Diary pages from this date

Lovely First Communion Service for Barbara Willey and Ronnie Harris - both looked very nice in white.

Lazing out on grass, I heard a plane in distance; it cruised along so long, then suddenly became much louder; it was a huge thing, dark and old-looking like a great evil bird swooping down sharply over the American Block, machine-gunning - it sounded like that but no one was hurt so perhaps it wasn't.

I flew into Block 2's front entrance. Children in the road started to shriek, gardeners popped out of their gardens, and every one flew for safety. Mabel arrived back from the workshop.

While we were (sheltering) in our corridor, back came the plane again, and the Japs up the hill began pot-shooting at it with rifles, which made an awful frightening crack-crack. Lots of children and adults were at the beach. Four times the plane came, then it was all over and we saw the wreckage of a naval patrol boat (presumably Jap) to the left of the island in front of the hospital; and some saw - they said - survivors kicking about, poor souls. Tim Fortescue said a second boat was also sunk, all of which shows that the rumour that our war is over isn't true.

To 'Co-operative' talk by Mr. A. J. C. Taylor in grotto.

Jean Gittins:

We had finished our last meal of the day on Tuesday, 14 August when someone started a rumour: a strange story of a terrible bomb, its flash 'brighter than a thousand suns', which had devastated Japan. Frank Fisher brought it to St. Stephen's. Frank was full of stories, and always insisted they were true, so we listened politely to what he had to say. It was told to us in confidence and we promised not to repeat it. But the rumour, darting here and there like a glow-worm, soon spread through the camp.

Back in London the Daily Mirror leads off a page eight story with a touch of humour:

Several hundred fully-trained uniformed Civil Servants - prepared for any emergency - are standing by in India awaiting the Jap surrender.

They are to move into the British territories under occupation and restore administration. But then a more serious note:

A special unit will be flown to Hong Kong where the plight of thousands of civilians is known to be desperate.

But the really significant developments are taking place in Tokyo against the background of continuing Russian advance through Manchuria and the war's biggest American air raid on Japan. On August 12 Emperor Hirohito had told other members of the Imperial family of his decision to surrender - with the proviso that the war would continue if the Allies refused to accept his own continued rule. Meetings of the War Cabinet yesterday and today eventually agree to accept the Emperor's decision. At about 11 p.m. today an Imperial Rescript announcing that Japan will accept the Potsdam Declaration of July 26 - in which the Allies set out their terms for bringing hostilities to a close - is transmitted to Berne and Stockholm to be sent on to Allied governments - in fact, most of the Japanese codes have been broken and Washington will learn about the surrender at about 3 a.m. tomorrow (August 15). Late this evening a recording is made of the Emperor reading the Rescript - it is to be broadcast on the radio tomorrow in order to bring the war irrevocably to an end. Up to 1000 military hardliners, who refuse to accept the surrender, enter the Imperial palace and spend much of the night trying to locate and destroy the recording. They fail to find it, and the attempted coup will be brought to an end tomorrow morning.

Sources:

Stanley: Jean Gittins, Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire, 1982, 150

Events in Tokyo: Max Hastings, 2008, Nemesis, 554ff.

A big shock on Friday 10th August when news came that about 175 men including the wives of those that had them were to proceed to town that same day. They were mostly electrical, wireless, civil and mining engineers. We had to bustle around and give them their rations etc. Tom MacIntyre from our room, W. Little ((probably W. Littler)) and S. Docherty ((probably S T Doughty)) were the 3 T Dockyard ((Taikoo Dockyard)) workers who went. They took all their luggage and left the pier by the Prep. school sometime late in the evening on an N class of vessel and said to be headed for Kooloa ((Kowloon)) somewhere.

This forenoon we had a special pasting from a lone plane which machine gunned, cannoned and shot small vessels which attend to the boom. Russia in the war against Japan, splendid. Now it shouldn't be long.

am, shots fired from rifles

Trawler bombed & sunk in Tweed Bay

Little news in paper. Rumour many arrests for careless street talk. Decide nothing will develop until tomorrow so will stay home.

We had some more excitement this morning. I was wood cutting when at about 10 o’clock we heard the drone of an aeroplane. Nowadays, one hardly bothers to go and look at a single plane and we did not stop our sawing operations. However, a long burst of machine gun fire quickly made us down tools and run to have a look and there, just beyond Tweed Island and not 50’ above the water was a huge American bomber, and below it was one of the small Japanese patrol-come-pilot boats at which it had opened fire. I did not see the first encounter properly, but I was told the boat returned fire with its machine gun. The boat was evidently engaged on repairing or adjusting the boom defence, as it was stationary beside the boom. The plane went away in a big sweep and we thought it had departed and were about to resume work when the air raid alarm sounded. As we were sheltered from sight from the hill by the ‘A’ blocks we went on with our work, but in a few moments we heard the plane re-approaching and ran out to have another look. A few moments later a volley of rifle shots rang out and they sounded just behind us. We thought the Japs were firing at us for not taking cover and we bolted into the buildings like rabbits into a warren. Actually, the shots were fired from the hill at the plane – nowhere near us! But they sounded mighty close.

By the time we got onto the balcony the plane had again attacked the boat and was climbing up again and circling in a big sweep as if it were flying off. But it came again a third time and this time I saw it swoop right low down, fire with its forward canon, drop a small bomb which seemed to hit the boat amidships and as it passed the rear gunner let fly with his tail gun. It was truly pathetic to see the small and helpless boat, its single gun already silenced, just lying and waiting its end. The plane came round for a fourth and final time and let fly with its guns again jetting the water on either side with scores of small columns of water. The boat must have been like a sieve at the end of the fourth attack. The plane departed after that and the boat began fairly rapidly to settle in the water. The shipping engineers here say that the boat must have had a wooden hull or it would have gone down even more quickly than it did. When it had finally sunk, a fair amount of wreckage and debris was left floating on the surface, but nothing moved; I’m afraid there were no survivors.

The Formosans in the camp had been issued with ammunition and were merrily popping away at the plane. A party of five of them ran down to the hospital from where they best commanded the scene of operations and banged away from there. A couple of them were even standing on the big white cross just in front of the hospital building! Quite a large number of people had gone to the beach that morning and they were rather nearer the scene of the operations than was comfortable: a number of children were pretty well scared poor things.

A persistant rumour has been going round that Russia has declared war on Japan. Earlier on there was news (or rumours) of a meeting of British, American, Russian and Chinese delegates at Potsdam where the conduct of the war against Japan was the matter under discussion. Stalin is said to have branded Japan as the aggressor nation and stated that she is now the only nation standing out against world peace. Russia too is said to have moved large quantities of war material and equipment to the Manchurian front. Well, let’s hope it is all true! There had even been a rumour that peace had been declared, but I guess this attack on the patrol boat knocks that rumour on the head.

Fine, light E wind.

Peace rumours very strong. Many people preparing their gear ready for packing up. 

US plane came over 10am & after 4 attacks sank a small auxiliary vessel working on the boom at the entrance of Stanley Bay. Guards fired from Camp again. A/r alarm till noon.

(Emp. Po Yi [Pu Yi] of Manchuria asked Japs for Peace).

G mit HK ∴ und sie ist sehr hold. [G with HK ∴? and it is very?]

((Jill Fell: RE Jones has used "hold" before of G. "Sie ist sehr hold" means "she is very sweet". Can't remember if HK is one of the Kews who sometimes escorts her.))