18 Jun 1945, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

Submitted by brian edgar on Wed, 10/17/2012 - 17:48

Buffalo stock is used for soup. The buffalo bones are heated in the camp-made pressure cooker until they are soft and can be used as a spread on the rice bread.

Source:

William G. Sewell, Strange Harmony, 1948, 167

Note: see the previous two days' entries.

Date(s) of events described

Comments

I had to smile when I read the comment about buffalo bones. Brought back memories! For a couple of years in the mid-1980's I was the Police officer in charge at Stanley. One day we received a report that some workmen working in the vicinity of the Muslim Mosque in the grounds of Stanley Prison had found what MIGHT have been a human bone. I recall this was possibly a femur.

Now had this been the case, a huge amount of work would have been created, with forensic pathologists and goodness-knows-who else involved - and with no certainty of knowing either the identity of the deceased, or the cause of death, at the end of the day.

My trusty 2nd in command (local Chinese) came to my "rescue" when he suggested that we just recorded it as a buffalo bone found, believed to have been left over from food supplies brought into Stanley Internment Camp at some time between 1942 and 1945.

Which we duly did and - more importantly - no questions were asked!