Today saw my first experience of direct shelling, the whole morning being pretty hectic with air raids keeping us busy ducking in and out. No signs yet of Mike but on telephoning G.H.Q. with Col. Rose’s help I was told to come along at 12.30. During the morning I had the entertainment of seeing all the H.K.V.D.C. Companies coming in for rations and had the pleasure of seeing my old company with whom I made arrangements in case of my failure to rejoin my group. Everyone seemed fairly cheerful and there was a better spirit abroad, possibly from inexperience but anyway it was a much more cheerful place than any centre I had so far seen. During the morning too orders came through to evacuate for the Punjabis. It seemed that I was being caught up in the current – Shing Mun, Tsun Wan, Taipo Road, Peninsula, V.H.Q. – all along the road I seemed to have been on the retreat – sorry – withdrawal – strategic – soldiers for the use of.
My visit to the Battle Box lead to my dropping one brick. Under the impression that I was going to hand my news only to Col. Newnham, when I was finally in the holy of holies facing a senior looking soldier I hummed and hawed and only on a discreet tap on the ankle from Col. Rose did I realise I was speaking to the General.
Apart from my news of Shing Mun there was nothing I could tell except confirm reports and incidentally learn that Mike was expected and, luckily, as I left, run into him. Before a final rendezvous however I had the opportunity of visiting the places taken for wives and families of Volunteers with Gordon Ferguson, who spent his time cursing his job and doing it damned well, patting the children on their heads and giving pep talks as required.
The day had seen pretty consistent shelling of the main roads over the island and the evening saw Mike, Talan and myself with Mrs.K. installed in St. Joan’s, a perfect landmark and a building which later we agreed must have been a reference point since, sticking out like a sore finger as it did must have been a perfect target yet was never hit. While on this subject it is, I think, worth recording that shelling and bombing during the entire siege was, as far as my observation went, confined to military objectives and there certainly was no deliberate shelling of civilian areas.
The evening saw the first of our anti-fifth column patrols. Reports had been received about flashes of lights and signals especially in the mid and upper levels and certainly the guns had been picking out even temporary gun emplacements on our side very quickly. With a view to stopping any possible signaller we patrolled the Conduit Road area but apart from ARP and Police, the roads were clear. One suspicious character run in and a few shots through windows which persisted in showing lights stopped effectually any activity in that line.
An incident worth recording concerned the Indian policeman, who, when drunk on guard at the Japanese Consul’s house, had been taking pot shots at people, unluckily, however, without shooting any of the Consulate staff. He was being taken to P.H.Q. in the Consul’s car which was duly stopped by us and the police required to prove their identity. A cause for regret lay in the fact that we did not commandeer the car, a slinky shining limousine since by this time everyone who was anything in HK had at least one superior chariot at his disposal.
Following the cleaning up of this area and also a brief halt at the Jewish Club – where, owing to Tai’s influence, a small amount of beer was obtained, we moved to upper levels to find everything in complete darkness. From our selected observation post, a flat overlooking Victoria and the harbour, we could hear occasional bursts of firing in the streets but otherwise everything was quiet when suddenly there was a short burst of M.G. fire and at the Western Bund a terrific deafening explosion and a terrifying magnificent pinkish-purple flame leapt up momentarily illuminating the water front. There had been intermittent shelling and my guess was that a Jap. shell had hit a dump of ammo. Mike, however stuck to his theory – later proved correct – that it was a ship of some kind which had been blown up by our fire, although the problem of what the Japs were doing with such a craft leading a landing party was one we could not solve.
The following morning we learned the reason. A harbour launch loaded with explosive from Green Island had arrived in some time ahead of the fixed schedule. An M.G. post had fired on the boat causing the explosion with the resultant annihilation of ship and crew. Added to the already jumpy state of nerves along the water front this was enough to produce intense activity directed against imaginary boats containing imaginary Japs. This activity in turn spread to the artillery and the whole concentration of fire power was put up against nothing. Why with searchlights playing, the truth was not found out sooner remains a mystery.
Immediately after this the entire water front from West Point to Causeway Bay went into action – searchlights came into play sweeping the harbour – M.G. fire was continuous providing a most picturesque fireworks scene as lines of tracer criss-crossed up and down and there was all the evidence that a large scale attempted landing was on.
To add to the illusion the heavy guns had opened up and along the Kowloon water front explosions could be seen and heard and we had the impression that Kowloon was being hammered to hell.
It was a pretty sobering thought to realise that here we were – with Kowloon newly evacuated – with the Japs. already attacking and, at that, straight across the harbour although against this was the fact that practically nothing could get through the wall of fire which was put up.
The following morning however we were to learn the reason for both the explosion and the intense firing. (already explained)