Description
Object description
British civilian in Tientsin, China, 1904-1943; internee in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre, Shanghai and Weishien Internment Camp in China, 1943-1945; civilian in Tientsin and Linzi, China, 1945-1948
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Tientsin, China, 1904-1943: family; education; memories of 1911 revolution; description of Tientsin; life for foreign nationals; lack of contact with Chinese; long-term impact of 1900 Boxer Rebellion on area; story of how he was sent to recover dynamite from Chinese soldiers in Mukden; foreign troops based in area; description of Tientsin Volunteer Corps; activities of Tientsin Volunteer Corps; impact of First World War on Tientsin; collapse of fathers business after 1929; father's work with Freemasons.
REEL 2 Continues: British inter-war relations with Japanese and Germans; power struggles between local warlords; difficulties of speaking Mandarin language; visits to Peking; role of Royal Navy; British attitude towards Chinese; Chinese demonstrations against foreign presence; increase in Chinese nationalism post-1945; presence of missionaries in area; impact of Japanese invasion of Manchuria on Tientsin; business relations with Japanese inter-war; witnessing Imperial Japanese Army troops marching through Tientsin at time of Marco Polo bridge incident, 1937.
REEL 3 Continues: lifestyle in Tientsin; social life; visits to Japan; outbreak of war, 9/1939; abortive attempts to join forces; disbanding of Tientsin Volunteer Corps, 12/1941; reaction to news of Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, 12/1941; arrival of Imperial Japanese Army troops in Tientsin; impact of Japanese occupation on life in Tientsin; wearing red armbands to mark them out as foreigners; being questioned by Japanese on business interests.
REEL 4 Continues: arrest and internment in hotel for three days; release; marriage of his niece to United States Marine Corps marine; life in Tientsin, 1941-1943; evacuation of British Diplomats, 3/1942; travelling to Shanghai; reunion with wife and child. Recollections of period of internment at Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre, Shanghai, China, 5/1943-4/1944: description of camp; accommodation; work in kitchens and canteen; applying for transfer to Weishien camp; living conditions atLunghua Civilian Assembly Centre; arrival of foreign businessmen based in Shanghai at Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre; wife's experience when she was interned in Hong Kong, 1941-1942.
REEL 5 Continues: trips out of the camp into Shanghai; receiving news of war by secret radio. Recollections of period of internment in Weishien Camp, China, 4/1944-10/1945: conditions on journey to camp; description of camp and accommodation; treatment of internees by guards; various jobs in camp; food rations; stories of how American internees were forced to share their food parcels with other internees; various nationalities of internees; dropping of American parachutists outside camp, 8/1945; takeover of camp by Americans. Recollections of life in Tientsin and Linzi, China, 1945-1948: presence of United States Army troops in Tientsin.
REEL 6 Continues: story of how Chinese forced Americans out of Peking; obtaining job with mining company, Linsi; physical condition after internment; relations with Kuomintang forces; fears of Communist advance and plans to leave, 10/1948; attitude towards leaving China, 1948; reaction to Communist victory in China, 1949. Aspects of visits to China in 1994 and 1998: description of Tientsin in 1990s; conditions in China; impact of Communist victory on Chinese people; lack of compensation for loss of belongings during war. Reflections on life in China, 1904-1948: memories of Eric Liddell.
REEL 7 Continues: history of Tientsin Volunteers Corps; involvement with Tientsin Volunteers Corps; post-war changes in Tientsin; rations in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre, Shanghai; mail situation in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre, Shanghai.