Birth of Raymond Williams - the last baby to be born in Stanley during the war.
Source:
China Mail, September 15, 1945, 3
Note:
For more on the Williams family see:
Pages tagged:
Thanks to Nona for letting us show this rare document. It is her father, George Pio-Ulski's employment contract for August 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
MUSICIAN'S AGREEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT dated 16 July 1945
Employer: CHUNG WAH 4TH FLOOR AMUSEMENT HALL ( - )
Employee: GEORGE PIO-ULSKI
Period: One (1) calendar month from 1st to 31st August 1945,
Fine, hot.
Cut hole in Sewing shop wall & got smothered in brick dust, no soap to wash with either.
Signed pay sheet at H.Qs.
1pm. G sehr hold 12.30 [?] Gott segnen dich meine Geliebte [God save you my Beloved?] (Jill Fell's translation: "G very friendly 12.30. God bless you my beloved."))
Walked around camp alone pm.
(Repat. ship to arrive 25th inst?)
Jap order is that all dry reserves of rice to be handed in to Indian Quarters Quartermaster by tomorrow morning, under threat of dire penalties.
Pasties.
Feeling better now, but not perfect.
All raw rice to be handed in to Bl. Reps. and then to communal kitchens
Heavy squalls early am. E wind. Squally all day.
Odd jobs & Rec. room forms re-seating with iron box strapping.
Japs order all private raw rice to be handed in.
Lorry with veg. 6pm.
German lesson.
(Russia & China sign Pact of Friendship, India & Self-government, & our forces in & around Pakhoi) ∴
We (Redwoods) ground all our dry rice this morning.
Am still not hungry.
Very brief letter from Uncle Harry (my Dad's brother in Bath, Somerset), dated 15th January 1944. Two letters from Aunt Lily, one 31st December 1943, saying 'My best Christmas gift was your card. Happy to know you are so cheerful and busy. Longing to see you.' And one 8th March 1944 saying 'Hope you and girls are keeping fiit and cheerful as we. Don't worry, everything going fine. Just off to buy oranges.'
B.M. at standstill
600,000 catties firewood due by junk
Bank deposit box papers handed to internees – NOT jewellery
My natal month half gone: well the quicker it goes the better; and the next month and the next and so on until we get out of this death in life.
We thought fondly of Pop yesterday and hoped he was celebratin’ fit to bust and thereby, making up for our absence.
Cool E wind.
Odd jobs am & fixed the other Rec. rm. form with seating.
Rec. Dec ’43 with snap of them both from Marj.
Pwd. box for C ∴ sehr hold. [very affectionate.]
Wood squads detailed.
250 tons of firewood supposed to be brought today by lighter - but cancelled. Even Mr Gimson (Colonial Secretary & Representative of Internees) detailed to assist. We were to have pasties for meal to help men - but pasties had already been started to be cooked when cancellation of firewood so we will still get them. ((The logs of wood had to be hiked up to the camp kitchens then chopped or sawn - very heavy work.))
Firewood landed
Showery. E wind. Cleared forenoon.
Odd jobs am. Wood-carrying aft.
Repaired V’s table.
Wood squads worked until 9pm.
Plane over machine gunning 10.30pm.
Outside roll call, after which Mr Burnett came in and ran over my 'roll call' exercise, criticising and suggesting.
Some folk said they heard shelling and bombing last night, and some claim to have SEEN machine-guning at 9pm last night.
Peggy and I went swimming in afternoon, later I visited Tom Cashman and Mr Nicolson in hospital.
Outdoor am roll-call
80 lbs shark’s liver oil delivered by I.R.C.
Fine, hot, cool wind gone.
Outside roll-call.
No work today. Stood by for arrival of wood but none came.
Rings for Tom & Mary.
Very muggy pm.
To I.Q. with G & back. ∴
Went to see Annie and Kristine in morning. Planned to go swimming in afternoon but beach closed, so sunbathed under tree and read.
The de Vleeschouwer children wildly excited to see their (banker) father carrying wood, which arrived per lighter about 4pm. ((That the Japs were supplying us with so much wood for cooking was rather depressing, as it seemed to imply that we would be in camp for a much longer time than we'd hoped.))
An informal meeting of the Hong Kong Fellowship is held at the Drill Hall of the 30th Battln. The Middlesex Regiment in Clapham Park. 650 people attend in spite of the fact that the meeting was arranged at short notice.
Members hear that few communications from Hong Kong had been been received recently, but it was stressed that this needn't mean bad news - the 'Korean Sea' through which mail travelled was 'mined and bombed ceaselessly' and it was quite probable that no more mail would arrive.
pm inspection of hospital
worked on wood all night