HMS Falcon, HMS Gannet and HMS Sandpiper

HMS FALCON, HMS GANNET AND HMS SANDPIPER - ACTIONS FROM 1939 THROUGH 1940

Due to the Japanese invasion of China and the blockading of the Yangtze by Chinese forces, it was impossible for crews of British gunboats on the upper Yangtze to use the Yangtze as a means of egress. They were, instead, forced to leave China overland and I have only maganed to identify two of the routes by which they left.

The first route took the crews from Chungking to Guiyang, down to Dong Dang (at the border of Vietnam) and then through Hanoi to Hai Phong. This route was probably used somewhere from April to July of 1939. Alfred Turner, one of the Falcon's crew during this period, appears to have taken this route. Alfred Turner's son, Graham Turner, has related that trucks were used all the way to Dong Dang, the remaining journey occurring by train. A photograph from this journey can be found here.

Ronald Lydion, another of the Falcon's crew, also left China somewhere between 1939 and 1940. His son, Jon Lydon, submitted a number of photographs of Ronald Lydon's journey which can be found here. I am not absolutely certain this was the same trip as that taken by Alfred Turner, but it seems highly likely. (If it is a later trip the photographs are probably from the route described immediately below)

The second route out of China was used in January of 1940 and took the crews from Chungking, through Kunming and to Lao Cai on the border of Vietnam. The crews then proceeded to Hanoi and out to Hai Phong. The following information documents the 1940 evacuation of half of the crews of HMS Falcon and HMS Gannet. It also describes the actions of Falcon, Gannet and Sandpiper during the period described.

The excerpt below comes from, "The Royal Navy and the Sino-Japanese Incident" (by Martin H. Brice - published in 1973). This is an exceptional work and contains hundreds of references to Royal Navy river gunboat actions in China between 1937 and 1941. If you are interested in this period it's a must. (I would suggest you try www.abebooks.com if you are having difficulties locating a copy.)

The following excerpt begins with events occurring towards the end of 1939...

...The three gunboats on the Upper River were even more of a problem. Sandpiper, Gannet and Falcon were still stationed at Changsha, Ichang and Chungking respectively. Although outside the zone of Japanese occupation, all three cities were subjected to prolonged air raids. Even if commerce along the Yangtse had been proceeding without these interruptions the three gunboats would have had little to do. Their original role had been the protection of British property and trade against Chinese rioters and pirates. Now China and Britain were friends against a hostile Japan, and there were no riots. Falcon provided a radio link for the British Embassy at Chungking, but this facility was not required at Ichang or Changsha. There were also extra maintenance and mooring problems at the other two cities. So it was decided that Sandpiper (who had completed her last refit in June 1937) should be laid up at Changsha. Her crew was withdrawn via a perilous overland route to the sea at Ningpo, part of the journey being completed in passenger-carrying wheelbarrows. Gannet was ordered to leave Ichang and move upriver to Chungking where she would be decommissioned. Two half-crews from her and Falcon (the men who had been longest in China) would be withdrawn and the rest accommodated in Falcon, who would remain in commission.

irrelevant information omitted...

...Meanwhile preparations had been going ahead for the withdrawal of the two half-crews from Falcon and Gannet at Chungking. Four officers and fifty ratings would travel by road to Kunming and then over the Yunnan Railway into French Indo-China. This was the plan, although they had to carry enough provisions to live on independently along the road to Kunming, and then right through Burma, in case Japanese bombing had completely cut the Yunnan Railway. These provisions were in addition to a quantity of naval stores that had to be returned to Hong Kong for various reasons. The Asiatic Petroleum Company's installation about nine miles below Chungking ran a well-maintained fleet of trucks and ten vehicles were hired from them, together with experienced Chinese drivers. Officers and men were not to wear visible uniforms, so padded Chinese gowns and jackets, balaclavas and insubstantial coarse-haired boots were bought and issued. They were to prove quite adequate, even in the cold weather of the mountains. Plenty of travel and identity documents for personnel, stores, baggage and lorries were provided by the Consul-General, but were never required once on the road.

Because overnight accommodation was scarce on the road journey, two convoys of five lorries each were formed. One truck, loaded with stores and baggage, carried the commanding officer and one petty officer with the rest of the half-party travelling in the remaining four. Lashed-up hammocks were used to form a fairly warm and comfortable nest in the back of the trucks. Commander A. F. St. G. Orpen's convoy with Gannet's half-crew left on the morning of January 22nd. Lieutenant J. A. McClure followed with Falcon's half-crew next day. Both mornings were cold and wet. Despite their official anonymity each lorry of the second convoy bore, in chalk, the proud slogan `Falcon's Mystery Tour'.

As the road ran through magnificent mountains at a height of 3000-6000 feet, there was a good deal of ice. This, combined with steep gradients, narrow width, unmetalled surface, hairpin bends, sheer precipices and numerous wrecks, was not very soothing to the nerves. Still, the drivers were skilful and each day's journey ended before dark. At each night's stop, the commanding officer called on the local military authorities and his request for guards for the lorries was always granted. Conversations were conducted in a mixture of Mandarin Chinese and French, but there was never any lack of understanding. They slept in local inns, most of which (except for the one in the beautiful city of Kutsing) were primitive, dirty and infested with rats who seemed to spend the night jumping on top of the sleepers. The hairy boots afforded some protection against these and other vermin, while boiling water was always available. Unlimited quantities of eggs and cooked chicken could be bought at very low prices. The rum ration at the end of the day was a boon and so too was a stiff whisky before the early morning starts.

In spite of the discomforts the journey was enjoyable and full of interest. They were held up for two hours at one icebound pass and there was one minor accident in which a seaman broke his nose, but otherwise everything went according to plan. They arrived at Kunming in the afternoons of January 28th and 29th respectively, in warm sunny weather. The British Consul-General had arranged accommodation in excellent French hotels and the small British community lavished hospitality on them during their stay. The trucks were emptied and filled with naval stores destined for Falcon back at Chungking while the travellers' stores and baggage were loaded into a railway wagon.

The French had built, and were operating the steam-hauled, single-track Yunnan Railway which ran between Kunming, Lao Kai, Hanoi and Haiphong. The northern half dropped from the Yunnan Plateau through the mountains to the flatter, jungle country to the south. On the mountainous stretch there were one hundred and seventy-two tunnels and one hundred and seven major bridges, the most spectacular being the Butterfly Bridge (two inverted cantilevers spanning a gorge with a tunnel at each end) and the Lace Bridge (a tall and graceful lattice structure with a tunnel at the northern end). The journey to the Chinese IndoChina frontier promised superb views. It also promised trouble. Japanese bombing had destroyed one bridge, but a shuttle service was operating either side of the damaged section.

Coaches had been reserved on a train which left Kunming at 08.00 hrs on January 31st and that evening they reached the wrecked bridge. It was still under repair, so all the passengers and their gear had to be transferred to another train waiting on the far side. Next day they crossed the Lace Bridge about 14.30 hrs and just beyond waited in a loopline at Paochai Station for a northbound train to pass. Immediately after it had gone by, they heard the familiar drone of Japanese bombers. Everyone jumped out and threw themselves down on the embankment while two waves of twenty-seven bombers made unopposed attacks on the Lace Bridge from about 5,000 feet.

Although the gorge below was pitted with craters, the Lace Bridge was undamaged, while the northbound train had taken cover in the short tunnel. This was its undoing. Bombs had burst in the tunnel mouth at each end and their blast had totally shattered the heavy wooden carriages. The tunnel was pitch dark and full of choking dust and smoke, from which came the cries of the injured. There were some torches but most of the rescue work had to be done by feel and sound. The heavier baulks of timber could not be dislodged and protruding limbs which felt cold when touched were left. Others, dangling, had to be snipped off by the doctors before their owners could be moved. In the engine was the grisly sight of the driver and fireman roasting against the firebox where they had been hurled. After three hours the sailors and local Chinese had extricated about a hundred casualties and had carried them to the southbound train. This was less than half the number known to be on the train and did not include any of the French passengers. The train arrived at Lao Kai about 00.30 hrs. The casualties were taken to the French hospital, the two Royal Navy doctors helping there for the rest of the night.

Next evening their train reached Gai Lam junction near Hanoi where they were met by the Director of the Railway and the ADC to the Governor of Tongking. A special rail car was laid on for the last lap to Haiphong where a heroes' welcome awaited them. A fleet of bicyclettes-pousse-pousse (trishaws) whisked them to the docks and the local British community raised a fund to give everyone a night ashore before sailing in the ss Yu Sang. Butterfield and Swire provided a free quart of beer a day for each man during the three-day passage to Hong Kong. Presently they boarded a P & 0 liner, bound for the United Kingdom; their China adventures were over.

irrelevant information omitted...

...In May 1940 the Japanese in Central China recommenced their drive on Ichang, Falcon calling there before they occupied the city. Returning upriver she spent most of the summer at Tan Chia To where Gannet lay empty and lifeless. They checked her condition and put in some time at the local tennis courts before proceeding the last few miles to Falcon's usual berth at the Butterfield and Swire pontoon opposite Chungking. There she remained, unharmed by continuous Japanese bombing which was directed more towards the part of Chungking overlooking the Kialing River. Their life was enlivened by two incidents: once they entertained Sir Stafford Cripps during a stopover on his journey through China and Russia and once Falcon hid a Gaullist seaman from the Vichy French gunboat Balny. There was also a rather memorable cricket match. With only two runs to go Falcon's First Lieutenant responded to his partner's `Come on!' and was run out. The watching Chinese, already baffled by this strange British ceremony, were amazed to see one phlegmatic Englishman chasing his fellow-countryman, waving a cricket bat and threatening all sorts of dire fates.

irrelevant information omitted...

...Her ports seized, those few still open blockaded, her rivers blocked, her roads cut, her railways destroyed, her cities occupied or in ruins, China still fought on. Her government had made many protests about the closure of the Burma Road and on October 18th, when Britain was in a slightly stronger position at home, it was reopened. Some of the first travellers out of China, were a small group of Falcon's crew returning home via Lashio. In the reverse direction went stores and arms, many now from America, as China had appealed to the USA for aid. Alliances were being re-forged on the other side, too, with the announcement of the Mutual Assistance Pact between Japan, Germany and Italy.

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