70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

Someone in camp has a book with the silhouettes of all the types of battleships in the world, commissioned before 1936 or thereabout and the two that passed yesterday were identified as belonging to the Iash or Iasay (or some such name) built during the last war, of 29,000 ton displacement, with a max speed of 23 knots and an armament of 12 x 12”guns.  Some say 12 x 15” guns but the former seems more likely. They certainly looked pretty old models with their very high control towers and squarish lines.

((It is likely that these two battleships were sister ships of the Ise class, Ise and Hyuga completed in 1918 with 12 x 14”guns. After the loss of 4 aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway the IJN decided they needed to quickly supplement their fleet air protection capability and Ise and Hyuga were converted to battleship–carriers. With their rear turrets removed they could carry up to 22 float planes launched off the stern by catapault. Ise and Hyuga left Singapore on 10th February in the company of 3 destroyers and a light cruiser before successfully reaching Japan on 20th February, carrying oil and rubber supplies as well as nearly 1000 oil field workers. Although allied intelligence were aware of this Completion Force, as it was designated, and although they deployed 26 submarines along their route to sink them, as well as conducting sorties by approximately 100 land based aircraft, the poor weather with low cloud and visibility, deliberately chosen by the Japanese as the time to attempt the breakout, prevented any successful attacks. Both ships were subsequently sunk at Kure naval base in July 1945.))
 
Two more destroyers came in this morning coming from the North. During the night a plane or two was buzzing about and there was one colossal rumble of explosions which awakened most of us. There has been some heavy bombing recently near the Lema Islands and Waglan and, as a result, scores of dead fish have been floating about and have been caught up on the local beaches. The Formosans have been collecting them (unfortunately they wont let us get them) and we can see numerous sampans being paddled about by Chinese who pick them out of the water. We have had no more fish since I last mentioned the subject.

There are a great number of planes buzzing about just now. I think they are Japs. It is terribly bad weather for air activities at present. If it would only clear up, things might begin to happen. We hear that England and Europe are experiencing the bitterest weather for 50 years and that ice has drifted down to parts of the British coast. If this is so it seems that the whole of the world (Northern hemisphere anyway) is experiencing exceptional weather.

The plight of the refugees in Germany does not bear thinking of. We hear that thousands are flocking to Berlin where they are given rations for three days and sent on. There must be more than a grain of truth in this story. Poor things! What a terrible plight especially for the old people and people with children in the bitter weather. They seem to be faced with two hopeless alternatives – the promise of their own leaders of a condition worse than death if the nation gives up the struggle; or sure destruction by the armies closing in on them.

What an astonishing grip the Nazi party still seem to have on the nation – they seem now to have embarked on a policy of sheer national suicide. What a pitiless and barbarous thing is modern war – or any other war – and how senseless. Seeds of bitterness have been sown which will take generations to uproot. If only they would see that further resistance is futile. One cannot help admiring their dogged, if senseless resistance in the face of overwhelming odds. I suppose we British would probably behave in the same way if the positions were reversed. So is this going to be the last war? Will the peace settlement hold out hopes of permanent peace or will fear and hate ruin the chances again?

I confess I am fearful of Russia’s attitude and policy. I feel something better than the old kind of capitalism is necessary – a greater levelling up of mankind as a whole – but I mistrust communism. Sir William Beveridge’s scheme for national insurance, education and medical attention in Britain seems (from what little we know of it) a great stride in the right direction. I remember in 1931 and 32, when I was playing in the London University Rugby team, Sir William was President of the University Rugger club and he used occasionally to come and watch matches and chat afterwards with the team. Also, he was photographed with the team (I’m afraid my two team photographs must have been looted with the rest of our goods from our flat). Little did we think, in those days, that he would become so important a personage.

A few days ago “a perpetual blackout until further notice” was ordered in camp. Now we cannot use even our little oil lamps. Y and I have our supper at 7.30 p.m. by which time it is too dark to read or write. Then at about 8 p.m. we walk round and round the blocks for 20 minutes or half an hour to warm up before going to bed. After that there really isn’t anything to do but go to bed! I usually try to sit up till 9 or 9.3 p.m. unless I begin to get cold again. Otherwise, I wake up at some unearthly hour and will just be waiting for the day to dawn.

Half of Feb. gone, thank goodness. It is still perishingly cold and most or at any rate, many people are suffering from chillblanes. Well, we have already had a wet Chinese New Year which, according to the Chinese, means a good year for crops. Last New Year was dry and it certainly proved a very bad season for the gardens. We have been told we can retain the remainder of our garden until the 15th April, so things might have been much worse. Our carrots have done quite well and at present we are eating chiefly carrots and carrot tops made into stews with a little ground rice, or curried with the garlic and chillies.

Block lectures have been organised and, they are a very good thing, though some are rather poor. These take place every Monday and Thursday. On Tuesdays Miss Gibbens (Headmistress of the Diocesan Girls School in HK) lectures on European history (continental) from Napoleonic times to the 1914 war. These are exceptionally good and instructive and Y and I go regularly. We are fortunate to have her in these blocks. The lectures began at 7.30 p.m. and that means I begin to feel hungry again before I go to bed! I have tried keeping a little to eat when I come back, but it really is most difficult and uncomfortable to eat in the dark. However, the evenings are slowly drawing out now, which is a blessing. If we don’t eat something before we go to the lectures we find we get so hungry that we simply cannot concentrate on the subject! It is awful! Incidentally I think most of us are going to have difficulty, at first, in concentrating for any length of time on any subject.