Diary pages from this date

Tonight concert given to the Americans because they are due to leave soon.  Costumes grand. Carol Bateman arranged it.  Graceful dancing, piano duet by Elizabeth Drown and Mrs Barton.  Chorus with good lines about how 'we do like to be beside the sea-side', and 'the joys of Stanley prom, but the lack of to and from.' It was on the Prison Officers' club ground - lovely and cool.  At the end Mr Gimson gave a good speech, and said more than one would have expected.

The principal reason for the concert - departure of the Americans for HOME - seems far too good to be true.  I know we must all leave here some time (except for those of us who may die in the natural order of things) yet it would be so wonderful to set out for Home - almost a dream.

Electricity went off for a while.

Professor R. C. Robertson has been forced by the Japanese to stay outside Stanley and continue his work at the Bacteriological Institute. Today he uses a staff member who's escaping from Hong Kong to send out an account of conditions in the Captured Territory:

 Food shortage increasing. Hot weather renders conditions camps very hard. Shortage medicines, unsuitable diet, overcrowding and defective sanitation chief difficulties. Stanley depends parcels of tinned goods sent in supplement rations. Need for international Red Cross representative. Selwyn {Selwyn-Clarke} is sole link Stanley and doing good work but needs are quite beyond his capacity. Beri-beri affecting about ten per cent. Press for agreement repatriation women and children, those over military age. HKU staff would appreciate if allowance can be made for dependants from sterling funds London…University staff are all alive in camp. Some very debilitated. Conditions telling most on over 50. Children also short of vitamin-containing food.

The message ends up in the hands of Lindsay Ride, a pre-war friend of Robertson's, now in the process of forming a resistance organisation, the British Army Aid Group. Ride will make it one of his first tasks to send agents into Hong Kong to help Robertson escape.

Source:

Edwin Ride, British Army Aid Group, 1981, 197-198

Rioting going on in Germany & Italy. Rommell fled to desert.

Farewell Concert given to Americans on Club verandah. The bowling green had a record crowd on it.

Eventually gave the big concert as a farewell to the Americans who hope to be repatriated soon. It was held in the open air to a large audience of about 4000.  And was a great success.