THRILLS AT SHANGHAI.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4046, 26 April 1932, Page 3

THRILLS AT SHANGHAI.

NEAR THE LINE OF FIRE. EXPERIENCE OF STEAMSHIP. PASSENGERS ORDERED BELOW. “On the way up the river to Shanghai a Japanese shell whistled over the stern of the ship; a second later it burst in the village of Woosung. When our ship was steaming down the river next day we saw shells from Japanese warships and bombs from Japanese aeroplanes bursting over the village and the Woosung forts. The village was in (lames and presented a picture of destructio and desolation.” In those graphic phrases Mr A. H. Oldis, of Melbourne, described the Japanese bombardment of Woosung forts and village as ho saw it from the decks of the E. and A. liner Tanda, which reached Sydney from Japan and Eastern ports. Officers, crew ana passengers on the Tanda had an experience they will never forget. The bombardment was at its height when the Tanda passed up the Whangpoo River to Shanghai and again next day when the vessel steamed down the river and out to sea The danger from shell fire or rifle fire was considered to be so grave when the Tanda was passing up the river that passengers were ordered off the decks until th ship was well past the forts. Passengers considered that if the Tanda had not been flying the British Ensign she would not have escaped unscathed. Thirty-five Japanese Warships. Mr Oldis, who, with members of his family, has been spending a holiday in the East, said that when the Tanda entered the idvcr he counted nine Japanese ships of war. On the following day, when the Tanda was passing down the river, he saw 55. “We all spent an anxious time,” said Mr Oldis. “Perhaps the most exciting moment was when the shell passed over the stern. Fortunately for us, Ihe Chinese did not retaliate. 1 would not like to say what would have happened if they had, because we were in the direct line of fire. In spite of Japanese provocation, 1 consider that the Chinese used admirable restraint. The whole of the time we were on the river the Japanese did not stop firing.” Mr Oldis gave a vivid description of the destruction wrought on the village of Wuosnng itself. Ho said that the Tanda passed within a few chains of the village and although a pall of smoke hung over it and the dav was murky, he and other passengers were able to sec the full effects of the bombardment. i “Shells had left gaping holes on the , banks of the river and the village was in flames,” Mr Oldis continued. “The bom- , bardment was merciless It continued ] from the sea and from the air. Where- < ever a shell burst there followed a black , mass of smoke and then The forts ; were raked with gunfire in the same man- ; ner. Practically every building had been ■ shattered and those time were not were de- . stroyed by fire.” A curious feature of the bombardment, ] Mr Oldis said, was that the Japanese at- ] tacked from inside the river. Although ] many Japanese ships of war lay off the < coast, he was not, aware that any shots ( were fired from that direction. An ex- < planation for this was that a British war- j ship lay in close to the shore, the Japan- ( ese ships being scattered farther out to sea. i i l Old Veteran Stands His Ground. “Amid the ruins of Woosung village we ( were all surprised to see a substantial t building left untouched,” stated Mr Oldis. “There was* - a further surprise when we saw, through I lie smoke, the Union Jack j fluttering over :t. Behind this lay a ; remarkable story.” 1 Mr Oldis said that the building was the c Forts Hotel, at Woosung, and the pro- ( prietor, Captain Frederick Davies, an 84- ; year-old Briton, had refused to leave the village when the bombardment commenc- j ed. ° Although all Captain Davies’ ser- i vants, except one boy, fled in terror, the ] old man remained, undaunted by the 1 storm of shells and bombs. His chief con- ( corn was that the Union Jack should still i float in the murky atmosphere of the wrecked village. “It was a splendid tribute to the respect . of the Japanese for the Union Jack that the hotel was not blown to bits/’ added __ Mr Oldis. “Obviously, the building was j unha lined because of Tie special cate taken bv the Japanese gunners.” Captain Davies eventually capitulated, . because food supplies ran out, and'he was taken to Shanghai. At one period Chinese soldiers with machine-guns stationed __ themselves behind the hotel, but Captain Davies, in a rage, ordered them away, and they obeyed.