70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Goodwin moved quickly along the railway track towards Taipo Market, until he reached a bridge where he was slowed down by having to negotiate sections where sleepers were missing. At a point where two sleepers were missing he found he was already moving forward when he:-

"just managed to throw myself sideways and grab a rail in falling."

Soon after that he mistakenly assumed that he was not heading in the right direction, and made his way back to solid ground. Still somewhat shattered by his experience amongst the junks, he  made a wrong assumption, and walked back along the rail tracks until he found himself on a high embankment with no sign of an exit.

"I could find no way down until fireflies again came to my assistance. Many of those bright little sparks began dancing along, following the same course, and after going some yards ahead of me they dipped suddenly down over the edge of the bank. It was a real game of follow my leader, and, having joined in, I found that they were turning off at the start of a narrow track."

Wondering why they should wing their way directly above a nine inch wide track, he thankfully followed it down to the road.  The road passed through an archway in the embankment, and this led to a solid structure, and a wide roadway that went up an incline to a building. His bare feet made not a sound as he walked up.

"Just as the road leveled off I stopped stock still. every nerve in my body tingling, for not more than eight feet away to my right the luminous face of a wrist watch was glowing"

He stood motionless, and a few moments later a man on his left began to speak, and through the gloom he saw the faint silhouette of a sentry. Gradually he backed away from between the two guards, fearing to be caught in a beam of torchlight at any moment. When he was well clear, he bolted down the narrow lane from which he had so recently arrived.

"In my official report that incident was described as taking place at a crossroad, but after the war I saw that I had actually walked up to the entrance of the Taipo railway station."

Thankful for such a lucky escape he walked back through the archway under the embankment and decided  to try his luck on the other side.

"Exactly what happened next will never be known to me."

He thought he was entering a storage area as he could smell rubber and petrol there. He also had the impression that he was in the midst of animals and people. and he stopped still at the sound of the loud breathing of sleeping people.  He considered it would be best to proceed, and soon found himself among the buildings of a village. His next impression was of climbing a concrete road that led to a set of large iron gates. He retreated and went down the road a little way, then climbed to a ridge, where, utterly exhausted he sank down to wait the dawn.

"Mercifully the day was not long in coming, for fierce squalls roared through the bushes about me, torrential showers were falling, and in spite of the high summer temperature I was shivering with cold."

As daylight increased he could see where he had gone astray during the night, and decided to head towards a spur about three or four miles away that ran down from, Tai Mo Shan to a point where he could head back towards the road.

"A full typhoon was blowing, and squalls of wind and rain were driving across the landscape with all the ferocity that such storms can bring."

He noted that the paddy fields he could see were deserted, and no one was abroad, and as there was little shelter or place to hide where he was, it seemed that it would be safe to walk on during the day, using the contour of the land to shield him from the view houses and villages.

He pushed on through the storm, with gusts of wind forcing him to run at times. That kept him moving quickly, but there were places in valleys he had to cross, where dense growth slowed him down. To cross the streams he simply jumped into the water ducked his head and enjoyed the experience of:

"The torrent rearing over me, and the stream felt much warmer that the wind and the rain."

He was well above the paddy fields when he reached a track in late afternoon and commenced a long descent. Lower down the track skirted a pineapple plantation, and he finally found one small green pineapple he was able to pick.

"Although it was a very immature specimen it tasted remarkably sweet, and to my disordered palate it was delicious."

As the track he was following would pass through a village, he left it to walk along the foot of a hill, often knee-deep in mud and water.  With the light fading he pushed on until he was relieved to see a track that would take him over a bridge to the road that he was seeking.

"What a wonderful feeling it was to be able to step out freely along the clear highway after the heartbreaking struggle on the mountain."

He had to maintain a constant lookout for military vehicles on the road and hide when they approached. There were light showers, but the wind had dropped and he made good time, although he had to hide on occasions when people or vehicles passed by.  Midnight was probably near when the clouds broke and brilliant stars filled the sky. He quickly passed an area where soldiers were working just off the road, and pressed on to a point where the railway crossed the road.  Sighting a building there that could have housed a sentry, he climbed an embankment to the railway track and crossing the track dropped down to the other side where he was able to skirt the sentry box and regain the road.  He had been on the go for twenty-four hours, but felt he was making good progress.