Page 103 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 103
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
successfully recommended Mr. George Yeh, who became Foreign Minister in 1950,
as his counterpart. London Swires have rendered some assistance to that office in the
early stage.
In late 1942 GFA served as the First Secretary whose office was very much of military
structure. He had Major James McMullan (ex China Inland Mission and later acted as
agent in Chefoo for Jardines) as his assistant and a Captain Lansen as his ADC. His
staff at one time or another consisted of Lt. Col. Malcolm Smythe (ex Deputy
Commissioner of Shanghai Municipal Police), Major Gordon Harmon and other
military personnel. Lt. Col. John Cowie (of Dairy Farm in Hong Kong), once the Head
of British Military Mission in Chongqing, was one of GFA’s subordinates.
GFA was actively involved in Force 136, a small detachment formed by mainly British
businessmen and missionary workers operating behind the enemy line. One of their
functions was to harass the Japanese by, for example, blowing up locomotives and
dropping poison in the wells, often ignoring the Japanese retaliation to the local
people. GFA also liaised with Chinese Military about the time and place for such
harassments, either in conjunction with or in defiance of the Chinese guerillas.
GFA was so conscious of the damage which he had inflicted on the Japanese by
unorthodox methods that, when the Kuntsen ship in which he travelled
Seattle\Japan\Taiwan\Hong Kong stopped over at Japan for over ten days, he chose
not to land there lest he might be poisoned by the Japanese as he told me. This was
in the autumn of 1960, a good fifteen years after the war.
GFA often dealt with General Tai Li the Head of the Chinese Secret Service and
military intelligence people. He also accompanied the British Ambassador and
General Carton de Wyatt, Winston Churchill’s personal representative to
Generalissimo Jiang, on all important meetings with the Chinese senior officials. His
expertise and wit had helped a great deal in cushioning confrontations, eg when the
British held up the JS/China supply passing through India and diverted it for use at
Kohima and Imphal, the west most thrust of the Japanese army.
GFA’s importance began to wane in early 1945 when more ‘professionals’ started to
phase in shortly before Admiral Lord L. Mountbatten established his headquarters in
India. By that time his health and stress of work also began to take their toll.”
Several times in 1944-45 he stayed overnight with us in Hanzhong on his way to Xi’an as I remember,
or it may have been to Gansu. We never liked to enquire too closely in those days about the purpose
of his trips, and I don’t suppose he would have told us if we had. I do remember that when Jimmy
McMullen (Major?) Was killed in Xi’an, Uncle came through en route to Xi’an to take charge of his
affairs, and I got the impression that Major McMullen was on his staff. The McMullens were an old
Chefoo family and he knew them well. Later in December 1945, Esther wrote to us,
“We heard from George from Shanghai. He is in Butterfield & Swire house and has
Tom Lindsay with him and also Jimmy McMulla’s wife and child (little Jimmy). She
almost lost her reason over Jimmy’s death, but she has taken charge of the
housekeeping for Tom and George, and George says she will recover. The
Ambassador in Chongqing got her and Jimmy down to Shanghai by air.”
103
Amy Moore
successfully recommended Mr. George Yeh, who became Foreign Minister in 1950,
as his counterpart. London Swires have rendered some assistance to that office in the
early stage.
In late 1942 GFA served as the First Secretary whose office was very much of military
structure. He had Major James McMullan (ex China Inland Mission and later acted as
agent in Chefoo for Jardines) as his assistant and a Captain Lansen as his ADC. His
staff at one time or another consisted of Lt. Col. Malcolm Smythe (ex Deputy
Commissioner of Shanghai Municipal Police), Major Gordon Harmon and other
military personnel. Lt. Col. John Cowie (of Dairy Farm in Hong Kong), once the Head
of British Military Mission in Chongqing, was one of GFA’s subordinates.
GFA was actively involved in Force 136, a small detachment formed by mainly British
businessmen and missionary workers operating behind the enemy line. One of their
functions was to harass the Japanese by, for example, blowing up locomotives and
dropping poison in the wells, often ignoring the Japanese retaliation to the local
people. GFA also liaised with Chinese Military about the time and place for such
harassments, either in conjunction with or in defiance of the Chinese guerillas.
GFA was so conscious of the damage which he had inflicted on the Japanese by
unorthodox methods that, when the Kuntsen ship in which he travelled
Seattle\Japan\Taiwan\Hong Kong stopped over at Japan for over ten days, he chose
not to land there lest he might be poisoned by the Japanese as he told me. This was
in the autumn of 1960, a good fifteen years after the war.
GFA often dealt with General Tai Li the Head of the Chinese Secret Service and
military intelligence people. He also accompanied the British Ambassador and
General Carton de Wyatt, Winston Churchill’s personal representative to
Generalissimo Jiang, on all important meetings with the Chinese senior officials. His
expertise and wit had helped a great deal in cushioning confrontations, eg when the
British held up the JS/China supply passing through India and diverted it for use at
Kohima and Imphal, the west most thrust of the Japanese army.
GFA’s importance began to wane in early 1945 when more ‘professionals’ started to
phase in shortly before Admiral Lord L. Mountbatten established his headquarters in
India. By that time his health and stress of work also began to take their toll.”
Several times in 1944-45 he stayed overnight with us in Hanzhong on his way to Xi’an as I remember,
or it may have been to Gansu. We never liked to enquire too closely in those days about the purpose
of his trips, and I don’t suppose he would have told us if we had. I do remember that when Jimmy
McMullen (Major?) Was killed in Xi’an, Uncle came through en route to Xi’an to take charge of his
affairs, and I got the impression that Major McMullen was on his staff. The McMullens were an old
Chefoo family and he knew them well. Later in December 1945, Esther wrote to us,
“We heard from George from Shanghai. He is in Butterfield & Swire house and has
Tom Lindsay with him and also Jimmy McMulla’s wife and child (little Jimmy). She
almost lost her reason over Jimmy’s death, but she has taken charge of the
housekeeping for Tom and George, and George says she will recover. The
Ambassador in Chongqing got her and Jimmy down to Shanghai by air.”
103
