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Danny Lee


For Diana Fortescue, her parents are simply "The Survivors".
The epithet is not only true, it is the title of a book she has written telling the story of her parents, Tim and Margery Fortescue, who arrived in Hong Kong as newlyweds, fleeing war in Europe to enjoy the good life of parties and horseracing.
The 67 year-old former British civil servant knew little more about her mother and fathers' life, not least the time they spent in Stanley internment camp during the Japanese occupation.
She drew on recollections from her late mother, but was too late to interview her father, who succumbed to Alzheimer's.
In a newly published book, Fortescue paints a raw picture of her parents' life and suffering at the internment camp and how that affected the family in later years.
"He had a very good period of his life, at university, then Hong Kong to begin with. It seemed like too good to be true, and it was too good to be true," the author said.
Released 70 years after the Japanese surrender, The Survivors joins a handful of books to detail life in civilian camps, focusing on the personal experiences of her parents.
Her father was a young Hong Kong cadet serving the colonial government, as assistant private secretary to two Hong Kong governors - Geoffry Northcote and Mark Young.
Fortescue found out that her father, who later become a Conservative lawmaker back in London, was one of the youngest men in the civilian camp.
"It was very hard going back to Britain where some of his friends had died, but a lot of them survived and had a 'good war,'" said Fortsecue.
"Dad didn't have a 'good war' but a relatively safe war in that he was fed in Stanley and wasn't fighting, but it must have been frustrating for a 24-year-old not to be fighting."
Later she would understand her mother's emphasis on not wasting any food, drawing on conditions in Stanley.
Fortescue said: "She couldn't bear to throw food away having been almost starved to death."
The Survivors is on sale at St John's Cathedral bookshop and will be available for download early next year.


Daughter's tale of parents' survival in internment

Diana Fortescue with her book in Central. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Hong Kong

Education

For Diana Fortescue, her parents are simply "The Survivors". The epithet is not only true, it is the title of a book she has written telling the story of her parents, Tim and Margery Fortescue, who arrived in Hong Kong as newlyweds, fleeing war in Europe to enjoy the good life of parties and horseracing.
