Diary pages from this date

The flour ration is over, and Thomas Edgar and his fellow bakers make their last bread from flour - except for a Christmas and New Year loaf baked from four year old emergency supplies. From now on, there's even more rice in the internees' diet:

After flour finished in the Camp we made a substitute bread from rice flour (ground in the Camp on Stone Mills). Although not very good it was better than nothing at all.

Edgar also notes that meat deliveries come to an end at this time.

Note:

See also entry for June 16, 1945.

Under the headline BARBARIANS the (London) Daily Mirror publishes an account of Foreign Secretary Eden's January 28 speech on Japanese treatment of POWs and internees (page 5). Talking about Stanley, Shamshuipo and the other camps in the ‘northern’ area, Eden said:

The British Government is reasonably satisfied conditions generally in this area are tolerable, although as the Secretary for War has said on more than one occasion the scale on which food is provided is not adequate for long periods to maintain the health of the prisoners.

I should add that the conditions in Hong Kong appear to be growing worse.

The whole story would appear very bad indeed, but I have worse to come.

We have a growing list (?) of cases of brutal outrage on individuals or groups of individuals.

There’s also an account of the Lisbon Maru sinking that puts the casualties at 800.

Grim reading for friends and relatives.

“Quintette” (Bicheno, Woods, Heasman, Miles, Stephen) ((Not sure who the unlinked names refer to.))

“No flour is available” (biscuits in lieu of bread)

Usual cleaning duties.  

Fine, warm, cloudy.

Military have taken over rationing from F.As. which explains no flour or sugar. ((I think "F.A.s" means "Foreign Affairs", indicating the control of the camp is shifting from the Japanese civilian administration to their military.))

Didn’t see Steve tonight.

Concert in the Hall.

No news.