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The Voyage to Hong Kong
Mr. Gerrard discusses the diet of mutton aboard ship and how pervasive its odor was. He describes his role as a signalman during the voyage overseas and on the difficult approach to Manila in pitch black conditions.
The Attack on Sham Shui Po Barracks
Mr. Gerrard describes the first air raid at Sham Shui Po which destroys the barracks. He is moved up to join the 1st Scottish Regiment's signal corps. With the threat of being overrun by the Japanese, a chaotic evacuation sees him move to the island of Hong Kong.
Shelling at Wan Chai Gap
Mr. Gerrard describes seeking refuge in a building in the Gap during a Japanese shelling. While inside, a shell bursts, blowing him backwards from the doorway of a room he was about to enter. He soon finds the room is full of dead and wounded men. A wounded soldier whom he helps evacuate later dies.
Last Action
Mr. Gerrard describes being strafed by Japanese fighters and having to fall back to Victoria Barracks. The men are deployed to posts in all five levels of the barracks in anticipation of a Japanese assault, but the surrender of the colony pre-empts any further fighting.
Impression of Japanese Captors
Mr. Gerrard describes the rough look of the enemy, and how his Japanese captors are initially hesitant to approach the captured Canadians.
We Never saw the Camp in Daylight
Mr. Gerrard describes leaving North Point camp at daylight to go to work and not returning until after dark. He recalls having a day off and discovering for the first time that his bedding is infested with bed bugs.
Working at Kai Tak Airport
Mr. Gerrard describes sabotaging the concrete used to extend the runway at Kai Tak airport, despite being under constant scrutiny by their guards.
Mean Guards and the Kamloops Kid
Mr. Gerrard generalizes about rough treatment by the guards and then singles out the Kamloops Kid as a brutal disciplinarian. He expresses a frustration shared by all the prisoners who witnessed his malicious behavior; being under threat of certain death if they tried to intervene.
The Effects of Disease were Cumulative.
Mr. Gerrard describes suffering from diphtheria and witnessing several deaths on his ward as a result of it. He also attributes the death of many of the prisoners to the cumulative effect of several diseases.
The Universal Consequences of an Escape
Mr. Gerrard discusses the retribution faced by all the inmates, including those on stretchers, after an escape from North Point. The POWs are forced to endure a long night outdoors in a cold rain.
From Hong Kong to Yokohama
Mr. Gerrard describes the overcrowded and uncomfortable conditions in the hold of the hospital ship which transports him to Japan.
Yokohama Camp
Mr. Gerrard describes a threatening welcome by the commandant at Yokohama camp, and then moving into barracks which lacked heat and operational bathing facilities.
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