Escape From the Japanese
Lt Cdr Ralf Burton Goodwin recounts his 870-mile solo escape from Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po camp to Calcutta.
- Author
- Lt Cdr Ralf Burton Goodwin OBE
- Publisher
- Frontline Books
- Price
- £19.99
- ISBN
- 9781848329292
- Published
- 2018
Escape From the Japanese by Lt Cdr Ralf Burton Goodwin OBE
Successful escapes from Japanese captivity were rare. The Geneva Convention held no sway, jungle camps relied on the wilderness for security, and reprisals were brutal. In Kowloon’s Sham Shui Po camp, Ralf Goodwin resolved to take the risk, slipping into Lai Chi Kok Bay and swimming between clusters of junks before striking out alone.
Unable to speak Chinese and armed only with his navigational instincts, Goodwin trekked and swam for three months through occupied territory, finally reaching Calcutta after covering some 870 miles. His colleagues knew the consequences they faced if he succeeded, yet they backed the attempt anyway.
The memoir offers a vivid, first-hand account of evasion under the harshest conditions and a rare window onto the Far East escape lines.
ISBN 9781848329292. Frontline Books. £19.99.