8 Dec 1941, Sheridan's diary of the hostilities

((Note: Today’s entry describes the start of hostilities and the setting up of a Field Bakery on the golf course at Deepwater Bay.))

 My room mate is called at 4.30a.m. so I get up and dress and report to the Bakery. Pte. Campbell the clerk on duty tells me that a state of emergency exists and that we are to carry out the dispersal order as soon as the transport arrives. I go and fetch Sgt. Hammond ((James Hammond, another Master Baker)) out of bed. I contact the Transport Officer, Major Dewar about our transport and coolies, he says he will do his best to get them to us. Meanwhile Hammond and I with some of the Chinese bakers decide to start getting the (Priority A) bakery equipment out of the store. However, the keys are held by an officer who lives over in Kowloon. So I decide to break the lock in order to enter the store. Meanwhile some coolies turn up and we put them to work carrying the stores down some very narrow awkward steps outside the store. A few lorries turn up about 6.40a.m. and we commence to load. About 7a.m. we notice some planes over Kai Tak Air Force base and thought this was rather unusual as we knew there were only three RAF planes. Then the AA guns opened up on Stonecutters Island. We could see the white puffs of the shells in amongst the plumes, as well as hearing the explosions of bombs. We now realised they were Japanese bombers attacking Kai Tak aerodrome. The coolies now started to panic and I got Hammond to shut the Depot gates and stand guard with his rifle. We kept them working hard to load the first three lorries.

I leave for Deepwater Bay with the first three lorries and some coolies. Pte. Edwards is left to see the remainder of the equipment is loaded, whilst Sgt. Hammond goes to the Naval Dockyard with a lorry and some coolies to collect a Perkins oven which had been in for repair. On arrival at Deepwater Bay whilst some of the coolies unload the lorries, I set others to work building the 1^st 10 Aldershot ovens. It seems a shame to dig up the nice green turf on the green in front of the clubhouse. There are no golfers about now. Good progress is made as I use the verandah as my Bakery with all the dough troughs set out in a convenient way.

The Hong Kong Volunteer Defence force have been mobilised. Sgt. Jan ((actually Ernest)) Tuck and Cpl. Bonner ((Ernest Tuck and Horace Bonner had previously been attached to the RASC Bakery as part of their HKVDC duties)) report to me and are a great help. Both can speak a fair amount of Chinese. We get the ten ovens erected and fired before dark, also one Perkins coke oven was erected on the verandah. We use army blankets to black out the verandah. It is quite spacious with good room to work, dough making and moulding. The front of the Perkins oven rests on the parapet of the verandah. I am hoping to be able to erect two more the same way. The Aldershot ovens are about 15 yds away from the verandah. We have a good supply of wood and I see no reason why we should not be able to keep the supply of bread to all the troops. We manage to grab some food during the day as best as we can. The coolies have to be given some rice and bread. We keep working until midnight then get down to sleep on the verandah.