Page 21 - moondani kyema
P. 21
ndani kyema, My Story - Ray Moore 21
Hanzhong. Percy was concerned enough to ride his bicycle to Hanzhong to ask Dr.
Xiao what treatment to give. I was too weak to travel. Soon after he left, my condition
deteriorated, so Amy decided to start out on the trip to Hanzhong to get me to Dr
Xiao as soon as possible.
Before we reached Hanzhong, we met Percy returning on his bicycle. He had news
of a second hazard to our health. He told us that a Communist band was
approaching Hanzhong and we would have to flee again. Fortunately he had brought
some medicine with him from Dr. Xiao, and in a couple of days my health improved
dramatically.
But we still had to pack up our things and leave Xixiang. It was only about twenty
months since we had fled to Hankou when I was five weeks old. This time we were
only away for a month before it was safe to return home.
When I was two years old my brother Alan was born, and Amy likes to tell the story of
the wall calendar which on the day he was born, had the text "Trouble is near" from
Psalm 22:11. It seemed funny at the time, but 1937 was also a significant year
marking an event which would have repercussions for China and merge into the
Second World War.
Even earlier than 1937, the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931 and created the
nominally independent state of Manchukuo with Puyi, the last monarch of the Qing
Dynasty, as its emperor. The 1987 film “The Last Emperor” tells the story. Once they
were successful in this venture they started to spread their influence southwards into
China, until they were virtually in control of all the country on three sides of Beijing.
At this point, in 1937, they tried to take control of the Marco Polo Bridge which was to
the south of Beijing and would have cut the city off from the rest of China. The
Chinese defended their position and this marked the beginning of the 2nd Sino-
Japanese War which, in 1941, became part of the Second World War.
In late1938 my parents were getting ready for a trip to Australia for their furlough and
a chance for Percy to meet the in-laws.
We left Hanzhong towards the end of May 1939 and arrived in Perth in August. Amy
was pregnant again and my younger brother Frank was born in October.
Earlier on 3 September 1939 Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war
with Germany. That meant Australia was also officially at war, but only in Europe.
Little did we know the dramatic events that were to happen two years later that would
have a deep impact on the whole family.
Return to Table of Contents
Hanzhong. Percy was concerned enough to ride his bicycle to Hanzhong to ask Dr.
Xiao what treatment to give. I was too weak to travel. Soon after he left, my condition
deteriorated, so Amy decided to start out on the trip to Hanzhong to get me to Dr
Xiao as soon as possible.
Before we reached Hanzhong, we met Percy returning on his bicycle. He had news
of a second hazard to our health. He told us that a Communist band was
approaching Hanzhong and we would have to flee again. Fortunately he had brought
some medicine with him from Dr. Xiao, and in a couple of days my health improved
dramatically.
But we still had to pack up our things and leave Xixiang. It was only about twenty
months since we had fled to Hankou when I was five weeks old. This time we were
only away for a month before it was safe to return home.
When I was two years old my brother Alan was born, and Amy likes to tell the story of
the wall calendar which on the day he was born, had the text "Trouble is near" from
Psalm 22:11. It seemed funny at the time, but 1937 was also a significant year
marking an event which would have repercussions for China and merge into the
Second World War.
Even earlier than 1937, the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931 and created the
nominally independent state of Manchukuo with Puyi, the last monarch of the Qing
Dynasty, as its emperor. The 1987 film “The Last Emperor” tells the story. Once they
were successful in this venture they started to spread their influence southwards into
China, until they were virtually in control of all the country on three sides of Beijing.
At this point, in 1937, they tried to take control of the Marco Polo Bridge which was to
the south of Beijing and would have cut the city off from the rest of China. The
Chinese defended their position and this marked the beginning of the 2nd Sino-
Japanese War which, in 1941, became part of the Second World War.
In late1938 my parents were getting ready for a trip to Australia for their furlough and
a chance for Percy to meet the in-laws.
We left Hanzhong towards the end of May 1939 and arrived in Perth in August. Amy
was pregnant again and my younger brother Frank was born in October.
Earlier on 3 September 1939 Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war
with Germany. That meant Australia was also officially at war, but only in Europe.
Little did we know the dramatic events that were to happen two years later that would
have a deep impact on the whole family.
Return to Table of Contents
