Bright & warm.
Extra Congee this am.
Bowen Rd. Hosp. cleared up & emptied of all movable gear. Furniture & charcoal from there went to H.Qs.
Sun-blind wires & 1st.Aid box for G.
A/r alarm 2.20-3.30pm.
No papers.
Lorry with veg 4.30pm.
Planes around 9pm.
Curfew extended 7.30pm to allow for tonight’s church service.
Good Friday. To service am. Eyes pretty stuck up.
Went to see Doreen and gave her an impromptu shorthand lesson.
Rumours: we will get wong tong; and Japs expect hostilities within 4 hours.
To play at 3.15pm, 'Behold Thy Mother'.
Valerie Clark has chicken pox and is in hospital.
Mrs Ashton-Hill has just heard that her husband died in Japan last September.
We had a hot cross bun from hospital.
Bright & warm.
2 boxes matches Y7.60.
Cleared out ex.lav. after the door had been taken for firewood.
Lorry with Canteen gear.
All news good. Argentine declared war on G & J. More troops landed in Luchu Is. Japs contradict Peace feelers. No E. war news.
Plane around 9pm – 10pm S & E.
Wood & blasting.
Air raid alarm last night.
Holy Saturday. An unexpected outside roll call, Japs very bad-tempered during it.
Washed clothes and hair.
Newspaper news very good: Americans loaning or selling battleships to Russia.
Bulletin has the wonderful news that a decision has been reached in Europe - no details yet.
Rehearsal in afternoon, on Bowling Green, then in grotto.
Free issue of 1/2lb Wongtong & soy sauce
"Housemaster" by Ian Hay (Prod. W.H.E. Colleridge)
Outdoor am. roll-call
My Weight 134lbs.
"a decision has been reached in European war" (bulletin) "Issue of the European war is no longer in doubt"
Planes about all night.
Bright.
Outside roll-call am. PM roll-call 5 instead of 6.
Workers oil & sugar. ¼ lb W.T. & 4oz Soy issued.
Stockholm reports US & Brit. papers as saying a decision having been reached in E. war. [sic] US & Brit. lend warships to Russia. All our forces seem to be overrunning Germany. Nurmberg & Danzig in our hands.
Wood coming in, & blasting going on.
Soon be with you now Marj darling.
EASTER Martin / Dow
“Paracels shelled”
((Following text not dated:))
Downstairs Japs ready to hop any time. Frequent false starts.
Clear & bright.
Sunrise service 7.30am.
Tried unbung Sant’rm.lav.
Steve gave me an egg & I gave to Gwen X.
Started sun-tanning.
On double rations for 15 days.
Montgomery going for Hamburg& Berlin? & Patten for Munich & Vienna. Pratas Islands bombarded.
EASTER SUNDAY.
Church in am.
Went to see Mrs de Vleeschouwer re dresses for her daughters Andree (8) and Denise (3) for show.
((This family, Dutch, had managed to bring many clothes into camp. Mrs de V also lent dresses to other fairies.)) Mrs gave me some sweets.
Clear & warm. NE wind.
Drain plunger.
Letter Nov. ’43 from Marj.
3 heavy raids between 12.30 & 3.30 pm on dockyard area it seemed. 4 engined bombers 2 Jap planes downed.
Lorry with oil 6pm.
No papers arrived.
Y2 each.
Eileen came in early and did my hair for me. Rather severe but very neat. Then she went over to Annie's with me and helped me dress and made me up. ((Annie Van Der Lely lived in Dutch Block)). Miss Hill's shoes ((lent to me)) high-heeled and tight, but looked all right.
Heavy raids at 11.40 am. & 12.40 pm.
Controversy ((?)) between ) ((looks like a closed bracket or a curvy ‘I” , possibly with a small ‘z’ underneath it but doesn’t make sense - mybe shorthand?)) re. urine in hosp. wards
All-day raids to 4 p.m. Whole place shaken and we had tiffin walking about. Queer streamers of tin foil. Siren at back makes alarming noise. Flak light. Paper says 49 raiders mostly B24s.
Another raid at almost exactly same time as yesterday.
Rehearsed in P.O. Club.
Clifton said he saw a Jap plane brought down yesterday.
Our Concert again postponed.
Mrs McDermott wants to learn shorthand, also Sophie Hardoon and Marie O'Connor.
Had eyelids scrubbed again tonight.
Raid 11.45 am. Thick black smoke over HK.
French Hosp., Sikh Temple hit (4 nuns, 100 children killed)
To town. Alert while at Ken Chaun's ((the dentist)). They hear bomb scream for first time. Makes you feel ill. Bombs on Causeway Bay typhoon shelter, Wellington Barracks, Sikh temple and school, French Hospital hostel burned. Five nurses killed. 20 killed at Sikh temple. Debris all over Gap Road.
Easter has gone: it was unmarked by anything worth mentioning except the weather has been simply heavenly – such a change from the bleak, grey winter. On the Wednesday I fell rather bilious and spent a couple of days more or less in bed. Both Y and I seemed to loose our appetites for a bit, which was really marvellous! It has enabled us to build up quite a reserve of rice flour which, now we are hungry again, as usual, we can now eat. In fact a touch of indigestion in this place is quite a Godsend!