14 Aug 1942, Barbara Anslow's diary | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

14 Aug 1942, Barbara Anslow's diary

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Submitted by Barbara Anslow on Wed, 2012-02-22 21:27
Book / Document: 
Barbara Anslow's diary
Date(s) of events described: 
Fri, 14 Aug 1942

Mr Stott ('Bok') at French Hospital escaped, and now no more folk are allowed to go there from camp for x-ray.  ((Stott was married to a Chinese lady.))

Rumour that 'Eagle' has been sunk, Mrs. G's boy is on her.

Vatican has sent camp $150,000 - it will be about 1 Yen each.

The rumours  of 4-point invasion of Europe are said to be false.

In evening Mum and I sat on bank outside the Leprosarium  ((as it had prewar been; now used as quarters for the doctors, as it was fairly near the camp hospital)) and talked to Dr. J. Selby.  I looked at 'Southcliffe' (holiday home) across the bay and thought about the time when I almost went there for my leave last year.

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Submitted by David on Tue, 2012-09-11 14:32.

The internees received HK$5 in September, see http://gwulo.com/node/13104 and http://gwulo.com/node/10551.

I've also found this description of money sent from the Vatican:

In June 1942, he ((Bishop Valtorta)) also established a fund with the transfer made by the Pope to help the war criminals and war victims of Hong Kong. He used 45,000 yen for the war criminals, and the Military Government gave this money to the Japanese and British wounded soldiers, the war prisoners and detained. And the subsidy distributed to the victims of war was "handed to everybody who turned up or brought to the private house, without any discrimination of race and religion", but "priority was given to the Catholic institutions, convents, orphanages, seminaries which were without food".

Does anyone know anything more about this arrangement? eg did the Vatican sent money to POWs and Internees worldwide, or was this a special arrangement for Hong Kong?

Regards, David

Submitted by David on Wed, 2012-09-12 21:27.

HMS Eagle was sunk on 11th Aug 1942:

Under attack by U73 which penetrated destroyer screen. Hit by four torpedoes and sank in eight minutes south of Majorca (Position 38.05N 03.02E). 900 of her complement of 1160 were rescued by HM Destroyers LAFOREY, LOOKOUT and a Tug.).

There is no-one surnamed Greenwood on the casualty list, so it appears Mrs G's boy was one of those rescued.

It's amazing how quickly the news reached the internees in Stanley.

Regards, David

Submitted by Admin on Mon, 2012-09-17 16:33.

Thanks to Elizabeth Ride for the following:

 I can quote from this subject, mentioned in the BAAG papers.  When Dr. Fehily escaped from Hongkong my father interviewed him, in December 1942, and a 'revised copy suitable for distribution' contained the following paragraph:
Bishop Valtorta:  Some months ago Bishop Valtorta was given $50,000 by the Pope to buy food and comforts for the internees.  To make it more acceptable to the Japanese he gave $5,000 to the wounded soldiers (Japanese and supposedly British), and in order to get the maximum for the internees he asked the Japanese to give him permission to buy food direct from the Food Central instead of upon the open market.  The Japanese dallied along not giving him permission until [inserted note here by Fehily:  "Incorrect - and only gave a definite refusal"] after they had debased the value of the Hong Kong dollar when food prices jumped from 200 to 400 per cent.  The Japanese then announced in the "Hong Kong News" that $50,000 had been given by the Pope for the wounded soldiers.  When the Bishop protested a correction was made, but it was still published under the caption "The Pope's Gift to the Wounded Soldiers".

The whole Fehily interview can be read in the BAAG papers filed under 18th December 1942 in the Heritage Project - and presumably in the Hong Kong News.