[Civilian] Samara Thomson, christened Mavis Rosemary Hamson
Description:
Born:
3 October 1936
Pre-war:
Mavis (generally known as ‘May’) grew up in a loving family in Kowloon Tong. Her parents were both Eurasian: Arthur Bird Hamson was a car salesman, and his wife, Edith, was a kindergarten teacher at the Diocesan Girls’ School.
May was partly cared for by three Chinese amahs, and she learned to speak both Chinese and English fluently. In 1940 she was evacuated from Hong Kong with her mother and her younger brother, Richard, alongside other women and children of the colony. Most of the evacuees reached their planned destination, Australia, but because of prejudice against non-Europeans, the Hamsons and other Eurasians were returned from the Philippines.
May attended Maryknoll Kindergarten in Kowloon. She loved the school, especially the singing lessons. In the period leading up to the Japanese attack she sensed her parent’s anxiety and realised that a change was coming, although she did not know what this might be. When her grandmother Emily and her young aunt Leilah joined their household she knew they shared her parents’ worries.
Wartime:
On 8 December 1941, May was dressed and ready for school. Her father and grandmother had already left for work and she was eating breakfast with her mother, Leilah, and Richard when they heard a deep rumble getting closer and closer until it became a deafening roar. Her mother told May and Richard to get under the table. Her father returned hurriedly through the back door just as the first bomb was detonating. The explosion shook the whole house - even the foundations vibrated. May’s father decided they should seek the safety of their designated air raid shelter. The family huddled together all that day and night as the bombing continued; May’s mother did her best to comfort the dazed, confused, and weeping girl.
The next day they returned home, but as bombs continued to fall and May’s father had to scare off a constant stream of looters, the family decided to seek safety in the hills close to Lion Rock. When they heard that British civilians were fleeing to Hong Kong island, they went home for one night and gathered what possessions they could. On the morning of 12 December, they and two neighbours began the journey to the waterfront. Before long their van was stopped at a roadblock and May trembled with terror as Japanese soldiers surrounded the car, dragged out her father at gunpoint, and made him stand with his hands above his head as they hit him with a rifle butt. The males in the party were forced to join others who were waiting at the side of the road, while May, her mother, and Leilah were allowed to continue on foot. May cried as she feared she would never see her father again. The journey seemed to her more like a nightmare than reality, although the image of a Japanese soldier being shot and falling off a bridge was etched into her mind for decades.
Rather than continue to the waterfront, May’s mother decided to go to the hospital where her own mother was a volunteer nurse. As they pushed through the crowded streets, May was terrified and on occasion, she almost lost her hold on her mother’s hand. When they arrived at the hospital, she was in a state of shock; she was given a blanket, and huddling underneath it gave her some sense of security - she never wanted to come out from beneath it. Throughout her stay in the hospital - and in improvised accommodation nearby - May was upset and longed for her father.
Eventually, they ended up with many other civilians in the Kowloon Hotel. They were crowded into rooms and made to sleep on the floor. It was the beginning of experiencing hunger pains due to the poor supply of food. Rice and bean curd became the staple diet. She was aware that at night, women were taken away, her mother almost one of them. One day, her father was brought in with a batch of prisoners, and he rushed to clasp May in his arms. From then on, nothing seemed so bad, and for the first time, she could sleep in spite of the hardness of the floor.
After about two weeks, the family was sent to Stanley Camp to be interned alongside about 2,600 other civilians. May’s family were together and she was finally freed from the crowded and uncomfortable hotel.
Surprisingly she was no longer traumatised and felt able to enjoy the boat ride as an adventure. May and her family remained in Stanley for the rest of the war.
Further Reading:
Allana Corbin, Prisoners of the East (Sydney: Pan Macmillan, 2002). The author would like to thank Samara Thompson for access to her unpublished autobiography and her helpful comments.
Born:
3 October 1936
Pre-war:
Mavis (generally known as ‘May’) grew up in a loving family in Kowloon Tong. Her parents were both Eurasian: Arthur Bird Hamson was a car salesman, and his wife, Edith, was a kindergarten teacher at the Diocesan Girls’ School.
May was partly cared for by three Chinese amahs, and she learned to speak both Chinese and English fluently. In 1940 she was evacuated from Hong Kong with her mother and her younger brother, Richard, alongside other women and children of the colony. Most of the evacuees reached their planned destination, Australia, but because of prejudice against non-Europeans, the Hamsons and other Eurasians were returned from the Philippines.
May attended Maryknoll Kindergarten in Kowloon. She loved the school, especially the singing lessons. In the period leading up to the Japanese attack she sensed her parent’s anxiety and realised that a change was coming, although she did not know what this might be. When her grandmother Emily and her young aunt Leilah joined their household she knew they shared her parents’ worries.
Wartime:
On 8 December 1941, May was dressed and ready for school. Her father and grandmother had already left for work and she was eating breakfast with her mother, Leilah, and Richard when they heard a deep rumble getting closer and closer until it became a deafening roar. Her mother told May and Richard to get under the table. Her father returned hurriedly through the back door just as the first bomb was detonating. The explosion shook the whole house - even the foundations vibrated. May’s father decided they should seek the safety of their designated air raid shelter. The family huddled together all that day and night as the bombing continued; May’s mother did her best to comfort the dazed, confused, and weeping girl.
The next day they returned home, but as bombs continued to fall and May’s father had to scare off a constant stream of looters, the family decided to seek safety in the hills close to Lion Rock. When they heard that British civilians were fleeing to Hong Kong island, they went home for one night and gathered what possessions they could. On the morning of 12 December, they and two neighbours began the journey to the waterfront. Before long their van was stopped at a roadblock and May trembled with terror as Japanese soldiers surrounded the car, dragged out her father at gunpoint, and made him stand with his hands above his head as they hit him with a rifle butt. The males in the party were forced to join others who were waiting at the side of the road, while May, her mother, and Leilah were allowed to continue on foot. May cried as she feared she would never see her father again. The journey seemed to her more like a nightmare than reality, although the image of a Japanese soldier being shot and falling off a bridge was etched into her mind for decades.
Rather than continue to the waterfront, May’s mother decided to go to the hospital where her own mother was a volunteer nurse. As they pushed through the crowded streets, May was terrified and on occasion, she almost lost her hold on her mother’s hand. When they arrived at the hospital, she was in a state of shock; she was given a blanket, and huddling underneath it gave her some sense of security - she never wanted to come out from beneath it. Throughout her stay in the hospital - and in improvised accommodation nearby - May was upset and longed for her father.
Eventually, they ended up with many other civilians in the Kowloon Hotel. They were crowded into rooms and made to sleep on the floor. It was the beginning of experiencing hunger pains due to the poor supply of food. Rice and bean curd became the staple diet. She was aware that at night, women were taken away, her mother almost one of them. One day, her father was brought in with a batch of prisoners, and he rushed to clasp May in his arms. From then on, nothing seemed so bad, and for the first time, she could sleep in spite of the hardness of the floor.
After about two weeks, the family was sent to Stanley Camp to be interned alongside about 2,600 other civilians. May’s family were together and she was finally freed from the crowded and uncomfortable hotel.
Surprisingly she was no longer traumatised and felt able to enjoy the boat ride as an adventure. May and her family remained in Stanley for the rest of the war.
Further Reading:
Allana Corbin, Prisoners of the East (Sydney: Pan Macmillan, 2002). The author would like to thank Samara Thompson for access to her unpublished autobiography and her helpful comments.
Sources: Photo: Brian Edgar; Text: Brian Edgar
