12 Mar 1944, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp
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The London Sunday Express (page 4) carries an article based on the testimony of a Canadian repatriate who's recently arrived in Britain. It makes grim reading for the families of the internees:
Conditions are dreadful in Stanley, and I shudder to think what's going to happen to those people if help isn't sent quickly. We were all almost at the end of our tether when we left nearly two months ago. ((September 23 1943.)) There just isn't the food in Hong Kong to feed those people.
She goes on to describe small gifts of money from the Red Cross - which don't go very far because food is 'fifty times' its pre-war price, and many items are unobtainable anyway.
She claims the outside world has not been properly informed of conditions in the Camp to spare people's feelings.
The only improvement has been that they are now getting an 8 ounce loaf of bread instead of the half ounce half inch thick slice of a year ago and the fact that the camp doctors were issuing Vitamin B.extract three times a week In her last month in camp she received a daily tablespoon of yeast.
Nevertheless morale was wonderful - in spite of basic rations of less than 8 ounces of rice and two ounces of meat or fish daily.
Sadly things were about to get worse: the bread issue will disappear in February and meat will come off the menu at the same time- until an intermittent re-appearance in 1945. The rice ration will be increased, and amazingly that plus a small issue of low quality vegetables will keep almost everyone alive until liberation.
