The Chinese-made documentary film, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, had its UK premiere on Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Regent Street Cinema in London’s West End. The film recreates a true, but until now largely forgotten, piece of World War II history, where, on October 1, 1942, a Japanese cargo ship carrying over 1,800 British PoWs from Hong Kong to Japan was torpedoed by a US submarine off the coast of China. Left to drown by their captors, over 380 were to be rescued by Chinese fishermen.
In a review written for this website, Fiona Sim, a member of the FoSC Britain Committee, writes, with an eye to contemporary events, that “the documentary serves as an apt warning for how quickly history can be buried when it is not preserved… [it] highlights the importance of uncovering hidden histories and fighting against the censorship of world events as they happen.”
In a short review for the Morning Star, Jenny Clegg writes: “This is a people-centred film which does not allow the shocking brutality to overpower its human message. Why has this episode remained hidden for so long, and why is China’s role as ally absent from our history books? As historian Rana Mitter puts it, it all disappeared ‘down a hole created by the cold war.’”
The documentary includes testimonies from the last two surviving PoWs and the last surviving Chinese rescuer, all of whom have since died. More than 100 relatives of the PoWs attended the March 17 premiere.
Earlier, on February 22, many of them had gathered at a reception held by the Chinese Embassy in London to commemorate the tragic incident and heroic rescue.
The embassy has organised the commemorative event every year since 2023, and this year holds special significance, not only on account of the release of the film, but particularly as it marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Speaking at the reception, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang said: “The heroic rescue bears important witness to China and Britain fighting side-by-side as allies against fascist aggression and has left tales of the profound friendship between our two peoples. Such friendship forged during the Second World War will never fade and has become a valuable asset in our bilateral relations.”
China Daily reported that: “In Zhoushan [where the events occurred], local people have also been passing on this history, by holding commemorative services every year, and curating a dedicated section in the local museum about the incident. Last December, a memorial in remembrance of the fishermen’s rescue of British PoWs was completed, and an official unveiling ceremony is being planned for the summer.
“For Denise Wynne, daughter of Dennis Morley, who was saved from the water and who was the last survivor still alive before his passing in 2021 [at the age of 101], the construction of a memorial in Zhoushan was her father’s final wish. ‘He said they were heroes and there should be a memorial built for the fishermen.’”
Previously, on August 26, 2022, Ambassador Zheng hand-delivered to Denise Wynne a personal letter from Xi Jinping, in reply to the letter she had sent to the Chinese President. The website of the Chinese Embassy reported at the time:
“In his letter, President Xi pointed out that the touching story of heroic fishermen from Zhoushan, Zhejiang coming to the rescue of British prisoners of war on board the Lisbon Maru in 1942 is an important testimony to China and the UK fighting shoulder to shoulder as allies against fascist aggression during World War II. It is also a historical episode epitomising the profound friendship forged between the people of our two countries. The President wrote that he knew the episode well and made a point of bringing up the story during his visit to the UK in 2015.
“Mrs. Wynne was deeply touched when she received President Xi’s letter from Ambassador Zheng. She said she was really honoured and very pleased to receive the letter which President Xi Jinping, despite his busy schedule, wrote personally after reading her letter. She recalled her late father telling the family how the Chinese fishermen, with self-sacrifice and outstanding courage, rescued British prisoners of war from the Lisbon Maru, and saying that this part of history, the kindness of the Chinese fishermen and the profound friendship between the peoples of the two countries should not be forgotten. Mrs. Wynne wrote the letter to President Xi Jinping to thank him for mentioning this part of history during his visit to Britain in 2015 and to express the firm support of the families of the survivors of the Lisbon Maru for the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples from generation to generation.
“Major Brian Finch, who has been committed to collecting the historical documents on the Lisbon Maru and a friend of Mrs. Wynne said that the story… contained the very worst and the very best of humanity: the kindness of the Chinese fishermen was absolutely outstanding and unbelievable as was the cruelty of the fascists. The defeat of Japanese militarism in the Second World War was the success of justice. This touching history is worth remembering and the friendship between the Chinese and British people in the fight against fascism should be passed down from generation to generation.”
Months later, on February 20, 2023, the BBC reported the story under the headline: “PoW’s daughter’s shock at letter from Chinese president”. It quoted Denise Wynne:
“‘I wasn’t really expecting a reply but a few weeks later I got a reply from the president agreeing to look into the matter and things are moving on from there. The Chinese Ambassador’s secretary contacted me asking if we could set a date for the ambassador to come and deliver the letter in person to me and he did. I was quite shocked and humbled… My dad always said if it wasn’t for those Chinese fishermen doing that heroic deed then he wouldn’t have been alive. He wouldn’t have met his wife, had me or had a family.’”
Distribution rights for the film have been acquired by UK-China Film Collab, a non-profit NGO and it will be shown at selected cinemas in Britain and Ireland through the rest of 2025. Details of screenings may be found here.
The NGO’s founder and director, Dr. Hiu Man Chan commented: “The acquisition and distribution planning for this film has been a long journey. We are not a profit driven distributor like most companies and distribution is not our usual activity. But when a film like this comes along which aligns with our missions, we feel like it must be done right.”
Their press release also quoted Brian Finch, Military Advisor and Associate Producer of the film, as saying: “I had been hoping for many years that a film would be made of this very important but almost completely forgotten piece of World War II history. I was delighted to be able to help [Director] Fang Li in the making of this documentary and introduce him to hundreds of relatives of those PoWs who suffered on the Lisbon Maru.
“His determination to see justice done to the memory of those men, particularly the 828 still lying on the seabed of the East China Sea was evident from the outset. This and his empathy with the relatives and compassion for their grieving shone through like a beacon. He faced numerous hurdles in the making of the film, including the impact of COVID as well as many technical and financial difficulties. But he refused to give up. It is fitting that the film is now being released in the UK this year, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.”
Below is the review of the film by Fiona Sim. The articles that follow were originally published by the Morning Star, CGTN and China Daily.
Synopsis
Li Fang’s ‘The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru’ is a historical documentary, first released in 2024, and premiered in Britain in 2025, lifting the lid on a hitherto largely erased chapter of World War 2 history: the deliberate sinking of Japanese freighter ship the Lisbon Maru, which unbeknown to its US attackers had 1,800 British prisoners-of-war onboard. In October 1942, the vessel was secretly transporting the PoWs from Hong Kong – then under British colonial administration – to slave labour in Japan when it was torpedoed by US submarines. The documentary follows the director LI FANG on his journey to uncover the truth: from Japan’s war crimes, to the US’ negligence, to Britain’s own suppression of events, and to the heroic efforts of poor Chinese fishermen, who defied Japanese gunfire and brutal repression to rescue, hide and care for the PoWs, who the Japanese preferred to see drowned rather than rescued.
Summary
Through rare archival footage, mixed media, survivor accounts, and expert weigh-in, the documentary uncovers the long hours experienced by the prisoners all 1,800 of them, held in appalling conditions below deck -as the ship began to sink, leaving them trapped below with water flooding in and escape blocked off by their Japanese imperial captives. The film also highlights the local Chinese fishermen of Dongji Island who, as noted above, risked their lives to rescue as many prisoners-of-war as they could, defying gunfire and facing great risk of persecution and execution by the Japanese imperial navy.
The documentary is an aesthetically accomplished watch, with a polished cinematic feel that accentuates the high emotion moments with pinching string pieces and lingering close-up shots. Key testimonies are accompanied by animation in the documentary. The animation displays the sophistication necessary to convey its message, but without the type of over-the-top sound effects and flashy gimmickry that might detract from the often harrowing story.
Director and producer Fang is clear from the outset that this storytelling comes from a place of passion and responsibility to the history that came before him. The very fact that he went to the lengths of traversing five countries across three continents to gather documents and anecdotal evidence – including interviewing the families of 380 of the survivors – is testament to the dedication that pervades the entire endeavour. The narrative does not condescend to the viewer but neither does it pretend that the sinking of the Lisbon Maru is a widely known historical event. Instead, it takes the viewer on a journey through the lens of Li Fang to piece together what happened in October 1942 from all possible perspectives, whether that be British, American, Japanese, or Chinese.
The documentary’s stars, so to speak, are survivors of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru, Dennis Morley and William Beningfield, who have both since died since the documentary’s making. The survivors were in their nineties at the time of filming. Despite the decades that had passed, both were still deeply impacted. The trauma of the sinking had plagued them in different ways. Morley struggled to talk about the events of 1942; he had not talked about the Lisbon Maru to his children or granddaughter until Fang’s interview with him. On the other hand, Beningfield’s account was crystal clear and he spoke to the camera with such authority that one could mistake the events for being a week, not 80 years, ago.
Indeed, the documentary’s real forte comes in its in-person interviews with the survivors of the Lisbon Maru and their descendants; along with the descendants of Roy McGregor, the submarine commander who gave the orders to torpedo the vessel; and the daughter of Shigeru Kyoda, Captain of the Lisbon Maru. Many descendants were unaware of the struggles and – in some cases – war crimes of their forefathers. The oral tradition of passing down war stories from generation to generation is constrained by the willingness, perspectives and recollections of the storytellers. Without the research undertaken by the film’s production team, much of this rich, tragic history would have been lost to the graves of the survivors and their rescuers.
As for the film’s impact, the documentary itself has inspired Japanese scholar Taeko Sasamoto, co-founder of POW Research Network Japan, to research more about the Chinese rescuers of the survivors of the Lisbon Maru. The film was entered by China for the Oscars and BAFTAs. During its making, in 2022, President Xi Jinping responded to a letter from Denise Wynn, the daughter of Dennis Morley, in 2022, expressing that the story of the Lisbon Maru is, “a historical episode epitomising the profound friendship forged between the people of our two countries.” On June 18, 2024, the survivors were invited to the shipwreck site on Dongji Island in Zhoushan, China to hold a memorial event.
‘The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru’ is a refreshing approach to historical documentary filmmaking. Fang sold multiple homes and became a renter in order to see the documentary through to completion – a rare dedication to the arts and storytelling. The documentary serves as an apt warning for how quickly history can be buried when it is not preserved. In showcasing the ignorant and oftentimes contradictory accounts from family members of Japanese and, to a degree, American military personnel involved in the tragedy of the Lisbon Maru, the film highlights the importance of uncovering hidden histories and fighting against the censorship of world events as they happen. It could not be more pertinent now, considering with the wars and genocides currently being perpetrated. Who is archiving and documenting them?
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru had its London premiere on 20 March. Details of showings may be found here.
Review by Jenny Clegg
ON October 1 1942, a Japanese cargo ship carrying over 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong to Japan was torpedoed by a US submarine off the coast of China. Left to drown by their captors, over 380 were to be rescued by Chinese fisherman.
This untold story of tragedy and heroism, both British and Chinese, has finally been brought to light in this Chinese documentary. Producer/director Fang Yi spent eight years in its making, taking great care to get the facts of history straight.
Tracking down descendants of the POWs through adverts in British newspapers, he conducted some 110 interviews, combined with letters, diaries and the testimonies of two survivors, both nearly 100 years old, to uncover the harrowing experiences of the prisoners.
The horrific conditions in the hold where the POWs were trapped as the ship slowly sank are depicted with great care. Managing to escape, being shot at as they swam, they were picked up by the fishermen who then hid them from the Japanese at great risk, allowing the POWs to make their escape through China and back to Britain.
This is a people-centred film which does not allow the shocking brutality to overpower its human message.
Why has this episode remained hidden for so long, and why is China’s role as ally absent from our history books? As historian Rana Mitter puts it, it all disappeared “down a hole created by the cold war.” This watchable and compassionate film retrieves the history.
UK premiere of WWII atrocity documentary showing China-UK friendship
Chinese-made documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru had its UK premiere on Monday night in London.
Among the audience at Regent Street Cinema were more than a hundred relatives of British prisoners of war who had been aboard the ill-fated ship.
The film documents a World War II atrocity in which some 800 British prisoners of war died at sea after the Japanese vessel they were on was torpedoed.
It’s a human story about suffering and bravery under terrible circumstances, including potential war crimes. It’s also a film about selflessness, showing how several hundred prisoners were rescued when Chinese fishermen risked their lives to pull them from the shark-infested East China Sea.
The documentary included testimonies from the last two surviving POWs and the one remaining Chinese fisherman involved in the rescue, all of whom have since died. As well as photos, reconstructions and artist’s impressions, the film includes interviews with relatives, many of whom attended the screening.
What is the Lisbon Maru story?
The Lisbon Maru was a Japanese cargo ship converted to an armed troop carrier.
In October 1942, it was carrying 1,816 British and Commonwealth prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan when it was hit by a torpedo from an American submarine. The Lisbon Maru was not showing Red Cross signs or other signs that it was a prison ship, as stipulated under international law; seeing the guns on deck, the American submariners assumed it was a troop ship.
As the boat started to sink, the Japanese troops were evacuated but locked the prisoners below deck, in three separate holds. Many managed to escape from two of the holds but were then shot at as they jumped into the sea. Those in the final hold went down with the ship.
An estimated 828 prisoners died, whether trapped on board, shot dead or drowned at sea. Hundreds more might have died were it not for a flotilla of poor Chinese fishermen from a nearby island, who came to the rescue in their tiny sampans. The Chinese risked their lives amid the shooting and managed to take almost 400 survivors back to their small island.
Most of the troops were recaptured the following day by the Japanese and ended up in prison camps, but the kindness was never forgotten. The islanders did successfully hide three of the POWs, who eventually made their way back to England to spread the news.
Audience reaction
Among those watching the premiere were family members of PoWs on the Lisbon Maru.
“I couldn’t stop crying, I was a sopping mess,” said Lindsey Archer, whose uncle died on the ship. “So emotional, so beautifully made, the individual stories that really make the film.”
Ken Salmon’s father survived Lisbon Maru, rescued from the sea by Chinese fishermen. He wore his father’s medals to the screening.
“The thing that comes across is that despite the politics, despite the aggravation that’s in the world, when you get right down to it, people are friendly,” he said.
The film’s producer and director Fang Li first learned of the incident almost 10 years ago. Fascinated that no one he knew had ever heard about it, Fang launched a search for the sunken ship and then set out to find any survivors and relatives – which is when the idea of the documentary took shape.
In 2019 he invited some of the families of those who died aboard the Lisbon Maru to come to Dongji Island for a remembrance ceremony, and then a boat ride out to the sunken wreck.
Fang Li found making the documentary to be emotionally difficult at times.
“We all should remember between people to people, no matter if they are British or Chinese, they are all civilians and friends,” Fang said. “And I would say people should remember during wartime, during World War II, we were allies.”
Military representation
The first draft of the documentary was completed two years ago and shown at British military bases, regimental headquarters of those units which had prisoners aboard the Lisbon Maru.
Retired Major Alastair Goulden, from the Queen’s Regimental Association, was invited to the premiere. Some of the worst losses on the Lisbon Maru were suffered by the Middlesex Regiment, which has since been absorbed into the Queen’s Regiment.
“Regimentally, of course this is a very important event so we are delighted to be recognized at long last,” he said.
Colonel Andy Smith was also in the audience.
“We live in a chaotic world, we can all recognize that, so I think it’s always important to remember some of the factual human stories are where we have come together and where there is humanity,” he said after seeing the film.
With a UK distributor now secured for the film, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru will go on general release in cinemas around the country later this week.
Families remember Chinese fishermen’s heroic rescue of 384 British POWs
Around 100 families and friends of the survivors of the Lisbon Maru gathered at a special event in London on Saturday held by China’s embassy in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the tragic incident and heroic rescue during World War II.
The Lisbon Maru was a cargo vessel that had been requisitioned by the Japanese army 83 years ago, to transport more than 1,800 British prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan. The unmarked ship was mistakenly struck by a US submarine off the Zhoushan Islands in China’s Zhejiang province in October 1942.
Some of the prisoners managed to escape and jumped into the water only to face a hail of machine-gun fire from other Japanese ships that had come to rescue their compatriots.
Local Chinese fishermen rescued 384 prisoners from the sea, who would otherwise have been drowned, or shot by the Japanese army.
The embassy has organized the commemorative event every year since 2023, and this year also marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador to the UK said: “The heroic rescue bears important witness to China and Britain fighting side-by-side as allies against fascist aggression, and has left tales of the profound friendship between our two peoples.
“Such friendship forged during the Second World War will never fade, and has become a valuable asset in our bilateral relations. Indeed, more and more people are now joining us in keeping this memory alive.”
A documentary, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, which includes interviews with two survivors and many families, has been released in China to wide acclaim and will go on the big screen in the UK in March.
Brian Finch, a retired major who was the film’s military advisor and convener of the Lisbon Maru families, said the embassy’s efforts in hosting the event show the importance of the Lisbon Maru story and the importance of establishing people-to-people relationships between the UK and China.
“It is something that is extremely valuable … we shall do what we can to develop relationships between individual people of, in this case, China and Britain, but also other countries as well,” Finch said.
Last year, the families of the survivors formed a Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, to take a more active role in organizing related activities. They are also building a dedicated website, to serve as a repository for details of the men on board the Lisbon Maru.
Anthony Jones, chairman of the association, said: “We hope it will help us maintain an active and informed community … Thank you once again for your time and for joining us in conserving this important part of history, and keeping alive the memories of what our loved ones all suffered.”
Melissa Franklyn, a granddaughter of John Edmund Jupp, who was among the British prisoners of war on the Lisbon Maru, attended Saturday’s event with her husband and three children, to honor the memory of her grandfather. Jupp managed to escape into the water when the ship sank, but he was later captured and sent to a camp in Japan, where he eventually passed away.
“He never came home,” Franklyn said, reflecting on her family’s long-held grief.
Franklyn recalled how her mother, who was only 9 when Jupp died, spent her life talking about the Lisbon Maru tragedy and the bravery of the Chinese fishermen who saved so many people.
“She would be so happy to know that (director) Fang Li had made the film about it and that people are recognizing it,” Franklyn said, adding that she thanked China’s ambassador encouraged everyone to remember the story.
Franklyn also shared how her grandfather’s close friend, William Evans, one of the men who survived, played a crucial role in telling the world what had happened.
“He was able to write to my grandmother and explain everything. He told the world about it,” she said.
For her family, the event was not just about history – it was about ensuring that future generations remember the sacrifices and bravery of those involved.
“I got to learn about our family history, Chinese culture, and the fishermen that helped save all the innocent people as they risked their lives for them,” said Franklyn’s 14-year-old son.
In Zhoushan, local people have also been passing on this history, by holding commemorative services every year, and curating a dedicated section in the local museum about the incident.
Last December, a memorial in remembrance of the fishermen’s rescue of British POWs was completed, and an official unveiling ceremony is being planned for the summer.
For Denise Wynne, daughter of Dennis Morley, who was saved from the water and who was the last survivor still alive before his passing in 2021, the construction of a memorial in Zhoushan was her father’s final wish.
“He said they were heroes and there should be a memorial built for the fishermen,” said Wynne. “I’m just so sad that he wasn’t here to see it all. I thank you all for what you’ve done.”
