Prisoner of War Escapes during SS Lisbon Maru Torpedo Attack

The contributor shared that his grandfather, William Bramham, divorced the contributor's grandmother after the Second World War. Although William remained in Burton-on-Trent, the contributor shared that his grandfather never saw his children after the divorce. The contributor advised that he had met William in his capacity as a funeral director when his grandfather was arranging the funeral for his second wife, and the contributor's father met William once after that. The contributor noted that William had earned the Italy Star, the Defence Medal, and the War Medal 1939-1945 due to his service as an aircraft gunner on the ground.

The contributor shared that his grandmother, Phoebe Morris, worked for Pirelli during the war, as well as picking potatoes near Tatenhill.

The contributor also discussed Archibald Laban, who was a master gunner prior to the war and stayed on in Hong Kong. The contributor advised that Archibald was in the Royal Hong Kong Dockyard Police and could speak both Mandarin and Cantonese. The contributor shared that it was a family belief that Archibald worked in the dockyard to listen to the workers and report back to military intelligence. The contributor noted that Archibald was captured by Japan when they captured Hong Kong. Archibald was being transported on SS Lisbon Maru to Japan for slave labour when the ship was torpedoed by the United States. The contributor stated that, when the ship was sinking, the Japanese tried to fasten people on board and also machine gunned into the water. The contributor told that Archibald was rescued and transported to Japan for medical research. Archibald survived the war, and the contributor highlighted that he went on to have 2 children and several grandchildren.