To town alone. No news. Rumour some Stanleyites out. Bull. Walking home conscious grim activity. Some thirty Jap or Formosan prisoners in white uniforms and chains outside Naval Yard. Tanks on cricket ground. Low flying plane. Explosions. All hint peace scare over and war to go on. Pastor Neilsen calls. Rumour American demands delayed 24 hours by Swiss and only just received by Tokyo.
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Fine, low cloud, light E wind.
Lousy night for sleep, tossing, turning & dreaming.
Odd jobs & Clinic lock.
Decided to try change rooms. G upset & me too. Lovely evening on roof. Cup of tea & bite 9-9.30pm & then G’s lovely generous heart showed itself ∴ ⨳ [actually a new symbol, a big X with 4 little x’s in the gaps]
Lovely First Communion Service for Barbara Willey and Ronnie Harris - both looked very nice in white.
Lazing out on grass, I heard a plane in distance; it cruised along so long, then suddenly became much louder; it was a huge thing, dark and old-looking like a great evil bird swooping down sharply over the American Block, machine-gunning - it sounded like that but no one was hurt so perhaps it wasn't.
We had finished our last meal of the day on Tuesday, 14 August when someone started a rumour: a strange story of a terrible bomb, its flash 'brighter than a thousand suns', which had devastated Japan. Frank Fisher brought it to St. Stephen's. Frank was full of stories, and always insisted they were true, so we listened politely to what he had to say. It was told to us in confidence and we promised not to repeat it. But the rumour, darting here and there like a glow-worm, soon spread through the camp.
A big shock on Friday 10th August when news came that about 175 men including the wives of those that had them were to proceed to town that same day. They were mostly electrical, wireless, civil and mining engineers. We had to bustle around and give them their rations etc. Tom MacIntyre from our room, W. Little ((probably W. Littler)) and S. Docherty ((probably S T Doughty)) were the 3 T Dockyard ((Taikoo Dockyard)) workers who went.
am, shots fired from rifles
Trawler bombed & sunk in Tweed Bay
Little news in paper. Rumour many arrests for careless street talk. Decide nothing will develop until tomorrow so will stay home.
We had some more excitement this morning. I was wood cutting when at about 10 o’clock we heard the drone of an aeroplane. Nowadays, one hardly bothers to go and look at a single plane and we did not stop our sawing operations. However, a long burst of machine gun fire quickly made us down tools and run to have a look and there, just beyond Tweed Island and not 50’ above the water was a huge American bomber, and below it was one of the small Japanese patrol-come-pilot boats at which it had opened fire.
Fine, light E wind.
Peace rumours very strong. Many people preparing their gear ready for packing up.
US plane came over 10am & after 4 attacks sank a small auxiliary vessel working on the boom at the entrance of Stanley Bay. Guards fired from Camp again. A/r alarm till noon.
(Emp. Po Yi [Pu Yi] of Manchuria asked Japs for Peace).
G mit HK ∴ und sie ist sehr hold. [G with HK ∴? and it is very?]
After the War in Hong Kong
The war in the Pacific ended on August 15, 1945. The Japanese had surrendered after the dropping of two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peace in Hong Kong meant no more air raids and lots of food to eat. During the war we survived on starvation rations and I still remember the physical pain in the stomach from lack of food.
Mr. Pederson died after operation.
Feeling a little better. Spent most of morning at hospital, trying to get medicine.
June Cheape asked me to do duplicate bridge with her, but I haven't the guaranteed time.
3 cards from Auntie.
Olaf Pederson dies after a major operation for an illness caused by malnutrition. He's the only Norwegian to die in Stanley.
If the war is not over then the end is not far away if the stories we hear from the Formosan guards have any semblance of truth. They are running round in circles and trying to be friendly.
Death - August Olaf Pedersen (53)
Up and down all night listening to radio. Early broadcasts said Jap reply not received. At 5 a.m. San Francisco said reply received in Switzerland decoded, but did not contain the reply for which world was hoping. Meanwhile Japan being heavily raided all day from noon.
The rumours of peace are still persisting! I feel, as usual, it is just another rumour. I do not think anything will happen till the end of September at the earliest. At least I have schooled myself to that thought – beginning October the earliest; more probably during Nov. or Dec. If it happens earlier, well so much the better, but now that I have ceased to worry about our speedy release and have managed to get back into my rut again I feel less restless.
Fine, light SE wind, showery.
Odd jobs.
Rec. Sept.43 from Marj.
(Russians penetrated Manchuria to a depth of 150 mls by 10th. New bombs use [sic] by US on Jap. caused Japs to appeal to Geneva & US against their use. The reply they got was, “There are plenty more, we have only used them twice”)
Lorry at 4pm with cigs & toilet paper, wong tong & soap. 34 cigs 5Y10 issued. ∴
Still tired and un-hungry.
Camp full of rumours and news of a truce, armistice and peace.
To choir practice to practise 'Te Deum'.
Fresh rumours have been coming in all day, viz:
The Imperial Rescript bringing an end to the war is read outside the Hong Kong Hotel by a Japanese officer, first in Japanese and then in Chinese.
In Stanley nothing's official yet, but more and more internees believe that this time the rumours are true: