70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Things have been happening of late: air raids for one. Last Thursday we were rejoicing in our first evening with lights after the usual monthly black-out (which generally lasts 10-12 days), had just finished supper and were settling down to strain our eyes by reading – we have in our 18’ x 15’ room, two magnificent lights, one being 25 watts and the other 15 – when all the lights in camp, in the prison, and, in fact over the whole Colony suddenly went out. We had heard the hum of what sounded like a couple of planes, but I took them to be Japs and paid no attention. Soon after the lights went out we heard some explosions in the direction of the harbour, but no AA fire - the defence units were evidently caught unawares. Switching off the current suddenly at the power station is, I believe, a bad thing for the plant and machinery, and after this period of time, when spare parts are hard to come by, it must be quite a problem to keep the HK Electric Power Station going.

During the next day the current went off twice (much to the annoyance of the cooks, bakers and water boilers) and then stayed off altogether towards the evening. However, that did not prevent a raid, and just after the waning moon had risen at about 12.20 there was another small raid.

The next night, Saturday, we were wakened by the roar of engines or an engine which came in very low, right over the camp. I thought it sounded like a single plane but other people seem to think there were about 3. This time we saw tracer shells going up and heard detonations, though not such heavy ones as in earlier raids. One search light blinked on for a brief moment (the first search-light seen in a night raid here) but it was promptly attacked by one of the planes, I am told, and went out again. There was a glow in the sky after the raid which looked as if a big fire had been started, but a heavy rain storm, which broke soon after the raid, put that out.

Then on Sunday at mid-day the electric bells, which have been fixed at various points in the camp, sounded the air-raid alarm. The guards came rushing around and chased everone in doors, but we heard nothing and after an hour or so the ‘all clear’ sounded. These raids have not been heavy, but in view of the approaching American forces in the Pacific and Admiral Chester Nimitz’s statement that he intended to attack the China coast somewhere in the South, these raids are quite exciting. They may have been carried out as a form of reconnaissance raid and may be a prelude to heavier attacks and finally an invasion by the Americans! We hope and pray that this may be so.

I am so absolutely sick of just existing here that, for myself, I would welcome the stimulus of an invasion, whatever danger it brought with it, though I would wish Yvonne safely out of the way. The physical condition of everyone in camp is so poor that we should be of little use, I fear, if it came to trying to take an active part. However, any invasion of HK is almost sure to start from the mainland and end with the Island and in that case Stanley would be about the last place to be involved (as happened with the Japanese invasion).