Escape from the Japanese: View pages

Shortly after midnight, Goodwin quietly left the his bed and the hut in the camp with all the escape equipment he could carry, and in the darkness of a rainy moonless night, made his way to the fencepost, he had to climb.  This was the first of three electrified fences he had to pass.   With care he climbed up to a foothold on the top insulator.

"Then summoning every ounce of strength I straightened up, and stood clear of the electric wires. As quickly as possible I stepped off the insulator on to the barbed wire fence behind the posts."

He made a painful descent through the rolls of barbed wire until:

"There was a tearing of cloth, the fence jerked violently, and I dropped seven feet to land with a tremendous thud on my back".

Recovering, he went on to crawl under the next two fences to reach the sea wall. He used the length of thin rope he was carrying to descend, misjudging his weakened condition. 

"The result was inevitable and I reached a beach of firm sand with the skin torn from both palm and back of the hand, an injury that gave me a great deal of pain in the days to come."

Using a life-jacket to float his pack, he started swimming the half a mile to the shore where he planned to go ashore. There were dark moored craft he had to pass, and he had to swim slowly.

"Brilliant phosphorous marked every movement with a trail of fire that made me proceed with care when passing close to anchored vessels."

Eventually reaching the shore, he made his way through a cultivated area to the edge of a road.   In the complete darkness he almost walked into a Japanese guard at the roadside.    He slowly moved away and in a heavy downpour made for a lane opposite, then moved quickly to a steep cutting behind a building. The cutting was below to the hills he was seeking, and finding a watercourse, he slowly climbed up about 80 feet to a grassy slope. He moved quickly, past buildings and some houses, then climbed up into the hills.   Dawn was approaching, so he found a clump of bushes in which to hide.

"I wedged my pack against the base of a small tree, and seated on that, I could lean back against the streaming earth."

He remained there throughout the day, eating some of his canned food. At dusk he moved quickly along a track and climbed a ridge were he had a view of :

"Shamshuipo camp, gaily illuminated with its closely spaced perimeter lights."

There were sounds of patrols below him and torchlight in the dark, so he moved on as fast as he could in what he assumed to be an easterly direction.

It must have been around midnight when Goodwin set off along a good track which he assumed would lead him to Tolo Harbour. However after following the track for about a mile, it disappeared into an area where the ground was churned up and there appeared to be landslides.   Also here were masses of broken concrete piled up.

"Then a darker shadow on a face of rock resolved itself into the entrance of a tunnel, and I realised that the upheaval had been caused by the collapse of a mine."

This assumption is probably incorrect. He must have been close to the network of British defenses known as the Gin Drinker's Line. The upheaval he describes, and the broken concrete may well have been pillboxes and structures destroyed by the Japanese in December, 1941, particularly in the area of the Shing Mun Redoubt, which could have been on his route.

He cautiously made his way around the debris to the edge of a valley and very nearly ended his escape right there.

"Unable to see anything, and probably giddy with fatigue, I suddenly fell out into space"

His fall took him down to a stream bed, receiving violent blows as he fell, and he blacked out.

"Full conciousness returned suddenly, and I realised what had happened. The end of the fall had taken me head first down between some large boulders, and there I had come to rest with my feet pointing skyward through the hole above."

Goodwin had fallen several times in the darkness of his first three nights outside captivity, but this was one of his luckiest escapes.   Nothing broken, nothing damaged.

As dawn was fast approaching he regained his original path. He walked on quickly until he found a hiding place in a shallow excavation hidden by grass and scrub. His hideout gave him an excellent view from the Shingmum Dam down the river to Shatin. He settled down, but was soon surrounded by about thirty Chinese men and women cutting all the grass and brush-wood from the hillside. He was worried that they might work towards him and was preparing to move away when a shot rang out from above him. It was fired by a sentry standing only fifty yards above him.

"That shot was not aimed at me, but I flattened on the ground again, very thankful for the warning. In another moment I would have crawled out into full view, to be a perfect sitting shot. Overhead a hawk made several leisurely circuits, and possinbly the sentry in his boredom, had fired at that"

He settled down in his shallow hollow, making use of the little cover he had. The sentry stayed above him for the rest of the day, often talking to the Chinese who were only thirty yards away. As he lay there he recalled the words of a fortune-teller who had made some very accurate forcasts of his life. She had said:

''I don't know how this can be, but a bird is going to save your life."

Whatever it may have been, "I shall always hold feelings of high regard towards that bird."

As evening approached the Chinese and the Sentry departed and he considered his next move.

"On the opposite side of the Shingmum River there was a poorly defined track close to the water, so I would follow that."

As darkness fell, he moved down a deceptively steep and long descent to the river. He waded along the river before climbing the bank to find the right track.

"At first a few stars were shining, and I covered two miles on a reasonably smooth path."

Goodwin moved easily over several miles along a level highway that followed the shore, until around midnight he came to a point where the road turned inland and crossed the railway lines. There was a sentry on guard, so he went down to the sea and waded for some distance before returning to the road. The road climbed as it went inland, and there was heavy rainfall.  It took some effort for him to reach the summit of the road, where he rested, enjoying a view of Tolo Harbour and the hundreds of fishing boats, brightly lit for fishing at night.

He had an easy descent towards Tai Po, and decided to fill his almost empty water-bottle.  He could hear running water, but was not able to find an entrance until the fireflies came to his aid.

"I noticed many fireflies passing me, going a short distance along the road and then turning in towards the water. So many were flying the same course that I decided to follow them, and sure enough, they were turning in over a track that led to a waterfall."

That proved to be the last location where he would be able to collect drinking water as he continued on the road towards Taipo Market. Dawn was approaching as he came to a railway crossing, and decided to climb to a level spur some two hundred feet above the road. Perfect cover there convinced him that he would rest for the hours of daylight in that location. He had a perfect view of what was happening below him, and planned ahead for his progress after dark.  He noted that there was a sentry post at road junction, where all vehicles, and pedestrians were searched, but there was no sentry at the rail crossing.  He would take the rail route. He could not see Taipo Market, hidden by a hill, but he did notice a stream of junks and sampans sailing into a sheltered haven.

"It was while watching these little ships coming to anchor that I decided to steal a sampan that night and proceed across Mirs Bay by sea, and so cut out many miles of dangerous travel."

He kept himself busy preparing for his night's activity, while keeping an eye on traffic on the road, mainly pedestrian, and this did not cease for about an hour after darkness fell.  He then moved down the road to the railway line and walked along the track to where a steep concrete seawall descended to rocks beside the sea. He used his rope to descend the rocks beside the sea, then stashed his pack, rope and clothes there, after stripping off to swim out into the bay. To his dismay, he found that none of the sampans there had an oar, and he was not able to find a stick or a board that he could use as a paddle.

"By that time it must have been near eleven o'clock, it was raining steadily, a fresh wind was blowing, and I started to shiver violently. There was only one way to cure that, so finding a sheltered place I indulged in a few minutes of strenuous physical exercise to start my blood flowing again."

When he was recovered he decided to swim out to the junk moored farthest out, to see in he could get the owner  to take him across Mirs Bay. The man on board awakened and before he could get his message across, began shouting and jumping up and down showing fierce hostility. When the boatman attempted to crack Goodwin on the head with a piece of timber, he beat a speedy retreat, and swam as fast as he could back to the shore. The noise had awaked the crews of adjoining junks and they threw lengths of timber and shouted threats at him. He was fearful that the Japanese guards onshore would be alerted and fortunately his sense of direction quickly led him to where he had stashed his belongings. Grabbing everything, he pulled himself up to the top of a wall on a wire-stay from a pole, and hurried through the gloom along the railway line and across the road.

"On rounding a bend I had a clear view back over the bay of my unsuccessful adventure, and there was a great uproar in progress, with lanterns flashing everywhere. My nocturnal visit had certainly started something, and vowing never again to seek assistance as long as I could still walk, I hurried on my way."

It would have been shortly after midnight when Goodwin set off at a steady pace on the road to Fanling. It was pitch dark and rain was falling when an incredible incident occurred. Some sixth sense warned him of danger, and he grabbed the base of a shrub growing on the roadside and slid down a slope, holding his face level with the road surface. Just in time, as the legs of a soldier passed  just three feet away.  He was followed by five other soldiers all wearing soft rubber-soled shoes that made no sound. Had he continued a few more paces they would have collided. Close on the heels of the last soldier was a large Alsatian dog.  He neither moved nor breathed, and felt complete detachment, without a trace of fear as the following scene was enacted.

"The dog turned towards me, sniffing the air inquiringly. He lifted his nose, laid his ears back, and there was a strange expression in his eyes as if he were trying to recall something from a long way off.  His ears pricked forward again, and he seemed to be looking directly into my eyes.  Then his head went down slowly, and he turned without a sound.  With his fail drooping to the ground he loped off after the patrol."

Goodwin was amazed that his luck had held once again, but wasted no time in returning to the road and setting off at a good pace. His rough map showed a junction where he should turn right towards Shataokok, and quickly passed an entrance to what appeared to be a Japanese camp, probably from where the patrol had started.   In the total darkness further on he saw a road turning right and then a tree-lined road.  He considered that this had to be the Shataokok road.

He saw buildings but no lights and pushed on quickly, on an elevated road passing through miles of flooded paddy.  There seemed to be no end to this road, and as dawn was approaching he decided to climb a hill where he could hide and view his surroundings in daylight.  Climbing to the top of the hill he found a clump of bushes where he could hide, and relax, as the rain had now stopped.   From his vantage point he was able to see in the early light of day that Shataokok was still some distance away, and he reflected on his situation.

"That was the seventh night of my journey, my clothes had been soaked the whole time, and sleep persistently eluded me. Never had I had more than half an hour's oblivion in any twenty-four hours since leaving camp. My tinned food, mostly used in the first few days to keep up my strength at that critical time, had all been consumed except for one tin of condensed milk."

The only provisions remaining were soya bean powder, heart of wheat cereal, peanut oil, and a small tin of black pepper.  The pepper had been intended for use in discouraging dogs from tracking him, but as this was not necessary because of the continuous rain, he was using it to flavour his scanty meals.  These were eaten twice a day, breakfast about sunrise, and dinner just before dark. Both meals were identical, consisting of soya bean powder, wheat cereal, peanut oil with a little pepper flavoured water. This formed a small serving of a thick paste that was eaten slowly and carefully, and while any addition to his diet, such as the pineapple was most welcome, he had never at any time felt hungry. The stress of nervous tension had killed both appetite and the need for sleep.

Towards noon the sun broke through and the air warmed up. He took the opportunity to dry everything, his few clothes and the small amount of gear he was carrying, including papers and maps and his diaries.  He was happy that these possessions had survived quite well so far. He took stock of his feet and legs, which had suffered badly due to "athletes foot", and various cuts and torn skin from his legs, gained during his nightly struggles through the scrub. His hand, injured right at the outset of his escape also required attention.  He had no ointment, but he was able to apply dubbin from a tin that had been supplied in the camp.  He covered all sores with that grease and none of his injuries ever turned septic.

In the late afternoon he dressed and packed all his dry gear and went down to a hiding place near the road where he was able to sleep comfortably on some straw for about half an hour.

When darkness fell he started walking on the road again and after some distance had another encounter with the friendly fireflies.  They were flying across the road when suddenly they turned and a couple of them almost hit him. It was a warning, and just in time he saw the headlights of a car turning out of a concealed road.  He dived for cover in ditch as the car went by.  Further on near some buildings he again sensed danger, and almost ran into a sentry standing in the dark. He backed away and made for a track he had seen entering the fields. He followed this until in the distance he could see lights and activity, and he realised that he was on the outskirts of Shataokok.

He walked on through a village where a barking dog forced him to move quietly away through paddy.  Continuing in a wide detour he came out on a track that led to a well-formed road. He knew from his map that this road closely followed the New Territories border, and he would climb it to a ridge where he could turn in a westerly direction towards China.

Goodwin stood on the beach near Shataokok with his spirits soaring. It was probably around midnight, and he had to move quickly along the coast in a westerly direction to get as far removed from Shataokok as possible by sunrise. Walking along the beach was out, as he could see the torch of a patrolling sentry in the distance. He decided to walk in the sea as far out as possible from the shore. Putting on his shoes to protect his feet from sharp shells and coral growths, he walked out until the sea was at neck level, carrying his pack on his left shoulder. If sighted from the shore it would have looked like a square bag floating over a glassy sea.

There were sampans out to sea engaged in fishing, and one of these gave him concern as it seemed to be tracking him, but it eventuated that they were just chasing fish. Well past the danger of a sentry on the beach he left the water and walked along the beach. He found then that the sole on one of his shoes had almost come off due to the stitching being cut in the sea, so his shoes were returned to their usual position round his neck. As it had been for most of his trek, he continued bare-footed.  He walked on in increasingly bad weather to a headland where small trees and bushes provide a hiding place from the rain and wind.  He was protected by a steep bank , and while the gale-force winds tore branches off the overhead trees, nothing stopped the rain from finding his resting place, and filling his shallow bed with three inches of water. He remained there as he found the submerged areas of his body warmer than the rest.

He spent the rest of the day in his hiding-place, devoting some time in shoemaking, fixing the sole of his shoe with hempen chord.  This was a task he had to repeat again later. By late afternoon the wind and rain squalls had abated, and he saw a group of men passing along an inland track. He decided he would take that route himself when darkness fell.

The storm had blown itself out by nightfall and he set off along the track in a brighter mood. However, his progress was slow, as the track was washed away in several places and he had difficulty with a gruelling climb up a steep and damaged path. He reached the summit and began a gradual descent. When the track came to a junction he rested for a while, then took the right-hand path which he assumed would descend to the shore. But the track levelled off to show a wide expanse of paddy stretching out in the blackness.

"Behind me was a very hard climb, while in front the way was at least level and, thinking I would eventually reach the shore, I started of across the fields. Time and distance no longer had any meaning and I had not the vaguest idea how far I had gone since dark or how near to dawn it might be."

It was probably around midnight at this time, and when a large village on rising ground came into sight, he stopped to consider his options.

Goodwin found easy going along a beach that took him past Shatau and onto a long stretch of sand with surf breaking from the sea. He walked easily along this until it ended in a rocky headland. There was no shelter there so he lay down to escape the gusting wind, and to await daylight, feeling absolutely exhausted.

By first light he caught a large crab, and then climbed up a stream to find cover for the day. There were also snails in the stream, which he caught and boiled with the crab, then tried to cook some of the rice which he still had. The snails and crab were edible, but the rice was not, so he settled for drinking the water it was cooked in.

There were sampans out to sea below him, and he was concerned that they might see the smoke from his fire, and come to investigate. There was no problem, though he had an anxious time when two men in a sampan came directly to the beach beneath him, but only to collect water, then row out to sea again. He later inspected a track above him that appeared to be well used, but took a heavy fall as he was jumping from a large boulder. He landed with a thud on his thigh, but fortunately no damage was done. He realised that the track would be impossible to use at night and that he had better stick to the seashore. Then he saw a fisherman standing on the rocks using a circular net. Goodwin waited for quite some time, then decided to descend to the rocks below him, where he could look for oysters. He was working on collecting three of these when he looked up to see the fisherman above him. They greeted each other affably, and he tried to see if there were some fish he could buy using mainly pantomime, but there was no response.

He thought it would be better to move on, and the fisherman turned to head back towards Shatau. Goodwin moved off as quickly as possible, as he was concerned that the fisherman could report his discovery. The way along the coast become impossible when he reached an area of cliff.  He had to make his way precariously up through crevasses to the top of the cliff, a climb of about one hundred feet. He almost passed out at one point and waited until he had enough energy to climb slowly uphill to grassy slopes leading to a well-used path. As he moved westwards along the track he passed several women walking in the opposite direction with poles over their shoulders carrying heavy loads of merchandise. They walked singly along the track and passed him with eyes averted.

"From the summit of the ridge a beautiful view of sea and beaches was disclosed, while near at hand, nestled on flat ground close behing the sand, was a sizeable village."

His eyes were definitely not functioning well when he saw three black objects ahead. With difficulty he brought them into focus, and saw there were three men coming towards him.

"As they came closer I felt certain that they were Chinese, and it was obvious that they were very interested in me."

As he walked straight towards them, they appeared to be very much on guard and separated to stand around him. His appearance could hardly have reassured them. Clothes in filthy tatters, with a ten-day's growth of beard covering his gaunt and haggard face.

He motioned towards the village and said, "Any Japanese down there?" One the men answered: "No, No Japanese long time."

He felt immensely relieved, and attempted to engage in a conversation that no-one understood, and it was only through hand-waving and gestures that he was able to inform them that he had come from Kowloon. They understood and seemed to appreciate this, then gave him the message that he should proceed to the village ahead which was called Taimuisha. They could not accompany him as they were apparently had a task, and one of them opened his jacket to disclose half a dozen grenades slung round his chest.  If appeared that they were guerillas heading out on a mission.

He set off on his way alone, and walked with some trepidation steadily to the main pathway right into the village. Women and children bolted indoors at the sight of him, but in a central square under a large tree, a number of men gathered round and smiled at him. They had no language that they could converse in, and feeling weak he sat down on a wooden bench under the tree.

As news of his arrival spread, it looked as though the entire population had gathered round.

A voice asked in English:" Where you go ?" to which he replied:"Waichow"

Someone heard the word 'chow' (a slang word for food) and he called out "Wantchee chow?"

He nodded vigorously, for there was nothing he needed more than food to sustain him.

"Immediately they escorted me across the street to a small teashop, and while all those who could not enter gathered round outside, I was given a pot of Chinese tea and four sweet scones. It was the most delicious food one could possibly imagine."

Goodwin was at last able to relax, as the most difficult and dangerous period of his escape was over. He was now among friends, and he would have assistance for the rest of his escape.  First from the Kwangtung Peoples' Anti-Japanese Guerilla Unit, then from the BAAG, the RAF and from various military oraganisations.   It would take several months for him to arrive safely back in his homeland, New Zealand

His whole book is well worth reading, and I can recommend "Escape from the Japanese" as a very good read. His story is interesting and his style of writing is relaxed and enjoyable.