70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Quite a number of unpleasant things have happened so far this month. First of all, Col Tanaka has forbidden any more papers to be sent into camp. This is simply awful, for news is about as important to us as food. Thank God we know the war is over in Europe. Anything may be happening outside and we know nothing about it. This is a flagrant violation of the International Code in relation to the treatment of POW. All prisoners should be provided with the principal paper or papers that are printed and issued to and by the civil population of their captors. We have now been 10 days without news. We console ourselves with the thought that it is a good sign; also on previous occasions papers have been suspended for a while and have later been issued again. Vigorous protests have been made and we are hoping they will have the desired effect.

Now food! A new scale of rations have been issued by Tokyo for all POWs in the Canton area (which includes us).  ((Weights in grams))
             
               Old Scale          New Scale
           Workers    Non W    Workers    Non W
Rice           No Change          No change     
Beans        42.2      22.2      40        30
Sugar          No Change          No change     
Salt         10         5         5         5
Oil          40        20         9         9
Tea            No Change          No change     
Vegetables  450       290       500       300
Meat        Nil       Nil       100        50
                                
For the time being we are to receive 40 gms of meat for workers and 32 gms for non workers. (100 gm = 3 1/2 ozs). The rice issue is 20 ozs for workers (570 gms) and 16 ozs for non workers (456 gms); the sugar issue is 10 gms for workers and 5 gms for non workers; tea, about a tablespoon for everyone every 10 days. The chief changes are in oil, salt and meat. The heavy workers’ oil issue has been more than quartered and the non workers halved; the salt ration is halved. But the meat issue astounded and delighted everyone. The full ration of 3½ ozs for workers and 1¾ ozs  for non workers daily will more than compensate the cut in oil – even the smaller initial ration will about equal the cut in the oil. The meat is to be beef, pork or pheasant and is to be delivered every Saturday. This is a pity for, having no refrigeration we shall have to eat it at once!

But now – the fly in the ointment: came the first Saturday and the Jap Quarter Master Sergeant said: “Very sorry, we have not been able to get any meat”!

We thought it was too good to be true! We have been 18 months without meat now and although these seas abound in fish they have been unable, apparently, to spare any for us for months: how they can suddenly start a new meat issue with things as they are is a complete mystery to me. Surely the cold storage pre-war stocks of meat have long since been exhausted. So we are not very hopeful. I suppose that just occasionally they may send in a very small amount. If they started sending us fish again it would be something. Still, we haven’t quite given up hope yet. No further communication is allowed between Zindle and this camp and the small supply of bran which he used to send us from I.R.C. funds has been stopped. I’m afraid beri-beri will again become prevalent.