by Yu Aicen, Zhang Feng
LONDON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- "From the island a never-to-be-forgotten sight met our eyes, for as far as the eye could see, the ocean was dotted with men and wreckage..."
These are the words of Andrew Salmon, a British Royal Artillery sergeant who was rescued by Chinese fishermen in the Lisbon Maru incident. There is an unusual calmness in his account as he recalls an ordeal that brought him face to face with death.
It was Andrew's wish to have his account published. He wanted to tell the story of his harrowing experience and how he survived with the help of Chinese fishermen. But that wish was never fulfilled before his death in 2000. More than two decades later, his son, Kenneth Salmon, took up the task and finally saw the manuscript published this year under the title "Surviving the Lisbon Maru."
"I had always felt a little bit guilty about not taking my father's manuscript and doing something with it," Kenneth said in a recent interview with Xinhua, describing how he felt before taking on the project. "I knew that it was his, if you like, his dying wish that the book would be published."
Andrew's manuscript largely corroborates what is already known about the calamitous incident. In October 1942, the Japanese-requisitioned Lisbon Maru, carrying more than 1,800 British prisoners of war (POWs), was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine near Dongji, Zhoushan, in eastern China. As the ship sank, local Chinese fishermen came to the rescue. Historical records show that 198 Chinese fishermen helped 384 POWs reach safety.
After escaping the sinking ship, Andrew spent about two hours in the water before joining another survivor, "Ginger" Howell, on a piece of floating wreckage. They were eventually rescued after Ginger, who spoke Shanghainese, hailed a fisherman in a sampan.
"The fisherman picked us up and took us to the opposite side of the island where there was a tiny beach on which he dropped us, fortunately, as the side nearest the Lisbon Maru was steep and rocky," Andrew wrote.
He went on to describe the survivors' first night after the incident on an uninhabited island, where they "huddled together for warmth." They were later taken by a fisherman to "a larger island," where they were given food and clothing, which they "welcomed gratefully," before being recaptured by Japanese soldiers.
"He was lucky that he got out..." Kenneth said. "And he was lucky that he was taken ashore, and the Chinese fishing community gave him food, drink, and shelter, and, of course, warmth, which was very important."
But many others were not so fortunate. A total of 843 POWs died in the incident. Some went down with the ship, while others drowned or were killed by Japanese soldiers during the desperate escape.
The decision to finally complete his father's unfinished book took shape in 2024, when Kenneth was inspired by the release of the documentary film "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" and encouraged by people around him.
"When my father retired, it was his desire to do something tangible to memorialize people who were involved in the Lisbon Maru, not only the prisoners of war, but also the Chinese fishermen who rescued them."
He, in his term, "eventually gave in to that pressure," and started to work on the unfinished manuscripts. They include not only Andrew's writing, but also first-hand accounts from the fellow survivors that he was in touch with.
Kenneth completed the book using his father's unfinished manuscript, which in turn drew on Andrew's wartime diary. He believes his father carried the diary with him when he escaped from the Lisbon Maru, allowing its pages to survive against all odds, just as their author did.
Kenneth also wrote parts of the book himself, filling in gaps and adding his own account of two visits to Dongji, in 2024 and 2025, to pay tribute to the waters that witnessed his father's most traumatic experience.
"I had prepared a wreath of poppies with my father's photo in the center, which I threw into the sea," read in one of the several chapters by Kenneth, describing his journey to Dongji in 2024. "That particular wreath had adorned my father's coffin in 2000 and it seemed an appropriate offering."
"These first-hand accounts by survivors provide a deeply personal perspective on the tragedy," Kenneth said. "They show that wars are fought by ordinary people and this story demonstrates both the very best, and the very worst, of human nature in the reality of war." ■