Bright & warm.
Plane gunned some target S. & A/r alarm 8am-9.30am.
Sugar & tea issued. No oil obtainable at present.
CS thinks Japs will surrender after Germany is finished.
Lorry arrived 6.15pm with nil.
Kirby adrift (going mental?)
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Rumour that Russian shells are falling in Berlin, and 'we' are 11 kilometers off.
To Dr. G. Herklots' lecture on Tropical Seas; the walking on the sea-bed bit was most interesting.
Went to new C.A. Meeting in morning – Gladys, Rosaleen, Mrs Connolly, Mrs Lederhofer.
St. George's Day concert (Mrs. Tebbutt + C.S.Hall)
and St. George’s Day.
Fine, cloudy, warm.
Hosp. clothes lines.
¼ lb Wong tong residue (7-70).
Concert in Hall “Radio Hour”. Very patriotic.
All seems very quiet.
Lorry with veg. 6.30pm.
More stuff to Fort pm.
Outside roll call.
Yesterday we were able to buy 4 ozs. wong tong at Yen 7.70.
Newspaper says that Russians are advancing along Unter den Linden into the heart of Germany.
Went to play reading of 'Flashing Stream.' June (Cheape) excellent in her part.
Worked in morning.
Outdoor a.m. roll-call
"36% of Germany occupied"
"Russians fighting in suburbs of Berlin"
"Russians pouring in Unter den Linden"
Cloudy, warm, humid.
Outside Roll-call.
New Camp Comdt. came round.
Dream re air-raid & bombs like mines rolling up against stern of vessel over in Kowloon.
Russians in Berlin 22nd. 1,500,000 involved. Hamburg assailed & Danube crossed. Himmler there. Air attacks on Kyushu. Russia & Poland signed agreement. Dresden entered.
Date of San Francisco Conference.
Shorthand to Doreen in am, worked in afternoon. Meeting (church) in our room at 1.30pm, and at 6.15pm in Grants.
Dorothy Wilson told us the sad story of her family's bombing (in UK).
This is the day of the famous San Francisco conference and now that we have the news of the Russian entry into Berlin (reported in Hong Kong on Tuesday 24th April, message dated 22nd April) it will be a momentous meeting big consequences. Japan must see the writing on the wall and the Lord help them. We must wait and see what their reaction is to all this.
& the day of the San Francisco Conference.
Cloudy, warm, humid.
Hosp. flagstaff.
Water on.
De Gaulle will ask for 3,000,000 Germans for agricultural work in France. Germans retiring N in Italy 21st.
Going back to Japan Hara gave party this am to Camp officials. “No more face slapping”, said he, and he hoped we would all return to our homes fit & well. (it will be their fault if we don’t).
A.R.P. discussion.
Heavy rain pm.
No oil has arrived so far for ten-day period from 20th April. But salt issue free.
Watanabe and ?(Jap) have gone, and new people did roll call on Tuesday.
Worked in afternoon, then German lesson.
Went to senior girls' club meeting in A3 (Mrs D. Jenner spoke).
Oil came, we had 2 ounce issue each.
Soap issue.
Apparently fighting still going on in Berlin and Europe - not the end yet.
Clifton's father went to hospital yesterday. Clifton not well today.
Junior club meeting on cold windy evening in Block 3 stairway.
Am forging ahead with writing 'Theo' story.
Face slapping (Gray, Van der Lely, Seymour) ((Possibly Eve Gray, not sure which of the Van der Lely family, or Seymours this referred to.))
(Formosans & black marketers)
(Bulletin)
Raining, colder.
Truck hub.
Steve gave me Suk Yin.
2oz oil & 3oz Salt issued.
Stalin’s son as hostage. Big concentration of war vessels W of Luzon. Montgomery for Norway. Kesselring to conduct guerrilla warfare from Oslo. Laval not allowed entrance into Switzerland. W.Sumatra bombarded & good progress made in Burma. Nearly 800,000 homes destroyed & 3 million homeless in Japan due to bombing.
Requiem Mass for Mr Owens.
Cloudy, windy NE fine.
Water on & having cleared meter trap ensured full pressure on Block.
Truck.
21 districts in Berlin under Russian control. Our Ps of W & workers who had been forced to work in German factories now guardless in Berlin.
Fully equipped Japs go by, maybe to man a couple of their foxholes.
Lorry with veg. 6.45pm.
Some to-do during the day re Black-market. Graf [?] & Co. involved.
G X 9PM.
Took Conchita (Mejia) to Mass with me. ((Conchita one of large family who lived in the room below us. She had a disabled leg, and should have been wearing a brace, walking was very difficult for her, she was a sweet child – then 5 years old)).
Went to see Doreen (shorthand pupil), who has started writing a story of Stanley entitled 'I am hungry' which impresses me. Gave her a cumshaw shorthand lesson.
Lieutenant T. D. Hunter, writes from the 'Prisoner of War Camp, Hong Kong to Mrs Peggy Hunter in Block 16, Room 34, Stanley (officialy called the 'Military Internment Camp'):
My Pegs,
I'm in a hurry now - so tired. And one has got to fight when one's too tired.
You 'take' and grow on one, I realise! I'm sorry I could not be brought to say there had to be this other way for us.
I'd like, somehow, to snatch you home with me!
My love as always to you both - Drummond
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