Death – Achilles George Dann (56)
Diary pages from this date
Colder, drizzly & miserable all day.
Worked in Pengelly’s shop.
Coffee with Steve, noon.
Lorry with nothing 5pm.
No E ((European)) news in paper.
Making crib board for Mrs Brown. ((MW Brown?))
Another setback for Japan, occurred on the 7th December 1944, when a severe earthquake took place. To most of us it was our first experience, and we hoped our last, of such a calamity. Buildings swayed with a terrific creaking, telegraph poles and factory chimneys crashed down, large cracks appeared in the roads, water-mains burst spouting water dozens of feet into the air, and power cables were broken. Although the tremor lasted only a few minutes, it plunged Osaka, Kobe, Wakayama, and Kyoto into confusion and brought production to a standstill.
In December 1944, we experienced our first air-raid in Japan. During the night the sirens sounded, and we listened to the sound of aircraft overhead. The "All Clear" sounded about an hour later.
Mr A. G. Dann, an RC, died.
Death of Achilles George Dann, a 56 year old commercial traveller.
Before being sent to Stanley he was held in room 305 of the Stag Hotel.
Sources:
Geoffrey Emerson, Hong Kong Internment, 2008, 188
http://www.hongkongwardiary.com/searchgarrison/nonuniformedcivilians.html#_Toc43367487
Note:
The CWGC site wrongly records his death as 25/11/44:
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3169475/DANN,%20ACHILLES%20GEORGE