12 Dec 1941, A. H. Potts' wartime diary

Susie, who still had the use of our small car was sleeping at home and going to the hospital every morning.  However, on the 12th the Army Pool was moved from Happy Valley to Shouson Hill and I was unable to keep her supplied with gasoline;  there were no public pumps operating, so not being able to use her car she found our house too far from the hospital and went to stay with her mother whose house ((Alberose)) is next door to the hospital, and Uncle Pat moved down to our neighbour’s house, just below us.  He is an old Turk named Landau who ran a very profitable restaurant business.

Susie had the very good sense to pack up all our silverware, glassware, winter clothes etc which she took over to her mother’s place, also our new radio, otherwise we should have lost everything as I will tell you later.

We just got back to Happy Valley at dawn on the twelfth and turned in for a few hours;  the VCC had been instructed to pack up from Happy Valley and move to Shouson Hill only leaving a skeleton of vehicles and personnel but the coolie labour which we were employing was to remain with Gidley in charge.

We packed up after tiffin and moved out to Shouson Hill, which is named after Sir Shouson Chow who together with a number of his friends developed the hill into a residential district of some twenty odd homes before the Army had built the magazines.  

This area had been allotted to the RASC in the event of a move to the south side of the island being necessary.

Col. Andrews-Levinge the CRASC lived in a bungalow which was selected as our HQ and Officers Mess;  just below it and easily accessible was a very large house in which the men were quartered, and there were various other houses and bungalows where the officers slept.  I slept at Eric Grimble’s bungalow, a charming little place near the top of the hill overlooking Deepwater Bay and Aberdeen.

That evening we drew 9.2 inch shells for Stanley from Shouson Hill magazine which was an easy job as the magazines were within half a mile of our vehicle park.  We only made one trip as Mount Davis had not asked for any more and Stanley was satisfied with the one load so we were back at Shouson Hill before midnight.

I had just turned in and was looking forward to a good night’s rest when I was told to go to the big house where all the men were living, and order them to stand by, and be prepared for any emergency as it was thought the Japs were contemplating a landing on some of the beaches.

We placed Lewis guns and rifles on a site which commanded the flats around Aberdeen and small groups in other strategic places but after standing to for about an hour we were told to pack up and the rest of the night passed away quietly.