29 Aug 1942, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

Submitted by brian edgar on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 15:30

The New York correspondent of the Canberra Times publishes a report of an interview with journalist Vaughn Meisling who was repatriated on the Gripsholm.

The first thing he mentions is that Meisling saw Dorothy Jenner ('Andrea') in Stanley. She worked as a secretary to the Commissioner of Police during the fighting and a bomb scored  a direct hit on her building but she was unharmed apart from shock. In Stanley she'd lost weight but looked well.

Meisling had also met Richard Cloake, formerly of Brisbane, who worked for the South China Morning Post. He'd been ill with typhoid before the war but had recovered and could do physical work - he was pushing a wheelbarrow around camp as a 'food distributor'.

Other Australians he saw in Stanley were 'reasonably well' and all were cheerful.

Food was the biggest problem in camp, but the situation had improved since April when 'it was very bad'.

Source:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2584921

Date(s) of events described