I. Introduction
During World War II (WWII), thousands of American and Allied nation civilians endured more than three years of imprisonment (1942-1945) by the Japanese Empire in Manila’s Santo Tomas Internment Camp (STIC), among others. Many former internees — and others as well — have produced numerous works about their experiences. Using conventional terminology, those works can be divided into two categories, primary and secondary. Very briefly, primary sources are original materials by those who personally experienced certain events; while secondary sources are based on studies of primary sources, however defined. The distinction will vary, of course, depending on the nature of a given project.
Identifying the primary works written about STIC is a relatively simple task. Indisputably they would include — and perhaps even be limited to — the three books that likely most, if not all, STIC alumni, and others interested in STIC history, would select as indispensable works. Those three books and their authors comprise a Big Three hallowed within the STIC community. Listed in alphabetical order of their authors, they are:
- A. V. H. Hartendorp, The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, two volumes (1967); abridged version published as The Santo Tomas Story (1964)
While I would not necessarily claim that any other publication qualifies as a primary source, in my opinion there is one work that unquestionably merits special attention. This is not to say that it has been overlooked or neglected, but it has never been viewed as even remotely comparable to the Big Three books. Clearly that is because it is not a conventional (non-digital) book; rather, counting its front & back pages, it is only a humble ten-page mimeographed pamphlet — or brochure, to use a fancier term.
Nonetheless, I believe that pamphlet could well be regarded as a major secondary source, if not the equivalent of a semi-primary source (to coin a phrase). That possibility could be inferred just from its title and its publication date. That and related identification appear on the title (or cover) page as follows: The Liberation Bulletin of Philippine Internment Camp No. 1 at Santo Tomas University Manila, Philippines February 3rd, 1945.
Three aspects of the title page are worth pointing out. One is the significance of the date, which is annually observed by the STIC community as Liberation Day. Second, the un-italicized title will instead be italicized herein, as befits a published work: The Liberation Bulletin. And third, the author’s name, Peter Richards, is barely noticeable (if you squint while searching for it) at the bottom of the title page.
That third fact helps explain Richards’ virtual anonymity within the STIC community. Much more of a factor is that Richards himself, though not a recluse, definitely was not a publicity-seeker; he consistently avoided the limelight. As one result, there are absolutely no photos of him to be found on the internet, except for one group photo — and even there, he is partially obscured. This chronicle seeks to ameliorate, if not reverse, that lamentable situation.
Peter Richards (third from end on the right) with the staff of the Manila Chronicle 1955
