museum - John Frelford is listed as a Shop Assistant but there is more to him than that ! I wonder whether his room mates knew that he was really a Private in the 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment. This regiment was a Machine Gun Regiment who primarily manned static defenses for example the beach defense pillboxes that were dotted around Hong Kong's shoreline. They fought particularly well in the Battle for Hong Kong and lived up to their reputation as the "Die Hards".
They were a unit that seldom withdrew and they were men that were seldom down hearted, with their London and cockney humor never far away. The Middlesex were formed in 1881 from an amalgamation of the 57th (West Middlesex) Foot Regiment and 77th East Middlesex Foot Regiment. They or their forbears the 57th of Foot won the epithet of the "Die Hards" in the Peninsular War at the Battle of Albuera on 16th May 1811, when the colonel had his horse shot from under him and was seriously wounded, with his regiment outnumbered, he called upon his men to "Die Hard, 57th ! Die Hard ! " and this they did, and every year they celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Albuera when a band of determined men stood fast and died hard.
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| The Battle of Albuera |
I was reading a report submitted by Lt Lewis Bush, HKRNVR, to Commander Vernall, his commanding officer. The report was submitted some time after the war and accounted for his movements after the British capitulation. At one stage Lt Bush was being held in Gendarme HQ at Happy Valley in what had been a former convent school. He was held for suspected espionage. He was married to a Japanese lady (Kaneko also known as Kane) and before joining the Navy in 1940 he had taught English in Japan and had learnt to speak fluent Japanese. In the letter he writes about his incarceration at Gendarme HQ in Happy Valley:
"Until January 23rd I was left entirely alone and was not even questioned. There was a Private of the Middlesex Regiment there at the time, Felford by name, whose conduct was excellent and proper in every way and who was a real credit to his regiment". (1)
I could not see him listed under the Middlesex Regiment list of POWS, nor did I find reference to him in the official history of the Middlesex Regiment, but then as I looked down the list of Stanley internees - I saw him listed as a civilian internee with his occupation given as Shop Assistant.
In Lewis Bush's book "The Road to Inamura" we learn a bit more about John Frelford:
"The next day a Japanese officer came to question us .........I took the opportunity to ask him about Frelford, who was now to be seen walking about the courtyard. He said that the man had been left in their charge by a Japanese unit which had gone south (to Timor and Guadalcanal). They had been requested to give him every consideration as he had saved the life of a Japanese soldier by tending his wounds. I pointed out that such special treatment would only put the man in a very embarrassing position and I was sure he would like to join us. Shortly after this Frelford was telling us his story.
He had been fighting in the Stanley area and was cut off from his unit, most of whom had been killed, when he stumbled on a Japanese soldier behind a rock. The man was unconscious and bleeding from wounds in his head and chest. He gave him water and bound his wounds, but (Frelford must have then passed out and) just as he opened his eyes, four or five Japanese appeared and were going to shoot Frelford when the wounded man spoke up". (2)
"A Japanese officer inquired:
'Why did you assist an enemy'.
'A wounded man, whether he be friend or foe, is just the same. Any human being would act as I did', replied Frelford.
From that moment the Japanese made him their special charge. Frelford was a decent fellow and a good soldier and had a union jack wrapped around his waist which he was keeping for the day of victory." (2)
John Frelford was well treated by the Japanese who were astonished by his actions. Japanese soldiers very often slaughtered wounded enemy soldiers especially those that could not walk. When Lt. Bush ran into him at the Gendarme HQ in Happy Valley - Frelford was allowed to go out and buy things during daylight and was given an appropriate pass. However he felt the disapproving looks of passers-by who no doubt assumed he may have been some sort of collaborator.
It is not yet clear when he was transferred to Stanley Internment Camp I suspect in March or April 1942. Although away from his friends and fighting colleagues who were mostly in Shamshuipo Camp - he was much better off in the Civilian Internment Camp than the POW Camps. Lt Bush was also put in Stanley Civilian Internment Camp, but he agitated that he should be with his HKRNVR colleagues and was eventually moved to Shamshuipo POW camp, and later transferred to Japan. I assume Frelford wanted to stay in Stanley Camp and may have been concerned that his comrades in arms would have disapproved of his taking favorable treatment from the enemy.
There were quite a few HKVDC and HKRNVR members who ended up for various reasons in Stanley Camp rather than POW Camp. There were also several civilians who ended up in Military POW Camps. As far as I know there were only two other regular soldiers in Stanley Camp and they were also there incognito. There was a Canadian soldier Private James Clayton Riley of 'A' Coy Royal Rifles of Canada who was caught up in the siege of Repulse Bay Hotel. Brigadier John Price in an article entitled "The Repatriated Rifleman" writes that:
"He was a man greatly addicted to liquor whose record in the Army had only been distinguished by his genius for running foul of the authorities and getting into trouble. Many civilians had taken refuge in the hotel which greatly complicated its defence and when it became evident that it could not be held it was decided that all soldiers must leave so that the civilians could surrender as noncombatants and not have their existence imperiled by the presence of troops. The hotel was well stocked with food and drink. Riley true to form , had deserted his post, found the cellar where liquor was kept and proceeded to get so drunk that he passed out. He was found by an NCO who to get him out of the way of the defenders, put him in a room pending further action". (4)
He was left behind in the hurry as the rest of the military vacated the hotel in the middle of the night with a view to extricating through Japanese lines to reach the British troops holding out at Stanley. He was discovered by civilians - still comatose and dressed in civilian clothes. He was taken captive with the rest of the civilians and marched to North Point (Druro Paint factory) and then later held at the Kowloon Hotel which was used as a holding place for civilian prisoners. In late January 1942 he was incacerated in Stanley Camp with other civilians under the assumed name of James Riley Ryan and his occupation was described as a Cook.
"In the late Autumn of 1942 when I was an inmate of Argyle Street Officers Camp, I received a postcard from Stanley Camp signed James Riley Ryan and again another during the winter of 1943. Finally another card arrived from May Waters, one of the Canadian Nursing Sisters who had been taken to the civilian camp, mentioning the same name and saying how helpful he had been and sending his regards to us all. I made some enquiries and eventually Major Young , the Commander of 'A' Coy, remembered the incident of the drunken soldier at the Repulse Bay Hotel. We felt sure that this must be the same name but, as any action on our part would most certainly have resulted in his death, we did nothing at the time."(4)
He was repatriated in September 1943 along with other Canadian civilians who were interned at Stanley Camp. On arrival in Canada he did make himself known to the authorities. However, I suspect he may have missed out the dereliction of duty and getting drunk whilst on duty defending the position at Repulse Bay Hotel. At any rate he was granted a discharge and returned to civilian life.
"The final chapter took place in Toronto in 1946. Major Young attending a meeting there, had occasion to take a taxi. He thought the driver looked vaguely familiar but decided he was probably wrong. However when he paid his fare, the driver leaned out the window and said 'Give my regards to all the boys Major' and drove off. Major Young realized it was Riley and could only say a few chosen words to the vanishing taxi."(4)
The other regular soldier in Stanley Camp was a Sgt. Hammond of the RASC who together with Staff Sgt Patrick Sheridan were Army Bakers and who had been kept out of camp to perform duties in connection with baking under the supervision of a Captain Tanaka. They had worked with civilian bakers including Thomas Edgar a Master Baker who worked for Lane Crawford. Although they pointed out to Captain Tanaka that they were military bakers they were treated as civilians. Staff Sgt Sheridan claiming Irish nationality was able to escape from Hong Kong to Free China and Hammond under an assumed first name was later incacerated in Stanley Internment Camp.
On the Stanley Camp List there is one other internee whose occupation is openly described as a "soldier". This is Walter Donald D'Evan Twidale. He was in Camp with his daughter Rose Marie Twidale born in September 1936. There is no reference to a spouse so I assume he was either widowed or divorced as he married in Stanley Camp to Beatrice Rose Cullen in July 1942. Reading the diary of Franklin Gimson he refers to Twidale as being something of a troublemaker :
"Darkin of the Police came to see me on the subject of Twidale who is apparently a very bad hat. He has married into the Cullen family whose reputation is none of the best. I also addressed Yamashita on the subject of Twidale. He promised to deal with him by threatening that he should send them to gaol if they did not reform." (5)
Just to add to this mystery I did see on Ancestry.com that there was a Walter Manders Twidale who was born on the same date (22nd April 1917) as the person in Camp listed as Walter Donald D�Evan Twidale. I am not sure if this is one and the same person. This Walter Twidale with the same birthdate but different middle name had enlisted in the regular army (The Royal Leicestershire Regt) for seven years in December 1935. He was discharged in January 1936 (a month after joining which seems strange unless for conduct reasons) and re-enlisted in April 1936. I assume that although listed as a soldier he must have been an ex-soldier. Perhaps he was discharged a second time.
Let us return to John Felford with whom we started this story. I searched for information on him to no avail except that I found there was a file under his name at the National Army Museum. On a trip to London I made my way to National Army Museum and read the file on Frelford but unfortunately there was very little in it. There was just some correspondence with Ministry of Defence (MOD). A letter to MOD was written by his wife as apparently Frelford was blind at that time. The letter was dated 19/3/88. It was sent from an address in Warle, Weston-Super-Mare. The letter was broadly as follows:
"Dear Sir:
I have to inform you that I am writing a story of the supernatural covering events that happened at Maryknoll Monastery, Stanley Peninsula on December 25th 1941.
I wish to dedicate my book to the memory of the officers and men of D Coy 1st Battalion, Middlesex who surrendered to the Japanese on December 25th 1941 and were then killed by the Japanese for surrendering."
He then asks for a list of their names for the inclusion in his book.
He asks the name of the ship that brought �us home from Halifax to Southampton was it the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth ?" He asks if the troops who attacked the Maryknoll were Japanese or Korean. I think most likely they were Japanese as they were front line troops engaged in close quarter combat. The letter from Mrs Frelford has a handwritten annotation from what was then the Middlesex Regimental Museum saying that the address of Major Waldron had been passed to her ( a Colour Sgt in 1/Mx in 1941.)
Interesting but odd with the reference to the supernatural. We know that Frelford was a member of 'D' Coy and I assume his capture occurred on 24/25th December when having been by-passed at Maryknoll by Japanese troops advancing towards Stanley Village the detachment of 'D' Coy including surviving members of No 1 Coy HKVDC, who were defending the Maryknoll monastery on a mound, tried to extricate in small groups back to British lines. Most were killed or captured and subsequently put to death. The commanding officer Lt Scantlebury 1/Mx was put to death by bayonet with other officers in an alleyway adjacent to the Carmelite Monastery after having been captured. I'm sure the murder of so many of his comrades in 'D' Coy had a big impact on him and perhaps a sense of guilt that he had survived.
At the end of the day an act of mercy in the midst of battle - helping an injured enemy soldier - was repaid by a brutal enemy with some degree of kindness and gratitude - it would have been churlish to refuse - and as a result John George Frelford lived on to be able to tell the tale but unfortunately I'm not sure that he did - tell the tale.
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Sources
(1) Report to Cdr Vernall, HKRNVR from Lt Bush, HKRNVR (HK PRO)
(2) "The Road to Inamura" by Lewis Bush published by Charles E Tuttle Company in Japan in 1972
(3) File in National Army Museum - NAM19940-03-330-1
(4) Appendix L - The Repatriated Rifleman by BrigadierJohn Price in The Royal Rifles of Canada in Hong Kong 1941-1945 by Grant Garneau
(5) Franklin Gimson's Diary 15 Aug 1943
(3) File in National Army Museum - NAM19940-03-330-1
(4) Appendix L - The Repatriated Rifleman by BrigadierJohn Price in The Royal Rifles of Canada in Hong Kong 1941-1945 by Grant Garneau
(5) Franklin Gimson's Diary 15 Aug 1943
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