29 Nov 1942, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

29 Nov 1942, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

Date(s) of events described: 
Sun, 29 Nov 1942

The POWs in Shamshuipo receive their first Red Cross parcel.

It comes at a time during which diphtheria is regularly claiming lives and almost everyone is ill with one or more of the diseases of malnutrition.

The effect can hardly be exaggerated; for some, it's a literal life-saver - when Jean-Paul Dallain gets his he's too weak to open it, but the contents eventually set him on the road to recovery. 

For everyone it's a powerful experience. 'Blackie' Verrault writes in his diary tonight:

I just ate a chocolate bar and cried doing it.

Some men will never receive another parcel.

Source:

Nathan Greenfield, The Damned, 2010, Kindle Location 4279-4293