Oh grief! Oh disillusionment! Oh cruel capricious Fate that flaunts Abundance with a generous seeming grace before our famished eyes and then with most malicious mirth whisks away his bounty with a laugh and leaves us, poor deluded fools, to lick our chops and pick the hungry crumbs that from his trenches spill. Lackaday; lackaday!
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Foggy, damp.
Supplies to be brought by road & not in lighters so much activity from 6am. Supplies arrived during forenoon & stored in godowns. Majority seems to be ex. Lorenco Marques stores. Sgt. Major will not release them today damn his hide.
Jack’s tea party to celebrate his wedding anniv.
Much wood arrived.
Today brought much disappointment.
Very disappointing news - early this a.m the Japs woke us up calling for Max Bickerton ((a Japanese-speaking internee who often interpreted)), and men went off re parcels.
After church, I went to help at hospital shelling cockles which came in rations.
Issue of 1 South African R.C. parcel per person
The parcels were distributed today. The chocolate in about half of them too mouldy to eat and in quite a number of them some of the tins were blown or damaged. It really does seem a shame. Y and I were fairly lucky: we had one good packet of sugar sweets (each in cellophane wrappers), all but a crumb of the original sweets had melted and run out of the wrapping all over the rest of the parcel! Still, none of our tins was blown. A few parcels were left over after everyone had received theirs and with these it was possible to replace the damaged tins.
Foggy, drizzly.
Hosp. roof but didn’t get much done.
Nichol asked me re diving experience, must follow it up.
Parcels released & distributed 4pm. (1 Parcel each similar to our first ones of Nov ’42 & from the same cargo.
Worked in morning.
Catholic Action meeting in afternoon, then Red Cross parcels given out, dated April and June 1942, the sort we had in October 1942. Outside they looked in bad condition (brown cardboard boxes) but not bad otherwise. Two of our chocolates weren't good, but there seem to be no blown tins. We opened tin of lobster paste.
Lecture by Dr. Dean Smith on 'Food.'
Death of the architect James Smith Gibson, husband of Alice Maud, at the age of 72.
Source:
http://www.hongkongwardiary.com/searchgarrison/nonuniformedcivilians.ht…
Death – James Smith Gibson, (72)(Auth. Architect and Surveyors)
Issue of 4 Old Gold cigarettes each
(4.30pm Emergency roll call at S.S.(Indian((sp?)) at wire))
Overcast, brighter.
Lovely cup of tea this morning.
Newspaper no longer comes to the room so I miss details of the war news.
Hosp. roof.
Indulged in Cond. Milk, biscuits & sugar today with my rice. Much conjecture re possibility of US parcels.
Identification parade at St. Stephens 4.30pm.
Lorry empty 6pm.
Nimitz said Iwojima was taken at very little cost. Cologne & Dusseldorf in ruins & fighting going on on outskirts.
Gun emplacements being blasted horribly near to us.
Opened steak and tomato pudding this evening - lovely!
Mr J. S. Gibson, aged 72, died.
Went to see Annie in morning.
Doreen had shorthand lesson.
Worked in afternoon.
The committee have me asked to continue the work I have been doing, but a change in name of office to Rations Officer instead of Quarter Masters. so that my work will be much as before and I'm also in charge of the distribution of parcels when they come in. I don't get any extra rations of course I wouldn't have accepted that in any case. I am now on bran, juice and nicotine acid as I'm very deficient in vitamins A and B and all the others as well.
The weather fortunately has become warmer and more pleasant Two postcards dated 21/9/44 and 11/7/44 arrived.
Rec’d parcel (wongtong, biscuits, sweet potatoes) from Mrs. P.C. Wai, 47 Village Road, H.V., H.K.
Beans to be issued in lieu of fish ration.
There is, in camp, a steadily growing feeling that there is a lot more food in town that has not yet been sorted out and sent to the different camps. This, it is thought, includes the more recently packed bulk supplies and also the American parcels. I am torn between a desire to credit this theory and a great fear of hoping for anything more at all in case it all turns out to be groundless.
Overcast, colder, 12’.
Workshop.
Spoke to Nichol re diving job and it seems my age is against me damn it.
Rec. Mar 44 from Marj. Rae at kindergarten now bless her.
A/r. alarm 1-2pm.
Formosa being continually bombed by planes from Luzon. Germans expect Allies to cross the Rhine, hence their bridge destruction. Finland at war with Germany & Roumania declared war against her 3rd Mar.
Joan Wilkinson (16) came for shorthand lesson.
Mrs Adams collected our congee.
No Mass because Red Cross clothing is in Prison Officers' Club.
2 post cards from Mrs Irene Cole ((in Australia; her husband was killed at Aberdeen, Hong Kong, during the war. He was a colleague of Dad's))
Visited Betty Twidale.
Still no Mass. Had a lay-in.
Visited Offenbergs and Annie. The Dutch Block people still say we'll get bulk stuff. That Shamshuipo have had theirs.
German lesson.
Bridge with Marie, Peggy and ?? in evening.
Overcast, dry, cold.
Joined R.N. 24 yrs. ago.
Latest rumour re US parcels. “To arrive 16th inst.”
Jap rock blasting.
Repaired Hosp. kitchen tap & in Wkshp. aft.
Eire declared war on G & J?
Weather improved aft.
Lorry with veg. 7.15pm.
Big Russian offensive begun with a frontal attack on Berlin. Letters rec. in Camp indicate that Black-out restrictions & A.R.P. duties have been eased in many parts of B. Isles.
Overcast. N wind.
Workshop.
Steve gave me nice cut fresh pork.
Draw for clothing took place.
Block draw for surplus food items. Tin tomatoes, sugar & soap.
Lorry with Canteen gear 6pm.
A/r alarm 8.45pm. Plane around to the S.