70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Almost half way through another month, thank God!  

The unfortunate British Communal Council, some 10 days ago, published a letter which had been sent to the C.S. in which they reported that they had resigned en bloc, before, even, the above mentioned resolution had been put to the public for signatures. They did the noble thing by offering to remain in office until Mr Gimson could take over office and until the new Council was elected. The C.S. thanked them and requested them to remain in office until 15th August. 

Since then he has come into the open (if that does not convey a wrong impression) at a speech he made to those now accommodated in the former American blocks. In it he stated that on his arrival at the camp (he came to Stanley some weeks or months after the main body of internees arrived) he found that the British community had elected it’s own representative Council, in no ways attempting to make it represent, or have anything to do with His Majesty’s Colonial Government of Hong Kong; that the Council pursued it’s own policy and conducted communications with the enemy Japanese authorities and that their power was limited only by their own ideas and wishes. He added that, fortunately, these wishes and the conduct of the B.C.C. had been moderate and in the interests of HK’s people and possessions and that he had had no occasion to object to them. He assumed now that the general wish of British internees in Stanley, to elect him as Chairman was purely out of loyalty to the Crown, in that they felt that H.M. should be represented even in these circumstances by the properly appointed officer administering the Colony, who had been sworn in to office before hostilities commenced. He further added that he was that officer, with the power of the Governor of Hong Kong, and that the members of the new Council (to be appointed) would be considered by him purely as an advisory body, but in no way as members of the Government here.

Well he has stated this case pretty plainly and, I think, he has made most people think quite a lot. I don’t think that anyone here, at the time of internment, meant any disloyalty whatsoever in keeping Government officers out of the Council. There was general anti-Government feeling because of the awful debacle the war out here proved to be, and people were determined not to put themselves again (during internment) into the hands of these inefficient Government servants! However, having had a whack at it themselves it seems significant that they now want the C.S. back!

Perhaps that is poking fun unfairly, for I believe that this pro C.F. Gimson feeling has been engendered solely because of his growing popularity and general trust in his ability as a capable administrator. He has had the advantage of being able quietly to take stock of the situation during the past months and, being a newcomer to the Colony, he has no old prejudices to fight down; but on the other hand it is greatly to his credit that here, where everyone is more or less shorn of his or her official dignity and standing and people are judged far more by their real ability than by positions they have acquired and held, he should have gained so much confidence and goodwill. I must also add that the general public is still anxious to exclude from power all the senior cadets and officials who seem to have fallen into such disrepute.

The new Council is to be elected at the end of this month. It is to consist of two members from the Married Quarters; two from the Indian Quarters; two from the St Stephens group; one from the bungalows and one from the British now in the former American blocks.

Well, Yvonne’s 21st birthday has come and gone and she has now reached her majority. One of the first things she did on the day following the 6th was to sign a paper with two nominees from this block for the Council! Swank!

The weather was really foul right to Aug 3rd. There had been several afternoons when the sun had shone and the skies cleared, but never a morning. I had to have a clear morning as the shadows on the hills and the view I wanted to paint were in the best position in the morning. Well, on Aug 3rd the sun shone in the morning and the tops of my particular hills were clear of clouds for once. There was a strong wind blowing but I was getting desperate and had to take this chance. I crept forth once more and started my second effort. I managed to get the main tones on in spite of the way the paper flapped about in the strong wind. Then I put on a few of the shadows and then I saw a shower of rain fast approaching. I tried to visualise the other shadows and colours and then had to make a dash for it.

I finished off the painting in doors, after lunch that day, when Yvonne was resting. It was a pretty poor effort and I didn’t even sign my name on it! My colours became overworked and muddy. And then, on the very next day, the skies cleared and the weather was simply beautiful! Fate really had been most unkind; having waited all July for a few fine days, the weather eventually cleared and changed just before the 6th. However, I had neither the material, time, nor inclination to try another. 

I had cut out a large latch key in thin wood and surprising to relate, I found a man who possessed some silver paint and I was able to paint it silver. Mrs Greenwood had come to my rescue by promising to make a birthday cake. I think really she was glad to do it because she is very fond of Yvonne. She certainly did it beautifully. She procured the flour and actually put in some of her own margarine, which was most kind of her. I provided currants, margarine, sugar, two eggs (ducks eggs, which I had managed to buy at the phenomenal price of 2 shillings each! (pdv £4.50 each), and Maudie Min gave me some baking powder, augmented with some bicarbonate of soda. The cake was square and low (about 12” x 12”). Mrs Greenwood made the cake on Wednesday morning, the 5th, and I took it to the Armstrong’s room in the afternoon to ice it. The icing consisted of sugar, cocoa and cornstarch mixed in water and boiled to a stiff paste. I had hoped to be able to add milk powder to the mixture, but I had rashly given Mrs Greenwood all our precious store of full cream milk powder, expecting her to make about ½ pint or pint of milk for mixing the cake; but she in her enthusiasm for the cake, tipped the whole lot into the mixture! Ruinous!  However, the cake tasted very good. I made the chocolate blancmange icing and spread it on hot. I had inverted the square cake tin and placed the cake upon it, covering the edge of the tin with silver paper (from cigarette packets). Then I put round the edges the 21 small pink candles I had made. I had taken a red coated candle that we had and melted it down and made 21 small pink candles for it. I rolled up thin paper tubes or spills for this; threaded through a thin piece of string for the wick, attached at one end to a lump of wax pushed into the tube; then poured in the hot wax, cooled it under a tap and unrolled the paper from the candle. I cut these into small lengths, mounted them in small cups of silver paper and stuck them round the cake. Inside I placed lettering, a naval crown and the date cut out in silver paper. This was a terribly ticklish job and had to be done with a razor blade. It took me a couple of evenings. On each of the four vertical sides of the cake I stuck a silver paper 21. When completed it looked quite pretty with its chocolate brown, pink and silver colour scheme. 
                                      
Unfortunately the chocolate blancmange icing was rather too stiff and when it set and cooled it cracked all over, which was rather a pity.  Maudie undertook to make some scones, which she split and filled with jam. They were delicious. Elsie and Isa, in addition, took it upon themselves to cut bread squares and spread them with three different kinds of jam - very kind of them indeed. In the morning I had made two big jugs of tea (one with mint) and these Mrs Greenwood let me ice in the refrigerator. Well, it may all sound pretty meager for a 21st birthday party, but by Stanley standards, it was pretty good!

The 6th August dawned bright and hot. I arose early to prepare Yvonne’s birthday breakfast. The previous evening I had been round to the various blocks begging what flowers they had that had survived the heavy weather. I managed to get quite a good collection of yellow and purple flowers which I put in a big glass jar on the table. These I gave her from her Mummy and Daddy. I gave a second small bunch to his “0ooo” from David. From Mother, Father and Betty I gave her ½ lb of toffees that I had managed to purchase at the canteen. From myself the blighted picture (with which she seemed very pleased)! Maudie gave her a lovely box of Russian chocolate that she had managed to get from town, and a $10 note. Also a very nice suede belt which she gave her from Chère, saying that when she met Chère she would get her to pay for it so that it really did come from her. Harold and Elsie gave her some toffees and some cigarettes; Isa, cigarettes and matches; Tim and Marjorie a tin of asparagus shoots; Mrs Greaves a pat of toilet soap; Francis Dodds, a packet of cigarettes: all these on the breakfast table. For breakfast we had cornflakes and milk (milk donated by Isa!), baked beans on toast, toast and marmalade and coffee.