The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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235999 L/Cpl. James Michael Cheney British Army 1st Btn. Middlesex Regiment from:Marylebone, London My father, Jimmy Cheney, served as a machine gunner with the Middlesex Regiment defending Hong Kong in WW2. Very little of this story is from him. He never spoke about within my hearing when I was young (I was born in 1947), although I did overhear a little when he spoke about it occasionally with his two brothers who served in Europe during the war. The eldest brother was killed in North Africa. He did speak more freely when I got older but, unfortunately, he died at an early age which meant that much of his experiences were left un-said. I did get some of his stories from my mother and some of the other older members of the family but as always with family stories, they are embellished or parts forgotten. He claimed he was captured by the Japanese on 25th December 1941 although his record shows it was 26th December. He was incarcerated in Hong Kong for nearly a year and then embarked on the Lisbon Maru for transport to Japan. The ship was torpedoed by USS Grouper on 1st October 1942 and my father was one of the lucky ones to escape from the holds and spent some time (he said more than a day) until he was picked up by a Japanese warship and transported to Osaka. He was put into a POW camp and was forced to work in the docks. I still have to find out which of the camps he was in. During his time as a POW he contracted various diseases including malaria and beriberi. The camp was bombed a number of times by the US Air Force, which my father said was because they mistook it for a troop camp. I suspect it was no more than some saturation bombing of the dock area which meant the camp was likely to be hit by mistake rather than design. He spent some time in a sweat box for stealing sugar and claimed that probably saved his life because one night the camp was hit by bombs and some of his friends were killed. He was finally liberated by the Americans following the Japanese surrender and, according to my mother, was transported home via Canada and he arrived at Londons Waterloo station. My father was 6ft 2in tall and a well-built man with a full head of hair. When he went to Hong Kong he weighed almost 15 stones. When he arrived home he was almost bald and weighed about 8 stones. For much of the fifties he suffered from the effects of his time as a POW including malaria. He finally died in 1972 aged 54. He never bore any ill will towards the Japanese and said that although the officers were cruel and brutal, the ordinary soldiers were just doing what they were told. If they were ordered to punish someone they knew if they didn't, they would be punished and the person would get punished anyway by someone else. He always wanted to go back to Japan and see the country but never made it. I have been lucky; I have lived in Singapore for four years and have had the opportunity to visit Osaka. It felt a little like a pilgrimage for the old man. Thomas Cheney Add to this record.  Related Content: 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment Lisbon Maru Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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