70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

The assorted group we've been following around Kowloon are still in the Hing Wah.

It's Gaudete ('rejoice') Sunday, and Father Gallagher preaches a sermon on that theme to his fellow prisoners: 'Rejoice Always!' That's not easy:

The first four days we had nothing to eat, and made a broth out of gold fish, and gold fish water, that the children in the school had left behind them.

Nevertheless, Dr. Newton reports a little food being provided yesterday and in today's diary entry records visits from two Japanese doctors, one of whom brings 'two large tins of army biscuits and two large kettles of boiled water'. He summarises his experiences of the Japanese so far:

Except for the actual rounding-up stage at Kowloon Hospital they've been very polite and pleasant to us.

Japanese shelling of the island begins at daylight and continues late into the night:

And all over Victoria the terrified citizens crouched in corners, waiting for a lull which would enable them to run to a Governmment shelter.

George Wright-Nooth offers a good general description of the experience of the next few days:

Being bombed, shelled or mortared is an extremely frightening experience. You have absolutely no control over the situation. Nothing seems to offer adequate protection; the awful explosions, the unbelievable noise, the violent shock waves and the sickening apprehension as to where the next one will land, can combine to produce terror and inertia in all but the most courageous individuals. A part of the possible solution lies in activity, preferably physical.

Nurse Brenda Morgan is killed by a shell in or close to her station at Rosary Hill. ((See note below.))

Twins Aileen and Doris Woods and their sister Mrs. Winfield are billeted at the house of Sir Vandeleur and Lady Mary Grayburn. The electricity fails so they can't listen to the world news. The strain is getting on their nerves and there are frequent quarrels in the house. In between air raids they look down on the city. They see huge fires at North Point. Food is running short.

Another air raid starts and they run to take shelter in the pantry, where they sit for hours repeating the 91st Psalm.

When the shelling stops, they emerge and inspect the effects: the front of the house has been damaged and the Grayburns' private sitting-room is in ruins.

Sources:

Gaudete: Thomas F. Ryan, Jesuits Under Fire In The Siege of Hong Kong, 1944, 81

Gold fish broth: R. B. Levkovich, Statement, page 5 (from the Ride papers, kindly provided by Elizabeth Ride)

Newton: Alan Birch and Martin Cole, Captive Christmas, 1979, 51, 63

Japanese shelling: John Luff, The Hidden Years, 1967, 58-59

Wright-Nooth: George Wright-Nooth, Prisoner Of The Turnip Heads, 1994, 55

Woods: John Luff, The Hidden Years, 1967, 136

Morgan: Susanna Hoe, The Private Life of Old Hong Kong, 1991, 276 and Oliver Lindsay and John Harris, The Battle for Hong Kong 1941-1945, 2005,

Note: Brenda Morgan

Susannah Hoe states that she was a Canadian military nurse killed by shelling. According to John Harris she was from Nottingham and was killed by bombing. Harris also says that her fiancee, his flatmate Micky Holliday, a sapper, became 'unhinged' as a result and five days later went charging to his death along Wong Nei Chong Road, brandishing a revolver and in the company of several other Sappers.

See also http://gwulo.com/node/13997

This source seems to establish she was in fact from Leeds, and gives a more detailed account of how she died.

See also Chronology, January 13, 1942.

From the 14th. December 1941 the camp was shelled daily usually in the afternoons and evenings resulting in 2 killed and 37 wounded. The two killed were buried by Inspector Trimble, Sanitary Department.

Church services had a more than normally solemn atmosphere. There were heavy artillery exchanges throughout the day. There were signs that services were breaking down, and anxiety was expressed about the water supply. Supply is rationed and people are urged to conserve. The scavenging service is failing, and garbage is piling up everywhere in the streets where ever-individualistic householders are dumping it. Much of the Island is without flush closets, and the bucket removal service is made impossible by shelling in daylight and black-out at night. People are told to burn their rubbish and bury what will not burn. Thefts are increasing. Destitute and hungry laan tsai are snatching food in the streets.

There is still a shortage of currency, so Chinese notes got from the Bank of China were overprinted - HK$1 on Chinese $5. The food kitchens are functioning well, but serving only 100,000 people of a population of a million. Many rice shops have not obeyed the command to reopen, pleading no transport to deliver their supplies to them. The Government began selling rice from its stores, and free distribution to the poor was begun. The chemists were requested especially to resume trading. Other shops are open, doing a cautious business through their door grilles or portholes in their shutters. The fear of looters is intensifying.

The Government requisitioned all motor-cars, and private motoring has ceased. The shelling increased, the Naval Dockyard and battle headquarters area above it receiving much of the attention. It is now difficult to reach town through the barracks area, and I am permitted to remain at home and work by telephone.

On Sunday 14th December there came an urgent message from General Maltby for the setting up of a fortress observation post on the north face of the Peak which could dominate the mainland.  Information regarding the movements of the enemy was vital and the post came under the direct control of General Maltby himself and his GSO1.

((Source - a dramatization of the history of the Hong Kong Volunteers, which was broadcast over Radio Hong Kong on 31st May 1954 as part of the HKVDC Centenary Celebrations))

During the morning Mike and Tai having to go out to H.Q. I spent the time at Punjabi H.Q. I just returned from there to find a telephone call to report back to meet Tai who drove me up to the Middlesex H.Q. in Leighton Hill. (Mike O’Conner’s house) Evidently a ship lying off Taikoo Docks – M’sex area – had been boarded by an observation party of Japs. and, for some reason, never clearly defined, shell fire could not be brought to bear on it. Here was our chance to try out our “toys” and by some curious twist this problem was the very one set me during our training course. Time, however, was short. The “toys” had to be made ready and no reconnaissance had been carried out nor indeed had we identified our object.

At Taikoo things happened with a rush. Contacting Chris Mann who was in command of that special area we reached the docks – a strange contrast from their usual appearance – quiet and deserted. No one seemed to know the exact position of either ship or the pill boxes which were our reference points. This was later partially explained by the fact that the M’sex had only newly occupied them but, after searching and help from the dock people, a few of whom were around, we established her position. Back at H.Q. Tai and I set off for Ah King’s to find some kind of boat and luckily almost at once discovered a small yacht dinghy and two sawn off paddles. When we had this transported back Mike had the first toy ready and as soon as No.2 was ready we fed and at 21.00 hrs – when the tide was turning – we slipt out to the Ritz (this replaces ‘lido’) launched the dinghy and immediately realised something we had overlooked – the phosphorescent light caused by movement in the water. Still it was too late to worry now and with a queer feeling in the pit of my stomach I stepped in beside Mike and off we went.

Tai remained to give directions and control the M.G. fire which was, if possible, to divert attention from us and keep the Jap. heads down as we approached. ((Footnote here referring to Sheet 14 (?) but the original Sheet 14 gives no clues: looks like Vickers a/q – Tarhard(?) – no way of digging/dragging 1’4 (?) feet/feel with a Currets(?) tool/loop – possibly concerning position of covering fire?)) Later we were to learn that the guns were mounted on concrete but, luckily for any peace of mind we had, this was not known to us. Incidentally how Tai ever guessed his times and distances for fire will remain a problem for me since obviously no cut and dried timetable could be arranged and the soldiers would give no guarantee of real accuracy. Paddling out proved a beast of a job. The tide was running like the devil. We did not want to paddle too forcefully on account of the phosphorous in the water but had to counteract the tide. The night which previously had seemed dark, now to my eyes, seemed bright as daylight  and we seemd about the size of a battle cruiser.

Suddenly a burst of M.G. fire went over our heads and it was a moment before I realised it was our own fire and from then to our first bearing, another ship which was on fire, the odd burst kept coming at irregular intervals. The blazing ship spread a lurid glow over the water  and, unluckily for us, the wind kept blowing the smoke away from us. We were however getting nearer but by a mistake in our judgement of tide we found ourselves about 200 yards astern of our target and tide against us. So paddle we had to and maskee noise and to add to our discomfort a light kept appearing at intervals on the Jap. Shore. My mind was full of ideas – the Japs. might be relieving their post – perhaps at that moment one of them was sitting in the stern with an automatic laid on us (later Mike said his idea was some one with a grenade) and I kept wondering what it felt like to have a burst hit us and queerly enough drew comfort from the fact that the fire would probably set off the “toys” and let us out quickly. About 100 yards astern there came a burst of fire – ours – hitting the superstructure of the ship, our paddling became furious and under the stars we slid safe, at least for the moment.

We hung on to the sternpost and took our bearings. We could hear faint voices above but no undue noise and noticed a large lifeboat attached to the gangway on the port side. Using it we pulled ourselves round the port side and reached a point about ¼ way up the ship. I slipt over the side and thought at first it wasn’t cold. In a minute though the water soaked through my clothing and “Wow” was it cold! Taking the first toy I sank down to get depth and “slap” on it went and with it most of the skin from the tips of my fingers on the barnacles. When I came in the tide had swept me nearly to the sternpost but by means of the lifeboat I pulled myself back up. Putting the second one on was slightly more difficult as we wanted to make absolutely sure. I was afraid that the barnacles would deaden the magnetic attraction and when it was on tried to pull it off but luckily it proved all we had been taught it was and behaved like its name. It is peculiar how the mind works since as I was coming up I found myself admiring the phosphorescent bubbles coming out of my battle pants. Once in the dinghy again our problem was to get away. We let her drift down stream and now our or rather my feeling was what it would feel like to have a burst in the back. Once clear, our spirits rose and, apart from one scare when we fancied we saw another small boat, we paddled back speedily and as Dai (Tai?)said later our last 100 yards was a procession. Getting ashore and a large tot of rum revived me considerably and I began to feel like carrying out our second job of attending to some of our prominent fifth columnists. ((There is another footnote here which says ’Cut the lifeboat clear’)) This however was postponed and after a change of clothes we hopped home where Betty, as always, was waiting with her ever welcome hot coffee.