WWII fishers’ heroic rescue remembered
Descendants recount 82-year-old event in which 380 British POWs were saved
Three descendants of Chinese fishermen who rescued British prisoners of war during the Lisbon Maru incident 82 years ago visited the United Kingdom and met children and relatives of some of the survivors at a commemorative event in Gloucester, England, on Saturday.
“My dad always told me that if it hadn’t been for the Chinese fishermen, he too would have died,” said Denise Wynne, daughter of Dennis Morley, the last of the survivors, who died in 2021 aged 101.
“He always spoke about the Chinese fishermen being true heroes … I’ve met three (of their descendants) and I’m just so happy to be able to do that, and I know my father must be looking down on all this.”
The Lisbon Maru was a cargo ship requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army to carry prisoners of war at the height of World War II. In October 1942, while carrying more than 1,800 British prisoners off the coast of Zhejiang province, the ship was torpedoed by a United States submarine, its crew unaware that prisoners were on board.
The Japanese guards tried to lock the prisoners in the holds, intending for them to go down with the ship, but some eventually broke out before the ship sank.
Having spotted the sinking ship, fishermen on nearby Dongji Island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, went out on small boats to rescue the drowning British soldiers. More than 800 prisoners died in the incident, but about 380 were saved.
Wu Buwei, grandson of the late fisherman Wu Qisheng, recounted the heroic rescue during Saturday’s commemoration.
“My grandfather was one of the main organizers of the rescue efforts … I was told of their story when I was a child,” said Wu, 63.
“Men and women, the old and the young, everyone in the village was mobilized. They rowed their small fishing boats out to carry the British soldiers ashore, and then clothed and fed the soldiers with fish, sweet potatoes — all that they had at home.
“Regardless of the danger of being found out by Japanese soldiers, my father and some others also escorted three British soldiers to a safe place, and had a very precious photo with (them).
“I’m proud of the courage of my grandfather and people from Dongji. My descendants also like to hear me talk about this story — I’m very happy that this rescue has forged a special friendship between China and the UK.”
Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador to the UK, said that President Xi Jinping has noted the incident was an important testimony to China and the UK fighting shoulder to shoulder as allies against fascist aggression during World War II.
Xi has also encouraged the Lisbon Maru families to further work on the friendship between people from the two countries, Zheng said.
Brian Finch, convener of the Lisbon Maru families, said: “At the moment, everyone who knows about the story remembers it, relatives are very keen, but the vast number of people in the UK do not know about it. What we need to do is to make maximum publicity within the UK and internationally to get the story widely known.”
Reciprocating goodwill
I’m proud of the courage of my grandfather and people from Dongji. My descendants also like to hear me talk about this story — I’m very happy that this rescue has forged a special friendship between China and the UK.” Wu Buwei, grandson of the late fisherman Wu Qisheng
At Saturday’s event, Wu Xiaofei, granddaughter of another now-deceased rescuer, Wu Qilin, gave Wynne a painting she had done of the fishermen from Dongji Island. British artist Paul Christien, who was moved by the story of the rescue, reciprocated by giving Wu a woodblock painting he had done based on the Lisbon Maru incident.
“It’s important for us to get together culturally, and have contact with each other, even though the survivors have sadly died off through time, to keep that memory going,” Christien said.
Liu Tao, mayor of Dongji town, said a museum dedicated to the Lisbon Maru rescue was built in 2009, and historical artifacts and oral history have been added to it in recent years.
Kathy Williams, mayor of Gloucester City Council, said she was moved by the story and by seeing the people who attended the event.
“If it hadn’t been for the Chinese people’s rescue, that room of people wouldn’t have been here,” she said. “It’s a very moving thing, and a beautiful thing that happened today.”
Williams said she plans to get in touch with the Royal British Legion and try to get the Lisbon Maru families to join the Remembrance Day parade on Nov 11 in London, where they could lay a wreath at the memorial, to let more people know the story.
Ambassador Zheng said: “We look forward to more events like this, so that this touching story of friendship can live on and be carried forward. The friendship between our two peoples can be further deepened.”