70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Shows diary entries from seventy-one years ago, using today's date in Hong Kong as the starting point. To see pages from earlier dates (they go back to 1 Dec 1941), choose the date below and click the 'Apply' button.

  • 11 Jun 1944, R. E. Jones Wartime diary

    Submitted by Admin on Tue, 2014-05-20 11:12
    Book / Document: 
    R. E. Jones Wartime diary
    Date(s) of events described: 
    Sun, 11 Jun 1944

    Overcast, low cloud, showery.

    Collected congee from A1-3 kitchen. Some residents still dissatisfied re routine, quantity etc.

    Posted June card to Marj indicating need for holiday similar to the one they had down on a farm last year.

    Rained too much for wood cutting.

    Disconnected electrical hotplates etc as the amount of elec. now allowed will not permit their use.

    No paper today so we are sans news.

    Ferry service, so called, from HK discontinued.

    Use of electricity in HK greatly curtailed. Slowly the public & ourselves are being deprived of essentials. Come on Nimitz!

    With Steve pm.

    (Camp news. Russians landed at Danzig, 2 German Divs. surrender. Paratroops land near Paris & General Tito with Major Churchill & forces joined up with Russians)

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  • 11 Jun 1944, Eric MacNider's wartime diary

    Submitted by Admin on Mon, 2016-05-30 15:29
    Book / Document: 
    Eric MacNider's wartime diary
    Date(s) of events described: 
    Sun, 11 Jun 1944

    Wittenbach / Sandbach

    Drown

  • 11 Jun 1944, Diary of George Gerrard in Stanley Internment Camp Hong Kong

    Submitted by Alison Gerrard on Sat, 2019-06-22 11:52
    Book / Document: 
    Diary of George Gerrard in Stanley Internment Camp Hong Kong
    Date(s) of events described: 
    Sun, 11 Jun 1944

    Glad to say that I am now all right again. I have seen both Dr Yaroogsky Erooga and Prof Digby. I had thiamine injections for 17 days and feel the better of them. Prof Digby has seen my piles but doesn't wish to operate on me just yet, maybe early July. We'll see.

    Never mind anything the news is great and there is great excitement throughout the camp. The fall of Rome, the invasion on the Normandy coast has raised our spirits so that --- is to when we'll get out of here if rife. We feel too that there is still greater news to follow. We live in great hopes.

    We have also received 2.50Yen being the balance of the last allowance, just enough to buy some cigarettes which we get on Saturdays.

    The weather is atrocious being wild, wintry and heavy rain every day. The most appalling weather for June that I can remember. However it is very cool and that is something to be thankful for.

    The position in town must be getting very difficult for the Japs., they have now had to stop the trains from running owing to a shortage of coal and oil. Prices are soaring and generally things must be in a bad way. Electricity is shut off at 10 o'clock and doesn't come on again until next morning. Travel in town is restricted to rickshaws, bicycles, tricycles and hand carts with rubber tyres and as the authorities say this is sufficient for the populace and that they ought to be thankful to the Japs for such great conditions on their part and so on. 

    The day our people march into Hong Kong again should and will be a day of great rejoicing for the Chinese who must be suffering badly at present.


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