China, UK remember the sinking of Lisbon Maru in WWII

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Seventy-five years ago, a Japanese cargo ship carrying 1,816 British prisoners left Hong Kong and sank near east China's Shanghai after being hit by US torpedoes.

On Monday, China and the UK marked the 75th anniversary of the dreadful incident during the World War Two killed over 800 British prisoners. Organizers from both countries said they hope future generations will always remember the true facts of history and work for peace.

In September 1942, with no flags or markings to warn that the Lisbon Maru carrying 1,816 British Prisoners of War (PoWs) below the decks left Japan-occupied Hong Kong, and it was hit by no less than US torpedoes and off Zhoushan near Shanghai on October 1.

The crippled vessel didn’t sink until the next day. Several Japanese warships arrived and ferried off its 778 soldiers.

Lisbonmaru.com‍ Photo

As the Lisbon Maru going down, some of the PoWs managed to organize a break-out but were shot by Japanese soldiers as they jumped into the sea.

Local Chinese fishermen, who watched from the shore, immediately took to their fishing boats and rushed out to save the PoWs. At the time, China was fighting against the Japanese Aggression. Eventually, about 300 British men were rescued by Chinese fishermen.

The Japanese troops went to the island to track down and arrest these British prisoners, the vast majority of whom were caught and returned to captivity. But three British men, Johnstone, Evans and Fallace, were hidden by the local fishermen and eventually escaped via Chongqing and returned to the UK.

A letter, written by Denis Morley, the last survivor of the Lisbon Maru, was read out during both Zhoushan and London’s commemoration. The 98-year-old praised the bravery of these fishermen.

"It was the fishermen that coming out to save their lives. You know ‘cause the Japanese carried on shooting. But as soon as the fishermen came out with their boats. That stopped them. Because they know it’s gonna go around the world what happened, so that saved their lives. And I am grateful to them."