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| HMS Peterel |
USS Wake |
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor without warning,
inflicting serious damage on the US Pacific Fleet. At the time of the Pearl
Harbor attack, HMS Peterel was the last commissioned Royal Navy vessel
on the Yangtze (moored at Shanghai) and had been stripped of most weapons.
She was acting as a communication station manned by a skeleton crew and
her three inch guns had been immobilized (it was well recognized that she
had no chance against the extensive enemy forces in the immediate area).
Given the deterioration of relations with Japan, HMS Peterel was fully
rigged with demolition charges in anticipation of the worst.
News of the Pearl Harbor attack was slow to reach Shanghai. At 4:20 am
(two hours after the Pearl Harbor attack) reports began to trickle into
the city. The Peterel was immediately notified by Commander Kennedy R.N.
at the British Consulate and the Peterel was called to battle stations.
Moments thereafter a Japanese launch filled with Japanese marines came
along side her. Lieutenant Stephen Polkinghorn was in command of the Peterel
and he permitted the Japanese officers to come aboard. He was informed
that their nations were at war and that the Peterel must surrender. Polkinghorn
attempted to stall for time so the demolition fuses could be lit and the
code books could be passed down a special chute to be burned in the boiler
room. He therefore invited the Japanese officers to come below deck to
discuss the matter. The Japanese refused and he immediately told them to,
"Get off of my bloody ship!" Moments after the Japanese officers
had retreated to their launch, the Japanese armored cruiser Idzumo, together
with a Japanese gunboat and the French bund onshore, opened fire at point-blank
range. HMS Peterel was hopelessly out gunned, but returned machine gun
fire on the opposing force killing a number of Japanese.
On fire and having received immense damage from enemy guns, HMS Peterel
rolled over and sank as she drifted away from her mooring. The Japanese
proceeded to machine gun the Royal Navy sailors in the water and it was
only due to Chinese rescuers in row boats, who also came under fire, that
the majority of the crew survived. Of the crew of 21, 18 were onboard and
12 survived the attack, taking refuge on a Panamanian merchant vessel,
SS Marizion, which was officered by Norwegians. In violation of international
law, the Japanese boarded the ship and took the survivors prisoner. (Note:
Conflicting records show that the crew of HMS Peterel consisted of 22,
not 21).
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The last trace of HMS Peterel
found on the Shanghai Bund
following her sinking. |
Of the three Peterel crew members onshore during the attack, two were captured,
but the third, P.O. Telegraphist James Cuming, remained at large in Shanghai
for the duration of the war. "The Lonely Battle", an account
of Cuming's harrowing tale, was written by Desmond Wettern in 1960.
HMS PETEREL CREW - December 8, 1941
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Lieutenant Stephen Polkinghorn (CO)
P.O. K. Wainscott
P.O. W. Munn
P.O. Charles E. Linkhorn *
Supply P.O. R. Hayne
L/Sea H. Holman
L/Sea C. Williams (Caradoc Williams?)
A.B. R. Gander
A.B. W. Tipping
A.B. J Mariner
A.B. Harry G. Shepherd *
P.O. Tel. James Cuming *
Tel. W. Liddington
Tel. J. Honeywell
Tel. Ronald Oliver *
P.O. Sto William M. Hornsey *
Chief Sto. A. Prince
L/Sto A. Smith
L/Sto H. Usher
Sto James Dunbar *
C.E.R.A. Arthur G. Allen *
E.R.A. Thomas Gibbons *
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* Fatalities resulting from attack
* Fatalities resulting from internment
* Escaped
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Survivors captured after the sinking were moved amongst the Hongkew, Kiang
Wang and Woosung internment camps in China. Ongoing supplies received from
the British Residents Association (Shanghai) and the International Red
Cross were critical to the survival of those interned. On May 9, 1945,
however, prisoners at Kiang Wang began a long journey out of China, being
moved to the deplorable POW camps in Japan itself. Survivors remained there
until the conclusion of the war.
A short work, "Lieutenant Stephen Polkinghorn", was written by
Peter Oldham in 1984 regarding the experiences of Polkinghorn during the
sinking and his internment. At the time the book was written, Polkinghorn
was 97 years of age and Oldham was able to discuss the period with him.
In 1945 Polkinghorn was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Like HMS Peterel, USS Wake was the last remaining warship of the United
States present at Shanghai on December 8, 1941. Her crew consisted of fourteen
(eight of whom were radio operators) and she had been rigged with demolition
charges. At 4:00 am she was approached by a large body of Japanese marines.
Unaware of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that had occurred two hours
earlier, USS Wake was not prepared for the sudden onslaught.
Wake's commanding officer, Commander Columbus Darwin Smith, was at his private apartment onshore. Within minutes of boarding USS Wake the Japanese forces had taken control as the crew was caught entirely by surprise.
An excellent work, "Officially Dead - The Story of Commander C.D.
Smith", by Quentin Reynolds briefly recounts the taking of USS Wake.
Commander Smith was the nominal Captain of USS Wake and rushed to the dock
from his apartment after being informed that the Japanese were demanding
the surrender of his ship. Upon arriving, a Japanese marine boarding party
had taken her. They had overpowered the sailor on watch and caught a radio
operator just after he had received news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.
I suspect that, had the Japanese boarded Wake just a few minutes later,
she would have been at battle stations. Not a shot was fired and Wake suffered
the ignominious distinction of being the only US Naval vessel captured
during World War II without presenting any resistance.
When Commander Smith arrived at the dock the Japanese would not let him
onboard. At that moment the Japanese opened fire on HMS Peterel and Commander
Smith witnessed her sinking. Part of what he saw included the Japanese
machine-gunning Royal Navy sailors in the water as HMS Peterel sank.
Wake's crew was quickly interned and suffered a similar fate to that of
HMS Peterel. A list of some of her crew who survived the war can be found
here here.
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Japanese marines on USS Wake following her capture.
(Shanghai Bund seen in distance)
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| Captured, USS Wake flies a Japanese flag. |
Most of the aforementioned work describes Commander Smith's internment.
Smith was a truly courageous individual and almost immediately made an
escape from the Woosung POW camp. Unfortunately, he was captured and spent
a month in the infamous Bridge House, a facility used by the Japanese for
interrogation and torture. The Japanese proceeded to try him for the escape
and at one point his Japanese "defense attorney" requested that
Smith be given the maximum sentence, death. The judge had already been
given the sentence by his superiors, ten years in Ward Road Jail (Shanghai)
with all of Smith's military and civilian rights revoked. Ward Road Jail
was a high security prison from which no one had ever escaped and an escape
attempt at this point would inevitably lead to beheading. Undaunted by
his initial failure, Smith methodically began planning his next escape
and went over the wall in September of 1944. Amazingly, by foot (and occasionally
sampan) he made his way through 700 miles of Japanese infested territory
to Nationalist Chinese troops. Thereafter he was repatriated to US forces.
(It should be noted Commander Smith managed his escape to freedom with
two fellow comrades, Commander John B. Woolley of the Royal Navy and US
Marine Jerold B. Storey)
Meanwhile, USS Wake was renamed HIJMS Tatara and entered Japanese naval
service. She survived the war and was recovered by the United States in
1945. In 1946 she was presented to China and renamed Tai Yuan.
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