70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

It was a strange thing too that not a single card arrived in this camp from Argyle St Camp. These cards have been a somewhat mixed blessing, those who received them were delighted, but those who did not were upset, not to say anxious. Many wives did not receive cards because their husbands had been taken away to Formosa. The absence of any card from Sham Shui Po was the first intuition that any of them had had of their husband’s removal.

No list of the casualties on the torpedoed ship Lisbon Maru has ever been sent in by the Japanese, though in many cases they have answered enquiries. However, there are many women here who will not know whether their husbands are still alive.

Joan Walkden had a miserable Christmas, poor thing, because the parcel of things she sent to Podge was returned. It was known there had been cholera in the POW camps and she did not know if Podge were dead of an epidemic, whether he had been on the ill fated Lisbon or whether he was safely in Japan. Later, she received a message somehow from the CO of Podge’s unit, saying that he was all right and that by now he hoped Joan had heard directly from Podge. So that cheered her up immensely. She gathers that Podge must have been sent to Japan.

Another large Maru ship sailed past Stanley a few days ago and the rumour has gone round the camp that another 1,000 of our troops have gone. Capt. Minn is still here – news came in. The rumour has it that all prisoners of war are being taken to Japan (not civilian prisoners) as shipping becomes available. Most wives and families are resigning themselves to this possibility and are only praying for safe transit for them (as we all are). It would be too awful if any more ships are sunk by our own allies. Harold (Bidwell) heard the news a week ago that his cousin had been lost on the Lisbon Maru unless by some lucky chance he had been picked up by a junk.

On Christmas morning we looked after Adrian for an hour while Marjorie and Tim went to the first service. Then Y and I met Maudie and we went to the 9.00 a.m. communion service and stayed on to the 10.00 service. All services had to be held in the open air because of the diptheria scare. The communion services had to be symbolical and non-participating for the same reason. The United Churches services were held on the bowling green. It was a pleasant sunny morning with a nip in the air. Jill Beavis had made a charming little ‘manger’ scene with figures of humans and cattle made in clay and coloured and dressed in scraps of material. The open toy shed was thatched with grass etc., really most attractive.

At 11.15 I rushed down to the hospital to take part in the carol singing on the green-sward outside (brown sward would be a more accurate description as everything is now parched and dried up because of the dry season – we have had very few days of rain since about the middle of August). The other people in our room prepared our Christmas lunch and we all sat down and ate it at noon. It was sumptuous. We had brought in our large table from the hall – there was only just room enough for it – dressed it with a sheet, strips of coloured material and green leaves. Isa and the Bidwells (including Mr Lammert) garnished it with some bowls (empty tins!) of nuts and sweets. The menu was as follows:

1. Oyster or fruit cocktails
2. Salmon pie with toasted bread crumbs and cheese (prepared by Marjorie)
3. Stewed meat and vegetables (Red Cross parcels)
4. Christmas pudding (made by Isa from our communal stores and Isa’s candy peel etc.)
5. Coffee
6. Nuts and sweets (Charters & Bidwells)
7. Wine Chartreur.

It really was a grand meal with just the eight of us present. We all dressed up in our best clothes – Yvonne in her going away frock and I in my one remaining suit. (Unfortunately my new ‘going away’ suit had been looted with the rest of our belongings.)

Many people in our blocks had contributed toward the block Christmas pudding, each giving about 30 cents plus 30 raisins, ¼ lb flour and some pears cut up (raisins and dried pears from the I.R.C. parcels). Everyone was issued with 1 lb flour at Christmas, those having a slice of pudding getting ¾ lb. The puddings were sewn up in empty flour sacks and boiled and they were really good – not as good as our own of course (!) but very good in the circumstances. Isa and Elaine made the pudding for our mess and it really was fine. Altogether we had enough Xmas pudding to last for 4 or 5 meals (fried up) and we certainly enjoyed it. We even put two 10 cent pieces in our own!

In the evening we had another Christmas dinner with the Corra’s and Anne Muir was there too. Poor Anne, Christmas was a pretty rotten time for her. Gordon had been killed on about the 18th or 20th last year and she had no heart for carol concerts, nativity plays etc. - in fact, somewhat naturally, they rather upset her. But she was glad to go out and see people during Christmas and not be left on her own. So we had a very nice party. The Corra’s are awfully kind people and gave us a lovely meal.

We had made three bottles of raisin wine for special occasions. We had one at lunch and took another to the Corra’s party. It really was excellent and fizzed beautifully. It had quite a tang, but needless to say it was hardly of the intoxicating variety. The third bottle we are keeping for our 2nd wedding anniversary – having resigned ourselves to the prospect of spending it as prisoners of war.

The base for the wine was raw rice and sugar in water with about 30 raisins, some slices of lemon, which someone had given us and also some slices of raw ginger which Father Murphy had given me. I went to his room to borrow his black trousers for a concert sketch and he showed me some wine he had ‘put down’ and told me all about the making of it! The third bottle should be good. I got quite tired of corks popping off the bottles during the month or so in which they matured. It wasted the wine as it fizzed over, and I dared not tie the corks down in case the bottles burst. The Corra’s had been thinking and talking a lot about Mr Corra who is in Sham Shui Po. They had heard recently that he was quite fit and well and had been receiving parcels from town.