Diary of George Gerrard in Stanley Internment Camp Hong Kong: View pages

Since my last notes I have been through the mill and had a most trying time even to the extent of nearly having crossed the border into the unknown. However I am still in the land of the living and feeling very much better and on the road to recovery.

To start with I had my first motion on Monday Boy Oh Boy I was hit for six straight over the boundary wall. I never felt such excruciating pain in my life, my next motion was easier and so was the next so that after that no pain was felt. Then unfortunately I developed more trouble with passing water evidently owing to a large amount of albumen being present, the pain being in the nature of a hot sharp needles. However these were small worries as I started to run up a temperature and this gave the doctors and sisters serious concern.

By Saturday 28th October I was becoming in a precarious condition with my temperature soaring, Streptocide (sulphathiozole) and quinine were being pumped into me every four hours night and day. Sunday still very bad with temperature soaring up to 105.6F but the change came on early Monday morning when I at long last broke sweat and it poured out of me like a river. I forgot to say that I also got a huge injection into my hip. However the sweating was the turning point and tho' I was still very ill for the next two days, my life had been saved. Thank God. 

However I am now on the mend and free from fever and getting my appetite back slowly. They stopped giving me streptocide as from noon on Friday, but still continuing with the quinine. Prof Digby and Dr Kirk gave me the full benefit of their experience during my bad attack and did everything for me so also did the sisters especially Sister McLeanon ((maybe Sister McLellan?)).

Prof Digby hopes to remove a tag from my bottom I think about Wednesday next using a local. It isn't very much but is an irritation and not quite the finished job. Otherwise my bottom is top hole and later I should never be bothered with bleeding piles any more. Everyone has been most solicitous on my behalf with J. Finnie and D. Bone very anxious fortunately most kind.

Now thanks a lot for your dear and loving letter of 4th July 1943 which I received on Thursday 26th October it was just grand and oh so loving and encouraging Nell. Later Prof Digby told me of the grave and anxious time I had given them, real anxiety was felt by him especially.

Still in hospital and not doing as well as I had hoped. My waterworks have gone back on me with the passing of urine like red hot needles in other words there is a lot of albumen in my urine and so I have been put on to streptocide again every four hours night and day. This streptocide or sulphathiozole is the cure for many ills but leaving one very muzzy, palpitation, funny in the tummy and the head like as if trains were passing through' and shutters being pulled down. The Professor has not yet snipped the tag off my bottom, but I hope I'll be all right soon and get out of hospital by say the end of this month.

Nimitz and Fraser may be here very soon so I'll have to be ready, in any case I want to be back to my job in the Block. Conditions are very bad in the camp with the water supply being off for two days and only on for one day, no electric light, salt sprats, poor vegetables everyone undernourished and suffering from malnutrition, the place is swarming with flies and mosquitoes.

My weight last Friday was 142 lbs. The milk powder from the Canadian Red Cross parcels and egg yolk from the Canadians are life savers. Canteen prices are terribly high with egg yolk 5.50 Yen per 1/2lb, wong tong 6.35 Yen per 1/2lb, salt bran etc. also very high.

It is generally speaking a sad state of affairs and if Japan thinks they are still a first rate power the Lord help them, they are now losing their captured territory bit by bit and we hope it will be our turn to be relieved very soon.

I came out of hospital on Thursday 30th November (St. Andrews' Day). I persuaded Prof Digby to give me my discharge as there seemed to be little chance of him having the time or opportunity to snip the tag off my bottom. I shall go back to the hospital at the beginning of the New Year and get it done then.

The trouble of course is that the longer one stays there one is apt to get hospitalised and then with the water being off two days out of three the Professor is limited to operations the day the water is on and besides he has a large number of serious operations to perform like hernias, gall bladders and what have you. I was in hospital 8 weeks much longer than I expected.

I was glad to get back to the room and to my own job of quartermaster for the block for which work I get a little extra food and today that is all important, as in hospital when I was convalescent I was always starving. I am feeling fit and well, but the trouble of the jag in my bottom, which is a haemorrhoid rolled out, is that I'll ulcer until it is removed, be able to clean my bottom as it should be and so I always have a piece of cotton wool in the crutch.

The weather is very cold now especially at night-time and the cold makes us hungrier and we all feel that we have had enough of Stanley and this confinement. However we can stick it until the Union Jack flies in Hong Kong again. 

The news in Europe and out East continues to be good. Raids over Hong Kong nearly every night which shows we are not forgotten and cheery to us.

I was highly delighted and thrilled when I received your lovely and loving letter of 2/2/44 which being of this years vintage brought us close together. I was very pleased and quite excited to know that you had received a letter from Bill Buchannan who would give you his latest news of me. Bill was a great lad, a real good sort and it was grand of him to write you after he returned to his home in Canada. I hope more letters come soon. I 'm really very greedy for more.

Things are going on all right here and it is hoped to give our people at St. Steven's quite a good Christmas meal tomorrow. We are doing the best we can under difficult circumstances, Congee in the morning with soya bean flour, oil and soya sauce in it should help to make it more than usual tasty. Mid day (11.15 am) the extra will be a rice flour sweet pudding or loaf and at the evening meal a large slice of tart with egg yolk, wong tong and pumpkin in it.

We have also had a flour and bran loaf issued to us today, the first bread we have had since early in the year when the flour stock ran out. The canteen have helped in a way by having a special issue of rice flour, noodles, sweet Chinese biscuits and syrup but at ghastly prices. Just imagine a tin of Taikoo syrup at 64 Yen. The biscuits at 13 Yen for 1/4lb. No parcels have come to me this time from our Taikoo people so the assumption is that most of them have gone to Macau or are in poor circumstances.

I saw Prof. Digby on the 19th and he wants me to come into hospital again on Monday 1st January to have my tag taken off. A good start for the New Year. 

This week we received our first allowance for several months, when we received 12.50 Yen which is only sufficient to buy 1/2lb wong tong costing 11.85 Yen.

The news is still good except for the set back on the Western Front. The lads visit us either every night or at night-time and sometimes give Hong Kong or its' merchants a right good smashing. There is a small vessel left smack in Stanley Bay at present, our only light is that the vessel is so small, a larger one would have pleased us most.

Bungalow F where Finnie and Robert's live is to be closed down early in the New Year, where they are going to go is a problem. Bone and I still go there on a Saturday but owing to the restriction in the curfew hour which is now 6 o'clock whereas previously it was at 8 pm, so we go on Saturday afternoons instead, have a cup of tea and --- in going a smoke and a yarn.

A Happier New Year to you Helen. I do hope that this one will see us reunited. I think and feel that the prospects are better than they have ever been, so let's hope. Judging by the news little tho' it is, we feel confident that Germany will crack under pressure very soon and naturally the squeeze on Japan will be so great shortly that her day of reckoning cannot last much longer.

Thanks a whole lot for the lovely loving letter of 9/5/43 which I received from you on Thursday 4th January. It was splendid and it is always such a thrill to see your handwriting and read your cheery message of hope. It is also fine to know that you were still enjoying your work in Inverness. I'm very curious to know what type of business you are doing as you said in a previous letter it was a new line for you. However I'll learn of that on our happy day.

Well on Monday 1st January I made a start of the New Year by being on the operating table. Prof. Digby called me along to the theatre where he trussed me up with my legs and feet in the air, injected a local anaesthetic, a jag or two to nullify the pain of cutting off the tag, found another small tag and did likewise with it and then stitched up the larger tag. The whole business only taking about half an hour and then back to bed. I had no real after effects, just a swimming of the head, like having one over the nine or being on board ships. It didn't affect my appetite in anyway.

John Willey and his wife came in the afternoon with lots of things for me to eat which I thoroughly enjoyed. On Friday morning the Prof took out the stitches in my bot so I should be out in another day or two. I have no trouble when at the lavatory so I should be all right with my rectum for a while to come.

Bungalow F where J.F. and C.C.R. live is to be closed owing to so the Japs say, being too close to the wire and possible trading by the Indians and the Formosan guards and so the residents there are being split some to St. Stephens and elsewhere and the Indian mosque at the Indian Quarters is being opened up to take 9 of them. J.F. and C.C.R. go there.

We were to get one more in our room but we kicked hard against, N.D.M. and myself especially said our piece and eventually we won the day. The chap coming in was all right (Miller) but it was the urgency in which it was being done that got our goats as there is tons of room for many more than 9 in the mosque and the up point is that as Quarter Masters. for the block I require more room than other people as I usually have all sorts of things cluttering up my small corner.

The weather is still very cold and raw and difficult to keep warm with our inefficiency of clothing. However we will win through all right.

Fire over Hong Kong. Yesterday and today. We have been subjected to a real blitz by the American Air Force. We had a real taste of their might, unfortunately with tragedy to themselves and to ourselves.

Yesterday the raid was heavy and we were in high spirits at the strafing both Hong Kong and what we presumed was the New Territory and also shipping. However today the first relay of bombers came over at 8.45 am and kept up a continuous bombing of Hong Kong and even near to us.

Waves of bombers came over and this continued to 12 noon, when there was quiet, but not for long for about 2 pm more came over and we saw 8 planes in one formation and 5 in another just close behind. They appeared like silver bullets in the sky when suddenly we saw the left hand plane in the first formation swing over to the right and strike his companion. A terrific sheet of flame shot out and the first plane came lurching down, but the pilot bailed out and then the second plane made a big effort to get under control but to no avail, the fellow jumped but was caught in his incline and eventually crashed in the region of Mount Parker, also a wing came slowly to the ground.

Wave after wave of planes came over until later about between five and six o'clock, while I was collecting my chow in the front hall of St. Stephens, planes dropped bombs on a lighter, a crane barge and a sunken vessel in Stanley Bay. The water spouted high and the explosion was terrific. Then another was dropped and this unfortunately landed in the compound, between the garage and C bungalow.

The walls of the garage collapsed and the roof fell in and killed Adam Holland, G. Willoughby, Mrs Davis and Mrs Guerin, the first two were living in the garage and the other two ran there for shelter. The whole back of the bungalow was blown in, we imagine it was a 50 lb bomb and 10 more people were killed so that out of a total of resident strength of 28 of whom 2 were elsewhere 14 people were killed including Mr and Mrs Alec Hyde Lay. Mrs MacLeod and Bobby Taylor had miraculous escapes. Some were injured slightly but all the survivors suffered from shock. The following is the death roll, O. Eager, Alec and Betty Hyde Lay, Mr and Mrs G. Searle, J. Dennis, A. Holland, G. Willoughby, Stopani Johnson, Balfour, Bishop, Mrs Guerin, Mrs Davis, Mrs Johnson, 9 men and 5 women. Their bodies were brought from C bungalow and placed just outside our back window in the courtyard between blocks 8 and 9.

It was a terrible calamity to happen in this camp, but one must face the facts that war is a terrible thing. All are to be buried tomorrow in one grave. We could see fires all over Hong Kong and these carried on well into the night.

Another incident I saw was a plane crashing down into Tyki Bay, at any rate I couldn't see him come out of his dive. All this would appear to us as if an invasion of Hong Kong is not far off. We hope there is a task force not far away. It seemed to us that the planes were all carrier borne.

Thanks for your wonderful reply of 9th August '43 on the back of the Red Cross letter I sent to you on 16th July '42 which I received on 2nd February '45 so that it is a well and long travelled form isn't it astounding how a message to you and back to me should take such a time as 31 months to go and come back.

What I'm now longing for is to send you a telegram and have a reply back in say less than a week. That happy event may come our way very soon we hope. I also received your loving letter of 14th February '44 on the 7th February '45 and I'm very pleased to know that you were all right then. The post mark is also Edinburgh so I'm entitled to think that you are now staying and working in Auld Reekie. Good Luck Lass.

The weather here has been terrifically cold, really cold and said by the observatory people to be the coldest and longest stretch of cold weather Hong Kong has had for 40 years. Whether that is true or not the thermometer registers cold and of course our condition being so poor and malnutrition effecting everyone the long spell of cold is really hateful and I fell it very much.

I have a bath about once a week and go to the block kitchen for it where it is warm and I get warm water by privilege. I think that I felt that a cold shower which I formerly was so fond of would give me either an apoplectic fit or total collapse, so I'm not having any until it gets warmer.

Yesterday, 13th was the Chinese New Years Day. Quite a squadron of Japanese Naval Ships was spotted near to Stanley yesterday evening presumably on their way North probably escaping from the Southern regions. I hope our lads nab them before they get very far.

The food is still very poor and we have all been vegetarians for the past fortnight as it is exactly two weeks since the Japs sent us any fish, not that it makes much difference as we get very little of that. The Japs are asking us for our menus and as no quantities are being shown against the vegetables and water and rice it would appear that this is for propaganda purposes to tell the world how kind they are to us. I don't think.

The black market is going strong in Stanley with trading over the wire by the Indians much to the displeasure of the local guards who wish to make all the squeeze, pork 500 Yen a catty, wong tong 120 Yen lb., duck eggs 40 Yen each. Incidentally I had one a couple of days ago fried and oh boy it was great. I could have eaten six with a pound of sausages which would have been a lightener.

Canteen prices are very expensive, 1 box of matches 4 Yen, egg yolk 14 Yen for 3 oz, salt 5Yen for 1/4lb, bran 12 Yen for 1/2lb, wong tong 19 Yen for 1/2lb, other articles fabulous prices and so on. Cigarettes in the Black Market are approx. 25-28 Yen a packet of 10. People are selling anything and everything gold rings, watches, diamonds etc. to the guards for Yen to buy food.

The committee have me asked to continue the work I have been doing, but a change in name of office to Rations Officer instead of Quarter Masters. so that my work will be much as before and I'm also in charge of the distribution of parcels when they come in. I don't get any extra rations of course I wouldn't have accepted that in any case. I am now on bran, juice and nicotine acid as I'm very deficient in vitamins A and B and all the others as well.

The weather fortunately has become warmer and more pleasant Two postcards dated 21/9/44 and 11/7/44 arrived.

I have had a busy week of it with the distribution of parcels, which are just the 'lap sap' of the parcels which came by the Kamakara Maru at the end of 1942. It is very disappointing as we fully expected to get American parcels and bulk supplies but evidently there is none of that tho' there are some clothes and medical supplies. There are also some private parcels and I'm just the lucky one thanks to you Nell.

After I distributed the parcels one to each resident there was a terrible lot of blown and damaged stuff. All that had to be collected and listed and replacements obtained. These parcels were in terrible condition having either been in Hong Kong or Japan for over two years but nevertheless we are very grateful to get them. My parcel contained soap, tea, sugar, pasta, cloves, biscuits, carlton pudding, margarine, tomatoes, marmalade, condensed milk, bacon, steak, tapioca pudding and meat gelatine. Lords parcel similar to that we'd in November 1942.

There is not much to record except to say that we are making preparations in case there should be a landing here and food difficult to obtain during the first few days. I have taken charge of a tin of mutton per head and tins of seize biscuits equivalent to 38 biscuits per head also other biscuits are being made in camp, also I do a bit of cooking myself. I keep back part of my rice stew or fish and make up with the addition to rice flour a number of pancakes which I keep until the next day so that I'll always have something. Then from my last parcel I have a tin of steak and to do and a tin of calton pudding just in case of necessary. The cost of everything is very dear especially in the Black Market and to but some extras I have sold certain things. Of course the value of the Yen has depreciated so much that its value is now negligible.

The news is excellent and I feel sure that by this time Germany has packed in tho' we haven't been told that yet. The Japs are preparing junk holes or machine gun nests all along the coast covering the beaches in the event of an attack or a landing. It will avail them little when our lads really get cracking. Blasting into the rocks goes on night and day, nevertheless I feel that the Japs will fade out and not put up a fight here.