70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Here we are in June. I am behind with my entries and must mention facts briefly. During April the Japanese cut us down to one water day in five. That was very trying, especially for washing as the weather had already become hot and sticky. Crowds of people used to take their clothes down to the pool in the Married Quarters garden and wash them there. A second pool had been constructed which held the overflow water from the first pool or tank (used for drinking purposes) and people were allowed to draw water from the second pool for personal use though no one was allowed to use the actual pool for washing. If only I had a camera! It was no uncommon sight to see someone trying, after they had soaped and lathered a sheet, to rinse it out in a small 1’ diameter bowl. In fact I myself washed a small white blanket in our precious aluminium container which is about 5” deep and 10” in diameter. It was no small undertaking and involved at least a dozen changes of water.

However, shortly after the beginning of May the Japanese supplied us with water every other day and that made a vast difference to life in general, even though the water is anything but clear. In fact, when you have a few inches in a pan you can no longer see the bottom of it. Still, we were recently inoculated against cholera and we are careful about drinking water so I don’t think anyone is likely to suffer. One is apt to use the tap for cleaning one’s teeth however, and that is not wise.

The weather turned hot during April, and in May it was very humid and terribly tiring – Hong Kong’s worst period of the weather calendar, May and June. It seems hard to believe that a month or two ago we were shivering  and praying for hotter weather. Still, for these conditions the hotter weather is more bearable. For one thing we are now less hungry than during the cold weather and that is a great blessing. Then, the clothes and shoe problem is less acute during the hot weather. Still, no doubt the cold weather was better for us really.

Mosquitos are very bad this year. Y and I have had to take down the net curtains from our windows. Y has sewn them together down their length and from this we have concocted a mosquito net. We pin one edge to the head of our bed and then drape the curtain over a cord which stretches across the bed and is fixed about 2’ from the head and 2’ above the bed. The loose end then falls on the bed just below our chests.  We crawl under this to get into bed and have to keep the lower portions of ourselves covered with the sheet, but our faces and arms can remain exposed. It is like playing tents. The others have followed suit and made themselves bags of various kinds which they suspend from above and pin to their sheets. Isa’s bag is made from some green chiffon trousers that Yvonne wore for the ballet! Mr Lammert is the only one in our room who has not indulged in a home made mosquito net. He prefers to be bitten. It certainly is much hotter sleeping under a skimpy net – unbearably hot at times and I often wake in a bath of perspiration.

This seems to be a bad Spring for flying cockroaches and the foul things come zooming in at night through the windows. They are just unpleasant and our nets provide some protection against these too, although they sometimes crawl under. On several occasions I have had them crawl over my pillow and my violent reaction nearly scares Y out of her wits.

At the beginning of May the Japanese opened the beach again. It is opening in the afternoons only now. I was quite surprised that they consented to open it at all with the threat of air raids and invasion and so on. Perhaps they don’t wish to admit to us the possibility of such things. Quite a lot of people go down. Y and I have been once so far. It was certainly very delightful but we felt a bit tired out when we got back. It just shows how much below par we are, for we just sat and had tea on the beach, read for a while and then had a gentle bathe. I wonder what it will feel like to be full of energy again. We have by now, become quite accustomed to our enfeebled physical state. I never run upstairs! 

There has been a slump in the black market jewel trade during the last few months. The German and Japanese civilians who had been buying up all the jewellery have, apparently, all but left the Colony now and this has caused a big drop in the price of gold, platinum, diamonds etc. One girl had been offered Y24,000 (pdv £36,000) for a diamond pendant (a family heirloom) but had thought she could probably get more if she waited a little. She waited just too long and eventually when necessity drove her to sell it she received less than Y6,000  (pdv £9,000) for it. She must have kicked herself.

The cost of food has not dropped much but money is very scarce in camp now and where a little while ago a man with good credit could cash a cheque at Y30 or Y35 to the pound, one can get only Y20 or Y25 per pound if you can get it at all. Y and I were lucky to have sold her ring when we did. We had two minor triumphs lately however: I sold a palm-beach suit which had shrunk and was too small for me anyhow for Y300 (pdv £450 at Y30 to £1) and Y sold a bottle of bath salts for Y200 (pdv £300)! We hear a Formosan bought it for his lady love!! But money is getting very difficult again. If I could get Y20 or Y25 I would cash a cheque for 50 pounds. I hope the Govt will give me some of my back pay when this is over!

At the beginning of May the Japanese Camp Commandant Lt Hara and the interpreter, Mr Watanabe, were replaced by two new officers; I forget their names at the moment. Watanabe was a very nice man, as I may have mentioned elsewhere. He visited Maudie quite often and spoke to her of Capt. Minhinnick whom he had got to know in the Argyle St Camp: said he was always cheerful and always had a cigarette in his mouth – a very good description of Capt. Min.

In peacetime, Watanabe was a Methodist or Presbytarian Minister and at Xmas he asked if he could attend our childrens’ party and he sang some songs to them in Japanese. I hear, fortunately, the children behaved themselves well – they seem often to have the unhappy knack of tittering at the wrong moment! His son came through HK in a crowded troop ship which lay in HK harbour for four nights. It was only on the fourth night that he learnt his son was on board and was able to obtain permission to spend the night with him. Apparently all the deck space was occupied at night for sleeping purposes, so the Japs must be very short of transports and the ships must be packed tight with troops. His son is a tank driver and Watanabe, apparently does not expect to see him again. Such is war. 

Since the new commandant has arrived there has been some trouble in the blackmarket and dealers have had to go carefully. However, things seem to have settled down again now, so I presume the new man has agreed to his rake off and business is progressing smoothly!

The issue of cigarettes to the camp this year has been very uncertain. The quota now is 2 per man per day, but actually we have received 1 per man per day and as the camp distributes evenly between men and women we actually get only one every two days. It is felt that the issues are held back deliberately, because the black market does a good trade in cigarettes. Graffe, a Dutchman, sold a piece of jewellery to a black market agent, and then heard, somehow, that the agent had received double the price from a Formosan. With (as he fondly imagined) the intention of protecting others who wished to sell things he reported the matter to Japanese HQ – a perfectly mad thing to do. The Formosans, it appears got into trouble - their leave and pay was stopped for a week or something like that. This, of course, made them furious and a day or two later, as Graffe was walking along the road by our blocks, he was assailed by three Formosans who worked themselves into such a rage that they nearly killed him. Two of them, one with his rifle butt and the other with a bamboo pole, beat Graffe over his head and arms till he sank to the ground when the third joined in, kicking him in the stomach while the other two continued to lambast him. He would certainly have been a case for the hospital, if not the cemetery, had not Vera Armstrong, with a great deal of courage, rushed down from her room where she witnessed the occurance, and almost forcibly intervened. She speaks Japanese fluently, lucky for Graffe. He was a fool even to have thought of doing such a thing. He had accepted the price and what happened thereafter was no concern of his. He appeared in public some days later with his head in bandages but is alright now.

I believe I am right in saying that no woman in this camp has, so far, been struck by a Japanese, though one or two have been made to kneel down if the Japs have disbelieved what they have said. There has been a good deal of face slapping amongst the men however. This is done with the knuckles and not the open hand.

There has been no bombing here for some time now, though there is almost daily and nightly patrol activity – usually by one large bomber which cruises about the Lamma Channel. Why they come so constantly we do not know. Occasionally we hear cannon fire from the plane as it cruises over Po Toi Island but there never seems to be any answering fire and certainly the fort never opens fire. Blasting still goes on and we can see sandy patches growing on some of the islands where they are either digging tunnels or constructing gun emplacements. 

People from Bungalow ‘C’ (which, by the way, has been quite well patched up with bricks and set in mud!) and S. Stephen’s hear a good deal of transport activity at night on its way to and from the fort, and some weeks ago people saw two guns, about 30’ long being taken up to the fort. They seem to think they were 6” guns. At present a lighter is tied up to the Prep School pier. It is equipped with a derrick and the other night they saw a big gun, brought from the fort and loaded onto the lighter. They think it may be one of the two big 9.2” guns we had at the fort and that the lighter may now have returned for the other one. They may be erecting these big coastal guns elsewhere and replacing them with smaller ones. So much the better for us if this is so.

The Japs have laid a boom right across the mouth of Tytam Bay and it stretches across our promontory to Tweed Island, some 500 yards off the shore. We can just see the line of bouys which are almost completely submerged. They are evidently taking what precautions they can against landings here. A few nights ago people saw night exercises in progress on the headland that juts out between Stanley Bay and Repulse Bay. For some reason too they have reinforced the barbed wire barricades around the godowns in which our rice and oil are stored. We heard rumours of further food riots in town and it may possibly be a precaution against attempted looting by Chinese from the village.

We wonder what is in store for us. As far as is possible arrangements have been made in camp for any emergency. Actually there is comparatively little we can do, but people have been advised to prepare for an emergency. We know that in Manila the small number of civilian prisoners were rescued by an American armoured car division. (What fun!) Their exit must have been extremely rapid and they probably took no luggage at all. The road to this camp is too easily commanded from the fort and anyway, 2,500 people seem too great a number to be moved in this way. It may be that peace will be declared before any fighting develops here; maybe the Japanese will withdraw and leave us to our own devices. But we must prepare for the worst – for being in this Camp, which may become no-mans land between the fort and the island mainland. If Japanese forces retire to this peninsula and the Americans attack it, one or two things might happen: both sides may manage to keep shells and bullets from falling into the camp (though this is most improbable); a short truce may be declared during which we shall be allowed to depart from the peninsula; the Japanese may clear us out of this camp to some other part of the island before the attack on the island begins; or we may be in the thick of the fighting, with shells and bombs bursting in the camp. In this case we must be prepared to evacuate damaged buildings and dangerous vicinities while under fire and either take the best shelter possible, or try and get out of the camp. First Aid posts and stretcher parties have been organised.

I think any of the last three possibilities are equally likely to occur. People have been asked to arrange their baggage for three contingencies; where transport and plenty of time is available; where plenty of time but no transport is available; and where no time or transport is available. For this last emergency people can take only what they can easily carry, their iron rations of food and small valuables. 

The entire camp has been divided into small groups of from 10 to 15 people. Gimson will be C- in- C and under him the District Chairmen will be in charge of the Blocks. Gimson will issue instructions by runners (two have been detailed for this). In turn the Chairmen will issue instructions to the Block Representatives (each in charge of his own block) and they in turn will issue instructions to the group leaders within the blocks. In our Married Quarters Blocks each flat has been divided into two groups. In our flat Harold is in charge of one group (totalling 13) and I am in charge of the other (totalling 12). Families have been kept together. Mr Sandbach, the MQ Chairman is in my group, but as he will probably be busy about the blocks my chief concern with regard to him will be to look after Mrs Sandbach and his iron rations.

Incidentally Mrs Sandbach is suffering from appendicitis (which isn’t much fun) but they don’t wish to operate unless it becomes acute, in the hope that we shall soon be relieved and the operation can be performed outside. It is an unpleasant situation but conditions and the necessary drugs etc. for major operations in camp are so bad that operations are avoided if possible.

The others in my group are: Yvonne, Mrs Mather and Jean, Mrs Joffe and Elizabeth (aged 3), Mrs Glanville and Joan Armstrong, and Jackie and Keith Mackie. Keith is my second-in- command. Iron rations have been prepared for everyone in camp. Each person will have one 12 oz tin of bully beef (purchased some time ago, I believe, by the Welfare with I.R.C. funds); one pound of soya bean flour biscuits made in camp; and a 20 lb tin of siege biscuits to be shared, sent in some years ago by the Japs. I gather the quantity will work out at about 38 biscuits per person. These were made before the war by Lane Crawfords to Dr Herklots’ recipe and were stored in large quantities as part of the Colony’s food reserve. They are in sealed tins which must not be opened till Gimson gives the word – in case we have one or two false alarms and the tins are opened too soon. We have to devise some sort of sling so that, if necessary, one or two people in the group can carry this tin.

The camp made biscuits are made from ingredients supplied either by canteen profits or I.R.C. funds and consist of bean flour with, probably, a little rice flour, bran, oil and perhaps wong tong. Every person had to hand in a ‘Domo’ milk powder tin (which came in the Canadian parcels), clearly marked with his name, block and room, and the biscuits were made to fit into these tins (which have lids), 12 per tin I believe. Herklot’s siege biscuits are made chiefly from soya bean residue (after the beans have been crushed for oil) and four of these per day are considered sufficient to sustain life. So we have iron rations for about a fortnight. This is in addition to iron rations that people may have kept for themselves.

Y and I have a biggish tin of Ryvita bisuits (which we brought into camp with us!), a 1 lb tin of Peak Frean biscuits which came in the first parcels; and about 6 lbs of raw rice. The rice we intend to roast or toast and then grind into flour – this, in case there is no chance of boiling it during an emergency. In that case we should just mix it with water and eat it like that. We still have about 3 tins of meat left, and also some I.R.C. parcel tins of sugar, but we are gradually eating those, for we feel that no emergency here can last very long and we hope we have sufficient iron rations to carry us through such a period, and in the meantime it is important to keep ourselves in as good a state of health as possible. We also have some peanut oil in reserve, but this too we are using gradually. It depends how much longer this war lasts!

Everyone has been told to keep by them a bottle or flask of drinking water (as much as they can carry). Water may be a far more serious problem than food. Y and I have each packed a case with our most precious possessions that we hope to be able to save (not that we have much that is really worth saving). My big ‘revelation’ case we are filling with things that we will save if we have time and transport, but would not attempt to carry it with us: the same with our blankets. One blanket we propose to sew into a kind of bag or knap-sack which one of us can wear, and into this we will put our iron rations so that in the event of a serious emergency all we should bother about would be this food bag. We wondered if we ought each to have our own bag but I don’t think we are likely to be separated.

Well, that more or less constitutes the sum total of our preparations for a state of emergency. All iron rations have been distributed to the various blocks: in our blocks it is stacked in a cupboard in each block, already divided into the 12 groups per block so that the business of issuing the rations will be quite simple. In a few of the other blocks (Indian Quarters I think), owing to lack of suitable storage space, probably, the individuals have already been issued with the meat or camp made biscuits on the understanding that they must be kept as an iron ration. Needless to say, some have already eaten these rations! The Stanley mentality I am afraid: some people are just unable to keep food and not eat it if they are hungry. Maybe we shall never need our iron rations but, if we do, I feel that those who have already eaten theirs will get little help or sympathy from the others.