18 Mar 1943, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

Vandeleur Grayburn is interrogated for a couple of hours this morning. Then it's Edward Streatfield's turn: his interrogator points to lengths of cord and baseball bats and advises him to tell the truth. The questions last for two hours, and the unpleasantness is compounded by poor interpretation, but there's no torture and the banker is never to suffer physical mistreatment.

Not surprisingly, the Japanese seem to regard Grayburn as the main culprit and he's taken for questioning again. Streatfield hears a lot of abuse followed by a crash and later learns that his boss was made to stand on a chair with his wrists tied behind and above him to a ring bolt and then had the chair kicked away leaving him hanging for some minutes. Contrary to some lurid accounts elsewhere, this is the only torture he ever experiences.

Grayburn doesn't seem distressed afterwards and later characterises the manoeuvre as 'very elementary third degree stuff.'

Luckily the interrogators never find out he's a British Army Aid Group agent (code name: Night) or things would be much, much worse for the courageous banker.

Source:

Account of E. P. Streatfield, Hong Kong PRO, HKMS, 100-1-6, pages 3-4