"Ship Ahoy" (p. Ian Heath: Brenchley, Ann Kemsley, Marie Barton, Martin O'Connor, Freda Geyer, Cyril Wilcox, W.G.Humphreys, C. Thirlwell, Norman Barron-Sullivan, Bill Webb, Bill Ward, John Luke, Marjorie Cook.
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(Day 705 of captivity). We have started yet another month of internment. How long, Oh Lord, how long?
OBJECTIVE: Bomb the Kowloon shipyards (most likely the HK & Whampoa dockyard)
TIME OVER TARGET: ~12:30 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Eight P-40s from the 74th Fighter Squadron (23rd Fighter Group) escort seven B-25s from the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group) and an unknown number of B-25s from the 1st Bomb Group of the Chinese American Composite Wing.
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:
Late in the afternoon Emily Hahn is finally allowed to leave the Grispsholm. The only person left to meet her is a friend of her brother-in-law, who drives her to her sister Helen's downtown apartment where she's reunited with Carola, who'd been taken home by Helen when she began to cry uncontrollably during Hahn's interrogation.
Two alarms afternoon.
Drizzly.
Concert at St Steph’s a flop. Saw Steve after.
Targets hit yesterday? Q.M.Hosp. now used as barracks, Whitfield Barracks, Mt. Parker, 2 cruiser & a freighter. Jap paper makes light of it all as usual.
This afternoon I received three loving and glorious letters from you dated 27th December '42, 12th January '43 from Glasgow and 31st January '43 from Inverness and I am so glad that you are liking the Northern town so much.
"Ship Ahoy" ((for cast list see 2nd Dec))
It was amusing to read an official Japanese report in the papers, issued from their HQ in Canton, reporting this raid over HK. It was obviously issued for home consumption and publication in other Japanese areas and I think it got into our local papers by mistake, for it claimed that at the approach of the American bombers, Japanese fighters immediately went up to intercept, shooting down three or four (at least – I cannot now lay my hands on the newspaper) and dispersing the others in such confusion that they hastily jettisoned their bombs into the sea, thus causing no damage at all.
Cold & drizzly.
Had tooth extracted, tough.
Meijima in. No news.
Meeting of Anti-Axis heads etc. has Japs guessing. Their naval victories are so good down South they can afford to change C-in-Cs (Ha!ha!)
Choir practice 6-7pm.
Saw Steve after concert.
"Ship Ahoy" ((for cast list see 2nd Dec))
Overcast & cold.
Only 1 Pkt.Cigs.
More rumours current re repatriation.
Jap paper prints report by Domei via Tokyo re raid on 1st Dec. Tells of their interceptors downing 7 of our bombers the remainder dumping their bombs into the sea & fleeing. Obviously printed for consumption in other parts of Jap Occupied countries.
Saw Steve after concert.
Pendle [?] & door-knocking. ((Possibly referring to Mr Pemble.))
Death from cancer of Lilian May MacGowan, linen store manager at Queen Mary Hospital.
The fifth draft of Prisoners of War sent to work in Japan leaves Hong kong today when 496 men set sail at 4 p.m. on the Soong Cheong. On December 21 they are transferred to a troopship, the Toyama Maru, because the Soong Cheong's engines give out.
The new ship, after a storm-tossed voyage, will dock in a freezing Japan on January 6th.
Sources:
Mrs. L. M. McGowan died today. She knew she had cancer, but refused to go into hospital, or let her 2 children Betty and Jackie know she was terminally ill, until they had left camp for repatriation to America.
Fine, cold, no news or rumours.
Walk with Steve pm.
The Ottawa Evening Citizen publishes (page 3) an article on three employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company repatriated on the Gripsholm. One Basil G. Ryan, has been interned in the Phillipines, while the other two - George E. Costello and Charles W. Skeet - were at Stanley.
Fine, cold.
Repat. Comm. having meetings but no news yet.
Black-out.
With Steve pm.