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Description
Mr. Castonguay describes life in the POW camp, the camp guards and interpreters that prisoners encountered.
Bernard Castonguay
Bernard Castonguay est né à Montréal, au Québec, le 9 février 1921. Il était le quatrième d'une famille de 11 enfants. Son père était monteur de tuyaux à vapeur pour la Canadian Pacific Railway. M. Castonguay a quitté la maison à l'âge de 16 ans, à la recherche d'aventure. Il a travaillé comme bûcheron et à la construction des chemins de fer. En 1940, incapable de trouver du travail, M. Castonguay s'est rendu à Québec pour s'enrôler dans le Royal Rifles of Canada. Il fut envoyé à Gander, à Terre-Neuve, où il fut signaleur et sentinelle. On l'envoya ensuite à Saint John, au Nouveau-Brunswick. À Hong Kong, M. Castonguay fut fait prisonnier par les Japonais et envoyé au camp de prisonniers de guerre (Omeni) de Nagasaki, au Japon, pour travailler dans une mine de charbon. Après son service, M. Castonguay a travaillé pour l'Institut national canadien pour les aveugles (INCA). Il devint par la suite directeur régional de l'INCA. Il fut également bénévole pour le Conseil canadien des aveugles.
Transcription
I remember that we were, I think, sixty in my hut when we moved from Kowloon. And after a week there were about six or seven left of us. They were all quarantined the others, with diphtheria, especially diphtheria.
Interviewer: What did the Japanese do to stop the epidemic?
Nothing, they were giving us nothing.
Interviewer: What do you remember about the guards, the Japanese guards at Shamshuipo?
Oh, that was a big camp you know and they were distant. So we had to watch ourselves all the time. Some really were unlucky and got beaten, but I was not bothered really.
Interviewer: Do you remember any of the interpreters that were there at the camp by their nickname? One of the interpreters was known as the "Kamloops Kid".
Ya
Interviewer: Do you remember that?
Oh yes, very well
Interviewer: What do you remember about him?
Well I was working on the mountain moving, it was sand, you know the mountain was all sand, for the Kai Tak airport. And he was passing by and he saw me not working. I was, we had a small railroad you know with a cart on it and we were filling this. And I was the one who had to push on that and to bring it back, that was my job. Not to fill it. So he came by and he saw that I was not working. He picked up a hand full of sand and he threw that at me in my face. And really enraged you know. That is what I remember of him. So I start working.