In the prisoner - of - war camp at Argyle Street , conditions were very primitive and most unsuitable for the nursing of long - term cases . Nevertheless , it was only possible to transfer patients to one of the hospitals at very infrequent intervals . While at Argyle Street , the Principal Medical Officer operated on four cases of perforated duodenal ulcer and two of acute appendicitis .
In May 1944 , the P.M.O. of R.N. Hospital , Hong Kong , together with six other medical officers , was moved to Sham Shui prisoner - of war camp . He then embarked on a merchant ship which was carrying scrap metal from Hong Kong to Japan .
There were some 250 prisoners - of - war on board this ship , who were accommodated in one of the holds . The journey , broken by a short call at Formosa , was rendered more uncomfortable by the dysentery from which many of the prisoners - of - war were suffering .