70 years ago: Hong Kong's wartime diaries

News of various kinds has come into camp lately. The Russians seem to be doing stupendous things on the Eastern Front – almost back to Kiev and the Pripet Marshes in the other sector and it looks as though they will have the Germans out of the Crimea before long; though no doubt German resistance in the South will be very determined, for if the Russians or British and Americans get into the Balkans the fighting will certainly be on Germany’s back door step. The British and American advance in Italy seems to be going forward steadily: Naples and Foggia are in our hands and the next major city is Rome. However, I’m afraid I am not one of the camp optimists who think the war in Europe will be over before the end of this year. By next Spring or Summer, perhaps.

Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten aged 43, the new Commander- in- Chief of the British Forces by land, sea and air has now arrived in India and has proceeded to New Delhi, his headquarters, so perhaps the Burma campaign will open soon.

At the beginning of this month, Zindle, who is in charge of the International Red Cross in HK received a cable from Geneva, the contents of which were published in camp. Earlier, he had cabled Geneva to ask if Red X supplies could be off-loaded at HK by the returning Teia Maru because of the grave food situation here. This reply stated that the IRC regretted that, as this repatriation scheme was an American and Canadian affair, no IRC supplies could be sent to British internees. What dismay that message caused. We had so hoped something would turn up. Actually, this arrived toward the end of Sept.

On Oct 1st I was working in the garden when Yvonne came dashing down, all excitement, to say the Canadian RX (bless them!) had cabled that they would off load 1,919 packages of Canadian stuff for the British internees in HK by the returning Teia Maru! She should be back by about the first week of Nov. There will be 1,818 cases of meat, about 35 cases of medical supplies (which are urgently needed) and the remaining packages (about 20-30 of each) are to be fruit juices and baby foods. Presumably these should be shared out amongst the Prisoners of War in Sham Shui Po and Argyle Street camps and the Stanley Camp. We don’t know how many POW remain in HK, but assuming it is about 5000, that should mean each person will get (or should) about 5 tins of bully beef each; again assuming there are 24 tins per case. Well, if this is correct, it means Y and I will get about 10 tins between us, which will last us for 40 days. We have had to reduce our consumption of meat from a tin every three days to a tin every four days – 1 ½ oz of meat each per day, and at that rate our supply will last until the first week in Nov. So with luck the ends may just meet! We eke out our meat by having the occasional egg for lunch.

Lately, we have bought 2 eggs per week at Y1.50 each (pdv £4).  These we scramble with garlic and the soya beans that Zindle has been able to purchase for the camp and we have one egg between us per day. Good Lord! I should have considered a couple of eggs with a few beans and a little rice a very inadequate lunch in pre war days, but half an egg is really rather humorous! Tinned meat is still procurable at the canteen, but it costs, now, Y8.10 per 12 oz tin (pdv£22.50 per tin) and we simply cannot afford it. We each had Y25 more at the end of last month, but this amount is now insufficient to enable us to buy meat or lard (there is inferior lard at Y11.60 per lb (pdv£32.50), tinned milk at Y9.80 per 12 oz tin or peanut oil at Y11.50 per pint (pdv 32.20). Fortunately, when we got some money from Y’s bracelet, we turned most of it into food straight away – the best way of investing money these days and bought 12 tins of meat at Y4.40 (pdv£12.50), about 3 pints of peanut oil at Y5 per pint and 4 lbs quite good lard at Y6.40 per lb. These stores we are still using. We also bought several 2 lb tins of treacle at Y7.10. Wong Tong – which is sticks of unrefined cane sugar, (something like jaggery) costs Y3.80 per lb so it is more expensive than the refined treacle! This we buy at each canteen as does everyone else. We also buy soya beans whenever we can. Last time, about a month ago they were Y2.60 per lb (3/3) (According to this diary record the Military Yen had depreciated by this stage to MY16 to £1 sterling). They are good food as they contain a good percentage of protein.

This bogey, food, stalks constantly behind us. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that we get up from every meal feeling we could eat the same amount again with the exception, perhaps, of the rice. How I wish the things in our garden would grow faster! We have a bed of tomato plants (about 4 inches high at present); a bed of carrots; so far only three sweet potato plants! But I hope it will soon be 30 when I can cadge some more cuttings; 24 Pak Choi seedlings (a kind of Chinese cabbage). Then I have planted some soya bean seeds, some pak choi sum, lettuce and Tinsin cabbage seeds. I have, too, some maize and some peanuts, which I hope to plant when I can get a bed ready. Really, these latter seeds should not be planted till about Feb. so I don’t suppose it is much good putting them in now. Corn on the cob will be a great delicacy. I still hope I shall not be here to see it mature, but I will leave it all with a light heart if we hear we are to be repatriated.

The latest repatriation news is that the C.S. has been requested by the Japanese to prepare three lists. (a)  those whose supporters are in POW camps, (b) those whose supporters had been killed during the war and (c) all other families in camp. It doesn’t tell us much, but of course, it has started a good deal of speculation. The most hopeful suggestion is that everyone, men as well as women, are going to be repatriated and that those lists are to decide the priority of embarkation, the idea being to keep families together as far as possible. What is to happen to the unattached men and women here has not been explained.

Dr Talbott and Mr Streatfield were released from prison on the first of this month and have returned to camp. They were both in poor physical condition and were taken along to the hospital for treatment. Now they are gradually improving. Sir Vandeleur Grayburn should have been released with them and not at the end of August as I thought.

Yesterday Mr Copeland, of Messrs Jardines Ltd, died in hospital. It is said that he is the first case of a death in camp really attributable to malnutrition. The usual BCC bulletin has not yet come out but it will be interesting to see if they mention the cause of death. In his case it must have meant that constant malnutrition lowered his physical condition and powers of resistance to such an extent that he succumbed where in normal conditions he would have recovered quite easily. How important it is to keep well here.

I have been suffering for the last day or two from a slightly septic foot. Like many other people I have been walking about a bit in bare feet to save footwear for the cold weather. I contrived a small cut on the sole of my left foot which went unnoticed or, rather, uncared for by me (I must confess) and some dirt evidently found it’s way far enough in to give trouble and my foot became a little tender and slightly inflamed on top. Also a gland in my groin started to swell slightly. However it was snicked open this morning with a sharp pair of scissors and strepticide ointment applied, and now, apart from being a trifle sore, is much better I think.

One happy sequel to the Canadian evacuation was the arrival, in the Teia Maru of children from Shanghai whose parents are interned in this camp. They had all been to St Giles School in Sing Tao and were sent to Shanghai after the Japanese occupation, where, after living for about a year in a private house with an English guardian with comparatively light restrictions from the Japanese, they were eventually interned with the other internees in a civilian internment camp. These children were the two sons of Dr and Mrs Valentine, aged about 10 and 12; the Stanton’s son aged 11 and Alec and Susie Pott’s son of a similar age. These family reunions were a very happy event. They have been questioned about the conditions in Shanghai and a report was made out and circulated about the camp.

The Shanghai people have certainly been pretty well off and very lucky compared with us. To begin with they were given quite good notice of their impending internment (not the 1 ½ hours as in our case!) and were actually told the date, on which they were to proceed to internment, 10 days in advance. They had to report at, I think, the Country Club, where lorries and buses were available to transport them and their luggage to the camps. They therefore were able to take in whole trunks of clothes and provisions instead of the scanty hand-bags that we brought.