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Squally early am but cleared up later. E wind.

I.Qs outside roll-call only.

Paper has better atmosphere today. St. Malo being attacked from all sides (9th) & our penetration was extended S of Caen. Kyushu & Honshu bombed (11th) US Pres. had conference with Pac big nobs at Honolulu (26th July). Lots of Jap tripe re mincing of Jap bodies & of hanging corpses up for target practice, sending Jap skulls home & presenting Roosevelt with a paper knife made from a human bone.

With Steve pm.

Lights off 9.45pm & on again about 10.30.

Birth of William Richard Worrall at Tweed Bay Hospital to Captain William Roy and Raquel Worrall.

Mrs Worrall had lost her first husband, Horace William Bonner, who was killed in the fighting at Overbays on December 22nd, 1941.

According to a British Army Aid Group report of October 20, today sees the first Third Nationals interned in Ma Tau-chung camp, newly vacated by the Indian POWs, and now re-named Ma Tau-wai. By August 15 about 100 people are inside: mainly Eurasians, South Americans and Overseas Chinese.

Source:

Tony Banham, We Shall Suffer There, Kindle Edition, Location 2553

Note:

For the contradiction in the sources about the opening of Ma Tau-wai see yesterday's entry.

Wittenbach / Martin (Masonic service)

To Capt. + Mrs W.R. Worrall, a son, (William Richard)

Pauline Beck

Rained early am. Fine day, low cloud, Wind E.

Ground rice & chopped wood.

A raid alarm 1.45 to 2.45pm but nothing happened here.

Canteen gear arrived but no paper.

Mitikyina evacuated by Japs. ((Mitikyina in Burma was abandoned by the Japanese on 3rd August 1944, see Wikipedia article: Siege of Myitkyina.))

With Steve pm.

Araid [sic = air raid?] alarm 9.15pm & All Cl. at 9.50

(Raid on Canton according to 14ths paper. Abortive as usual)

Florrie sends phone message Freddie, Benny Randall and others home. Thin but well treated except food inadequate.

Things have been happening of late: air raids for one. Last Thursday we were rejoicing in our first evening with lights after the usual monthly black-out (which generally lasts 10-12 days), had just finished supper and were settling down to strain our eyes by reading – we have in our 18’ x 15’ room, two magnificent lights, one being 25 watts and the other 15 – when all the lights in camp, in the prison, and, in fact over the whole Colony suddenly went out. We had heard the hum of what sounded like a couple of planes, but I took them to be Japs and paid no attention.

Lovely clear cool night.

Posted my card to Marj.

Dream re Peace being signed at 2.04pm on 13th of ?.

Bitter fighting & some advances made in Normandy & Brittany & in some section of Russian Front (11th) Plenty tripe re US atrocities in Burma & of forcing Chungking troops to fight at Hengyang at the point of a gun. No damage caused in our raids on Japan. Jap troops withdraw on Imphal & Mitikyina fronts. 3rd Aug.

With Steve pm.

Pancakes.

E breeze fell & the temp. went up.

OBJECTIVE: Fly nocturnal sea sweep mission to detect and sink Japanese ships in the South China Sea.

RESULTS: No enemy ships are detected during the sea sweep, so the aircraft commander, Lt. Clendenen, opts to bomb the Royal Navy dockyard.  Bombs fall in vicinity of the dockyard, but damage is unknown.

TIME OVER TARGET: Unknown, but presumably after nightfall

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: One B-24

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: Lt. Clendenen

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 12 x 500-pound bombs

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: None

((Date is approximate))

Sudden news that we were going to get Canadian parcels.

We all had to give up our private little gardens on the ex-football pitch to become communal gardens as food getting shorter, so our sweet potatoes which were coming on so well had to be hurriedly dug up.

Electricity went off for good (we were told).

Diet Kitchen had to close down.

Wind veered to SW early am. Cloudy, showery. muggy, brighten pm. Wind NE.

Japan bombed again 12th. Things seem to be shaping up for a showdown out here. All our fronts doing OK. Talk of new German weapon, a flying bomb that on explosion releases inflammable gas which is then lighted with incendiaries.

With Steve pm.

Ground rice & chopped wood.

Canteen.

5 days oil issued.

Typhoon weather

The Japanese Military Authorities are evidently keen that a friendly spirit be fostered between the Japanese and the internees here. Gimson has been invited twice to dinner and bridge with the Colonel during his visits to camp; no Formosan guard may now slap an internee (there had been a good number of face slappings recently) – all face slapping will be done ‘up the hill’! In many ways they have proved more helpful than the Civil Authorities: they have allowed lights to be used before 8.00 p.m.

Strong squalls from E.

Typhoon weather

Adverse weather conditions, unable to get supplies across harbour " (no ration lorry)

Heavy rain squalls from the E all day.

Canteen.

Ground rice.

Anglo-US forces 2nd landing made am 15th in S France. Nice, Cannes, Toulon area. Gains made in N France & Estonia. Reuters Lisbon correspondent reports BBC’s broadcast of mutiny on 3 British warships. 20 sentenced to death 18 to Life & others to other terms of imprisonment. No news of Italian Front or of anywhere out here.

With Steve pm.

Protest re Stuart’s promotion being signed by members of staff senior to him.

The Camp Tribunal finds a police Sub-Inspector guilty of stealing rice. He's fined the maximum - 25 Military Yen - and loses several privileges, but he's not dismissed from the service. The case has gone on for two months.

Source:

Tribunal: George Wright-Nooth, Prisoner Of The Turnip Heads, 1994, 198

Typhoon weather

S. potato tops from own gardens for evening meal

For the last two days we have been suffering from another typhoon. Now the howling and blowing is over but it is still pouring with rain. This has been an incredibly wet summer- already the average rainfall (according to our local statistics) is about 15” above normal. It has been a bad summer for our gardens, which is a pity. Sweet potatoes have gone too much to leaf and not formed big tubers; onions have rotted in the ground; there has not been enough sun for peanuts and pumkins etc.

Heavy rain squalls from the E. Apparently a stationary typhoon slowly filling up close by. Wind dropped somewhat during forenoon, rained all day.

Mary sent me up some “eggs” made from egg yolk powder & egg white crystals, quite a success too.

Rice & beans for tiffin. Rice & congee for evening meal.

Last day of baking.

Lorry arrived 4.45pm.

Advances made on all fronts. Chartres-Dreux. 50mls SW of Paris. No news of Italy or Pacific. Rice Y13 per catty in town.

With Steve pm. Mary T.B.?