Pages tagged:

General repeat of all news.

Lesson in Cemetery.

Lovely day.

1 tin pork & beans (6) & corned beef (4).

Death of Camille Tweed Denton, aged 66 days, d. of Mrs. I. Denton.

Rumours are that we will ALL be repatriated.

Some of the Americans have had their $75 parcels.  

Mrs K sick.

Death of Camille Tweed Denton, daughter of Ivy Denton, aged two months.

In what is possibly the first attempt by the British Army Aid Group to contact Stanley, Lindsay Ride sends a message to Jardine's taipan D. L. Newbigging ('Buggins'). The message is written in a deliberately confusing form based on nursery rhymes, children's games and poetry, but the meaning is clear: Newbigging is being offered a horse in the 'LIBERTY STAKES' - the possibility of an escape.

2,000 planes raid Germany nightly. French advised to overthrow Vichy Govt. Russians lost about 100,000 men & Germans 200,000. Canton outskirts penetrated and City liable to fall in 24hrs. Repatriation negotiations going on. Unrest in Germany. 200 shot outside Reichstag. Burma, on side of Jap, bombed by Allies. Gulf of Papau [?] 1 Jap dest. sunk & 1 damaged.

Relatives of Internees informed by BBC.

1 tin pork & beans (6) & corned beef (4). ((note: this is not written but marked with ditto sign)).

Wittenbach/Sandbach.

No fresh meat in today or yesterday.

Such a longing for my wife and bairns and my ain folk and a home in Britain.

Source:

Diary of H. W. Johnston

Held at the Imperial War Museum (H. W. Johnston/96/9/11)

Johnston's diary was written on Chinese toilet paper and typed up in 1958

Wind backed to W. Heavy showers.

No news – much talk re repatriation.

Stage 6: Into Free China

7th June 1942

A meeting of the American Community at 2 p.m. hears reports about the repatriation: the date is still uncertain, but it will probably be the middle of next month.

Patients at Tweed Bay Hospital can now get bananas at 10 cents each.

Source:

Meeting, bananas: Maryknoll Diary, June 8

And exactly a half year since war began here.

Rained all day.

Japs lost several vessels around Guam, Midway & Wake Islands.

Dr Erooga said Mabel had a goitre – that he saw it when she was in Queen Mary Hospital (just before the war) with dragging foot.

The BCC puts up a notice warning people to be wary of passing on or too easily believing rumours, the prevelance of which has been causing 'undue anxiety and heartburning'. The Reverend Wittenbach had preached to the same effect in May. This new intervention was equally well-meaning and equally fruitless!

Source:

MacNider Papers, 'Court/I.W.C./Rumours', 45

Departure of Americans postponed from June 15 to June 23.

I heard yesterday of a man who  was on page 62 of a letter  to his mother.  It is of course in the form of a diary.  I wish I could have kept this up too but I'll explain how difficult, in fact impossible  it has been.  Parcels are coming in now and we have had a few - 2 nice ones from Inspector Warburton which we shared - Glover and I - with some of the Inspectors.

German lesson.

Warm.

No news.

The Hong Kong News reports that a 'fierce tiger' has been shot in Stanley Woods after a successful early morning hunt by the Hong Kong police.

It also publishes a picture of internee, B. W. Bradbury, a butcher skinning the tiger.

Edith Hamson sums up:

The tiger episode, despite the fear it engendered,  brought relief from the never-ending boredom of Camp life. With the tiger dead we resumed our dreary existence.

Sources:

Heard Midway Battle a great success for us.

Lovely day.

American sailing delayed of a week, no reason given.

King’s birthday – callers at C.S.O.

(Letter on P.48).