It was Dirty, Lousy and Everything, you Know.

Heroes Remember

It was Dirty, Lousy and Everything, you Know.

Transcript

Well, we were in the camp and they came over, started bombing us. So we was in a camp there where we had no place to go. So they moved us from … we were on the mainland, eh. They moved us to Hong Kong and that’s where we stayed as prisoners, in Hong Kong. I don’t remember that much. Of course, see, I got wounded on the 19th of December. It was by shrapnel. I got hit in the leg here by a piece of shrapnel, and I was put in the hospital in Hong Kong. Oh, I was there about a year. I was in (inaudible) and then after I was sent back on to the mainland. It was a dirty camp. Dirty, lousy and everything, you know. The Indians had been living there. It was all dirty and we had a hell of a time cleaning it up. Well, we were getting rice, three ounces of rice to start with, but then they cut us down to two ounces. Two ounces of rice a day and that’s what we lived on. Two ounces of rice. We used to steam it. Well, I didn’t work on account of my wound. I didn’t work, I was working for the Japs, for our officers. They had their own accommodations, but on the side. Had to, where the officers lived. But I was allowed to go in there, to go there and clean up in there. We weren’t paid. We were never paid, but the officers were paid once a month. They used to give us a little bit of their food or what they bought. They used to give us some. I was lucky. I got a lot of help from my officers.

Description

Mr. Moar describes the sequence of events that saw him wounded, captured and working as a batman in Sham Shui Po camp. He expresses his appreciation to the officers he served in that capacity.

James Moar

James Moar was born in Kenville, Manitoba in 1915. He was one of fifteen children. His father worked both as a fisherman and as a farm labourer. After completing grade five, Mr. Moar left school, moving to Swan River to work, and eventually enlisted there. He joined the Royal Rifles, and did his basic training at Portage La Prairie. Before leaving for Hong Kong, he joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers. Mr. Moar was wounded early in the Hong Kong campaign. His leg injury left him unable to join the labour gangs, and he became a batman for five of his officers in the POW camp at Sham Shui Po. He reports having been well treated by his officers, but being beaten by his Japanese guards. Mr. Moar became a fisherman after safely returning to Canada. He remains proud of his service to his country.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:33
Person Interviewed:: James Moar
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Hong Kong
Battle/Campaign:: Hong Kong
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal Rifles, Winnipeg Grenadiers

Language selection

It was Dirty, Lousy and Everything, you Know.

Heroes Remember