5 May 1942, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

A chess tournament begins. Some Maryknollers send ten word telegrams and wonder if they and the previous postcards will ever arrive.

A 'handful' of Stanleyites are included in the first of three repatritions to Shanghai. Most of those on board the Tainan Maru are third-national sailors and Hong Kong residents, including some members of the wealthy Kadoorie family. The Belgian Consul and his family also leave, and there are both White Russians and the crew of a Soviet cargo ship trapped by the fighting - the NKVD (Russian secret police) put a stop to some incipient romances and other forms of fraternisation between the two politically opposed groups.

Sources:

Chess: Maryknoll Diary, May 5, 1942

Repatriation: Tony Banham, We Shall Suffer There, 2009, May 5, 1942

Note: John Stericker, who dates these telegrams to May 10, says that they were routed throughTokyo and that all were delayed and some never arrived:

John Stericker, A Tear For The Dragon, 1958, 173