John Charter's wartime journal: View pages

Well at about 5 p.m. I posted up to Maudie to say we would be unable to come that evening.  While we were talking we heard a drone of planes and some explosions. The paper on Monday had said there would be AA practice in this locality between 10 and 12 a.m. on Tuesday, and at first we thought it must be this practice starting off a bit behind schedule. Then we saw people opposite at St Stephens pointing excitedly at the sky; so we flew downstairs to see what was afoot. The sky was full of puffs of smoke as scores of shells burst at a considerable height. Then high up we saw a formation of 6 big bombers! They were very high as we could tell by the atmospheric haze between them and us, for though there were clouds about, the atmosphere seemed pretty clear. For all their height we could see they were really big chaps – probably American ‘flying fortresses’. Their shape was different from any Japanese planes we had seen and the drone of their engines was different too. We had heard the crump of heavy explosions when we were upstairs in the building and when we saw the planes I think they had just finished their attack and were just sailing off in perfect formation with the AA shells bursting nowhere near them and feet below them: in fact, except for the far greater quantity of stuff put up by the Jap guns, I thought their shooting was just as ineffective as our own during the blitz! The American planes this time had indulged in high altitude bombing and had not done any diving. When I got back to our block I was told that this flight of planes had two tiny fighter planes escorting them.

Before I returned, Maudie gave me two pieces of cake from Peg’s birthday cake which she had made the day before. Very good it was too. Well, that certainly was an exciting day – naturally we expected (and got) a complete blackout that evening. Still, we didn’t mind so much this time, for there was plenty to sit and talk about in the dark.

The next morning I was standing in the queue outside our block clinic, waiting to consult Dr Smalley about a rash I had developed. This was about 10.00 a.m. Suddenly I heard the distant drone of planes and immediately rushed outside Block 2 to have a ‘Look see’. Soon the AA guns were popping away, the shells again bursting high in the sky and far away to the north, presumably over the New Territories. (On the Monday the planes had flown over the harbour and dock area). In fact we saw very little of the firing and caught no sight of planes, (at least I did not), but Harold said he saw them and heard the thud of bombs. He said there were six of them, as before.

The paper, that day, referring to the raid on the previous day said: - The attackers were driven off by our anti aircraft fire. All the bombs dropped fell into the harbour, so no damage was done – “driven off”!  They jolly well sailed off when and as they liked with complete impunity. And I find it hard to believe they did no damage. The only worrying thought is for our friends still in town and the unfortunate Chinese whose lives are endangered by these raids. One imagines the planes were concentrating most of their attention on the Tai Koo Docks, Naval Dockyard, military barracks and, in the New Territories, the railway perhaps and possibly oil dumps.

But the biggest raid came on the third day. It had been a fiendishly hot day and Y and I had taken our tea outside and were having it in the shade of the building, at a spot where there was a faint breeze blowing. Our room is completely airless in this weather and as our fan has been disconnected the room is often unbearably hot and stuffy. While we were sipping our tea and perspiring copiously we heard the (by now almost familiar) drone of many planes and again I dashed round to Block 2, from where one can get a good view of the proceedings. Soon there came the puffs of AA shells bursting in clusters high up in the sky over the harbour and town area, followed by the staccato crackle of explosions. Then came the heavy crumps which must have been the detonations of the exploding bombs. But I couldn’t see the planes although one or two people could. The weather was clear, with some big clouds floating about – ideal for attacking planes – and these bombers were making use of the clouds. The sky was simply filled with puffs of AA shells – the Japs must have many more AA guns than we ever had. Presently I heard a louder drone, more overhead, and looking up almost into the sun I saw a formation of six big bombers, wheeling slowly and making off in a westerly direction. Then, skirting round them I caught sight of three little planes that looked like white gnats as they caught the sun, a fighter escort.  Still the shells kept bursting in the sky over the harbour area and presently I saw a flight of three big bombers coming towards us and then wheeling slowly in the same westerly direction.

Then there was a roar of planes behind and, looking back, I saw another flight of 6 coming over the end of our peninsula. For a few exciting moments we thought they were going to bomb the fort and we expected AA guns at the fort to open fire: but nothing happened. They flew on, going west, and presently joined formation with the other three and flew off. The shell fire, as far as I could see, was bursting nowhere near the planes. Well, I saw 15 big bombers and 3 fighters.  Some say they saw 18 bombers. It is significant that not a single Jap plane went up to attack. One presumes the Japs haven’t sufficient planes to spare any for the defence of HK just now and that the Japanese are relying solely on AA defences. That seems to be HK’s perpetual fate! I wonder why there was no challenge from this fort. We have seen AA guns being hauled along the road and over the brow of the hill towards the fort, so there must be an AA battery there.

About a week ago, the Japanese authorities asked for a list of materials necessary to make the buildings in this camp habitable! In the early days here a thorough survey had been made and a full list of materials required to put the damaged parts in order was submitted to the Japanese. I was detailed to make the survey for these blocks B2, 3, 4 and 5. Amongst other things, I asked for between 300 and 400 panes of glass for shattered windows! None of this material has ever been sent in. The Japs have sent in a few bags of cement and a few tools, but no attempt has been made by them to supply the other necessary materials. Why this sudden solicitude now, after 18 months?

The PWD was again asked to make the survey, and I again sent in the list for these blocks. This time my list was very short. By now, most of the broken windows have been filled with squares of cardboard, or wood, and I was concerned only with such things as leaking roofs, leaking drain pipes, missing windows – in fact, only essential items. It will be doubly or trebly more difficult now for the Japanese to supply materials than it would have been 18 months ago, and I am sure that if any repairs are carried out here it will be for a reason other than pure solicitude for our well being. My guess is that the Japanese anticipate intensified air attacks on this Colony in the approaching struggle and they wish to establish a safety zone here into which they can transfer Japanese women and children if need arises. If that guess is correct it might explain why there was no AA fire from the fort – they would not wish to attract enemy attention to the safety zone – and it also means that hopes of our repatriation are not yet dead.

I have a feeling that the men in this camp may be removed to Japan with the other Prisoners of War. We hear that the 9 senior officers in Argyle Street Camp (including Capt. Min.) have either left or are due to leave very soon and that the rest are to go within the next two months. This seems to be in line with the Japanese policy for this Colony, for they have been urging all who possibly can (Chinese) to leave and they admit the increasing difficulties of obtaining adequate food supplies. Maudie feels quite resigned to Capt. Mins departure. She feels he will at least be properly fed in Japan.

This camp has been notified by Mr Maejima that we are now to have one meatless and one fishless day per week. We shall have meat on four days per week and fish on the other days. On the meat days we are to get 400 catties for the camp (2,400 people) which is about 3 ½ oz per person, about 1/3 of the weight being bone. On fish days we are to get 675 catties. On the seventh day the weight of vegetables is to be increased from the usual 800 to 1000 catties. This new system was to begin on August 1st.

Well, the Japs were evidently anxious to get started, for they gave us a meatless day on 31st July. Today our 675 catties of fish has dwindled to 250 catties and tomorrow we have our next fishless and meatless day – perhaps they have 5 day weeks in Japan. Also, on the meatless days they have not increased vegetables at all. Why do they make these promises which they will not or cannot keep? I am not sure that I would not rather go to Japan myself than stay here; for the counter offensive against Japan has yet, hardly begun and I think conditions here are going to be pretty grim before this issue is settled.

There is one rather curious thing I might mention. When certain people came into camp some months ago, we heard that when HK was first bombed by American planes, nine months ago, the Japanese authorities that morning, had warning of the raid which took place in the afternoon and they recalled to the works, a European of the Gas Co. who had been given the morning off. The warning must have been supplied by the Japanese Secret Service. On Monday, 26th July, the day before the bombing began this time, a special article appeared in the HK News warning people of the possibility of air raids and enjoining the public to take every care to ensure 100% blackouts. It warned that failure in this respect might mean that electricity throughout the whole Colony might be cut off at the mains. So it seems they had warning this time: (The actual hour of the raid was mentioned last time). Which goes to show how competent is the Japanese espionage service in China.

Rather an amusing thing happened after the announcement of Mussolini’s resignation. Mr Gimson was summoned up the hill where he was met, much to his surprise, by the chief of the Stanley Gendarmerie. After some polite conversation the officer came to the purpose of his visit and asked the Colonial Secretary to tell him what Mussolini’s resignation meant! Did it mean that Italy would now become a neutral country etc. etc.  Gimson explained (no doubt with relish but, also with considerable caution) that it was not at all likely that Italy would remain just a neutral! He had to be careful for he was afraid of having the paper supply to camp stopped. But how naïve of the little man! I suppose he thought he would never get the real low down from his own forces, so he had better consult an authority. He was very polite and friendly and presented Gimson with (I believe) 6000 cigarettes and some soap for the needy in camp. At all events, all the men in camp today, were issued with 5 cigarettes each free, and that means 5 or 6 thousand. Well, let’s hope Hitler resigns next!

We have been having a full scale bug hunt today. Poor deluded creatures, when the cold weather arrived at the end of last summer we all imagined we had successfully exterminated the pests. It appears that they merely hibernated! And now whole squadrons of them have come to life. Every day you see someone or other carefully pouring boiling water over their beds – most camp beds. Our particular bed is much more cumbersome and owing to the electricity difficulty we cannot get enough hot water to make that method effective. So I spent this morning burning out all cracks and crevices and wire springs with the aid of a small piece of candle. I fear it is a forlorn hope to think they are all dead, but at any rate they have received a severe set back!

On July 29th Mr Lammert developed a temperature and after examining him Dr Thomlinson announced that he had malaria and ordered him off to the hospital. Harold and I wheeled him down on the stretcher. His temperature shot up that night but he has improved steadily since then and is coming back tonight – just in time for Yvonne’s birthday. Harold had some good bug-hunting in Mr Lammert’s bed while he was away.

Mrs Wilmer is also in hospital. She had a bad heart attack and is still very shaky. Mr Wilmer says she is to remain there now until the ship arrives to repatriate the women, for their small servants room is too cramped and noisy and makes her nervy.

Kitty Hackett too is in hospital, suffering from a fairly mild attack of dysentery, poor thing. She is recovering now. There is one small girl, Mary Fincher, who is in with malaria. She developed the some what alarming temperature of 107’ the other night; but she too is on the mend. ((Perhaps this was Margaret Fincher, who was aged 7. There was also a Mrs Maria Fincher in camp, but she was in her thirties.)) 

I am now 141¼ lbs! That means I have actually put on 3 pounds during the last 6 weeks. I am very pleased. It must be due to the lard and eggs we get through the canteen and also the cocoa we are given on the days on which we work. I hope Y hasn’t lost weight over her teeth extraction.

The Japanese have issued an order forbidding Chinese in Jap Government employ to resign! They are also warned that all those who are dismissed for inefficiency or misconduct will not be allowed employment in the Colony for one whole year and anyone employing such a person will also be liable to prosecution! All very interesting. One imagines when the bombs come raining down on the dry docks, Naval Yard, Police Station etc., wily John Chinaman said, “This is no place for me,” and tendered his resignation by the score!  Well, poor blighters, I’m sorry for them; they seem to get it in the neck whoever is governing the Colony.

Today and yesterday have been sunny but, except for an occasional morning or day here and there, we have had nothing but rain during this first half of August and also during a good deal of July. Except for the greater heat and the occasional intensity of the rain we might have been having real English summer weather! It rained on Y’s birthday, but not so much as to prevent Maudie coming here for lunch or to prevent us attending the concert that evening (the theatre party!). In the morning Y and I had fried eggs on fried bread and coffee for breakfast. Then we opened a tin of corned mutton and gave the room and Maudie rice and curry for lunch, followed by coffee and scones. I had made a small banana cake which we had for tea and for supper. Y and I devoured our last IRC pudding. So her birthday celebrations (as had mine) amounted largely to extra things to eat – which, in our circumstances was by far the best birthday present to have!

There has been no more excitement in the nature of air raids, but the local paper leads us to expect increased Anglo-American-Chinese activity in the near future. There is still no further news about repatriation though the Dutch received a cable stating that there might be a few vacancies for Dutch nationals on board the repatriation ship and asking them to cable immediately to Tokyo their priority list of names - they could be women or men. Yesterday the chairman of the Australian contingent, Larry Nielson, was summoned up the hill with Mr Gimson to attend upon Mr Meijima. The result of their meeting has not yet been made known. A rumour has just come round which says the repatriation is to take place at the beginning of September; that no notice to the effect will be circulated but that it is to be passed round by word of mouth. That’s quite a good one! Another rumour has it that the Norwegians have been told they will not be repatriated till next spring! In other words, no one yet knows what is happening.

A fortnight ago ‘Full House’ was presented in camp. Sheila produced it and she made a very good job of it, especially as it was her first attempt at production and in addition she took quite a big part herself – that of Lola. We thoroughly enjoyed it. John Robertson was going to produce it at first but decided a suitable cast could not be found in camp so gave it up. Sheila, however, was more determined and carried it off creditably.

Concerts and plays have been going on every week in spite of the heat. Last night I took part in a mainly musical ‘Quizz’, though my turn amounted to reciting a couple of popular Shakespearean misquotations, which the floor, and gallery had to correct in turn and then reciting two poems, one from Browning and one from Rupert Brooke, the titles and authors of which they had to guess. There were songs, orchestral and piano-forte recitals etc., all of which had to be identified by the audience. The two sides ended up with 14 points each out of a possible 20. It seemed to go down quite well because Betty Drown, who arranged and produced it, has been asked to produce another in a fortnight’s time which is to be performed on three nights. Bill Colledge has asked Y to take the part of Dinah in ‘Mr Pim Passes By’ which he is hoping to present in the middle of October (repatriation permitting). I also have agreed to put on a one act play in a month’s time – probably ‘Villa for Sale’ – though it depends on being able to get together a cast. With deteriorating rations, people are losing weight and are not keen to indulge in theatricals (very wisely too). We have kept off them for a longish time for that reason. The blessing of acting and rehearsals is that it helps time not to drag and life to become a burden.

There is another rumour which says that of the eleven men recently arrested Mr Pennefather-Evans has been acquitted and is to be released. We also hear that Sir Vandyleur Grayburn, Streatfield, Dr Selwyn-Clarke and Dr Talbott have been convicted for attempting, illicitly, to send money into camp and have been sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, commencing last July 1st ; hardly any of the other eleven have yet been tried, apparently.

Things have been happening during these last few days, so I must enter up the facts. First, a most tragic event: Sir Vandeleur Grayburn died in prison last Saturday, 21st Aug at 7.15 p.m. The first the camp heard of it was on Monday evening when his body was brought out of the prison and taken to the one time tool shed for the Indian Warder’s gardens between the hospital and the prison, which now serves as a mortuary. The news came as a great shock to the camp.

A post mortem examination was conducted by six doctors and in their opinion death was caused by beri-beri. Later the prison authorities confirmed this. The post mortem was of a very cursory nature because putrification had set in. And yet, only a few days before Mr Maejima had assured the C.S. that all European prisoners in gaol were in good health. Well, a man does not suddenly die of beri-beri and it means we can place little reliance on the assurances of the Japanese with regard to the state of health of the other prisoners. I am sure Maejima did not intend to falsify the report – he probably just passed on what the gendarmerie in the prison had told him. In fact he is not able to visit the prisoners.

The neglect on the part of the gendarmerie was criminal – so much so that many people think it was deliberate: for some weeks ago Lady Grayburn was allowed to send into the prison a basket of clothes for her husband, and into this basket she also packed two bottles of vitamin B, all that is required to keep one free of beri-beri. After the funeral this basket was returned to Lady Grayburn: everything was complete, including the two bottles of vitamin B; the basket had never been delivered. Poor woman!

Sir Vandeleur and the other three (Dr Talbot, Streatfield, and Dr Selwyn-Clarke) were due out of prison at the end of the month, and Lady Grayburn had given money to various friends of hers and asked them to buy all the food they could on their canteen tickets because she wanted to be able to feed up her husband and restore him to health when he came out of prison (he was not well when he went in some months ago). What an end to such a brilliant man. I believe that crowds attended the funeral. Y and I did not go because we did not know him more than by sight. Well, I only hope the others are alright. I wonder if the other three will be released and returned to this camp at the end of the month.
 
Now to turn to more cheering events: there have been three more air raids on Hong Kong. Y and I have been trying to get down to the beach for weeks and on Wednesday morning, a beautiful sunny morning, we at last managed it – it has either rained or I have been working or a rehearsal had interfered before. We had hardly reached the beach at 9.45 a.m. when we heard a droning in the sky and out from the south, straight over Lamma Island, with the sun directly behind them, sailed eight huge bombers with three tiny little fighters cavorting and twisting about in their rear. Then we heard the popping AA fire and in the direction of the harbour a patch of sky was filled with bursting shells – evidently a box barrage over some important objective – the docks I expect. That was well in advance of these 8 planes and meant that another advance squadron had already gone into the attack, those we did not see. By this time the 8 planes were directly overhead and Y and I quickly kicked off our shoes and rushed down to the sea to have a hasty swim! For the Japanese have issued instructions, that the beach is to be cleared immediately an air raid takes place. Sure enough, in a few seconds the gong was beaten and we all solemnly trooped up the steps and back to camp! We found we had not missed much and that people in the blocks had seen only the 8 we saw.

That night a black-out was ordered from sun-down. But before that, much to our surprise, another air raid occurred. Y and I had taken our books and were going to spend the evening sitting on the rocks beyond the hospital. We had just settled ourselves when Isa, sitting on a rock higher up, shouted that she could hear AA fire and explosions. We rushed up the hill to the Leperosarium and, sure enough, there was another air raid in progress. This time the planes had evidently come in from the West, out of the sun again, for presently we saw a flight of four bombers with one small fighter making off to the East, and a little while later three more bombers flew off.

The AA fire which had been quite intense, slackened off and stopped and the raid seemed to have come to an end. Then, while we still stood watching the departing specks, we heard two or three heavy detonations. We thought they might be the explosions of delayed action or time bombs. Black-out was ordered for that night and the next night, though later we discovered that this had been ordered as a punishment because internees had stood in the open and watched the raid, pointing up to the sky. This apparently enrages the Japanese authorities, for an order has been sent around to the effect that, should an air raid take place, internees must go indoors and not remain outside looking at the raid. Failure to observe this rule will result in prison sentences for the offenders!

On the following day at about 10.30 a.m. there was another raid, about 8 bombers, and I counted 5 fighters this time. Three AA shells burst simultaneously in a line not far from the last two fighters but they seemed to be unworried by the attention from the enemy. They were the closest shots I have seen so far; most of the shooting having been quite ineffectual. It would be horrid to see one of the planes brought down. In none of these raids has any Japanese fighter plane gone up to engage the Americans, though, periodically Japanese patrol planes cruise around. Well; three raids in two days provided a lot of excitement for the camp.

On Monday 30th August at about ten or eleven o’clock in the morning we saw two very heavily laden tramps making their way out to sea, going East on their way North. They, while we watched them, were unescorted. Later, at about 2 o’clock we saw three almost empty cargo ships going slowly out, escorted by a destroyer. An hour or so later we heard (by now familiar) drone of the American bombers and about 5 of them flew over the camp, going due East. As they were passing over camp there was a short burst of machine gun fire. This caused some excitement as we thought we were about to see a dog-fight, but apart from that one short burst and the drone of engines, there was silence – no AA fire from our battery or any batteries on this side of the island at all. They had passed out of sight very high up and that was all we saw. But, great excitement! About 1½ hours later we saw a destroyer come creeping back, hugging the coast right in amongst the islands, and after it came the three almost empty tramps! The convoy had evidently been attacked and a lot of people seemed to think that one or both of the first two ships had been hit. At all events, next morning a whole fleet of little tugs and small craft put out to sea in the same direction. It is possible they were salvage vessels. Planes were out on patrol too.

But yesterday’s raid (Thursday Sept 2nd) was the most exciting yet and it seems to have brought serious repercussions on the camp already.

Yvonne and I had been rehearsing our one act play at St Stephen’s on the stage between 11 and 12 and consequently we were late for lunch and did not lie down for our nap till about 1 p.m. About half an hour later when we were dozing we suddenly heard a distant drone of engines and then, almost immediately, many heavy detonations. We all leapt up and craned over the balcony and then ran to Wilcox’s room from where we can get a good view of the proceedings. There were a couple of belated rounds let off from an AA gun somewhere, but apart from that there was practically no reply to the raid – if raid it had been – and we were at a loss to know what it was about. Someone passed below who said they had definitely seen eight bombers climbing into the clouds and flying off. We were just about to depart when someone said excitedly,  “Look, look, look, look!! And over the high knob of Stanley Mound began to appear a thick and very dense billowing cloud, white on top and grayish beneath. 

“It’s a cloud,” said someone, but it grew and grew – an immense cloud of smoke, thick smoke, rising up in spite of quite a brisk wind. Something highly inflammable had been hit! There was great jubilation about it. The Indian guards, with their rifles, came pounding along to see if anyone was outside looking at the sky! Smoke belched up all afternoon and that night, after lights out, all kinds of people were to be found creeping about, having a look at the red glow reflected on the clouds that kept flaming up and dying down and flaming up again, every few seconds.

I woke up at about 4.00 a.m. next morning and the first thing I did was to go onto the balcony to see how the fire was: it was still blazing away fiercely. Everyone guessed it must be an oil dump, but opinion differed as to which it was – APC at North Point, Standard Oil across the harbour at Lai Chi Kok or an oil tanker. By daylight the fire seemed to have died down – no more smoke was visible – perhaps it was a tanker that had finally sunk.

Later in the morning, news dribbled in. Apparently this is what happened: a flight of bombers with fighter escort came gliding down from a great height out of the sun, their engines cut off, and took the defence quite by surprise. They dived low over Stonecutters Island, which they bombed, apparently hitting an ammunition dump; they bombed and hit a merchant ship and a big oil tanker, sinking both and firing the oil; they bombed the big oil depot at Lai Chi Kok and though the tanks received no direct hits, the concussion of the heavy caliber bombs fractured many of them and a lot of oil was lost; finally the Gas works in Kowloon had a bomb aimed at it but sad to say it exploded nearby in Woosung Street, an over populated Chinese coolie quarter and killed and wounded scores of unfortunate Chinese. That alas, is what we are always afraid may happen. Anyway, if this news is correct it was certainly a bumper raid and the raiders accomplished their task and were off practically before anyone knew what had happened.

This evening a notice has come round from Mr Gimson who stated that Mr Maejima had visited him this afternoon and stated (a) there was no further news about repatriation; (b) the consumption of electricity was still too great; (c) in future no one is to be allowed to spend more than Y25 per month in the canteen and (d) owing to the breakdown of our ration lorry it is possible that no rations will come into camp for 3 or 4 days. (!!) Mr Gimson has taken this matter up very seriously with the Japanese. We are considerably underfed as it is and if they start that sort of game we might as well start selecting our sites in the cemetery! Mr Gimson is, apparently, very worried. Perhaps he fears this is the beginning of really bad times. The Japanese have also suggested that, in view of the difficulty of obtaining firewood now, we should have only one meal per day. It really is monstrous. It makes one shudder to think of the plight of the majority of Chinese in HK. This is the Grand New Order in East Asia!

The other day, in the paper, it stated, quite blandly, that all Chinese eating houses had been ordered to erect wire netting round all upper floor balconies to prevent the numerous cases of suicide that keep occurring. The horrible truth is that many of these Chinese – the comparatively poor, though probably educated – come to a final end of all their resources and decide that oblivion and death is the best alternative. A man and wife, or perhaps the members of a family, will then go to a restaurant and wring their last natural satisfaction from cruel humanity by ordering and consuming a meal – the funeral feast – after which they evidently make a dash for the balconies and throw themselves over. Apparently by no means all of them die and I expect the authorities find these broken and maimed specimens of humanity are an encumberance.

Another appeal in the paper to the Chinese to cease burying their dead in waste ground, ruined buildings, cul-de-sacs etc., casts another sinister shadow. They say the Japanese authorities will assist the destitute properly to bury their dead. Good God! If in their fear, and their endeavour to retain the remains of their relatives in accordance with the Chinese customs of ancestor worship, they have been hiding the dead in those crowded slum areas, the danger of disease breaking out is alarming. No wonder the Japanese are waking up and doing something about it; for they are a meticulously clean and hygienic people.

To return to the question of our rations: four days before the end of August a notice was put up stating that our ration lorry had already consumed its petrol supply for August and therefore no further Canteen stores (including fruit and eggs) could be brought in for the time being. So evidently there is a great shortage of gasoline here. If the Japanese oil dumps have been hit, the situation seems serious. However, I really do believe the Japanese authorities are just mad about these raids and are simply taking it out of us because we are a small section of the enemy and in their power. At all events, to say they cannot send rations for a few days because the lorry has broken down is ridiculous. Surely it is not the only available lorry in HK! Any way, there is a bus service to Stanley and if necessary the Japanese could take over a bus for a day or two. But anyway, most of the stuff could be sent round by junk, so it certainly seems that there is a more important reason than a broken down lorry. Well, we shall know by today if Gimson’s vigorous protests have had any effect or not.

Pennefather-Evans and Whant (two of the eleven who were imprisoned some time ago) were acquitted and released from prison and returned to camp about 10 days ago.  Everyone, of course, wanted to hear what their conditions had been like in gaol, but the gendarmerie had made them sign documents swearing complete silence on pain of death. That itself speaks pretty eloquently of the conditions imposed on those unfortunates, and makes us apprehensive about the remainder.

After the death of Sir Vandeleur, Mr Gimson made a representation to the Japanese, asking that British prisoners should undergo regular medical examinations and that vitamins should be allowed in from camp for those suffering from vitamin deficiencies (principally vitamin B). He asked that two doctors from camp be allowed into the prison each month or, failing that, that the prisoners be examined by Japanese doctors and medical reports be sent to him. He asked for other concessions too, but I feel it is rather like asking for a slice of the moon. However, I believe the Japanese Civil Authorities were considerably perturbed at Sir Vandeleur’s death, so something may happen.

The trouble is that the Civil Authorities count little with the Gendarmerie, who are similar to the German Gestapo. We heard a story that Chungking had broadcast the news of Sir Vandeleur’s death on Sunday 22nd – i.e. the night before we heard the news in camp! They are alleged to have referred to it as, “The Murder of Sir Vandeleur Grayburn”. However, I’m inclined to think the tale is a little far fetched. I have no doubt that the Chungking espionage agents are well established in HK, but the transmission of the news of Sir V’s death in one day would be pretty rapid work – unless his illness had had them to expect his demise.

All last night and all this morning the wind has been simply howling about the buildings and driving rain right into our windows. The Bidwell’s and Isa had come in from the balcony and none of us slept for more than a couple of hours last night. The gusts are gradually increasing, though the typhoon (for typhoon it must be) seems to be moving very slowly. We are all cooped up in our rooms; there are so many beds that we have had to move the table out onto the verandah.

As a matter of interest, I will record how the ‘HK News’ reported last Thursday’s raid. There was a short article which said a formation of about 10 enemy fighters and bombers raided HK at 1.35 p.m. yesterday when several bombs were dropped. A fire was caused as a result of the raid, but no casualties were reported. The enemy raiders were soon driven away by the AA batteries!! Oh yes?

Well, I am glad to say that the camp rations have come in every day since the last raid in spite of the gasoline shortage – so perhaps I got all hot under the collar about it for nothing. However, the Japanese did issue the warning. There was a story that Hatori came out to see Gimson the next day and assured him that even if it meant that food had to be brought out here (8 miles) by coolie labour he would see that it arrived. He certainly seems to do his best by this camp.

11.30 am. News! Great News!  ‘The HK News’ contained as its principal front page item the marvellous news that:

“The Badoglio Government of Italy has surrendered unconditionally to Britain and the United States and that a Fascist National Government has been formed in the North of Italy by Mussolini who is now raising an army that will continue, with the German army to resist the anti-axis invasion.” 

The British forces that invaded the Italian mainland on the 3rd have evidently made rapid progress and the German forces left in the South of Italy will be left in a similar position to that of our BEF when the Belgian and French armies collapsed.

Things seem to be happening rapidly now. It appears that Badoglio has been playing false to Germany and, according to a German report, he signed a treaty of surrender to the American and British Forces on Sicilian soil at the end of July but this was kept secret. Now the Italians have actually engaged in hostilities against the Germans – short lived and soon quelled if German reports are to be believed, but how amazing! At the outset of hostilities Germany had signed military pacts with three great powers: Russia, Japan and Italy and Hitler and his gang hugged themselves at their cleverness in outwitting the democracies. Now two of those countries have ratted on him and the third is unable to render any direct assistance. Truly Germany and Japan must be having serious headaches just now! This must be the beginning of the end.

 I must quote a really astonishing report of Hitler’s latest speech to the German nation:

“We shall continue this struggle unhindered by any obstacles. Any attempt made by an international plot of plutocrats to talk away German resistance, as was done in Italy, is childish. Their belief in being able to bring about in Germany also a July 25th is based on a mistake. They are also wrong as regards my personal position as well as the attitude of my political co-operators, my Field-Marshalls, Admirals and Generals. More than ever a fanatically united community, under German leadership, is opposing those intentions. We will even be more consolidated in our determination by any distress which might come over us.”  

Pathetic!  Hitler has many doubts assailing him.

To add to our excitement, at 4 o’clock this afternoon we had another air raid! But this was really spectacular. Y said, “Is there a raid on? I thought I heard some bangs.”

We strolled onto the balcony and were suddenly electrified! There was a plane, only a few hundred feet up, banking almost horizontally in a very steep turn. At first sight of a plane at that attitude I thought it must be a Jap, but then I saw the big white or silvery stars on the wing tips! American planes!! They had two bodies, or whatever they are called, and were twin engined.

Afterwards I chatted to an air pilot in this camp and he said they were American Lockheed P38 pursuit planes – fighter bombers, which came out in 1941. They are capable of pretty good speed, I believe, and though they are by now somewhat out of date for the European war, they are evidently quite good enough for the machines the Japanese are able to put up. 
I dashed along the passage to the end room, for a better view, and was peering out and up when suddenly, I was just conscious of a wing tip overhead coming right down on top of the building, and almost simultaneously a tremendous swish and a kind of compression of the air. I ducked instinctively! And I thought the plane was coming straight down. Just then there was a loud smash at the back in the direction of the fort here and someone shouted, “It’s crashed!” I tore back to the other end of the flat to find it had done nothing of the sort!

Wilcox and Ogden, who had been taken by surprise and were still outside, both said they saw the rear pilot waving! The people on the beach had a thrill too, as one plane dived low over them. Then one of these planes (there were two of them) dived very low over Tytam Bay and executed the Victory Roll, straightened out, went tearing back at Stanley village and as it passed it dived low over the Gendarmerie HQ and let fly with some very heavy machine gun fire. Tim said he had been in the cemetery and the other plane came straight over and attacked the same building at right angles to the other plane. Later someone says they saw a car drive up and take away one casualty. But the strange thing was that these planes, apart from their one sharp snap at the Gendarmerie building, had evidently not come to do any damage or take any photographs.

Elsie and Harold saw, with others, about six more planes over HK that had been doing the same thing, careering madly about, diving and generally giving the victory display; then they came out westward and the small Stanley detachment joined them and they flew off! What can it all mean? A battery somewhere at the back of Stanley let off one round and the shell burst up in the sky all alone and by itself with not a plane anywhere near! No doubt a plane had been there some moments before, but trying to hit fast planes like that with AA fire at that low altitude was like trying to hit a wasp in a large room with an orange pip!

No one seems to know exactly what our local fort did. Evidently they fired two shots (I did not see anything) but opinion is divided as to what they fired: some say AA guns and others (perhaps the humourist) declare that they let fly with the two battery coastal defence guns (probably 6”) and that the shells hit Lamma Island and made the big crash we all heard but could not account for! A fellow named Bloomenthal was walking back from the cemetery locality when a piece of shrapnel landed about 10 yards from him – so there is probably some sense in taking cover when AA fire is in our direction. We wonder if there is any significance in this display: it was probably staged by some bright lads in the US Air Force who thought they would cheer us up at the generally bright situation. Also, it must worry the Japanese here not a little.

In a speech made to the press by the local Japanese Governor, he apologised for the suspension of the bus services in town, explaining that the oil storage tanks had been destroyed. He said the train service would be extended where possible and some horse drawn vehicles (two legged?) would be put into service. Otherwise, people must be patient and be prepared to walk if rickshaws were not available. He said the destruction of the oil was a temporary nuisance to HK but that it was of little importance to the Japanese as a whole, for the oil supplies available were unlimited and more oil would soon be coming to the Colony.

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Yvonne and I took part in a programme of one act plays that had been somewhat hastily arranged. I produced ‘Villa for Sale’ by Sacha Guitori; a translation from the French. I tried a couple of men for the part of Gaston but could not cast it satisfactorily and in the end, for want of a more suitable person, took the part myself, though I dislike acting and producing in the same play. No doubt the play suffered accordingly. Still, it went down quite well. Yvonne took the part of Jeanne, so for the first time we appeared on the stage in a play together and, incidentally as a married couple. Day Sage, Lorraine Money and Winnifred Lewis completed the cast.

Our play came first and was followed by a comedy thriller written by Dr Newton. He and Lydia Hutchinson were the principals and there was a small part for a police sergeant. The blackmail theme was quite well worked out but the dialogue was rather poor and they took the play along too slowly so that it tended to hang fire rather a lot.

The last one, a costume play was ‘Elizabeth Refuses’ by Margaret Macnamara, taken from ‘Pride and Prejudice’. This play was produced under difficulties for, Brown, the producer, fell ill and apart from a couple of rehearsals which John Robertson took, the play just produced itself! In spite of that it was very well done. Sheila as Elizabeth was quite good, though not at her best; Yvonne as Jane was really very good and quite charming (I felt quite the proud husband!); James Norman as Mr Cillins was excellent and so also was Mrs Tinsom as the mother: G.B. as Lady de Borough was a little disappointing. It was a nice thing to finish with. Y really should be quite good with experience.

Prior to the plays we took part in a couple of ‘Quizz’ concerts which were quite fun, though it is still too hot for acting. I have booked a date, Nov 6th and am thinking of producing ‘Laburnum Grove’ by Priestly. I produced this 5 or so years ago for the Upper Holloway Fellowship (his Church in UK) and happen to have that old copy of the play in camp!

At the beginning of this month, when the new Block Committee was elected, I was asked to take over the office of Block Labour Officer – a somewhat thankless task. I have, so far, kept clear of such jobs but everyone seems to have had a try at them at one time or another so I feel it is time I did likewise! Last Saturday I raised a squad from these blocks and with men from the rest of the camp we went out, 24 strong on the weekly anti-malaria excursion. We were escorted by three Chinese supervisors in white suits and sun helmets and three Sikh guards. The work consisted of clearing out silted up field ditches. We worked from 11 a.m. till noon in the blazing sun, wearing just shorts, up to our knees in muddy water – the European Coolies while the neat white supervisors stood watching! Quite like old plantation days! Still, it was quite fun. Dr Mackie, the HK Malariologist, says that the patch below the Prep school is one of the worst malaria areas in the Colony. There is a lot of malaria in camp now: 40 cases in July and 62 in August. So far Y and I have escaped.

Well, it looks like the Canadians really are going on the 23rd; lucky beggars. They were told about a month or so ago that a ship would be leaving Tokyo or some Japanese port on Sept. 15th and after calling at Shanghai would call at HK on Sept. 22nd or 23rd.  Now they have been told to have their heavy luggage (if any!) ready by tomorrow so that it can be inspected and stored, ready for shipping. Fancy actually packing up to go!!

Frances Dodds has promised to write to Mother and Father to say we are well and to ask them if they can make the necessary arrangements to send some money to Goa for Yvonne when the British women and children get there in December. The ship will exchange the Canadian and American subjects for the Japanese nationals that will be arriving on the American ship, it will return with them to Japan (calling, we fervently hope, at HK with some more IRC food for us) and will then make a second voyage, arriving at HK during the latter part of November to take the British women and children away to Goa where they will again be exchanged for Japanese nationals. This first ship will call at the Philippines, then Singapore before finally proceeding to India. It is taking some 30 Americans or so from town as well, though the Americans left behind here, having declined one chance of repatriation are not having a second chance – at least, not in this ship. The ship is the Teia Maru.

They have gone! Everything went according to schedule. On the 22nd the weather turned really dirty and we had another severe gale – another typhoon somewhere about: we have had typhoon weather three times now during the last 3 weeks which is exceptional, for the typhoon season is generally over by the end of August and if, by chance, a belated typhoon does come along, it generally comes unattended by others.

By the evening of Wed 22nd the visibility was very bad because of the wind and spray. The Teia Maru was due in at 7 p.m. but by that time there was no sign of her. However, at 9 p.m., after dark, lights appeared off Stanley Bay and we guessed she must be in. Early next morning I had a look at her: she looked very peculiar – short, with a high superstructure. She was one of the Messageries Maritimes French line motor ships with diesel engines and squat square funnels. These ships were frequent visitors to Hong Kong in the pre-war days and the shipping experts here say that she was the Aramis which was taken from the French by the Japanese after the Japanese entry into the war. Presumably she must have been in the service of the Free French for this to happen, unless the Japanese Govt. bought her – which I doubt.  Any way, there she was, painted grey with a great white cross at the bow and stern and a white cross on the side on either side of the Japanese emblem amidships; also a white cross attached to and projecting above one of the squat funnels.  She was anchored much closer in than was the Asama Maru – possibly to gain the protection of this peninsula from the gale.

Some 50 Canadians left this camp. British husbands or wives married to Canadian nationals were allowed to go. In this way, Jack Robinson was able to get away with Jean, lucky devil! Other of our more intimate friends were Dr and Mrs Grave ((probably Dr and Mrs Greaves)) and Frances Dodds. Dr and Mrs Graves had planned to retire to Toronto in any case, so their internment here had only postponed their normal programme by some 18 months! Of course they have lost their property too. There were farewell parties galore and I think I can safely say that though the British here envied the Canadians their good fortune, everyone was glad they were able to get away from this dismal place; and the Canadians, for their part, were considerably saddened by the thought that they were leaving so many of their friends behind.

Anne Muir had tea with us on Thursday and then we walked along to the cemetery from where we could view the embarkation. Constant rain squalls came along and Y and I stood huddled over the low wall with our solitary raincoat (mine) spread over our backs. Anne kept all but her hair dry, and that just streamed with rain! The Canadians had had to report at 12.30 at the Prep school, where their hand luggage was to be finally examined. Their luggage was duly examined and then stacked on the jetty in the pouring rain without any cover whatsoever! Many of them had no proper suitcases and had put their things – what little they had – in Hong Kong baskets. These are just wickerwork baskets and their clothes must have been simply soaked. It really was too bad; and so unnecessary – brilliant Japanese organization.  

There were three stretcher cases who were brought from the hospital by car at 3 o’clock. The Canadians had been allowed to take no written matter, books or photographs (even portraits) whatsoever. They could take only their bibles, if they had not been written in, and their passports. No Wills, Power of Attorney papers etc. were allowed. This, the Japanese said was in return for similar regulations imposed by the Canadian Govt on the returning Japanese nationals. So the Canadians had to wait from 12.30 till 5.15 when they eventually went aboard the launch. But I daresay most of them would have been prepared to put up with anything to get away. I feel I would have!

We stuck it for 1½ hours, waving frantically to our friends, but in the end we gave it up and squelched back to our blocks. At night her white crosses were flood lit. She sailed at 9.20 that night and at about 10.10 we saw her round the end of our peninsula, but pretty far out to sea. There were just three big lights showing at that distance, probably the flood lit white crosses.

“There they go, lucky devils”.

((Teia Maru returned from repatriation duties to Goa and reverted to being a troop ship making several troop carrying voyages in convoy between Singapore and Japan. As part of a convoy carrying reinforcements to the Philippines, she was sunk by US submarine USS Rasher on 18th August 1944 off Cape Bolinao, Luzon, with the loss of 2,665 troops, civilians and crew. She was the second largest merchant ship sunk by American submarines during the war.))

((Letter from Agnes Charter to Gladys Crowley, c/o Lloyds Bank Ltd, Redford Street, Plymouth, England))

The Manse
Cinnamon Gardens
Colombo
Ceylon

3rd Jan 1944

Dear Mrs. Crowley,

We have just received a letter from a Frances Dodds, posted at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on Dec 4. She is on her way home from Hong Kong, shared the flat with J and Y in Stanley. No one was allowed to take letters out, so she had to memorise addresses and chose ones short and easiest. J and Y are both well, had not been in hospital at all, all very thin as food scarce. J and Y had spent any money they had on food. She says Stanley is the worst camp in the Far East for food. Says how even tempered Y always is where everyone’s nerves are all on edge and how splendid she an J had been producing plays etc. for amusement of camp. Y had had letters from you. When she left they were expecting women and children to be evacuated soon. John very keen to get Y away, and asks us to supply money when she arrives as she won’t have a cent. She shall have all she wants if we can get her here, and then I suppose send her on to you. I will send the letter, in the meantime if you want to write to this lady her address is – Frances Dodds, c/o Miss Madeley, Vancuover Public Library, Vancouver, B.C. 

Good news isn’t it?

All good wishes for 1944

Agnes Charter

Another month gone, thank God. Lately I have been pretty fully occupied and when evening has arrived I have not been able to summon up the necessary energy to write up my diary. My duties as Block Labour Officer kept me pretty busy, especially during the mornings. Afternoons and evenings – till the light goes – are generally spent in our garden or in rehearsing ‘Laburnum Grove’, J.B. Priestly’s play, which I am producing.

The trouble with all these three occupations is that they entail so much running about – not like working at a desk – and on this very low diet it is rather fatiguing. In addition, my digging of refuse pits, for which we draw an extra food ration at the evening meal three times a week, has now come to an end so I miss the extra food – even though it did amount to little more than extra rice.

I have now turned bricklayer again and am building some brick stoves for water boiling for the community. The camp quota of electricity is gradually being reduced and we envisage the time when the electric water boilers will no longer be available. In any case, many of them are beginning to burn out and we cannot get new elements for them. These boilers are the electric clothes boilers which many of the occupants of these flats had had installed before the war. They have been shared out amongst the various blocks in the camp. They have done yeoman service considering they have been going about 12 hrs per day for nearly 2 years. We now have only two left. They hold about 7 gallons each and take about an hour to boil the water. So everyone in these blocks gets 2 to 2 ½ pints of boiling water per day for making tea, coffee and cooking etc. People are not supposed to use hot water for washing of any kind, though most people do for such things as shaving or washing hair.

The idea of these new boilers is to have three cylinders, each holding 25 gallons (they are the hot water cylinders installed in all these flats, which we propose to dismantle) set in a row. The fire will burn under the first of the series (the one furthest from the flue) and the flue gases, after passing out of the first boiler, will first circulate round the second boiler, and then around the third boiler before finally entering the flue proper. This will utilize, as far as possible, the greater percentage of the heat generated instead of wasting about half of it, as is the case with most solid fuel boilers. It will ensure a constant supply of hot water for replenishing the first boiler: it is just possible that the water in the second boiler may be brought to boiling point, especially if it is only half filled; but in any case, I think I will build a second fireplace under the second boiler, complete with fire and ash pit doors so that it can be lit for a few minutes to bring the water actually to the boil during the rush periods and then shut off completely so that all draught comes from the first boiler. It will be interesting to see if this scheme works, for the waste gases from the first fire may prevent the second one from burning. We intend to burn, in these water boilers, principally dried grass. We have a squad of grass-cutters who cut the long grass from the hillsides and spread it out to dry.

I intend to get one or two of the less fit men to twist it into small hanks and knot it so that it will be easier to handle and does not burn away too quickly. It will be necessary to use a little wood too, but we hope to keep this down to a very small amount. In the kitchen, after this job is finished, I intend to rebuild one of the stoves (the one I built myself about a year ago) inserting a cylinder and bringing the flue gases from the two other boilers around it before entering the flue so that the cooks in the galley will have a constant supply of hot water – without burning extra fuel – with which to top up rice and stew boilers instead of having to do it, as at present, with cold. This too should conserve fuel consumption.

The wood situation in the Colony is becoming increasingly difficult. It will be awful to go back and find the Colony practically denuded of trees. So long as the Japanese still believe they are going to keep the place, they will probably be careful of such amenities, but when they find they have probably got to go, I don’t suppose they will mind what happens to the place.

News of various kinds has come into camp lately. The Russians seem to be doing stupendous things on the Eastern Front – almost back to Kiev and the Pripet Marshes in the other sector and it looks as though they will have the Germans out of the Crimea before long; though no doubt German resistance in the South will be very determined, for if the Russians or British and Americans get into the Balkans the fighting will certainly be on Germany’s back door step. The British and American advance in Italy seems to be going forward steadily: Naples and Foggia are in our hands and the next major city is Rome. However, I’m afraid I am not one of the camp optimists who think the war in Europe will be over before the end of this year. By next Spring or Summer, perhaps.

Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten aged 43, the new Commander- in- Chief of the British Forces by land, sea and air has now arrived in India and has proceeded to New Delhi, his headquarters, so perhaps the Burma campaign will open soon.

At the beginning of this month, Zindle, who is in charge of the International Red Cross in HK received a cable from Geneva, the contents of which were published in camp. Earlier, he had cabled Geneva to ask if Red X supplies could be off-loaded at HK by the returning Teia Maru because of the grave food situation here. This reply stated that the IRC regretted that, as this repatriation scheme was an American and Canadian affair, no IRC supplies could be sent to British internees. What dismay that message caused. We had so hoped something would turn up. Actually, this arrived toward the end of Sept.

On Oct 1st I was working in the garden when Yvonne came dashing down, all excitement, to say the Canadian RX (bless them!) had cabled that they would off load 1,919 packages of Canadian stuff for the British internees in HK by the returning Teia Maru! She should be back by about the first week of Nov. There will be 1,818 cases of meat, about 35 cases of medical supplies (which are urgently needed) and the remaining packages (about 20-30 of each) are to be fruit juices and baby foods. Presumably these should be shared out amongst the Prisoners of War in Sham Shui Po and Argyle Street camps and the Stanley Camp. We don’t know how many POW remain in HK, but assuming it is about 5000, that should mean each person will get (or should) about 5 tins of bully beef each; again assuming there are 24 tins per case. Well, if this is correct, it means Y and I will get about 10 tins between us, which will last us for 40 days. We have had to reduce our consumption of meat from a tin every three days to a tin every four days – 1 ½ oz of meat each per day, and at that rate our supply will last until the first week in Nov. So with luck the ends may just meet! We eke out our meat by having the occasional egg for lunch.

Lately, we have bought 2 eggs per week at Y1.50 each (pdv £4).  These we scramble with garlic and the soya beans that Zindle has been able to purchase for the camp and we have one egg between us per day. Good Lord! I should have considered a couple of eggs with a few beans and a little rice a very inadequate lunch in pre war days, but half an egg is really rather humorous! Tinned meat is still procurable at the canteen, but it costs, now, Y8.10 per 12 oz tin (pdv£22.50 per tin) and we simply cannot afford it. We each had Y25 more at the end of last month, but this amount is now insufficient to enable us to buy meat or lard (there is inferior lard at Y11.60 per lb (pdv£32.50), tinned milk at Y9.80 per 12 oz tin or peanut oil at Y11.50 per pint (pdv 32.20). Fortunately, when we got some money from Y’s bracelet, we turned most of it into food straight away – the best way of investing money these days and bought 12 tins of meat at Y4.40 (pdv£12.50), about 3 pints of peanut oil at Y5 per pint and 4 lbs quite good lard at Y6.40 per lb. These stores we are still using. We also bought several 2 lb tins of treacle at Y7.10. Wong Tong – which is sticks of unrefined cane sugar, (something like jaggery) costs Y3.80 per lb so it is more expensive than the refined treacle! This we buy at each canteen as does everyone else. We also buy soya beans whenever we can. Last time, about a month ago they were Y2.60 per lb (3/3) (According to this diary record the Military Yen had depreciated by this stage to MY16 to £1 sterling). They are good food as they contain a good percentage of protein.

This bogey, food, stalks constantly behind us. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that we get up from every meal feeling we could eat the same amount again with the exception, perhaps, of the rice. How I wish the things in our garden would grow faster! We have a bed of tomato plants (about 4 inches high at present); a bed of carrots; so far only three sweet potato plants! But I hope it will soon be 30 when I can cadge some more cuttings; 24 Pak Choi seedlings (a kind of Chinese cabbage). Then I have planted some soya bean seeds, some pak choi sum, lettuce and Tinsin cabbage seeds. I have, too, some maize and some peanuts, which I hope to plant when I can get a bed ready. Really, these latter seeds should not be planted till about Feb. so I don’t suppose it is much good putting them in now. Corn on the cob will be a great delicacy. I still hope I shall not be here to see it mature, but I will leave it all with a light heart if we hear we are to be repatriated.

The latest repatriation news is that the C.S. has been requested by the Japanese to prepare three lists. (a)  those whose supporters are in POW camps, (b) those whose supporters had been killed during the war and (c) all other families in camp. It doesn’t tell us much, but of course, it has started a good deal of speculation. The most hopeful suggestion is that everyone, men as well as women, are going to be repatriated and that those lists are to decide the priority of embarkation, the idea being to keep families together as far as possible. What is to happen to the unattached men and women here has not been explained.

Dr Talbott and Mr Streatfield were released from prison on the first of this month and have returned to camp. They were both in poor physical condition and were taken along to the hospital for treatment. Now they are gradually improving. Sir Vandeleur Grayburn should have been released with them and not at the end of August as I thought.

Yesterday Mr Copeland, of Messrs Jardines Ltd, died in hospital. It is said that he is the first case of a death in camp really attributable to malnutrition. The usual BCC bulletin has not yet come out but it will be interesting to see if they mention the cause of death. In his case it must have meant that constant malnutrition lowered his physical condition and powers of resistance to such an extent that he succumbed where in normal conditions he would have recovered quite easily. How important it is to keep well here.

I have been suffering for the last day or two from a slightly septic foot. Like many other people I have been walking about a bit in bare feet to save footwear for the cold weather. I contrived a small cut on the sole of my left foot which went unnoticed or, rather, uncared for by me (I must confess) and some dirt evidently found it’s way far enough in to give trouble and my foot became a little tender and slightly inflamed on top. Also a gland in my groin started to swell slightly. However it was snicked open this morning with a sharp pair of scissors and strepticide ointment applied, and now, apart from being a trifle sore, is much better I think.

One happy sequel to the Canadian evacuation was the arrival, in the Teia Maru of children from Shanghai whose parents are interned in this camp. They had all been to St Giles School in Sing Tao and were sent to Shanghai after the Japanese occupation, where, after living for about a year in a private house with an English guardian with comparatively light restrictions from the Japanese, they were eventually interned with the other internees in a civilian internment camp. These children were the two sons of Dr and Mrs Valentine, aged about 10 and 12; the Stanton’s son aged 11 and Alec and Susie Pott’s son of a similar age. These family reunions were a very happy event. They have been questioned about the conditions in Shanghai and a report was made out and circulated about the camp.

The Shanghai people have certainly been pretty well off and very lucky compared with us. To begin with they were given quite good notice of their impending internment (not the 1 ½ hours as in our case!) and were actually told the date, on which they were to proceed to internment, 10 days in advance. They had to report at, I think, the Country Club, where lorries and buses were available to transport them and their luggage to the camps. They therefore were able to take in whole trunks of clothes and provisions instead of the scanty hand-bags that we brought.

In addition they were able to take in what money they had – they were still able to draw on their banking accounts – and could make arrangements for the monthly dispatch of parcels to camp through third nationals. They were allowed only one parcel per month, but this could contain goods up to 20 lbs in weight! Of course, the Shanghai region is a big food producing district and food, especially fresh foods like fruit and eggs, were still fairly plentiful. They, like us, received 2 pounds sterling per month from the Home Government through the IRC and this amounted to about $640 Shanghai currency. In HK, we get about Y25 of our Y32 or Y34, Zindel keeping the balance with which to purchase camp necessities such as medical supplies, soya beans etc.  In the Shanghai camp each person hands over $300 per month to the catering committee and in return they all have breakfast each day, a cereal of some kind and an egg! Eggs cost 15 sen each as against our Y1.50,  only 1/10th of what we now pay. They have a canteen, like us, at which they can spend the balance of their monthly allowances. Their daily rations appear to be about the same as ours: they used to get the anti beri-beri red rice which we have asked for continually. Incidentally a quota of this rice has just been received in camp here.

When the Shanghai internees entered camp they had Chinese coolies to carry out the manual labour for them. The cooking was done for them by the Chinese cooks for a couple of months until they had learned the art of cooking this Chinese food in large quantities. They can send all their laundry out of camp and all shoe repairs go outside too though, of course, they have to pay for these services. Their fuel is coal in liberal supplies, so they have no wood chopping. This means a good supply of hot water.They can have as much boiling water as they want, providing they bring to the boilers their receptacles full of cold water to exchange for the hot – evidently there is no adjacent tap. Everyone can have one hot shower per day! And workers have an extra shower after their labours.

Living accommodation is about as crowded as ours here, though they have two big dining rooms in which all meals are eaten. The entrance hall of the school which they occupy has, in addition, been converted into a lounge. The Japanese officer in charge was attached to the Japanese Embassy in London before the war and is well acquainted with the European customs and habits and looks after the internees well. He himself was interned, with the rest of the Japanese Embassy, while waiting repatriation, in the Ritz Hotel in London! So he has something to try and live up to.

Well, it’s a good thing to know our Shanghai friends are so comparatively well off. Harold and Elsie now wish they had made up their minds and gone when they had the chance.

Last Monday we had quite a cheering circular. The chief item of news was about repatriation. It stated that Maejima had seen the C.S. and informed him, with regard to repatriation that, “Further details will be shortly available”. He added that,“The list of people to be repatriated will vary from the original list”.

This has set the whole camp buzzing with rumours and speculation. It really is extraordinary how the news was received by different people. For those like Y and me, who hitherto expected to be separated, it was most exciting, for now there is the first possibility that we both may go! For those like Maudie, who have nothing to make them want to remain and who were certainly going in the first scheme, the news came as rather a nasty shock, as for them there is now the possibility of some of them having to remain behind.

The rumours are legion: men of military age and technicians and women who will be useful for the British war effort are being exchanged for similar Japanese internees; all the police and mercantile men are going, plus women with children; all Government Servants are going because the Government is having to pay their salaries in any case! But most people seem to think that a large proportion of men are going. I wonder if architects would be classed as technicians? Well, I wonder when they will let us know.

The other items on the bulletin were: Zindle had procured another five days supply of soya beans, thus ensuring our daily quota to the end of this month; we were each to receive ¼ lb lard (that arrived today) – ¼ lb peanuts (these will not be issued until the beans are finished); the Japanese have made a free issue of soap (about the first on record!) and we have each received a 4” or 5” bar of washing soap. So that (for us at any rate) was a cheering bulletin.

When is this internment going to end? I have another fit of depression when I wonder how I can stick it. I suppose it is largely a matter of food, for the news is excellent and there is no doubt that the war is moving towards the final stages. But I haven’t the energy to get the fun out of life! My legs feel so weak and flabby these days. However, the weather for the last month has been perfect and the garden is coming on well – one of our tomato plants has actually put forth some flowers! Even though it is, as yet, less than a foot high; perhaps I should nip them off; I must enquire. The nights are cool now and we sleep under a blanket. No further news of repatriation.

There is an awful lot of illness about – malaria and a type of dysentery, not a severe type fortunately. Most of the nurses living in the hospital (all the Queen Mary Hospital Sisters are in the hospital as the official nurses) are at present patients themselves. Isa went to the hospital on Monday with a temp of 104.4 and blood tests have shown she has malaria. Her temp is a little lower now.

Yvonne had a letter from Pat Sennett, one page long. At least half of it, the middle portion, had been blacked out by the censor, but the letter ended by saying, “Tell John I hope to meet him soon”.

We are hoping somehow to cheat the censor, but so far our efforts have not met with much success. We feel the blacked out portion may say something about repatriation. There is a snag, however, and that is that the letter is dated last November, at least 6 months earlier than the first official Japanese announcement about the repatriation of women and children – so I’m afraid the news won’t be of much use even if we do manage to decipher it.

I have started on the road to toothlessness. Eight days ago one of my teeth was very tender (it was the one Shields had re-stopped some months ago) and so I paid Sammy Shields a visit. He said it had the symptoms of a tooth with an abcess at the roots, but with out an Xray he could not tell. But he said that in any case the tooth hadn’t much longer to live and advised its removal. I was loathe to part with it, but decided it would be for the best and so that morning, I finally cleaned it for the last time and bade it a fond farewell. As it turned out, there was no abcess there, but no doubt it was better for my other teeth to have it out. There is nothing hard to chew in our food here – except, occasionally, little pieces of toughish meat – so my recovery has been quite rapid.

Two days ago we all had our ¼ lb lard and ¼ lb peanuts, which were very welcome. These came from the Welfare, i.e. Red X.  We are going to grind the peanuts into peanut butter. I have planted some in my garden, though I believe Feb or March is really the time to plant them. I wonder why peanuts are not grown in England ? I am sure they would do quite well, for N. China is the home of the ground nut. We can’t plant the lard unfortunately.

Father’s birthday tomorrow, so I will wish him “Many happy returns”.  I hope I shall have seen him before his next. Sunday, the last day of the month. Still no further news of repatriation, though we wait for it daily.

Tonight we ate our first vegetable from the garden! We had not intended to, but the weather has turned quite chilly these last two days (two blanket weather) and after quite a concentrated rehearsal from 2.30 to 5 p.m. this afternoon, we came back feeling pretty peckish.

Today has been a meatless day and nowadays the vegetable ration too seems to have grown very small and the evening meal consisted of a scoop of rice and a vegetable rissole made of sweet potatoes and yams with a little bit of minced meat in the middle which had been saved over from yesterday. With these small rissoles (which are slightly sweet) we generally have a green vegetable served as well, but today this was lacking. We usually curry the vegetable which, with the rice and the sweetish rissoles, makes quite a nice dish, the rissoles alone being rather cloying.

As there was nothing to curry tonight we decided to see what the garden could yield and I went down with a pair of scissors and snipped off the bigger outside leaves of some of the Pak Choi Sum plants. None of them was sufficiently ready to be picked by itself. I hope they won’t go and die now! Anyway, they made an excellent curry and when we had eaten it we felt quite pleasantly replete for once – though it soon seems to disappear again.

Our tomatoes are really doing quite well. About 55% of the seedlings I planted have perished in some way or another! But 80% of the survivors are doing well, and one in particular is fairly burgeoning into leaf and flowers. It has developed two side shoots which I must cut off and transplant. The peanuts are sprouting well, though I believe this is quite the wrong time of year to plant them! And 5 out of the 24 rather ancient looking maize seeds I planted have germinated. I must put down a few more. Ants are the very devil with the seeds – they simply love seeds, and as sure as fate, a day or two after I have planted some seeds, I find innumerable little ant holes beside them, and streams of ants coming and going. They must have eaten half the carrot seeds I put down too. The Lo Paak, or Chinese turnips seem to be doing quite well. The greenery of the sweet potatoes is suffering quite considerably because the potato bed is rather near the rocky slope that goes down to the sea and when the wind is strong and comes from the East or NE, as it does at this time of the year, the plants in this bed get doses of salt spray which wither the leaves. How willingly would I leave all my garden produce to someone else if only we heard we were to be repatriated.

A few days ago it stated, in the paper, the Teia Maru arrived at Goa on Oct 15th, the Grisholm arriving on the 17th, and after the exchange of repatriates it sailed again on 22nd for Tokyo via Manila, where it was due on Nov 14th. Later a bulletin was issued stating that information had been received from the Japanese to the effect that the Teia Maru would call at HK on its next Westward voyage and not on its Eastward trip. So, alas, our hopes of getting some more IRC food during the first half of Nov have been dashed.

At present, there is considerable anxiety about our prisoners in the gaol here. On Thursday last, some people passing the gaol saw some Europeans (three of them) being put into a black maria under escort; another van was full of armed gendarmes and a squad of Chinese coolies set off too. The cortege made for the flat field below the Prep school (where I have been on anti-malarial work on several occasions and where I once counted some 40 or more recent graves). This field was out of sight of the camp. The cemetery was closed that afternoon. There is a fear, which we all sincerely hope will prove groundless, that these Europeans were taken down there for execution purposes. People who witnessed their departure said they heard them say goodbye, but to whom I do not quite know.

There has been a rumour in for some weeks now that Fraser (Colonial Defence Secretary for HK), Scott (Deputy Commissioner of Police) and Waterton (Govt Wireless) had all been found guilty on charges of activities of some kind against the Japanese – wireless communication, or receiving wireless instructions perhaps from Chungking – and had had the death sentence passed on them. It will be truly terrible if this has really happened. The poor wives and relatives of the other prisoners are nearly beside themselves with apprehension and worry. As I say, I hope it will prove untrue. Gimson has written to the Japs reminding them of their promise to inform him of the charges made against these British prisoners (promises never, so far, fulfilled) and saying that the acute anxiety felt by their relatives in camp was seriously affecting their health and state of mind and he asked for reassurance, on their behalf, of the condition of the prisoners. I doubt if he will receive a satisfactory reply.

((The following entry was undated))

Since my last entry there has been very tragic news. Last Tuesday, 2nd Nov, our worst fears about the prisoners were confirmed, and, indeed, the news was much worse than our worst fears. At midday the following bulletin was issued:-

“The Japanese authorities have notified me that on Oct 19th, 1943, death sentence was passed on Messrs F.W. Bradley, F.I. Hall, H.S. Rees, W.R. Scott, J.A. Fraser, D.W. Waterton and C.F. Hyde. The sentence was carried out on 29th Oct 1943.

A sentence of 15 years imprisonment was passed on Messrs. William John Anderson, James Leslie Anderson and Frank Roberts and of ten years imprisonment on Mr David Charles Edmondston.

The sentences were imposed for acts contrary to the operation of Japanese Military Law and for fostering disturbance of the peace in Japanese occupied territory.

A detailed report will be forwarded to the Prisoners of War Bureau at Tokyo and the Bureau will acquaint the British Government through the proper channels.

Further details of the charges cannot be disclosed as such disclosures would be prejudicial to the Japanese interests.

No representations or any appeal will be entertained on behalf of the prisoners sentenced to imprisonment either from relatives of the prisoners or from the Camp Commandant.

No religious or communal gatherings to express sympathy with those executed will be permitted and the Japanese Authorities require that this prohibition shall be strictly observed.

The persons in charge of the internal administration of this camp will be held responsible, personally, under severe penalties, for the observance of this notice.

As Camp Commandant I direct that normal life of the camp should be continued.

(Signed) F.C. Gimson
Camp Commandant 2-11-43”

This was certainly a bitter pill for us to swallow and the whole camp was most distressed at the news and people felt very depressed.

I do not know if any of those executed had wives and families outside HK, but Mrs Hyde and Mrs Hall are in camp here. I have just looked up my brief description of the wedding of Eileen Bliss and Fred Hall that took place  not many months ago. Poor Eileen, she had two or three months of happiness in a small one roomed home, then three or four months of intense anxiety and hoping; and now she is an early widow. Her father is in camp, fortunately; her brother lies buried in one of the war graves in camp.

Mrs Hyde I hardly know. I was introduced to her when she came into the camp this spring at the same time as Lady Grayburn, Mrs Selwyn-Clarke and others, when their husbands were imprisoned. Hyde, who is another HK Bank man, was imprisoned from town and never stayed in the camp. Mrs Hyde’s small son is in camp and cheerfully tells people that “Daddy is working with Uncle Gray,” poor little chap. Mrs Edmondston is in camp and she, poor soul is in a very bad state, for she is convinced she will never see her husband alive again. I suppose one day we shall know what their crimes were.

On the day of the execution, people in one of the bungalows witnessed part of the proceedings. In addition to the seven British victims, there were 27 unfortunate Chinese as well (I described them earlier as Chinese coolies, thinking they were the burial squad). ((In fact all 34 had been convicted by the Japanese of being agents of the British Army Aid Group.)) These witnesses could see the prisoners blindfolded when their turn came and they were led forwarded to a spot, out of sight, and then came the report of a single shot. So they were evidently shot by revolver. They counted 27 shots, then there was an interval and then the last seven periodical shots. What an ordeal to stand and wait your turn. I only hope they were not forced to watch the other executions, as may quite possibly have been the case.

One or two bathers returning from the beach, passed the van which conveyed the British prisoners to the scene of execution, and as it passed a voice from the dark interior said “Goodbye” another “Cheerio” but they could see nothing and not knowing what it was about they made no reply.

No one knows about Dr Selwyn-Clarke. It is thought he is in confinement in Victoria (in town).

What must be the thoughts of Pennyfather-Evans and Whant who were released?

The following Sunday was All Souls Day, so though no memorial service to these men was possible, the character of the general memorial service was most fitting for the occasion.

Concurrently with the public announcement of the executions, the Japanese published the preliminaries of the first British evacuation which has been pending since last May. These details proved a great disappointment to many people too. The bulletin stated that a special committee from this camp were to select 700 people in the following categories (in order of priority):

• 1) All children whose parents were not in camp;
• 2) All sick people whose lives would be endangered by further residence in here; 
• 2b) All people of 70 years and over; 
• 3) Children up to 15 years of age and their mothers;
• 4) Women. 

After the first four categories had been selected, the remaining number required to make up the 700 would be chosen from amongst the women in camp at the discretion of the committee.

Gimson had proposed to the Japanese that the following constitute the committee: Dr Ashton, Dr Valentine, Mr B. Wyllie, Commander Jolly and Mr Gimson as Chairman. These names were approved by the Japanese and the committee has set about its unenviable task. Why Commander Jolly should have been chosen no one seems to know – he is the HK Harbourmaster – except that I believe Gimson thinks highly of him. Every one expressed satisfaction at Ben Wyllie’s inclusion as being the most impartial of men and one who would allow no favouritism to creep in. Now we await the list. Yvonne, the little wretch, is overjoyed at this list as there is very little chance now of her going – bless her! Still, I should feel happier if she could leave for I cannot see any chance of things improving here and every chance of them deteriorating.