Many Happy Returns Marj darling.
Cold but bright.
Red earth & brick for Cookhouse wall.
Made another chatty for Mrs Winfield. [Entry for 15th is clearly ‘Whitfield’]
Lorry in with Canteen gear.
Cooking being done with grass.
US forces land on Mindora Island [Mindoro?] & enter Ormoc in Leyte.
Cooking oil in town costs Y116 per catty & rice 19-50.
Sudden bang mid-day. Lively raid.
Cold, bright.
Cookhse wall.
Egg yolk orders filled.
Lorry with wood 3pm.
Air-raids 2pm & 6.15pm.
Another lorry with veg & canteen gear 6.20pm.
Chatty & tray for Mrs Winfield.
Issue 5 pkts cigarettes Y3.25
Raid again. Dive bombing.
Cold, bright & dry. Wind SE.
Finished kitchen wall.
Workers oil & sugar issued. 5 pkts cigs issued 65 sen each.
Won 1 cig in Block raffle for pro rata canteen stuff.
Air-raid 1.30pm-3pm.
Mary Y100.
Issue of cigarettes, Kong so cakes & sweets (children)
Draw for raffle of 8 cockerels
Raid while walking town. Naval Dockyard not passable.
Cold, bright & dry.
Built brick pillar by Hosp.
Plenty Jap plane activity & a 4 engined flying boat alighted Taitam Bay entrance.
German counter-attack in Belgium progressed.
Lorry with wood 3.30pm.
Childrens party in Hall. Jap interpreter sang hymn for the kids.
Japan raided 19th.
Ruttonjee died 20th. ((Which Ruttonjee is he referring to?))
Xmas play The Other Wise Man. Little Fleur Cheape ( 4 ) played the small child. Air raid alarms made performance difficult, had to start late; also, half the would-be audience wasn't there because they thought the play would be cancelled because of alarms. Doreen Leonard played her part very seriously and well.
Rudolf Zindel, the delegate of the Internantional Red Cross Committee, visits the camp. His report will note an 'increase of restrictions in the early part of 1944' and consequent evidence of avitaminosis (vitamin deficiency problems). Generally he considers the health of the children 'very good', that of the younger and middle-adults 'fair', but that of the old 'somewhat indifferent'. Education is compulsory and the delegate is trying to meet the need for textbooks.
Warmer, SW wind, bright & dry.
Air-alarm 8.15-8.30am & 1.15-2.45pm.
Col. inspected Hosp.
Unlucky in Chicken-Raffle.
Mary gave me shaving cream.
Water on.
Built another brick pier to support water pipe.
Lorry with wood.
Germans seem to be making some headway in their thrust on Belgium.
Oil, tea, sugar & block reserve rice issued. Suk Yin & ¼ lb Salt issued.
Lorry 7pm with veg etc.
The raid was reported in the Hongkong News:
Overcast.
Window frame in Dentists place.
50 ducks arrived & rice flour etc.
Germans still making headway in Belgium, S & W of St.Vith 67mls NE of Sedan.
½ lb W.T & ¼ lb tea from Canteen to all Internees. (Y11-85 & 7.45) Soy Sauce issues.
Draw for two 10 lb. iced cakes made by Father B. Meyer. Won by Mrs. V. Murrell and Mrs. B. Doering. Air raid during proceedings.
(During this wek, I got Yen 230 from Ivy Denton - some time ago I'd given her a tin of parcel Cowbell milk power to sell for us to get canteen money to get extras for Mum when she was in hospital.)
It's announced that Governor Isogai Rensuke will stand down. He leaves early in the New Year and is replaced by Lieutenant-General Tanaka Hisakazu.
In February 1945 Isogai's associate Colonel Noma, head of the Kempeitai, will follow Isogai to Japan, to be replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Kanazawa Asao, who today finds assistant to the Chief of the Staff in the Governor's Office.
I was highly delighted and thrilled when I received your lovely and loving letter of 2/2/44 which being of this years vintage brought us close together. I was very pleased and quite excited to know that you had received a letter from Bill Buchannan who would give you his latest news of me. Bill was a great lad, a real good sort and it was grand of him to write you after he returned to his home in Canada. I hope more letters come soon. I 'm really very greedy for more.
Rose
Carol service 7 lessons
5 afternoon raids – roll call 5 pm. Curfew extended to 8 pm
Bread issued in pm