Diary pages from this date

The Maryknoll Fathers continue to clean up their house which has been left in a dreadful state both inside and outside.  Their Ford V-8 is still there though: the Japanese tried to start it, but 'someone had previously subtracted an essential mechanism'.

Vice-Chancellor Duncan Sloss and the Deans of Hong Kong University hold a secret Senate meeting on the campus, which Sloss has arranged with the Japanese is a temporary internment camp. Fourteen medical students who were taking their finals at the time of the attack are granted war-time degrees - they'll be awarded at another secret ceremony behind Eliot Hall tomorrow.

A later meeting of the Senate will approve war-time degrees for all final year students. Some degrees will also be granted posthumously to those who died in the defence, for example to engineering student Z. Kossakowski who was killed in a flame-thrower attack during the heavy Christmas Day fighting at Stanley.

Sources:

Maryknoll: The Maryknoll Diary, December 31, 1941

University: Peter Cunich, A History of the University of Hong Kong, Volume 1, 2012, 404, 400

During the morning I had the opportunity of attending a ceremony I had heard about but imagined was extinct – Mike and Leung (the Guerrilla Chief) becoming blood brothers. (A margin note here: In Feb met Mrs Leung (indecipherable squiggle) R.Lee/DB) I rather imagine that the ceremony has never been carried out in more hygienic conditions. Instead of the story book atmosphere of cutting open the arm and mixing the blood by use of a cock’s feather by the light of a guttering candle, here we had a qualified practitioner scraping the arms with a scalpel after disinfecting the skin – a slight graze – the 2 arms pressed together – application of iodine and here the ceremony was completed and over unless, as Mike suggested later, some syphilitic blood had been transferred to him.

Since Tai and I were moving back to Namo (Nam O)to collect the guns etc. on the following day we packed and in the evening saw the Navy off before setting out to see how Wai Yeung celebrated Hogmanay. A little whisky had been forthcoming since wise virgin Tai still had a small amount in his water bottle. The evening began with an excellent dinner following which, Al(Al Wong), in his role of guide to Waichow night life, led us to the red light district. The atmosphere there was hardly calculated to arouse any desire – both surroundings and personnel being of such a nature as to repel rather than attract – One feature was the age of the girls – some of whom looked about 13 and the extreme interest shown by all and sundry including a policeman who by this time was acting as guide and wine bearer. Midnight saw us drinking to 1942 with full honours to the surprise and apprehension of all. Evidently broken glasses are an uncommon sight. On our way home an argument arose re the time – we had been in a complete mix up re Chungking, Waichow, and HK time. The problem was solved easily enough by bringing in the New Year again according to Chungking time following which we wended a very erratic way homewards. And so the year went out, luckily for Mike, who just escaped a .455 in his foot during my gun clearing.

((This is the end of the major typed account. There now follows a more illegible - through age of paper - account up until the 7^thJanuary 1942 in China.))

We celebrated the New Year by buying some bread from a hawker. It was interesting, in two colours - off-white in the upper strata and near black at the base. It cost $1.40 a pound. We had about $500 in cash, but I had no income and small prospect of acceptable employment. 

Fears of New Year celebrations and excesses; the Japanese make much of New Year. We are nervous also about my borrowed automatic ((pistol)). Possession of arms is a capital offence. I made a hurried nocturnal trip and took it back to the neighbour, who said he would dump it, with his own, down a well.

Update, 10 Jan 2019: The clips listed below are no longer online, but Moddsey has found another, similar set:

May not be in the same sequence as listed but the contents are similar as seen here:  https://www.criticalpast.com/stock-footage-video/1941+hong+kong

The following newsreel clips aren't dated, but they'd likely have reached Japan soon after the British surrendered.

Newsreel #1: http://www.t3licensing.com/license/clip/750146_003.do?assetId=clip_29275934

• 0:00 - Titles
• 0:05 - Japanese soldiers marching alongside river. Location unknown
• 0:15 - Japanese soldiers marching along dirt track. Location unknown
• 0:20 - Japanese soldiers in vegetation. Location unknown
• 0:23 - Japanese firing field gun. Location unknown
• 0:29 - British and Indian POWs being marched down a hillside track. The same group of men are shown in in one of the photos on the cover of Tony Banham's "We shall suffer there". He identifies them as "British and Indian POW's captured at Shing Mun". The Japanese captured the Shing Mun redoubt on 10th December.
• 0:40 - Sign shows "Tai Po Road". Caterpillar-tracked vehicle tows trailers with Japanese troops on board.
• 0:48 - Japanese troops on slope consult documents. Buildings in background. Location unknown.
• 0:50 - Japanese sentry. Long, deserted road in background. Kowloon?
• 0:53 - Column of Japanese troops march along deserted road. Kowloon?
• 0:58 - Column of Japanese troops, led by flag-bearer and officer on horseback, march along deserted road. Kowloon?
• 1:05 - Another column of marching Japanese Troops, but accompanied by a European wearing a Tam-o-shanter. Who was he? In Kowloon?
• 1:11 - Column of Japanese troops march along deserted road. Collection of single-deck buses in background. Kowloon?
• 1:18 - Japanese soldier in vehicle hands out paper (money?) to civilians
• 1:21 - Crowded street. Vehicle with loudspeakers on the roof. Japanese throwing papers from vehicle to crowd.
• 1:26 - Japanese "Peace Mission", including Mrs Lee and her dachshunds setting off from the Harbour View Hotel in Kowloon. This happened on 13th December.
• 1:38 - Japanese troops looking across waterway through binoculars. Location unknown.
• 1:42 - Ships at sea. Location unknown.
• 1:51 - Several shots of Japanese troops crowded onboard a ship, and ships underway. Location unknown.
• 2:23 - Guns on larger Japanese ship, and guns firing. Location unknown.
• 2:29 - View of harbour. Location unknown.
• 2:32 - Ship guns firing again.
• 2:33 - Aerial view of Stonecutters' Island. Smoke rising from western end of island.
• 2:37 - Japanese planes flying in formation
• 2:42 - View of Mount Davis from north, showing clouds of smoke rising from its slopes. Probably after bombing by plane, given previous view.
• 2:46 - Aerial view of unknown location
• 2:50 - Japanese seaplane in flight.
• 2:53 - Ships at sea. I guess these are Allied ships, trying to avoid being bombed.
• 3:01 - Aerial view of Taikoo dockyards
• 3:07 - Aerial view of north shore of Hong Kong Island. Pans across, Causeway Bay, the Typhoon shelter, and the clouds of smoke rising from the blazing APC oil tanks at North Point.

Newsreel #2: http://www.t3licensing.com/license/clip/977064_003.do?assetId=clip_29636974

• 0:00 - The first section duplicates film from Newsreel #1, with some additiona shots of Japanese soldiers onboard ship.
• 2:13 - Japanese troops crouching behind rubble, then running. It looks as though there are tram power lines in the view, so it should be on Hong Kong island.
• 2:17 - Japanese soldiers run across the frame carrying a box of shells then firing a field gun from behind sandbags. Location looks to be Kowloon, facing Hongkong island.
• 2:27 - Japanese troops run across area behind wire fence, and climb a large crane marked "Babcock & Wilcox". Would this be at the Hung Hom dockyards?
• 2:34 - Smaller cranes, with billowing smoke in the background. Probably the APC tanks at North Point.
• 2:38 - Japanese soldiers run up seawall with smoke billowing behind them. APC tanks at North Point again?
• 2:47 - Large area of oil on fire.
• 2:51 - Oil tanks on fire. 
• 3:04 - Pall of smoke hangs over building.
• 3:10 - A view of some large equipment I don't recognise
• 3:14 - British bunkers, showing damage from fighting
• 3:19 - Japanese officers looking at wrecked British ships
• 3:37 - Crowd of British POWs in Statue Square. They look to be from the Navy. 
• 3:58 - This shows the Japanese victory parade, which happened on the 29th December. It begins with planes flying in formation along the north shore of HK island, shown from the air and from the ground.
• 4:24 - Japanese officers on horseback ride towards Central, following the tram line past the Cricket Club and the Supreme Court building. Japanese troops line the street.
• 4:30 - The parade moves along a different section of road that I don't recognise.
• 4:36 - View of the troops lining the route. Location unknown.
• 4:38 - The parade passes buglers. Location unclear.
• 4:42 - The parade moves along a different section of road that I don't recognise.
• 4:49 - The parade moves along DVRC. The P&O building is visible in the centre of view.
• 4:57 - The parade continues west along DVRC. The Gloucester building is visible in the centre of view.
• 5:02 - Japanese soldiers with the boxes containing the ashes of their fallen comrades. Location looks like the Queen's Road E / Hennessy Road junction.
• 5:06 - Final view west along tram lines, Jardine House on left, GPO on right.

Newsreel #3: http://www.t3licensing.com/license/clip/750147_005.do?assetId=clip_29275935

• 0:00 - Titles
• 0:05 - View down Kowloon peninsula with Hongkong island in background. Smoke rising from several locations.
• 0:10 - Japanese soldiers climb up sea wall and run inland
• 0:17 - unclear
• 0:20 - Japanese soldiers run out from shelter of building
• 0:24 - View of harbour. Location unknown.
• 0:27 - Japanese tanks. They look to be driving east along King's Road, with the chimneys of the North Point power station in the background.
• 0:34 - Indian POWs and western civilians walking past the Commercial Press building in North Point.
• 0:42 - View of sunken wrecks in the harbour. Hung Hom dockyards in the distance.
• 0:45 - A plume of water rises from an explosion in the harbour.
• 0:48 - A small boat races along the harbour under fire. Possibly one of the British MTBs?
• 0:57 - Japanese planes in sky, and shell-bursts from anti-aircraft fire
• 1:01 - Camouflaged Japanese soldiers looking through binoculars
• 1:04 - Japanese artillery team firing field gun. Location unknown.
• 1:09 - View of artillery shells exploding near their target. Looks like British fortification, but location unknown.
• 1:11 - Camouflaged Japanese soldier looking through range finder.
• 1:13 - Japanese artillery firing.
• 1:20 - Smoke rising from built-up area. Location unknown.
• 1:22 - Smoke rising from built-up area. Looks like the Naval dockyard.
• 1:25 - View west along North shore of Hongkong island
• 1:30 - Remainder of newsreel is a Japanese man reading an announcement.

Thanks to contributor Moddsey for providing the links to these clips. If you can add any details to the scenes - eg identify people, locations, or equipment - please let us know in the comments below.

Regards, David

Quiet day generally. Water came on. Lovely weather. Frank & I changed to another room. ((Possibly fellow Prison Officer, E S Franks."))

Amah came again and brought a few of my clothes crammed into a rattan Hong Kong basket.  She had ruffled her hair to make herself look like a peasant instead of an amah who was helping the defeated British.  Being New Year, we were not allowed out lest celebrations be made.   Hill fires (charcoal) were wonderful over at Taimoshan ((across harbour beyond Kowloon)).

((Charcoal fires were a common sight on the Kowloon hills.  Without knowing much about them, I understood it was a thriving industry; they were deliberate fires to produce charcoal, which was used for cooking - I suppose on Chinese chatties, where you fed bits of fuel into the space beneath the earthenware containers.   We had chatties, some makeshift, in camp and had to use twigs, grass etc. whatever you could find, to feed it. ))