Fine, sharp blow 2.30am.
Negs. complete for the taking over of HK. R.N. on its way.
Rep’rd camp-bed.
G & V busy with their visitor friends.
25 cubes of sugar, 10 Pkts. Jap cigs, 3 ½ oz tinned milk, margarine & 1.3 oz Coffee issued.
Looked for Tommy’s gun but no luck. ∴
Stroll around around Prison wall till 10pm with G & V
Ena Cochrane ((nee Penney, an old school friend of Olive and I)) had a baby girl, called Fearn. (In 1943 she had a son Alexander Graham).
Clifton's 24th birthday.
Tiffin, fried corned beef on fried bread. We got weighed. I was 112 lbs, Peggy 117, Mum 118 (her prewar weight was about 170 lbs.)
Things have been moving slowly with regard to the British taking over control from the Japanese, but that changes today.
On Monday (20th August) at about 10.30 a.m., 110 husbands from Sham Shui Po arrived, to visit their wives, and amongst them was Kenneth Watson, Isa’s husband. All except wives and relatives were asked to keep away from the entrance where the husbands would arrive by bus. Yvonne witnessed the scene of reunions from afar and even so was quite overcome. It was a grand day and I really began to feel the war was over and to realise a bit what that meant for many people.
Cloudy. E wind.
The more ased [?] & more varied diet is bucking people up very much already. 6oz tinned mutton. 10 oz Brown sugar issued.
Ground rice for G am. Exchanged addresses.
On duty at Prison Gate 12-2pm. To watch rate of dis. of Prisoners. We tried to get some Radio gear & informed the Jap Gendarme on duty that we expected to take over the Gaol in a couple of days.
Visitors as usual.
Electric iron repairs.
Dancing to Gramophone in the Hall 8-10pm.
Typhoon blowing up.
Flags of Allies are being made in workshop ready for raising ceremony, lamp posts and railing stanchions have already been converted into flag staffs.
Weather far too rough for sampans to come selling. Much rain and wind, I hope that men don't come in from camps - dangerous: the conveyances are old and ricketty (and only one of the two that set off from here last night had lights, then only one solitary headlight.)
6.30pm. No lorries of troops came.
Franklin Gimson ended yesterday in cautious mood, determined to do nothing to provoke the Japanese Government into abdicationg responsibility. But this morning he's swung in the opposite direction and decided to try to implement the instructions in the message he rceived yesterday from Y. C. Liang to the full.
Typhoon rain. To town alone. Rumour fleet entering Sunday. Everyone now polite, want to talk and amiable. Battered by kindness and courtesy and hard to keep up hate.
The bankers came back to camp today. Cruikshank, Foy, Camage and Leiper. The Japs had taken them to Canton 2 months ago. Leiper said he would rather spend a year in his cell at Stanley Police Station than those two months at Canton. Col Simon-White of the Sham Shui Po camp demanded their release and Col Takanada made haste to comply.
Squalls for Norly direction.
Odd jobs in workshop.
7 flagstaffs rigged beside the British one.
C of P took over administration of Camp from C.S. yesterday. ((C of P could be "Commissioner of Prisons"? C.S. was the Colonial Secretary, Mr Gimson.))
1 Pkt. Gold Leaf from B.A.T. issued.
Some visitors in but bad weather stopped many others it seems.
Walk SE corner of Prison Wall und wir sind sehr froh ⨳ trotz der Regen [and we are very happy in spite of the rain?]
Typhoony and rain. No POWs from Shamshuipo could come.
Olive in bed with colic. I worked for her in afternoon.
Tomorrow a large Govt. party, including Miss Connie Murray and Nancy Grady (stenographer colleagues) are going into town to start administration in French Mission.
In evening to dance with Peggy and Wendy one of her sisters.
Death of Muriel Hassard, the former matron of the Diocesan Boys' School, aged 59.
During the hostilities she had looked after the younger boys with the help of an old boy of the school, P. A. Waller. She and her charges were evacuated from Kowloon on December 11, and some of the boys were interned with her in Stanley.
Readers back home are given re-assuring news of the Japanese Camps as a whole - 'Prison-Camp gates have been thrown open, Tokyo announced last night' - and learn a little about Hong Kong:
((Not clear if following text belongs on 25th or 26th)) Deaths - Mrs. M Hassard (59) / Hubert Overy (60)
Pigs sent into camp
Overcast, much rain. W wind.
G bridge lesson.
4oz & Workers sugar issued. Real bread & butter to G & V & myself.
Visitors as usual but no P of Ws again due to poor weather.
Am feeling very well fed at present. The days of hunger, rice & stew are over forever I guess. Live pigs brought in for rations.
Walk with G. SW corner of Prison till 9pm ∴
Conflicting reports re time of arrival of Harcourt & his Fleet.
News on noticeboard is that supplies will be parachuted into Stanley.
Pigs came in ration.
Last night Olive was told to see Mr R. R. Todd (of Colonial Secretary's Office) today. Olive senior to me in the HK Govt, but she was ill, so I went instead. They want her to work at camp CSO instead of at hospital. I may go instead if Olive isn't better soon.
2 letters from Charles.
Mum and I went to Fr Hessler's talk on 'The Pope's Contribution to World Peace'.
Today Arthur May begins an epic journey to Macao to cable London through the link used by British Consul John Reeves. The message he bears is from Franklin Gimson, asking for permission to set up an interim British administration over Hong Kong ((For details see the entry for August 23rd)).
Brown / --------- /
Still rainy. Phone not working.
To Causeway Bay to see storm damage. Foot of sand and mud on road.
To town.
Rumour British fleet to take Hongkong under Admiral Harcourt, but no date.