Diary pages from this date

Dance at St Stephens tonight, Mum, Mabel and I went with Tony.  Cabaret too:  June Winkelman did a tap dance, a fellow played banjo, and Azalea Reynolds did a dance - very graceful.  The band was topping too. R.J. (Dick) Cloake – South China Morning Post reporter – danced with me, and talked about writing.

Got on well with story.  ((a lot of the paper provided by Dorothy Holloway, who had brought a pack of lined blue fooscap into camp; I wrote originally in shorthand, then typed on the backs of old medical sheets from the records we had to make in the hospital for the Japanese.)) 

Mildred Dibden, Iris Critchell and Ruth Little have been allowed to remain uninterned to carry on running the Fanling Babies Home alongside their Chinese staff. It's been a hard struggle to keep the abandoned and destitute children they care for fed, and it's taken it's toll on their health.

Today members of the Braga family arrive, bringing with them a Red Cross representative and permits to allow the women to be admitted to the French Hospital, where there's a ward reserved for British patients.

Mildred Dibden has to be carried out of the Home on a stretcher. At the French Hospital she meets great kindnesss and the 'reassurance of being with {her} own people':

To add to the pleasure of that first night in hospital, came a tea tray from {Dr. Selwyn-Clarke}. With his wife and daughter, he was interned in the French hospital on the floor above. Tea with toast and butter. What could be more delicious? was it possible that within six short months such luxury would bring tears to the eyes?

Iris returns to Fanling after about two months, Ruth in the middle of September, Mildred not until November 1.

Source:

Jill Doggett, The Yip Family of Amah Rock, (1969), 1982, 178

Note:

The Braga family has deep roots in Macao, and also played significant a role in Hong Kong. One member, Jose Maria ('Jack') Braga compiled an important collection of material related to Hong Kong and Macao in the war years. It's now in the Austalian National Archive:

https://alra.org.au/newsletter0907/0907_gosling2.html

Boy, we know now that we are in the Indian Ocean. The swells are doing things to people. Down here in 3rd and way at the end it’s awful. I felt bad but kept my head up, but how grand it is to get up on deck and breathe fresh air.

Junior school holiday activities commenced - a.m. P.T., handiwork, swimming.

p.m. country dancing, Club

More Chinese entered the gaol under guard.

Slight improvement in weather.

In kitchen PM. Quite easy as compared with Ind. Qtrs. kitchen.

Dance at St. Stephen’s.