| biography | Tom Yamaura was one of the first men to be shipped to a Prisoner Camp in 1942. Before, he was training to be a mechanical engineer but once the war started the army stepped in and he was demoted to the position of labourer. Quickly fed up with the situation, Tom soon quit and moved back home.
Shortly afterwards, the RCMP showed up and asked him to sign in at Hastings Park. He believes his actions of quitting and going back home is why he was singled out. After signing in to Hastings Park, he was transported by train to Neys, Ontario. Tom was dropped off in the middle of the forest with 19 other men. It was not until 10 minutes later, they heard voices and were led to a log cabin where the slept the night. The next morning at 6, they rose and walked a day's hike to their permanent camp deep in the woods. There, prisoners were set to labour tasks; Tom mainly worked in the kitchen. He can remember one overseer using a horse whip on the prisoners to make them move faster. Amongst the Japanese Canadian men were German prisoners of war, captured from a submarine. The germans wore jumpsuits that had red targets printed on their back. Tom remembers them as being quite young and acting as if they were on a picnic with not a care in the world. One Japanese Canadian had enough and tried to escape but the cold got to him and he was found, after the camp's dog brought his cap back, passed out on the road.
Tom's skills as an engineer gave him reprise and he was soon sent to help a local farmer tend his land. He built the man a rising platform that would help pick the fruit from the trees easier. He also helped to spray the orchard with a propelled sprayer that eventually lead to his hearing loss (he has ringing in his ears). To save him, his family, rather than moving back to Japan, choose to move to the east of Canada and set up a farm. Thereby freeing Tom from his current predicament. The family stayed in Ontario until 1950, finally moving back to Vancouver. |