The Tragedy
A comprehensive account of this tragedy can be found in the book: "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, Britain's Forgotten Wartime Tragedy" by Tony Banham, published by Hong Kong University Press, ISBN 962-209-771-5. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in details of the incident. There is a useful summary on the Lisbon Maru website.
In July 2010 the Chinese authorities opened the Dongji Museum of History and Culture, largely dedicated to commemorating these events of October 1942. The museum has a Chinese language website which provides a detailed account describing the incident from the Chinese perspective. Brian Finch has translated the website and the translation can be found on the link below:-
Dongji Museum Website English Translation
Notes on the translation.
1. The place names may cause some confusion. Zhou Shan is a county in Zhejiang Province in eastern China, made up of a group of islands. Zhou Shan is also the name of the major island in the group. Within this group lies a sub-group of islands known as Dongji (which means extreme East; it being the most easterly part of China). Dongji is also the name of the principal town or township. There are four inhabited islands in this sub group, two of which, Miaozihu and Qingbang, are referred to in the account.
2. Figures. The figures for casualties and so on differ in significant detail from those given in Tony Banham's book. Tony Banham has commented that oddly, the Chinese figures are taken from a Japanese source: the wartime propaganda newspaper called Hong Kong News.
"Hymn of the Lisbon Maru"
Music courtesy of Ian Parkinson
Lyrics courtesy of Franklee Speaking
Hymn Of The Lisbon Maru mp3.mp3
