Barbara Anslow's diary: View pages

Mrs F. E. Hyde died (cancer) leaving Michael aged 6.  Her husband was among those executed in October 1943.   Lady M. Grayburn is looking after Michael, her husband died in Stanley Gaol in May 1943.

Veronica Ann Reddish born.

Canadian parcels etc. arrived in camp.

All night long and in early hours of morning  we heard lorries groaning backwards and forward from the quay.  When they were distributed, we got 4 parcels each!

((A neighbour, Mr. W. Pryde, died suddenly on the 12th so was not included in the distribution.  We felt that his widow should have been given his share as well as her own, as he was alive when the parcels actually arrived in camp,(though dead before distribution) and she had to cope with the loss of her husband - she was such a selfless person and had lost so much weight. She served in ARP during war.  The Prydes boys were in Australia.  Post war, one of the boys who was married with children died very young, and Mrs Pryde brought them up.))

Olive in hospital with gastro-entiritis.

Mr M. A. Johnson died

Mrs M. A. Duncan died

Mrs B. R. Humphreys died

Lights came on again.

Started a Retreat, with daily talks, and private readings in evenings.

Terrific air raid, planes like great silver birds.

'One-armed Sutton' died (Francis Arthur).  I went to funeral.

Sheila Haines and I busy helping Mr. Dimond (A.K.) to put on 'The Other Wise Man'. Doreen (Leonard), Nita (Olivier), Anneke (Offenberg)  in leading parts.
 
'Call It A Day' put on by the professionals -(Bill Colledge etc.)  Kathleen Davis made a big hit. Anneke, and Kris (Kristine Thoresen) in it too.

Played bridge with Diana Hardoon and Marie O'Connor.

Mum to hospital with dysentery.

Olive to hospital with dysentery.

So for a few days Mabel and I had the room to ourselves  ((Mrs K had by now moved out as she and her husband had got a billet together)).  One night we had gramophone (always on loan around the camp by its generous owners); Fortescues came in for recital, and we had a candle.  Adrian looked so nice by candle-light.  ((The Fortescues lived in the kitchen next to our room, basin and draining board having been removed, even then it was tiny for 2 adults and a small child, but they valued their privacy more than space.))

Olive home again.

We were warned that the water was going to be turned off.

Mum came out of hospital.

Water turned off 'indefinitely', but after, we were told it would be on every 3 days.

News of Manila raids.

Night raid here.

Full up with rehearsals, meetings, etc.

Weather very cold.

Mr E. T. Ward died in his room in the night - in next flat to us.

Mr. E. M. Hazeland died.

My 26th birthday.

In the middle of the night there was a BIG BANG, which the camp decided was a raider blasting a gun emplacement on the hillside on the other side of the bay.

Outside roll call therefore no Mass.

J. Channing (Police) arrested, but afterwards released, for alleged selling of rice outside barbed wire.

Mr A. G. Dann, an RC, died.

Went to Mr Dann's funeral during which there was an air raid alarm. ((As soon as the funeral was over, we mourners flew from the cemetry to Block 10 - the nearest building; we were pursued by a Formosan or Jap soldier, who objected because we had been out during a raid.  He caught us up outside Block 10, and hit Father Donald Hessler across the back with the wooden end of his rifle, and slapped his face.  I was next to Father, and expected to get it too, and trembled for my glasses, but he just glared at me.))

After the raid was over, went to the end of Annie Van Der Lely's engagement party to R. N. Rennie (Police) in Dutch Block.