Summary of the 1949 Yangtze Incident |
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By Lt. Cmdr. K. Stewart Hett, MBE, RN (Ret.) |
The civil war between Mao Tse Tung's Communists People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) was in progress in 1949, the Communists were slowly squeezing the KMT into South China. Britain had stationed a guardship at Nanking to protect British lives and property. In April 1949, HMS Amethyst was scheduled to relieve HMS Consort as guardship. The PLA were fast approaching the north bank of the Yangtze, and the changeover might have to take place with the ships steaming between the opposing armies. It was judged safe for Amethyst to proceed up river to relieve Consort, and she sailed from Shanghai, then in KMT hands, on 19 April for the nail biting passage up the Yangtze between the guns of the two opposing armies. Extensive negotiations took place with the Communists to obtain the release of Amethyst. Life onboard Amethyst during the 3 months she was held captive by threatening PLA artillery, was extremely spartan due to damage, heat and lack of ventilation in the summer weather and due to the shortage of stores. During early summer the KMT had been pushed out of China and withdrew to Taiwan. Eventually Amethyst concluded negotiations were getting nowhere and on 30 July she decided to break out, slipped her anchor and made a dramatic escape at night down the river. On escaping from the river Amethyst made the often quoted signal "Have rejoined the Fleet South of Woosung. No damage or casualties. God Save the King." Amethyst's escape and her subsequent return to UK caught the imagination of the British People and received world-wide publicity. A film, 3 books and 2 TV documentaries have been produced describing this incident. Accounts of the escape are still regularly published in the UK national press. Three DSO's, 1 MBE, 4 DSC's, 1 DFC, 7 DSM's and many Mentions in Dispatches were awarded as a result of this incident. Simon, the ship's cat of HMS Amethyst was awarded the Animals VC, the Dicken Medal. |
© Lt. Cmdr. K. Stewart Hett, MBE, RN (Ret.) all rights reserved
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Page published Oct. 5, 2007 |