This is the opening of the typescript written by Fr Bourke:
STEERING IN TROUBLED WATERS: HONG KONG 1941-1945 Dedication to Guardian Angels who Worked Overtime 1941-1945
INTRODUCTION
An account of the Irish Jesuit Fathers during the battle for Hongkong 1941 was compiled by Father T. F. Ryan, S.J. and published under the title “Jesuits Under Fire”. The activities of the Fathers who were dispersed in Free China, Macao, India and Shanghai would have made a fitting sequel to “Jesuits Under Fire”. See Appendix A.
This account gives just the experiences of one who tried to conduct a Chinese Vernacular School in Hongkong during the Japanese occupation. It was intended to be included in the proposed general compilation of activities. It was an attempt to steer a neutral course in troubled waters. The steering was not the writers own doing, because for most of the time he had at his side the Superior of the Mission, Father Patrick Joy S.J. who was responsible for all major decisions and who was a tower of strength and resourcefulness in difficult situation. He was also helped by his colleagues Frs Gerald Casey S.J. and Rev Albert Chan S.J. and towards the end by Fr Joseph O’Mara S.J. To his colleagues the Teachers and the domestic staff who were so cooperative and so faithful he wishes a very special word of thanks. The ties of friendship which were made working under difficulties together have not been lessened by distance and time.
TO GO OR NOT TO GO?
In one of the most tragic stories of history we would read about faithful messengers announcing to Job the disaster that struck his children and his property. Daily announcements came to him of the ruin of his widely extensive property, his herds, farms, buildings and children. On a very much smaller scale though relatively very great, messages came to Father Joy telling him of the destruction and loss of our institutions. But there was no loss of life which in the same circumstances and the great risks taken was remarkable.
The first few months of the Japanese occupation of Hongkong brought our institutional work to a standstill. I say institutional because there was always work to be done as religious and as priests. We had a Chinese language school and a preparatory Seminary at Loyola some 17 miles distant from the city, on the mainland. As the Japanese army was rapidly advancing, the British Military authorities ordered the building to be evacuated. The evacuation had to be done in a few hours and all equipment had to be left behind in the care of a caretaker. Infiltrators crossed the border in the wake of the Japanese army. They knew that as the army advanced, many buildings and properties would be easy loot for them. These infiltrators looted Loyola, which later became the local headquarters for the Japanese army.
We had a Wah Yan College in Kowloon in premises which were unfortunately owned by an American landlord. As the Japanese marched past, they must have consulted their most detailed maps, which showed American etc. property. They saw Frs. R. Gallagher S.J. and Joe McAsey S.J. on the veranda. Some detached themselves from the march and arrested the two others, thinking they were Americans. They were imprisoned in a room somewhere in Kowloon with about 20 others. They got no food for a few days and the only drinking material was a ration of a few drops of water which was found in a gold fish bowl and which they strained somehow before drinking.
We had some Fathers on the University staff. But the University was closed and never reopened during the war. The University was partially looted in the interregnum between the surrender of the British and effective taking over by the Japanese. It was tragic to see the equipment being pulled down the hill to be sold as firewood and especially to see delicate instruments from the laboratories being brought away to be sold as scrap iron or steel. Ricci Hall, our own Hostel for University students had been partially looted and was occupied by the Japanese Military Police. These were sometimes called Kepntai but the usual name used for them was “Gendarmes”.
Father T. F. Ryan S. J., edited a rather remarkable magazine called “The Rock”. It ceased publication and there was no immediate question of its revival. For nearly one year, the Japanese were looking for the whereabouts of its editor, whose outlook was completely opposed to theirs.
We were still in occupation of the Regional Seminary in Aberdeen, probably because it was marked on the Japanese maps as Roman property and also we had still intact Wah Yan College Robinson Road. This property we rented from an Italian landlord. But what were we going to do? How were we to gain a livelihood! We had little available money. Fortunately at the last moment before the banks closed during the battle, we were able to take out some money, which enable us to give the teachers and domestic staff their December wages. This enabled many of them to get to Free China. We had a little store of food to last a few months. We had a personnel of 24. Fr. Dan Donnelly, S. J. a born pioneer, was sent to Free China to explore. Possibilities of work and livelihood there. Soon after his reports arrived, Fr. Joy, the Jesuits superior, decided on a disposal. Those selected to leave Hong Kong set out with courage and enthusiasm to work in pastures new to them. It was possible to go by boat to Kwanchowan when in the first few months of the occupation. Several fathers left bringing with them typewriters which they were able to sell at Kwanchowan. They were then able to buy food on their long track to Central China. Others left for Shanghai to continue their theology and another group went to Macao to conduct a school for refugees under the patronage of the British consul.
The following is an introduction of the history project ‘Project Guardian’ given WY students:
Project Guardian: Steering a Neutral Course in Troubled Waters
In 1941, war changed everything in Hong Kong. While the world was at its darkest, the Wah Yan community had to find a way to survive and keep the school safe.
One man who refused to abandon his post was Father Edward Bourke, the Irish Jesuit headmaster of Wah Yan during the Japanese occupation. He could not speak Chinese, so he taught singing. He sold laboratory acids to buy rice. He walked into a Japanese general’s office with a small golden pyx and asked permission to bring Holy Communion to his imprisoned brothers. He survived shrapnel, live wires, and false accusations of spying. His first hand account of those treacherous years is the very foundation of this exhibition.
