A Handful of Men Fought Until Their Ammunition was Expended

“It was some time later, in a Prisoner of War camp, that I spoke to Honourary Captain Uriah E. Lay, Canadian chaplain services and found out what happened at Wong Nai Chung during and after the surrender. Captain Lay was there during the fighting and later when the Japs came into the position in daylight. He tried to make clear to them that he was a padre and more or less acted as a go-between for the troops. He went across the road to tell the lads to come out of the shelter and that they had surrendered. It was then that he saw Brigadier Lawson’s body. He tried to remove his identification disk and other personal effects but the Japs wouldn’t allow it. He told me that some of the wounded men were in the open shelter near the roadside. Apparently, the Japs disposed of those that could not walk. However, Captain Lay can give a more detailed account of just what happened there and also of the action generally at the Gap. Later he was taken by the Japs toward the crossroads. The Japanese had set up a headquarters at the advanced dressing station just behind where we were fighting. It was estimated that we were outnumbered better than ten to one. I never could figure out why they didn’t take the fence and charge us. Perhaps they fought us to a standstill anyway. Sounds incredible but that is what happened at Wong Nai Chung Gap, where a handful of men fought till their ammunition was practically expended to the round, where at the surrender there was no food nor water, and those wounded received no medical treatment other than a field dressing.”