A Friendship that Withstood World War II
Fraught with uncertainty, Luis Fernandez Herlihy and his family boarded a sealed train to Berlin on the 16th of July 1940. These trains were on standby at Staatsspoor Station, waiting to evacuate diplomats and members of the International Court of Justice in the event of a crisis. His father, a Mexican consul in Rotterdam, obtained diplomatic immunity for himself and his family, which granted them access to a swift escape from The Hague - away from the arising conflict. To survive, Luis and his family remained in Berlin for several months. Eventually, they boarded an American troop transport ship on which they migrated to New York via a circuitous route.
By Magda Godzina
After working as a doctor for the US military for many years, he retired while residing in Massachusetts. Despite what happened, Luis possessed numerous fond memories about his time at the English school of the Hague (British School in the Netherlands) before he escaped to safety. He wondered what had happened to his childhood friend, Ben Cheng. Fortunately, Mr Weston, the BSN school archivist, was able to get in touch with Luis.
A seed of amity grew into an inseparable friendship between two young boys. Ben Cheng and Luis were childhood best friends.
'I recall so many happy occasions at the Chengs where I also learnt the polite way of eating with chopsticks'
Both boys shared countless beautiful memories: “I recall so many happy occasions at the Chengs - where I also learnt the polite way of eating with chopsticks. Ben and I were inseparable.” reminisced Luis to Mr Weston. Amidst the chaos of the invasion, the two lost contact. They became divided with no knowledge about one another’s whereabouts. Multiple questions arose in Luis’ mind. Had Ben succeeded to flee the occupied Netherlands? Was he still alive? Where was he now?
Aroused by this mystery, Mike Weston’s inner detective resurfaced yet again and he immersed himself in the archives to attempt to acquire answers to some of Luis’ questions regarding Ben.
The assignment at hand was admittedly challenging; only after re-reading everything in the archives from the pre-war period, he uncovered a letter written by Ben’s sister stating that young Ben dreamed of becoming a doctor one day.
Many would have given up after only procuring such a slender lead; Mr Weston decided to phone the British Medical Association hoping they would possess records of a student completing his medical studies in the mid-1950s called Ben Cheng. The lady on the receiving end of the call was of limited assistance, based on the conclusion that there were insufficient details. Persevering, he called once more the following day - a different lady succeeded to provide him with an address, as indeed someone named Ben Cheng had qualified to be a doctor. From there, all he had to do was take a short step to directory inquiries and dial the number. Establishing contact in such a way was incredible at the time - no modern technologies could ease the difficulty of Mr Westons task. Ben Cheng was deeply moved when Mr Weston informed him of who he was and that he was phoning on behalf of his endeared childhood friend Luis.
Reunited once more, Ben and Luis were overwhelmed with happiness that they had found each other after so many years disconnected; another happy ending to yet another poignant story from the old archives of our school.
