Desperate Thirst
Heroes Remember
Desperate Thirst
Transcript
Description
Mr. Flegg describes being provided water by their Japanese captors. It is delivered in an unwashed gasoline drum. Despite the contamination, the men are so thirsty, they drink it anyway.
Aubrey Flegg
Aubrey Flegg was born on October 18, 1917 in Welland, Ontario. His father moved the family to Northern British Columbia when he was three. Mr. Flegg describes living on a “stump farm”, and working from a very early age. Leaving home at sixteen, he trapped in winter and felled timber during warmer months. Mr. Flegg was married with a young family when the war started, but he enlisted out of patriotic duty. He joined Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, and later reinforced the Winnipeg Grenadiers, thinking he would be going to Europe. Instead, Mr. Flegg found himself trying to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese against overwhelming odds. Imprisoned for four years, he survived the ravages of disease, starvation, abuse and forced labor in both North Point and Sham Shui Po Camps and the Oyama mines. Mr. Flegg offers an impassioned story of the Hong Kong experience.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 1:14
- Person Interviewed:
- Aubrey Flegg
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Hong Kong
- Battle/Campaign:
- Hong Kong
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Winnipeg Grenadiers
- Rank:
- Private
- Occupation:
- Machine Gunner
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Joining the Winnipeg Grenadiers
After months of training with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Mr. Flegg describes jumping at the chance to reinforce the Winnipeg Grenadiers, thinking they are heading out for Europe. However, the troop train heads west.
Impressions of Hong Kong
Mr. Flegg describes the overcrowding in Hong Kong, but still being able to enjoy the wine, women and song. He describes the Canadian provosts as being very understanding when men became drunk or unruly.
Camp life and personal batmen
Mr. Flegg describes the sleeping facilities in his camp, and being awakened every morning by a Chinese man who was giving him a shave in bed. His clothing and boots were also looked after by this man for a modest payment.
Pillboxes Were Death Traps
Mr. Flegg talks about pillboxes being deathtraps. Under enemy fire, he rescues two wounded men from a pillbox which had had a Molotov cocktail dropped down the ventilator.
Close Quarter Fighting and Fear of Reprisal
Mr. Flegg gives a vivid account of the close quarter fighting at the Aberdeen Reservoir. He describes fatigue and hunger, and destroying a cache of liquor because of a fear of Japanese brutality should they find it and get drunk.
Witnessing “The Horror”
Now a POW, Mr. Flegg experiences what he describes as the horror for the first time. From inside the building where he is held captive, he helplessly listens to Chinese women being raped and murdered by the Japanese.
Moving A Mountain
Mr. Flegg gives a brief description of the work done at Kai-Tek Airport.
Dr. Reid was a Saint!
Mr. Flegg credits their regimental doctor, Dr. Reid, with helping many of the men through their prison ordeal. Despite having no medical supplies, his kind and sympathetic treatment of the inmates makes him a saint in Mr. Flegg's opinion.
Malaria and Dysentery
Mr. Flegg describes praying to die during his worst episodes of malaria. Also a victim of dysentery, he describes the disgusting living conditions in the isolation ward.
Beriberi
Beriberi was another serious condition afflicting the POW’s at Sham Shui Po. There were two types; dry and wet. Mr. Flegg describes how the dry beriberi, or electric feet, made grown men cry. He contracted the wet variety, which caused massive fluid retention in different parts of the body. Mr. Flegg discusses the consequences of this edema.
Parasites And Cockroaches
Mr. Flegg describes crabs, lice, bedbugs and cockroaches, which were often roasted and eaten, as being persistent pests in the POW camps in Hong Kong.
Japanese Atrocities Against the Chinese
The atrocities he witnessed against Chinese civilians still weighs heavily in Mr. Flegg's memories.
Kiotski! Kiotski!
Mr. Flegg describes being harassed by the guards in the barracks. The command 'Kiotski!' or 'Attention!' was quickly learned. A slow reaction or an improper bow usually resulted in being rifle butted.
Kamloops Kid Aka Inouye
The Kamloops Kid was a notorious guard at Sham Shui Po. Mr. Flegg provides two examples of how devious and sadistic this man was.
Captain Saito
About 50 men, including Mr. Flegg, witness one of Doolittle's bombing raids while he is a patient at Bowen Road Hospital. Their cheers enrage Captain Saito, the chief medical officer and a judo expert. He lines up the men, judo chops them all unconscious and has his guards "put the boots" to them to wake them up.
Eventful Voyage to Japan
Mr. Flegg survives a dangerous voyage to Japan. His first ship is holed and makes it to port listing badly. He is transferred to a tanker which is sailing in a convoy. The convoy is torpedoed, but his vessel escapes only to then face a storm with thirty foot seas.
Will to Live
Mr. Flegg offers insight into how hard work and starvation reduce men to skeletons, but whose spirit still enabled many of them to work and survive.
Rotten Fish and Maggot Soup
At the mine, Mr. Flegg's work crew 'feasts' on a soup made from rotten fish and maggots.
Giving Up
Mr. Flegg comments on how fragile life could be for those who were overworked and starving.
Liked As a Honcho
As a honcho, essentially a shop steward, Mr. Flegg was well liked by his men. He earned their respect because although he didn't have to work, he was always helping his men in the mine.
Life in Camp was Difficult
Mr. Flegg discusses several aspects of daily life in the Oyama camp; clothing, heat, and personal hygiene.
Mail Censorship
Mr. Flegg discusses the two pieces of mail he received in his time overseas, one a postcard signed by everyone in his hometown, and the other, a hollowed letter from his dad.
Flea Bitten
Mr. Flegg talks about a pest unique to Japan - fleas, and how it was impossible to get rid of them.
The War Ends
Work stops at Oyama mine, and after a meting of his Japanese superiors, Mr. Flegg is instructed to return his men to camp. The next morning the camp commandant tells the POWs that the war is over.
Delivering the Bread
Mr. Flegg describes the artful use of American fighters to deliver bread to the liberated camp at Oyama.
Unusual Greeting and Response
Mr. Flegg arrives at the Yokohama dock and describes an unusual greeting arranged by the Americans. A truckload of attractive women arrives and the men's reaction is very amusing.
A Loving and Patriotic Man
Mr. Flegg's love for his comrades and his country offer a compelling end to his war experience.
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