R. G. Southerton drawings from the Hoover Institution

There is a small collection of drawings by former STIC internee, Robert Grindley Southerton Jr., in the Hoover Institution Archives, in Palo Alto, California.  I found them in a folder in the 37-box collection of materials donated by Roger Mansell.  

In 2005, Robert’s daughter, Lorna Loveland, who has granted permission to post these items, wrote on Tom Moore’s website:

“My father’s name is Robert Grindley Southerton (RGS 2) . He was interned in Santo Tomás in the Philippines with his mother, Edith Southerton, when the harbour was bombed and the ship’s crew mutinied. They had been on holidays in Australia and were returning to Shanghai when war broke out. They only got as far as Hong Kong. My grandfather, whose name is also Robert Grindley Southerton, [had] sent his wife and my dad to Australia for safety and that was how they ended up in Santo Tomás.”

Robert Grindley Southerton Jr. (Source: Lorna Loveland)

Robert was about 16-years-old when he made these drawings in 1942.  In 1943, he and his mother were transferred back to China, to be reunited with the rest of their family at the Yu Yuen Road Camp, Shanghai.  Robert died in 1980 in New South Wales, Australia.

Photo courtesy of Lorna Loveland.

Credit for making these available is courtesy of Lorna Loveland.  Link to a longer article on the Southerton family.  Click on any of the drawings to enlarge.

R. G.. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas main building, 1942
R. G.. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas main building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of the courtyard of the Santo Tomas main building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of the courtyard of the Santo Tomas main building, 1942
R. G.. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas Education building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas Education building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of restaurant at Santo Tomas, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of restaurant at Santo Tomas, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas main Seminary building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas main Seminary building, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas University campus, with notes, 1942
R. G. Southerton drawing of Santo Tomas University campus, with notes, 1942

The Andersons of Davao

Alonzo and Mayte Anderson, 1946

Alonzo and Mayte Anderson, 1946

A brief article was published last week in the Adventist Review regarding the lives of two former Davao and STIC internees, Alfonso and Mayte Anderson.

The author, Bruce N. Anderson, begins “For more than three decades, Alfonso Nils Anderson and his wife, Mayte Landis Anderson, were missionaries to the Japanese people, first in Japan, then in the Japanese community in the Philippines, where they survived three years in the harsh conditions of World War II internment camps.”

The article describes the background and marriage of the couple and details their years in Japan, from 1915 – 1937. It then tells of their move to Mindanao and ultimately their internment in Davao and later Santo Tomás. For more, link to the full article. This article is also published in the Encyclopedia of Seventh-Day Adventists.

Photo courtesy of Bruce N. Anderson.