REVEALED: The sailor sent by China to serve in Royal Navy on D-Day. ROBERT HARDMAN tells the remarkable story of Lam Ping-yu’s role in the invasion and beyond… and his possible fling with a British girl called Violet
He writes about watching the first volleys fired over the heads of troops in landing craft heading – like ‘ants’ – towards the French coast.
He describes German torpedo attacks ‘barely’ missing his Royal Navy ship – three times.
But what makes this previously unseen witness account of D-Day so remarkable is that it was written by a naval officer – van China.
Lam Ping-yu served in the British battleship HMS Ramillies during the Normandy landings and beyond.
His role in the invasion – plus a possible romance with a British girl named Violet – has only now come to light thanks to a bit of luck and diligent sleuthing by two historians.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy that followed this week, we will rightly pay tribute to all the Allied countries who played their part.
Lam Ping-yu (pictured) served in the British battleship HMS Ramillies during the Normandy landings and beyond
Pictured: Revenge-class battleship HMS Ramillies
Lam Ping-yu’s diary – which provides a previously unseen witness account of the D Day landings
However, among the more than 150,000 Allied troops who attacked the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, there were also twenty Chinese naval officers.
Their contribution has been largely forgotten, not least because the revolutionary leaders of communist post-war China preferred to erase all traces of this short-lived alliance with the evil capitalist West.
However, in 2015, builders preparing to demolish a dilapidated apartment building in Hong Kong entered an empty apartment where they found a Japanese imperial sword, old uniform pieces and two boxes of memorabilia, including letters and a diary.
They passed them on to a history buff who realized this was a uniquely Chinese first-hand account of the liberation of France.
Around 8 p.m. I saw the army vehicles, as numerous as ants, scattered and meandering across the sea, moving south,” Lam writes on the eve of D-Day, as the vast Allied fleet crosses the Channel into France.
The next morning he sees the first shots coming from the British flagship, HMS Warspite, the signal for others to follow suit. ‘Around 5am: Warspite was the first to open fire; Ramillies held off the attack due to poor visibility and lack of spotters.
‘Before 6am: Ramillies also opened fire. Three torpedoes were fired at us; we managed to avoid them while at that moment we turned to adjust our firing position.’
The writing is businesslike and largely technical. Nevertheless, it is just a fascinating excerpt from the detailed story of a young man sent from his home in China to learn the art of war from the Royal Navy.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II in 1941, Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek made a request to the West on the time-honored basis that the enemy’s enemy is your friend: would he do something can send people? of its best young naval officers to be trained in Britain and the US? The request was granted.
More than 400 Chinese officers have registered for the scheme. Only 74 were chosen, of whom 50 were sent to the US and 24 left for Britain. Lam finished in first place. It was an epic journey to simply reach their basic education.
However, among the more than 150,000 Allied troops who attacked the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, there were also twenty Chinese naval officers.
A photo of Lam Ping-yu’s colleague from the 24 Chinese officers, Huang, reading in his room
However, in 2015, builders preparing to demolish a dilapidated apartment building in Hong Kong entered an empty apartment where they found a Japanese imperial sword, old uniform pieces and two boxes of memorabilia, including letters and a diary.
Lam Ping-yu’s fellow officer Huang aboard a ship looks out
They flew to Calcutta, traveled through India by train and then sailed to the Mediterranean via Egypt.
By October 1943, the Chinese cadets had dodged U-boats and dive bombers to arrive in Liverpool, from where they were sent to study at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich before joining their ships. Lam’s departure certainly left a young woman feeling very sad.
For among his personal papers was a perfectly preserved letter from someone called Violet, who seems to have met him while working at the China Institute in London’s Gordon Square.
It’s a sweet, innocent letter from another era. “I must say I was shocked when I came to the institute and Tom said you had left. My feelings became confused,” she wrote.
The letter suggests that Lam had given her a pin as a token of his affection and some money for safekeeping.
“If anything happens,” she continues, “I will write to your parents and send them the money… you can count on me.” It is signed simply ‘Yours faithfully Violet. PS more news next time.’
Was there a next time? Who was Violet? We don’t know that for now. These are just some of the many questions that intrigue two Hong Kong-based historians who have been in Britain to piece the story together.
Lam’s colleagues among the 24 Chinese officers
They flew to Calcutta, traveled through India by train and then sailed to the Mediterranean via Egypt
The recruits pictured en route to Britain from China
“It’s not every day you come across a story like this,” says John Mak as we gather, appropriately enough, for tea at London’s Raffles Hotel in the Old War Office building on Whitehall.
Together with fellow researcher Angus Hui, he is preparing a major new exhibition at home, provisionally called Lost and Found in Hong Kong: The Unsung Chinese Heroes at D-Day.
“It is so important to make connections that will help people in Asia gain a deeper understanding of D-Day,” Hui said.
‘It’s a huge event in Europe, but in Asia many people, especially young people, don’t know about it. We want people to connect, just like Lam did in 1944.”
