On the 25th December, after fierce fighting, the Japanese took possession of St. Stephen's College - they swept through the wards, massacring the wounded. The doctors and medical staff were killed, and sisters and nurses were raped before being killed. The enemy were blood crazy.
By that evening the Japanese were at the gates of the Fort and shells were pouring in from every type of gun they possessed. We who were trapped knew the position was hopeless and thought that we were doomed. We knew it was not the policy of the Japanese to take prisoners. We did not expect to see the morning.
At about 10 p.m. on 25th December, a car with lights on and displaying white flags entered the Fort with a message that the Governor of Hong Kong had surrendered the Colony to save further suffering of the civilian population. This was confirmed by a written message about 1 a. m. on the 26th. The Battle of Hong Kong had ended.
When the embattled troops heard of the cease-fire, many thought the Japanese had surrendered because, during the fighting, Battle Headquarters had put out numerous propaganda notices to the effect that units of the Chinese Armies were attacking the Japanese in the New Territories. This turned out to be wishful thinking. When we realised that it was ourselves, who were beaten, our spirits dropped. The best way of describing our state of mind is to quote the old Chinese saying: "An inch ahead is all darkness".
At the time of the surrender, Stanley Fort was in a pitiful state. Japanese forces were about 100 yards away from the perimeter, penning about 1,500 troops, on the end of the peninsular in an area of about one square mile. Unfortunately, there was only a small hospital and medical detachment to cope with the many hundreds of casualties. Two Army Doctors toiled ceaselessly to alleviate the suffering of the sick and wounded. Operations were performed under practically impossible conditions with the aid of torches, while drugs and medicines were in very short supply.
The three 9.2" coast defence guns were practically intact, although many hits had been registered on them by Japanese gunfire. This was due to the gun shields and the angle of the firing, as the Japanese gunfire itself was extremely accurate. Fortunately, most of the shells had been deflected into the sea behind the gun sites.