Camp Details

Heroes Remember

Camp Details

Interviewer: Can we go back to the camp, can you describe for us your sleeping area? Well, to start with, it was nothing. The camp that we, we were at the same camp, camp Sham Shui Po, where we were, built as soldiers, not as prisoners. And there isn't a stick of wood, there isn't a window, everything's stripped, everything was just stripped. So we had a cement floor and ah, like one of us would have a blanket out of three or something and we would sleep on one or two blankets for about a... well we were there until ah, funny that I remember the date January 23rd. That's the way we were handled in that camp, in that camp and then they took us back to the island to North Point. Now North Point was were the other regiment were captured and we're in it. And it was a filthy, filthy, like a couple horse barns in it, it was terrible. It was right on the ocean but filthy dirt and ah, we did our best to clean it up. But a lot of disease broke out there disease, diphtheria ....ah, went blind for awhile. Interviewer: You went blind for awhile? Yeah for awhile. Interviewer: What would cause that? Nourishment. Lack of vitamins.

Mr. McGee describes how filthy the camps were and how diseases would break out. Also he went blind for a short period of time due to lack of vitamins.

John McGee

Mr. John McGee was born in Saskatchewan, on May 3, 1923, and comes from a family of two brothers and three sisters. He now resides in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and family. Mr. McGee joined the army and left for wartime service with a group of thirteen men. Although very excited to be going overseas, he recalls the sight of seeing young men jumping overboard when the ship began to sail; the fear of the unknown was causing many to turn back and stay at home! Mr. McGee was determined to go and serve his country. Mr. McGee shares with us his personal experience of being captured as a Hong Kong prisoner of war (POW) and hardships he endured at the camp. He considers himself very fortunate to be alive today, as many of his friends were left behind. After six years of serving in the army, Mr. McGee returned home to be what he terms an "Entrepreneur" buying a few hotels and later on getting into the sales business. Civilian life was a very positive outcome for a soldier who had endured such hard times and poor health during his time in the prisoner of war camps.