Working at Kai Tak Airport
Heroes Remember
Working at Kai Tak Airport
Transcript
Description
Mr. Gerrard describes sabotaging the concrete used to extend the runway at Kai Tak airport, despite being under constant scrutiny by their guards.
Horace Gerrard
Although born in England on January 19, 1922, Mr. Gerrard's family emigrated to Red Deer, Alberta where his father died when he was six years old. Once he was old enough, he hunted game to help feed his family as well as cutting wood for heat. Mr. Gerrard left school after grade nine, working at odd jobs. He joined the 78th Field Battery as a reserve when he was sixteen. He later joined the permanent force in 1939 with the 5th Heavy Battery. Eventually Mr. Gerrard joined the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, with whom he served in Hong Kong. He worked with both British and Canadian battalions during the Battle of Hong Kong, before being taken prisoner by the Japanese.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 1:06
- Person Interviewed:
- Horace Gerrard
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Hong Kong
- Battle/Campaign:
- Hong Kong
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Canadian Signals Corps
- Rank:
- Private
- Occupation:
- Signalman
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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.
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.
Worms and Cellulitis
Mr. Gerrard discusses how some of the men would cough up worms, "As big around as your finger.” He then describes his personal battle with cellulitis and the crude, painful method of treating the skin infection. He is held down by four men while the doctor cuts open the tissue of his knee to drain it.
Work in the Yokohama Shipyard
Mr. Gerrard puts the attrition rate of his shipyard crew at eighty percent. The Canadians are eventually separated from the Japanese laborers, with whom there is constant conflict, and achieve a level of effort that is satisfactory.
Stolen Thread
Mr. Gerrard describes following the lead of some Korean internees who cut out pieces of air hose and used the thread lining the hose to mend their clothing.
A Shortage of Medicine at Yokohama
Mr. Gerrard indicates that medicine was in very short supply at Yokohama camp, although in extreme cases such as worms and beri beri, medications might be administered.
Tokyo and Yokohama are Firebombed.
Mr. Gerrard describes evidence that America is closing in on Japan. He describes ships returning to Yokohama badly holed by American attacks. The firebombing of Tokyo and Yokohama which disables the shipyard and levels much of both cities is also a vivid memory.
Hidden First Aid Supplies
Mr. Gerrard describes an American bombardment which injures several internees and the fact that there was nothing available with which to treat their wounds. After the camp is liberated, a horde of first aid supplies is found in a locked building.
A Guard with Hot Foot
Mr. Gerrard describes an incident in the mines blacksmith shop where a Japanese guard stands too close to some molten steel rods and gets hot footed. Mr. Gerrard and his elderly Japanese foreman find the incident very amusing.
Signs the War is Ending
Mr. Gerrard talks about how the men's spirits are buoyed by the arrival in camp of Canadian intelligence officers, who indicate the war is over. To celebrate, the men slaughter a cow found nearby and have their first real protein in almost four years. He describes the American food drop and donating the parachutes to the local Japanese who make clothing from them.
Homecoming
Mr. Gerrard discusses being taken by the Americans to a hospital ship for medical treatment, then on to Guam for further medical assessment and treatment. He travels to San Francisco by boat and takes the train to Victoria, B.C. To his pleasure and surprise, his girlfriend (and future wife) is there to greet him.
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