From wartime diary to lasting friendship: a British family's Lisbon Maru story

Andrew's war diary includes several hand-drawn illustrations of the Lisbon Maru. Pointing to one of the sketches, Kenneth said his father had been held in No. 3 hold, which was closest to the strike point and flooded rapidly.

By Xinhua Writer Yu Aicen, Zheng Bofei

LONDON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-two-year-old Briton Kenneth Salmon lives with his wife in a modest but cozy bungalow in southern England. Among the couple's carefully displayed collection of cherished items, Kenneth's most remarkable possession is his late father's war diary, which records how the British Royal Artillery sergeant was taken prisoner by Japan, boarded onto a hell ship named Lisbon Maru, and rescued by Chinese fishermen when the ship sank off the coast of eastern China.

Kenneth said he would not be here today without the Chinese fishermen who rescued the prisoners of war (POWs) onboard the Lisbon Maru, including his father, Andrew Salmon.

Andrew was captured by Japan after the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941 and was later boarded onto the Japanese-requisitioned Lisbon Maru bound for Japan, along with more than 1,800 other British POWs.

"He did not talk much about his war experience, and that is quite common among people who survived the war," Kenneth said. "But he kept a diary. My first knowledge of the Lisbon Maru came from reading his diary."

In October 1942, the unmarked ship was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine near Dongji, Zhoushan, in eastern China. While Japanese troops were evacuated from the sinking vessel, the POWs were left locked inside battened-down cabins. Some managed to escape, while others drowned.

Andrew's war diary includes several hand-drawn illustrations of the Lisbon Maru. Pointing to one of the sketches, Kenneth said his father had been held in No. 3 hold, which was closest to the strike point and flooded rapidly.

Andrew was among those who managed to jump into the sea, but soon found himself under fire from Japanese soldiers attempting to stop the escapees.

It was at that moment that Chinese fishermen from Dongji came to the rescue, rowing out with paddles, fishing junks and sampans. Historical records show that 198 Chinese fishermen brought 384 POWs to safety, including Andrew.

"When my father got off the Lisbon Maru, he was swimming in the sea and was eventually picked up by a Chinese fisherman," Kenneth said. "The fishermen were remarkably friendly. They gave them food, drink and clothes."

"He was very grateful," Kenneth continued, "because they had not eaten for so long. They were on a starvation diet under the Japanese."

Kenneth described the Chinese fishermen as "very courageous" and said he would like to express his heartfelt thanks.

"If you didn't save the POWs, and in particular if you didn't save my father, I would not be here today," he said.

Kenneth believes his father suffered from what is now known as "survivor's guilt," a condition in which survivors of traumatic events struggle to understand why they lived while others perished.

He said this may explain why his father decided to write a book after retirement in memory of the comrades he lost on the Lisbon Maru. Although the book, titled Remember My Face, was never really published, Kenneth has been exploring the possibility of its publication.

In the summer of 2024, 24 years after his father passed away, Kenneth and a group of other descendants of British POWs visited Dongji, sometimes referred to as "the easternmost island of China."

They took a ferry to the waters where the Lisbon Maru sank. After a memorial ceremony featuring poetry recitation and a moment of silence, Kenneth cast a red poppy wreath bearing his father's photograph into the sea.

The wreath was the same one placed on his father's coffin during the funeral. Kenneth said he wanted to leave it at the site of his father's most defining life experience.

Kenneth said he felt a strong sense of friendship with the descendants of the fishermen he met in Dongji and has since formed lasting bonds.

"The descendants of the rescuers were very friendly," he said. "To this day, we stay in touch by email."

Kenneth said he hopes more "Lisbon Maru relatives" in Britain will visit Dongji to honor their ancestors and meet the descendants of the rescuers.

"As I am quite an expert on the Lisbon Maru now, I would be happy to offer my services as a kind of 'tour guide,'" he said. "My background as the son of a survivor and the friendship I share with Chinese families make me somewhat uniquely qualified."■