Escape to Pagan (28 page)

The three older gentlemen, members of the Hong Kong Volunteer Force who first reached the islands, were Mr Evans, the manager of a British cigarette company in Hong Kong, a Mr Johnston (occupation unknown) and a Mr Wallace, editor of a Hong Kong newspaper. With the help of the fishermen, they escaped to the mainland and reached the Communist guerrillas. These three men were responsible for organizing the gift of the boat and money after the war.

Finally the
Lisbon Maru
lurched again and the seamen still aboard knew the ship was beginning her noisy death throws. The sea rushed in forcing the air out from every opening and causing loud roars that ended in sinister hisses. The ship was going down stern first.

“As the ship began to sink, Jack and his group planned to jump into the sea and board two rafts that had been roped together. Many of the Scots
were poor swimmers or non-swimmers and had to be persuaded to leave the ship. In fact many soldiers were determined to stay on board for as long as possible. What the men did not know was that the ship's bow was resting on a sand bank in only fifty foot of water but this would not last. When the ship finally settled the decks were deep under water. The non-swimmers clung to the high mast, the only part of the ship still visible.

“Jack
[a good diver and swimmer]
ran towards the bow of the ship and jumped in after the two made-up rafts had been pushed overboard. But when he surfaced he could not locate the other men or the rafts.

“Jack said he found the sea warm and wonderfully refreshing; it gave him new reserves of energy. Despite his happiness of being in the open air and the reviving sea, his head wound began to sting from the salt water. Unknown to him, the large and deep exit wound on the back of his neck had become infected again by maggots that were not visible to the naked eye.”

Although the Sergeant did not like reliving being trapped in No 2 hold, he did not seem to mind recounting his experiences in the sea. I can't remember Tam and Willie ever discussing their experience in No 2 hold either. What a wonderful, invigorating feeling the sea must have been for all the men after the humid, dirt-ridden, stinking holds in the bowels of the
Lisbon Maru
.

“Jack was soon joined by a sailor he knew from Hong Kong who had lived near him in Nelson. This sailor was one of the prisoners who had deliberately changed from No 1 hold to No 2 hold. They both swam a safe distance from the ship believing it was going to sink at any moment. Jack began looking for his comrades and the rafts, he was too weak to attempt a swim to an island. He soon found a long piece of flat timber and clung to it with the sailor from Nelson. Jack said some men seemed to be swimming out to sea.”

Perhaps these men were looking for the submarine that had sunk the
Lisbon Maru
. If successful, it would mean instant freedom; many prisoners on Japanese hell-ships had indeed been liberated this way.

“Suddenly there was machine-gun fire. Jack could see the bullets hitting the water and coming his way. He dived under the sea as deep as he could manage and watched the bullets zigzag down as they lost power. When he came to the surface he was feeling faint; the sailor who was with him had disappeared.

“It was while Jack was underwater that he saw the shadowy shapes of sharks below him; they looked so small and harmless, seemed afraid of him and darted into the depths. Jack started swimming away from the ship forgetting the sharks. He soon found another kind of raft with two men clinging to it kicking their legs trying to get to the islands. He held on to this raft and tried to help but the raft was too heavy and they made little headway before they were exhausted. The two men on the raft then saw a large plank of timber and swam towards it without speaking to Jack and began to head to the shore. Jack was now alone and decided to stay with the raft in the hope it would drift towards land of its own accord. He did not like being alone and hoped he would soon have company.

“Jack just clung to the edge of the raft, he did not want to make himself a bigger target for the Japanese by being on top; he just rested his head and upper body on the planks while holding on to some ropes with his arms. Many men were swimming past him; the lucky ones had found life jackets or were using blocks of raw rubber
[part of the cargo]
for buoyancy.

“Soon he was joined by an officer from the Middlesex Regiment, who had a deep cut on his head; this officer said he received the wound when he tried to climb aboard a Japanese boat. This man had a pair of nice black patent leather ballroom-dancing shoes hanging around his neck. They began trying to propel the raft towards the land. They made little progress, the strong current was against them; it just seemed to be taking them further out to sea despite their efforts. Jack was soon exhausted by all this exertion and felt faint. His head began to throb
painfully; he rested it on the raft and fell asleep. When he awoke, he was shocked to see maggots crawling all over the planks, canvas and his arms. There was only one place they could have come from, his head. He was alone again. The young officer with black patent leather shoes draped around his neck had gone.

“As the wind picked up the waves grew in height and hanging onto the ropes was increasingly difficult so Jack climbed up onto the raft. The salt water had parched his mouth and his thirst returned. In the fading light he caught sight of a man face down in the water. This body was being attacked by small sharks. Although shocked at what he witnessed, he was not afraid as he believed these predators only attacked the dead. Exposed on top of the raft Jack was now feeling very cold. Exhausted, deep sleep overcame him and momentarily released his mind and worn out body from his despair and desperate situation. As he slept it rained heavily and warmed him like a blanket. He drank rainwater trapped in the folds of canvas. When the rain stopped the cold and cutting wind struck him like whip strokes. Jack re-entered the warmer sea.

“Shivering he looked around hoping for company; he was not alone. In the fading light he saw a solitary large high fin slicing through the dark oily surface of the sea near his raft. For the first time the presence of sharks troubled Jack. He looked out for the fin again as if for confirmation; it did not appear and was forgotten.”

I find it amazing that initially all the prisoners who were in the sea did not instantly fear shark attack. Perhaps many did believe (like the Sergeant) that sharks only attacked the dead. All warm seas have the attending danger of shark attack for anyone on the surface of the water, especially water that contained blood. As far as the Sergeant was concerned, full fear of sharks would come slowly in stages later while he was still in the water.

“As the day began to fade, he again drank from small pools of rain water caught in the canvas depressions of the raft within reach of his mouth.
These few mouthfuls gave him some short-term relief from his thirst. As soon as one need was satisfied, another took its place; the turbulent sea was making it difficult to hold on to the rising and falling raft. His grip was weakening. All his efforts to get back onto the raft failed. He knew that soon he would succumb to the inevitable when he lost contact with the raft. He craved a last cigarette. Jack began to give up hope as the raft he was on was swept further out to sea. As the raft crested a wave he could see on the horizon an island with trees and hoped to reach land before nightfall. But the next time he saw the island it looked different; he then realized the island was a low lying cloud. Bitter disappointed engulfed him and he began to pray silently.