70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Now we hear that Dr Selwyne-Clarke has also been arrested. I don’t know if he has had any connection with this money business.

In the early days of these HK camps he did a great deal for the prisoners. He managed to send in help and supplies where the Japanese would not lift a finger. As director of Medical Services he was of use to the Japanese in maintaining to a small extent, the functioning of medical services in the Colony and also, until the official Red Cross Representative arrived, the Japs found it useful for him to act unofficially in that kind of capacity. At all events, it was lucky for us that they allowed him to remain outside. Now I think the only British remaining in town are the HK Bank people. There cannot be very many of them.

What exactly they are doing I do not know. They have been signing and issuing HK Bank notes for the Japanese; that we know, though as all the bullion here was transferred to the bank of England before the war, the issue of these notes is doing no more than inflate the local currency.