70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

The rumour about Jordan ((Royal Scots Band Leader)) was confirmed today - he was shot by one of our own sentries - being deaf, he apparently didn't hear the challenge.

Mum got to Bowen Road to see Sid this morning, he is walking about now and hopes to be back with his unit within a few days.

Mabel has joined the VADs and sleeps below the military hospital in air raid shelter.

We have apparently abandoned Kowloon, and unless a miracle happens, are going to be shelled to bits.

There is talk that Chinese guerillas are coming up behind the Japs and are now at Taipo, but I'm afraid to believe anything so heartening.  I can see absolutely no escape, but we didn't have to stay in Hong Kong, and at least this IS something and we are in the war with the folks at home.

ARP HQ moving to CSO Tunnel - I'm to go tomorrow at 7 am and live in Dina House, but if shelling starts I doubt if that will last for long.

Usual raids throughout the day. Peggy Wilson joining our office staff, also Bonnie Penney and Mrs Bird (known as 'Charles') ((both had just come from Kowloon when evacuated.)) 

((Because my next-day move to Dina House would leave Mum alone in the flat apart from the amahs, I asked her to consider staying at the Jockey Club hosp. in future, or going to a nearby  billet with other ANS ladies: our men folk no longer called, most people were becoming marooned at their places of duty through uncertain transport.   Mum insisted she felt quite safe with the amahs at night at present.  That night Mum and I slept in our lounge, Mum on the settee, I in an armchair.   The amah made us laugh because she insisted on putting a layer of cushions beside the settee 'in case Missie fall off.' ))

Today I make a trip into the Queens Road Depot with a lorry and some coolies to collect some more coke and wood for the Field ovens. I also pay a visit to my room in the Sgts. Mess to collect some underclothing. I have to leave my nice camphorwood box, filled with all sorts of items, i.e. two tennis rackets, two cameras, two albums, one grey suit white drill shirts, slacks and shorts, etc, Soon it will be looted no doubt.

The Chinese citizens seem bewildered. No trams are running, and the only transport moving belongs to the Military. The only person left in the Supply Depot is old Ip Fak and his family, he worked for the Barrack stores.

We load up with as much coke and wood as possible and set off for Deepwater Bay. Through Wanchai, the native district shows signs of shelling, but nothing very serious as yet. The normal teeming population of this area has disappeared off the streets. I expect a lot of them will be living in the air raid shelters. At Wong-Nei-Chong gap on the Repulse Bay road there are a series of concrete Pill boxes, these are manned by some Canadian troops. I stop and have a few minutes chat with them. They do not seem to know what’s happening and have not been here long enough to know the layout of the Island of Hong Kong.

Susie, who still had the use of our small car was sleeping at home and going to the hospital every morning.  However, on the 12th the Army Pool was moved from Happy Valley to Shouson Hill and I was unable to keep her supplied with gasoline;  there were no public pumps operating, so not being able to use her car she found our house too far from the hospital and went to stay with her mother whose house ((Alberose)) is next door to the hospital, and Uncle Pat moved down to our neighbour’s house, just below us.  He is an old Turk named Landau who ran a very profitable restaurant business.

Susie had the very good sense to pack up all our silverware, glassware, winter clothes etc which she took over to her mother’s place, also our new radio, otherwise we should have lost everything as I will tell you later.

We just got back to Happy Valley at dawn on the twelfth and turned in for a few hours;  the VCC had been instructed to pack up from Happy Valley and move to Shouson Hill only leaving a skeleton of vehicles and personnel but the coolie labour which we were employing was to remain with Gidley in charge.

We packed up after tiffin and moved out to Shouson Hill, which is named after Sir Shouson Chow who together with a number of his friends developed the hill into a residential district of some twenty odd homes before the Army had built the magazines.  

This area had been allotted to the RASC in the event of a move to the south side of the island being necessary.

Col. Andrews-Levinge the CRASC lived in a bungalow which was selected as our HQ and Officers Mess;  just below it and easily accessible was a very large house in which the men were quartered, and there were various other houses and bungalows where the officers slept.  I slept at Eric Grimble’s bungalow, a charming little place near the top of the hill overlooking Deepwater Bay and Aberdeen.

That evening we drew 9.2 inch shells for Stanley from Shouson Hill magazine which was an easy job as the magazines were within half a mile of our vehicle park.  We only made one trip as Mount Davis had not asked for any more and Stanley was satisfied with the one load so we were back at Shouson Hill before midnight.

I had just turned in and was looking forward to a good night’s rest when I was told to go to the big house where all the men were living, and order them to stand by, and be prepared for any emergency as it was thought the Japs were contemplating a landing on some of the beaches.

We placed Lewis guns and rifles on a site which commanded the flats around Aberdeen and small groups in other strategic places but after standing to for about an hour we were told to pack up and the rest of the night passed away quietly.

A day of readjustment, alerts and nuisance shelling of the Island, without much damage. The communique announcing the withdrawal from the mainland declared, "We have retired within our fortress, and from the shelter of our main defences we will hold off the enemy until the strategical situation permits of relief."

Driving myself home at sunset I had my first taste of shell-fire. Two whistled and crashed in the Naval Dockyard as I dodged a military vehicle coming fast on the wrong side of the road. 

We are now besieged in our fortress - but we do not feel very impregnable. The Kowloon hills have become mysterious and menacing. Normally the friendly horizon, they are now the hostile limit of our mental vision. The gates of hope have closed, and beyond them is a receding universe. Claustrophobia lays a probing finger upon us.

The day closed in an atmosphere of tension and depression. I parked the car and removed the rotor arm as instructed. There will also be a fifth column on the Island. It is a fairly quiet night, enlivened by pistol and revolver shots as suspect prowlers are chased home; but about 11 p.m. a great explosion.

Dearest - home at last.  Before I forget - I have heard a rumour that the ship N.L. was on – I think my parcel for Christmas was bombed and sunk.  I’ll be so disappointed if that is true.

 I’ve been reading over this letter - I am tremendously glad that you too – as well as the bairns – are not here.  It is not nice to hear the whine of the shells and not know where they are going – but more later.

People will ring up when the news is on - I’ve missed most of it but I’ll get some at 9.30.  Dora rang up – Bertie’s been hit but has got off fairly lightly.   He was sent on fire by an incendiary bomb - he has lost the two small fingers of his right hand and has been burned a bit - but not seriously on his chest.  He was somewhere near the Matilda Hospital - climbed up the hillside with his clothes aflame and got first aid there.  He is now in the Military Hospital.  If I possibly can I must go and see him.

Today started badly - the drivers of the Peak Tram deserted last night - so I had to walk down the Peak with Harry, Megarry and Himsworth.  I haven’t felt it much so far, but I expect I’ll be stiff tomorrow.  When I got to office - I stripped to my waist – I was just soaking - and dried myself and put two towels  round my shoulders while  my office Attendant dried everything  in front of my electric fire.  So I’m O.K. - we really are toughening up.  I’ve got Roe back - I insisted - I told Purves I wouldn’t have it.  I let him off when we thought we’d be in Kowloon for quite a while yet and he could be near his wife and family.  He only got them away in time.  The trouble yesterday was not the Japanese - but Fifth Columnists – Chinese supporters of Wang Ching Wai and the Nanking puppet Government. But today we really have evacuated part of Kowloon but we keep cheery thinking that possibly it is time Chiangkai Shek’s troops have re-captured Canton and are advancing down to cut off the retreat of the Japs.  We can only hope so.  For we have to hold on to this island no matter how much bombing we get and shelling from the Kowloon Hills.  I don’t know if we can do it.  One of our shells hit the Bank Flats above Mt Austin Barracks and it was found that they were in the line of fire- so they have been demolished.  A bomb or shell fell just behind the Peak Garage and 2 in the open space at the back of Hill Crest. Our inner front door had nearly every pane cracked but nothing blown in yet.  I certainly don’t like the whine of shells coming over but we must get used to it! They have really been fairly decent – one can imagine that they are trying for a military objective.

Well I had to stop – and have chow. I’ve had a lovely dinner – mince cake, potatoes and a lettuce – the first from my own garden – sago without milk but with strawberry jam –a little piece of toast and butter and a ”coolie” orange –what more could anybody want? But I think we’ll have much shorter rations soon - I had my “spot” tonight and I still have 1 bottle Gin and 1 ½ bottles Whiskey but I doubt I’ll get any more and cigarettes are difficult to get. The Club boys walked out today and so I had to tiffin in Gloucester and had a splendid tiffin for [?H 1.50]. Well Honey Darling – I must close down –I am tired. It would have done me a world of good – as Glover advised me to – to have had a nice warm bath whenever I got it. But I put off – I may have one yet.

                           So Goodnight Loved One. A.L.A.W.     BB

Later   It is utterly amazing – just now it is absolutely quiet – and here in this room one could imagine that there is peace everywhere. But what it will be like an hour or so on   D.o.k..    News now on.  B.

Today saw my first experience of direct shelling, the whole morning being pretty hectic with air raids keeping us busy ducking in and out. No signs yet of Mike but on telephoning G.H.Q. with Col. Rose’s help I was told to come along at 12.30. During the morning I had the entertainment of seeing all the H.K.V.D.C. Companies coming in for rations and had the pleasure of seeing my old company with whom I made arrangements in case of my failure to rejoin my group. Everyone seemed fairly cheerful and there was a better spirit abroad, possibly from inexperience but anyway it was a much more cheerful place than any centre I had so far seen. During the morning too orders came through to evacuate for the Punjabis. It seemed that I was being caught up in the current – Shing Mun, Tsun Wan, Taipo Road, Peninsula, V.H.Q. – all along the road I seemed to have been on the retreat – sorry – withdrawal – strategic – soldiers for the use of.

My visit to the Battle Box lead to my dropping one brick. Under the impression that I was going to hand my news only to Col. Newnham, when I was finally in the holy of holies facing a senior looking soldier I hummed and hawed and only on a discreet tap on the ankle from Col. Rose did I realise I was speaking to the General.

Apart from my news of Shing Mun there was nothing I could tell except confirm reports and incidentally learn that Mike was expected and, luckily, as I left, run into him. Before a final rendezvous however I had the opportunity of visiting the places taken for wives and families of Volunteers with Gordon Ferguson, who spent his time cursing his job and doing it damned well, patting the children on their heads and giving pep talks as required. 

The day had seen pretty consistent shelling of the main roads over the island and the evening saw Mike, Talan and myself with Mrs.K. installed in St. Joan’s, a perfect landmark and a building which later we agreed must have been a reference point since, sticking out like a sore finger as it did must have been a perfect target yet was never hit. While on this subject it is, I think, worth recording that shelling and bombing during the entire siege was, as far as my observation went, confined to military objectives and there certainly was no deliberate shelling of civilian areas.

The evening saw the first of our anti-fifth column patrols. Reports had been received about flashes of lights and signals especially in the mid and upper levels and certainly the guns had been picking out even temporary gun emplacements on our side very quickly. With a view to stopping any possible signaller we patrolled the Conduit Road area but apart from ARP and Police, the roads were clear. One suspicious character run in and a few shots through windows which persisted in showing lights stopped effectually any activity in that line.

An incident worth recording concerned the Indian policeman, who, when drunk on guard at the Japanese Consul’s house, had been taking pot shots at people, unluckily, however, without shooting any of the Consulate staff. He was being taken to P.H.Q. in the Consul’s car which was duly stopped by us and the police required to prove their identity. A cause for regret lay in the fact that we did not commandeer the car, a slinky shining limousine since by this time everyone who was anything in HK had at least one superior chariot at his disposal.

Following the cleaning up of this area and also a brief halt at the Jewish Club – where, owing to Tai’s influence, a small amount of beer was obtained, we moved to upper levels to find everything in complete darkness. From our selected observation post, a flat overlooking Victoria and the harbour, we could hear occasional bursts of firing in the streets but otherwise everything was quiet when suddenly there was a short burst of M.G. fire and at the Western Bund a terrific deafening explosion and a terrifying magnificent pinkish-purple flame leapt up momentarily illuminating the water front. There had been intermittent shelling and my guess was that a Jap. shell had hit a dump of ammo. Mike, however stuck to his theory – later proved correct – that it was a ship of some kind which had been blown up by our fire, although the problem of what the Japs were doing with such a craft leading a landing party was one we could not solve.

The following morning we learned the reason. A harbour launch loaded with explosive from Green Island had arrived in some time ahead of the fixed schedule. An M.G. post had fired on the boat causing the explosion with the resultant annihilation of ship and crew. Added to the already jumpy state of nerves along the water front this was enough to produce intense activity directed against imaginary boats containing imaginary Japs. This activity in turn spread to the artillery and the whole concentration of fire power was put up against nothing. Why with searchlights playing, the truth was not found out sooner remains a mystery.

Immediately after this the entire water front from West Point to Causeway Bay went into action – searchlights came into play sweeping the harbour – M.G. fire was continuous providing a most picturesque fireworks scene as lines of tracer criss-crossed up and down and there was all the evidence that a large scale attempted landing was on.

To add to the illusion the heavy guns had opened up and along the Kowloon water front explosions could be seen and heard and we had the impression that Kowloon was being hammered to hell.

It was a pretty sobering thought to realise that here we were – with Kowloon newly evacuated – with the Japs. already attacking and, at that, straight across the harbour although against this was the fact that practically nothing could get through the wall of fire which was put up.

The following morning however we were to learn the reason for both the explosion and the intense firing. (already explained)