By all accounts, Michael Seats should have been interned in Santo Tomas Internment Camp.  At thirteen, he and his mother had fled Hong Kong, leaving his father behind.  They were housed in the Sulphur Springs hotel, along with many other British refugees.

Michael Seats, 1943

However, rather than being interned, he was able to get passage on one of the last ships leaving Manila, and ultimately landing in Perth, Australia.  From there, he gained passage on another vessel bound for England.  After sailing through the Panama Canal his ship joined a convoy for several days.

However, after his ship left the convoy, it was attacked by a German submarine!  Rather than giving away the rest of the story, you can read his harrowing account in a Boy’s Life article of July 1943 titled “We Were Torpedoed.”

I would have loved to gotten an update from Michael, but, unfortunately, he passed away in Western Australia in 2018.