70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

 Madeline Jeanette Owens born to Reginald Owens and Allison J. Owens. Mrs Owens is British and her husband is American.

Two notices appear in camp: one announces that facilities are available for the painless destruction of dogs, the other that 'heavy' kitchen workers are entitled to extra rations - it seems they can get more rice and choose two other items, although not special ones like bread, eggs, tinned goods etc. MacNider notes that on April 25 extra rations, on differing scales and with a limit on the number of 'extras' in some cases, were extended to other kitchen workers, heavy manual labourers, and all other workers, with effect from the next day. This was decided at the Committee meeting of April 24. In September 1942 the Committee decided that too many people were claiming the privilege - some fraudulently - and the conditions under which it was granted had to be revised.

The British Government act on information received about conditions in Stanley - today the Legation in Berne delivers a note to the Foreign Interests Division of the Swiss Foreign Office:

The unpalatable rations issued provide a mere 900 calories per head and they are likely to be reduced. Uneatable rations are not replaced. For five days no milk at all was issued, and the small milk ration allowed is often soured before delivery. The basic rations are small amounts of rice, flour and salt....The first meal is half a slice of bread, the other two meals one small bowl of poor quality broken rice or watery soup. Beri Beri has broken out, and when, as seems inevitable in summer, tropical disease appears, the gravest epidemics are to be feared...Owing to lack of fuel the boiling of water, which might serve to avert epidemics is extremely difficult.

The British note that a similar message has been sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross but they don't seem certain about what they want the Swiss to do:

His Majesty's Government leave it to the Swiss authorities to decide what use they make of this information.

For the Swiss reply, see the entry for April 17.

Sources:

Owens: See below

Notices: MacNider Papers, 'Easter/Loan/14/Dogs/Workers'; 'Labour',19

British note: Note from the British Legation (official translation from French original) to the Foreign Interests Division, April 14, 1942 in Swiss Federal Archives (Berne)

Note:

According to a record cited by Cindy Yik-yi Chu this girl, who weighed seven and a half pounds, was the first American born in Stanley (Foreign Communities in Hong Kong, 2005, 146.)