Diary pages from this date

The Daily Mirror publishes an account on page 4 of yesterday’s inaugural meeting of the Hong Kong Fellowship. The paper describes speakers having to go out into the streets to address an overflow of ‘hundreds’ of people from all over the country. Six hundred had been invited but over a thousand formed ‘a long, anxious queue before the doors’.

Mrs. M. Knight of Leyton asked Phyllis Harrop if she knew anything of her daughter Marjorie Madgwick and her husband: Harrop did know them and told her they were both alive and together.

Note:

It seems that Sergeant C. S. Madgwick’s first wife, Dora, was the victim of a shooting at Lok Ma Chau Police Station on July 21, 1930.

Issue of 1lb. flour.

I.Q. mtg. disclosed (billeting) privileged persons.  Sir A. MacGregor, Cressall, Williamson((sp - probably S T Williamson)), Shields, Anderson (QM), Capt. Macrae.

To finish the story of our wedding anniversary with Mrs Minn: Marjorie Begden and Mrs Hyde-Lay, the two ladies who met Y at the church and saw everything about her was in order before she set sail up the aisle, Y and I were the guests. It was a very cold day, too cold to have the party on the verandah, so we had it in the small servants’ kitchen in which ‘C’ bungalow now cooks its rice. We could just squeeze ourselves into the room round a small table and literally had to shut the door before the last person could sit down! Maudie had made a lovely meat and veg tart, followed by a Cross and Blackwell plum pudding and custard, coffee, cigarette and sweets. It was very good fun. We wished Capt. Minn had been with us, not to mention of course, our own families.

Since stating we have received MY15 each from the British Govt, we have each received a further MY5, making a total of MY20 each (pdv £225). This has been an absolute Godsend. We hear incidentally, that we shall not have to repay this after the war, which is cheering! This constitutes our second gift from home – the first being all the food.

Bright & cold.

((G.))

Walk with Steve pm.

((G.))

I used to try and write in the evenings but every evening is full up now.   A Discussion Group on Mondays, I.Q. Committee Tuesdays, Committee of D.G. [Discussion Group] on Thursdays, I.Q. Committee again on Fridays, then I have meetings every afternoon except Thursdays and Saturdays.  It's all quite interesting but it ties one down a bit.

We had another election last Saturday for the Indian Quarters Committee - I nominated Perdue and he nearly topped the poll.  All my candidates got in - Pentreath 263 Perdue 262 Miss Ward 232 and Bevan  215 - then (unsuccessful) Pegg 125 Dr Forbes 104 and Duckworth 101.  We have quite a good Committee - Terry and I are ex officio members.  Pentreath is Chairman again - I am Vice Chairman and Treasurer and I have also been put on the Canteen Management Committee as representative of the B.C.C. (the Community Council) - and also on the qt. as watchdog for the Govt..  I like the Discussion Group too though I get bored with it at times.

I had a terrible day on Saturday - I was on kitchen Guard on Friday night so had very little sleep - then I had to pay out the balance  of our monthly pocket money - 5Yen to everybody some Y3,400.  I went along and saw Balean in the evening to pay him as he had moved his quarters and been missed out early in the day.  He remarked " - You look very tired".  It really is amazing - how little knocks you up.  I was O.K. again on Sunday of course after a glorious sleep.

We are being half starved again - there is no meat in H.K. now so we get a little fish and veg only - and of course rice. But what is 200 lbs of fish (including heads, tails, bones etc) among 750 people of which 220 are hefty policemen - and that's for 24 hours.  If we didn't have some of our Red Cross Stuff we'd be in a bad way.  But we can't open a tin every day. We got 4 tins M & V and 2 tins Bully at the beginning of the month, so for Fisher and myself that is 12 tins - the M & V only does one meal and the Bully 2 - so there is only 16 meals for the month. We can't keep the fish overnight so sometimes tiffin consists of a little rice and a very little Chinese "cabbage".  The reason is that the Japs are limited in the amount of money they can spend on feeding us.  We have pointed out dozens of times how absurd this is and Gimson has stated again and again that the Govt. will repay them - but so far no good.  We have asked them to refer it to Tokyo and appealed to the International Red Cross Delegate.  It will be worse later on I expect - that's why I have a dozen tins of bully safely hidden away!  Sugar too is scarce and oils - but we have just had a special "issue" - 3/4 lb Lard each.  We eat it on toast with salt sprinkled on top - and it's quite good. But we'd have been horrified at it in the old days.  Cocoa is running out too but we hope a relief ship will come before the end of March.

We heard yesterday that Alabaster was knighted in the New Year's Honours of 1942.  He himself knew on Dec 1941 but couldn't tell anybody.

Cheerio Darling
All my love     B.