Diary pages from this date

((Lt Kerr has been moved to a “rock cave”…))

We spent two weeks in the cave.   The time went slowly, of course, but having companions and tangible hope made a great improvement over the previous days. 

The same five stayed with me all the time.  …((One was)) Young Chen…a 14-year old who couldn’t sit still and forever was after me to teach him English words.  That was O.K. by me, we traded vocabulary several hours a day; but tiring of that, he’d putter and fool with his automatic pistol while I worried that he’d accidentally fire it and give us away.  Worse than that, he’d disassemble the hand grenades he carried on his belt.  One was a Mills bomb – I knew how that worked and saw that he did too; but the other, a Japanese model, was a mystery to me, so when he started unscrewing parts off it I’d find an errand behind a rock.  A big one.   

They all slept late.  I’d get up about eight o’clock and sit out near the entrance and finish the rice left over from late supper.  And think.   And sun my burns.  Damn leg was giving me trouble.  The walk to the cave had opened it up and it didn’t seem to be doing well.  At least, my arm didn’t hurt and was healed on the outside, so I didn’t worry over it.  

In the afternoon I’d hold classes.  With help of the Pointee-Talkee, drawings and many gestures, we covered a wide range.  I drew maps and showed them the war and who was on our side.  They were surprisingly informed on progress though they weren’t very strong on geography.  Or distance – they seemed to think America was only a few hours away by plane.  I taught them English.  With great amusement, they taught me some Cantonese.  We mutually cursed the Japanese.  On that subject, one stood up, pointed to a small group of houses in our valley and said “Japan house.”  Gosh, that close!

((These excerpts will resume on March 3.

This journal was copyrighted in 2009.  The extracts are being made available to David Bellis for publication on Gwulo:  Old Hong Kong (http://gwulo.com) only.  Please do not republish without permission.  A Chinese/English publication of the journal is being prepared and a film is being considered.  Contact David Kerr (davykerr@gmail.com) for further information.))

The dates of my diary have been pretty gappy of late – not because nothing has happened but because I seem to have been fully occupied during the day and have felt disinclined to do anything after supper but read.

We had yet another raid on Feb 11th. We saw 12 big bombers and two tiny fighters – some people say they saw three fighters. Yvonne saw a small white cloud descending (as did many other people) and think it was a parachute. The Japanese claim to have shot down four of the planes, though so long as we could see them they kept in perfect formation – flying very high. Parts of one of these allegedly destroyed planes, is on view now in HK. Of course the wreckage could have been brought from anywhere, but of course one or two of these many raiding planes may have come to grief.

Taken all round, the war news is excellent for us. The Americans have occupied islands in the Marshals Group; in Burma there seem to be signs that the long awaited British offensive is beginning; the Russians have steadily pushed the Germans back to the Polish border in the Central Sector and in Italy the British and American armies are slowly advancing on Rome, although German opposition is stiffening.

Cold wind, cloudy.

Lost Q.M. by great majority & L.O. by 12 votes (32-20) (I’m about as popular as I thought) ((Does "Q.M." mean Quarter-master? "L.O." should mean Labour Officer, as on 23rd Feb he writes "Took over Labour Officer of the Block."))

Choir practice 6.30 pm  St Steph’ns.