About the contributor

As a 4 year old living in Kuala Lumpur in 1941, I was involved in the civilian exodus from K.L. to Singapore, and then in the evacuation of Singapore. I sailed to England in the “Empress of Japan”, leaving a fortnight before the Fall of Singapore, travelling with my elder sister and looked after by friends of the family.
My pages give a brief account of this journey, and of the fate of our parents, who sailed out two days before the Fall, but were killed by enemy action the next day. They also include a small set of letters written in K.L. by my parents back home in the summer of 1941, and extracts from a small set of letters written around the time of my arrival in England from our father’s mother (to whom we were sent) to our mother’s mother. I hope these give some insight into the lives of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.
My pages also give a more detailed account of a similar journey (from K.L. to England) by a 90-old lady I met by chance in 1996. She also travelled, with her daughter, on the "Empress of Japan". She recorded her memories as a result of the meeting, and her daughter has added her childhood memories.
I am interested in establishing contact with anyone else who sailed on the “Empress of Japan”, but I do not plan to get too immersed in reliving the events. (But it would be nice to meet Hazel!)