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| Wendy Davies, of Dunedin, with a painted wooden carving which belonged to her aunt, Dorothy Aldrich. Photo by Peter McIntosh. |
A gift by wounded Japanese prisoners of war to a New Zealand
nurse more than six decades ago has led to an emotional
journey to Japan for a Dunedin couple and a surprise meeting
with a former soldier.
The gift - a picture of a Japanese woman in traditional
kimono - was carved from the bottom of a hospital bed end by
Japanese prisoners of war and presented to Sister Dorothy
Aldrich in 1943.
The POWs were recovering from bullet wounds following a riot
at the Featherston camp on February 25, 1943, which left 31
Japanese dead and 74 wounded.
Seventeen died later from their wounds.
The wounded men - captured during the Battle of Guadalcanal -
were taken to Wellington Hospital where Miss Aldrich was the
nursing sister in charge of their ward.
"The prisoners' behaviour was calm, but they appeared
suspicious of the care and attention they were receiving,"
Wendy Davies, the Dunedin-based niece of Miss Aldrich, said.
In an effort to reassure the prisoners her intentions were
genuine, the nurse showed them some possessions which
belonged to her grandfather Arthur Aldrich, who went to Japan
in 1872 to set up the country's first railway system.
Included in those items was an invitation to attend the
Emperor's birthday party, and the Order of the Rising Sun
medal with several other decorations.
Mr Aldrich, who became friends with the emperor, was the
first foreigner to receive the order and was later appointed
first trade consul to New Zealand.
Her grandfather's exploits won over the patients and a "more
relaxed atmosphere prevailed", Mrs Davies said.
To mark their appreciation for her care, the prisoners
painted a wooden carving from a bed head, inscribed on the
back "To Sister Dorothy Aldrich with the compliments from all
of the Japan Empire soldiers hospitalised in Wellington May
1943".
Miss Aldrich died in 1983 and left her niece the carving and
the story - which remained private until now.
Mrs Davies' husband Alan was playing tennis at the Masters
Games in Dunedin in February last year and befriended some
Japanese tennis players.
When the Japanese players returned in January, the Davies
invited them to their house for supper and showed the carving
to the visitors, who "got very excited", he said.
Returning to Japan, the group spoke about their find to a
newspaper, which prompted four Japanese high school pupils to
contact the Davies and invite them to tell their story at
their school last month.
Mr Davies said he told the story of the carving at the school
assembly, and at its conclusion, Ryohei Sugiyama (89) - a
former Featherston prisoner tracked down by the students -
presented a bouquet of flowers to the couple and told them of
his "fond memories of Dorothy".
While ill health prevented former prisoner Mizuno Mamoru (90)
from attending the ceremony, he was represented by his son.
In an emotionally charged letter read aloud at the assembly,
Mr Mamoru confirmed he was the soldier who presented the
carving to Miss Aldrich.
"I was taken good care of by Sister Aldrich. I always admired
her. If it were not for her, I would not be here now.
"I am back in Japan now, and along with other ex-Japanese
soldiers, who have the same feeling of gratitude toward her,
had been planning to invite her to Japan since 1977...
"I have had a good happy life since my return to Japan,
thanks to Sister Aldrich, who taught me the importance of
staying alive."
The couple said the carving was a treasured possession and
they had yet to decide its future.
"Who would have thought that listening to my aunt tell this
story to me as a child would have led to all this, and it has
given us a story to tell to our own children," Mrs Davies
said.
hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz
