A busy year was rounded off by a well attended meeting on Saturday 13 December in the main hall at Birmingham & Midland Institute. The occasion marked 80 years since the Victory in the east over Japan, and was held on the 88th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre.
Our guest of honour was Don Grant. Don had been a prisoner of war held captive by the Japanese. Don was born in 1928. His dad was a fireman in London who moved to China as a policeman after WW1.
Don survived the Japanese occupation of China. He witnessed great cruelty practised by the Japanese on the Chinese, as well as on foreigners like the British. They were fed rotten food full of maggots, and survived on Red Cross handouts, which after the war ended they were billed for!
Don witnessed Japanese occupiers murdering Chinese civilians with spades, saw the bodies of women and children shot by Japanese troops.
The Birmingham Peoples History Archive reproduced some sections of the memoirs relating to the Japanese occupation and you can read them below.
After lunch Keith Bennett of Friends of Socialist China gave an expert lecture on the history of the war in the east. Although Keith spoke for only twenty five minutes everybody was able to learn a great deal about the conflict and its cost. Keith introduced the film, ‘The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru’. This film was receiving (to the best of our knowledge) its Birmingham premiere! The film depicts the heroism of a Chinese fishing community who risked everything to rescue British POWs, who had been left to drown by the Japanese.
Keith was followed by Philip Harris, from the Lisbon Maru Memorial Association. Philip’s father-in-law was among the rescued POWs and was sheltered and cared for by Chinese fishermen and their families for three months.
The film was a powerful and moving end to the day.
We will reproduce footage of the event and Keith’s speech in full shortly.
Birmingham People's History Archive 
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