Death of Reginald Trounce Nelson (aged 64).
He was the son of Robert Arthur E. Nelson, R.N., and Harriet Nelson and the husband of Minnie Nelson.
Before being sent to Stanley he was held at the Kowloon Hotel.
An internee spots Dr. Selwyn-Clarke being brought to Stanley Prison.
Sources:
Nelson: http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/civilians/html/n_database_10.htm
http://www.hongkongwardiary.com/searchgarrison/nonuniformedcivilians.html#_Toc43367492
Vaudeville ((for details see 10th))
Death of R. Trounce Nelson (63)
Selwyn-Clarke brought to Gaol
B.O. incident (Alabaster) all l.o. 9.30
5 pkts. cigs
The choir and the musicians were behind the screen. The poem tells the story of how her husband is killed in the Great War of 1914-18 and ends with her son joining up at the outbreak of this war. It was therefore very moving and somewhat harrowing for those who had lost husbands and sons here. But it was splendidly done and quite unique in its way. Terrance Feltham designed the set. John Sterricker is to be congratulated on the whole thing.
This week’s show is a really excellent Vaudeville Variety show, produced by Viv Garton. The week before there had been a classical concert with Greek, ballet, Russian and modern dancing, the last 3 being solos; songs by Gordon Stopani-Thompson who has a very nice baritone voice, and pianoforte by Arthur Lay. Poor old Talbott was to have sung in this concert, but he is now locked up. His mother waits patiently each day to see him being exercised, but the prisoners are now evidently exercised in another part of the prison grounds, out of our sight, so she has not seen him for a week or two now.
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ came before the classical concert. It was dressed in black and white which was very effective. It was quite good but not, I thought, outstanding.
I never thought I would get right through this book in Stanley and would have to start another. I have no idea what I have written in it as I have not yet bothered to read many of the earlier pages except when trying to recall events or looking to see if I had already written a description of some event. No doubt I have repeated myself at times but I hope I haven’t contradicted myself.
In the early days of this camp I paid $1.00 for a small quantity of ink. It was sufficient to half fill a small sample bottle of HP sauce. To this I added quite an amount of water to make it go as far as possible and towards the end of the bottle I had to dilute it still further. Consequently the writing in some of the last pages of the first volume (that sounds impressive) is very faint indeed. But Maudie has now presented me with half a bottle of real Waterman’s ink, on condition that I occasionally fill her pen from it! Ink was sold in the canteen some time ago at MY2 per small bottle (pdv £22), but we never felt we could afford it. Now ink is unobtainable again.
When we first came into camp we were told by the Japanese that we were to bring no writing materials whatsoever, so we were all surreptitious about our pens, pencils, pads etc. For some time writing paper was quite lacking in camp, and people saved all the wrappers from the jackets of 10 cigarettes we can buy and used them for scrap paper – bridge scores etc., in fact Yvonne made Maudie a set of bridge scorers for her birthday, designed to take cigarette packet wrappers on a re-fill system! Since then pads and scrap-books have been sold at the canteen, but at very high prices.