I was at Fanling Camp in charge of the HKVDC transport during the week preceding the outbreak of hostilities.
The Adjutant sent for me and said, “Alec, always have at least four lorries standing by in your vehicle park, as we may have to move some stores back to Hongkong in a hurry”. This struck me as pretty significant, so I went across to the bungalow that evening and told Uncle Pat that he had better pack up and move to my house or in any case get prepared for any emergency. He had only just returned to his beloved bungalow from my house, where Susie had nursed him back to life, after the doctors had given him up in October; the weather was beautiful and Fanling at its best, so I was not surprised that he decided to stay on.