70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

At the beginning of this month the Japanese notified the camp authorities that in the event of heavy air raids over Hong Kong, transport facilities might be so disrupted that it might be impossible to deliver the usual rations to camp and that therefore, all land not already under cultivation must be taken over by the Communal Gardeners and prepared for vegetable cultivation. They have allowed extra rations for 60 more community gardeners.This is a good sign and a wise measure although it means there will be practically no room left at all on which to sit outside in the evenings, for they propose to dig up most of the one time grass plots that surround our blocks. Our garden should be exempt, because it is not ‘uncultivated ground’. However, the Camp Gardening Committee has decided to gradually take over the rest of the beds in the Married Quarters garden (now designated No. 1 garden) still under private cultivation. Luckily for us Bert Cox who is in charge of this garden, has a good deal of sympathy for private gardeners and has told me that he will not take away our beds until all the rest of the ground has been dug up and planted out, so we may have another month even yet. I pointed out to him that in the event of an emergency all private gardeners would be willing to hand over their gardens, as they were, to the community and that in the meantime it seemed pointless to stop this form of voluntary garden labour when the camp gardens were growing so big that the gardening squads could hardly keep pace with them.

Most of the ground is now being planted out with sweet potatoes which, once they are set, need very little attention. In the summer they take from two to three months to mature from the time the cuttings are planted. For the last few weeks we have had a lot of blazing sun and very little rain and this endless watering of newly planted cuttings occupies a large number of gardeners. So Y and I will keep on with our garden though we seem doomed to work under the continual threat of loosing it. Still, we have been very lucky to keep it so long and, “Something may have happened in a month’s time,” as we keep telling each other!

I don’t know, I feel that nothing will ever happen and we shall just go on and on in this dreary way till the crack o’doom. We were certain we should be out for our birthdays this year but now I think we shall be lucky if we are out for Xmas. It is awful having no news; only rumours, in which you can place no reliance.

I have been further occupying myself of late by designing buildings of various kinds for various people. Some time ago I planned a house for Mr Deakin which he hopes to build in England when he gets out of this camp. Then Dr and Mrs Deane-Smith came to me with a rough plan for a bungalow they hope someday, to build in HK. This I straightened out into a plan for them and someday will tackle the elevations. Hopkinson, the Govt Dispenser at Queen Mary Hospital, gave me the requirements for a new Central Medical Store with offices, manufacturing lab, students’ accommodation etc. and I planned a two storied building for him. He had no site in mind for the building and I pointed out that without a definite site it was practically a waste of time to plan such a building as it’s arrangement would depend almost entirely on the site (it’s size, frontage or frontages, approaches etc.) and this plan I had produced was no more than an arrangement showing the approximate area that would be needed for such a building and an approximate idea of the cost. I’m afraid it somewhat damped his enthusiasm but perhaps it will prevent later disappointment – the wheels of Govt turn slowly!

Now the Football Club wants me to design a new clubhouse for them because apart from the fact that by now the old one has been damaged beyond repair, the existing accommodation had proved inadequate of late and it is felt that money spent now (or in the near future) on improving the club’s amenities would be money well spent.

There were sufficient committee members in this camp to form a quorum, and Jack Skinner, the last elected Chairman, convened a meeting. I, as vice-capt. Rugger was automatically a member of the committee, but hardly ever attended it’s meetings in peace time, so this meeting in camp was even more of a novelty. I, of course, was battened upon and asked to act as Hon. Architect and to prepare sketch plans for the new clubhouse. But it all seems a waste of time to do it now. The Club possesses a bowling rink or green for the encouragement chiefly of the older members. The idea is that the new Club House shall serve both the bowling green and as a members’ stand for football. Up till now the public stands had been of ‘matshed’ construction (timber poles with matting roofs) and these needed annual attention, and about tri-annual rebuilding.

All stands in Happy Valley had to be temporary structures by reason of a Military regulation. It is thought that after this war the Military authorities will permit the erection of permanent stands (concrete) as Happy Valley has proved quite unsuitable as an air base of any description (the idea in the minds of the military). In that case a bigger scheme is envisaged incorporating a club house with proper stands and including space under the stands for say a skittle alley and even a rifle range. Others talk of a squash court. We have heard that the whole of Happy Valley (race course and all playing fields) is now under cultivation by the Japanese, in which case the football pitch as well as the precious bowling green is now probably producing pumkins or sweet potatoes.

This being so I pointed out that the first thing the Club Committee should do after the war when Govt re-allocates the ground, is to get an equivalent area, only pointing N and S instead of E and W as at present, for the sun sinking in the West was always a nuisance with the pitch running E and W. The position of the football pitch would, of course, determine the arrangement of the bowling green, club house, principle stands and all the rest, so it seems again rather a waste of time to attempt to devise any scheme till we know a little of the details. In any case it will be at least one year – more probably two or three – before buildings of that type will be attempted in the Colony after the war. But the committee feels that if they can exhibit some sort of new scheme immediately, it will stimulate interest and help them raise the capital before people have invested all their money in other things! Perhaps they are right but I can’t whip up any enthusiasm for proceeding in this manner. However, no doubt it will be good for me.