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

Peace in Europe at long last. I always remember the German broadcast say 'England always stood for the Was but Germany will finish it once and for all' Well it is finished and we hope once and for all but in a vastly different manner from what he had intended and we trust and longingly hope that all war will soon be finished out here as well. The might of the world is against Japan so she had better pack in while the going is good and at least save something (that is her country) from the wreck which is inevitable if she continues.

Surely wiser leaders in Japan will have the common sense to see her destruction looming ahead. I see by the paper that the jubilation in New York and London far surpassed 1918. We tried to be cheery here but had nothing to celebrate on, poor vegetables and rice only and this is one of these very stormy days, high winds and very wet then it is the day on which the water is on. Tom Weller hid a bottle of current wine kept over and made when the Canadian parcels came and this he opened and we each had a small mouthful and Andrew McBride being flush gave each of us a cigarette.

The food just now is at its lowest ebb, due principally to our terrific blockade and also to the bombing of all the craft on the way here from Canton and other river ports. However we can stick it out and trust our release will be soon. 

There are lots of rumours about repatriation to Manila and Ceylon ,but I've my doubts. We were the first to be captured and I think the last to be relieved. ' The first shall be the last'.

We have not been allowed to write our usual postcards for March, April and no sign yet of any for May, the last one I wrote being for February. The Japs assure us that the necessary postcards are not yet to hand, in other words even if we wrote them they couldn't get away in any case owing to no shipping getting here. It seems a long time since any ships made the port of Hong Kong unless they now use the Lyemma entrance which they haven't done previously.

Life goes on here as usual, a lousy life, living so close to one another, arguments, quarrels, joy at the news, laughter at some silly cases and so on but nothing constructive. My eyesight is not so good nowadays and my memory for things that happen and things said is not retentive also I am having a lot of intermittent malaria with headaches and fever every second day and sometimes on successive days. J.T. has given me some quinine which I hope will help. My weight still remains about 150 lbs.

I wasn't able to finish my notes last Wednesday as I developed a terrific fever and had to lie down then in the early hours of the morning bowels just opened wide and in the morning I made an attempt to the lavatory but only got half way and Davie Bone managed to revive me and bring me back to bed. I suffered a lot from looseness, red hot urine, fever and terrific shattering headache and finally was forced into Tweed Bay Hospital on Monday night 29th May. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I was very lousy and spent a measurable time both day and night, but I'm glad and thankful to say that today I am more like myself tho' still very weak and not yet allowed up. My water works got into a bad way and generally speaking I am not as well and as strong as I used to be. I'm on Sulphathiazole, 2 tablets every 4 hours and they are a splendid cure all right.

This time I am in ward no 3 the Medical ward and double the number of beds to ward 1 but not nearly so dreary. I'm benefiting from the eggs procured from our chicken farm, I have received 2 (pigeon?) eggs since except Thursday (1 only).

On Friday I received your two glorious and loving letters of 16/5/43 and 30/8/43 and for both of these I was very grateful and so glad to know that you were well and doing so well and the greetings and news contained therein were very welcome and pleased me very much.

I hopefully trust that it wont now be very long before we are celebrating together again. For me it can't come too soon. I wrote another postcard to you last week the previous one being February last, but I hae me doots as to whether you'll ever get it.

The Japs have made a new switch in rations, reduced the one issue drastically but have promised us once a week beef, pork or pheasants, which I'm inclined to think is all baloney however we'll wait and see. Also they have promised to increase the vegetables quantity but as they can't supply proper veg as it is well I ask you.

The Japs have stopped the supply of newspapers to the camp as from the end of last month (May) so that we get no news war or otherwise at all, rumours are expected to be wild rumours.

I was discharged from Tweed Bay Hospital this afternoon and am feeling a wee bit exhausted after the long walk from the hospital to our room here. Davie Bone and C. Greig ((probably G. Craig, who shared a room with Bone and Gerrard)) came down and carried my things back. I was given splendid attention in the hospital and am very grateful for all that the doctors and sisters did for me.

As we have not been allowed newspapers since the end of May, any news trickling into the camp is very scarce and most unreliable but sifting it out and using our grey matter thing must be moving rapidly and our release should not be long delayed.

Conditions in the camp are very poor, the food supply being well just water, rice, water melon and pumpkin all water, but with beans added it is palatable. There is not any body building material except the meat that we are now getting at the weekends. We have had beef for the last 3 weekends, but in very small quantities. I have had to buy in the Black Market what I can as after my illness I was very weak and still suffer from fever and so I've sold things to get the necessary Yen. The water supplies now better being on every day for part of the day. Weather Typhoony.

This has been an exciting week. On Wednesday 25th at noon a large plane passed over St Stephens and dropped a large parcel of bombs or depth charges or what have you. I heard the plane and rushed out to the veranda but on looking up to see I was blinded by the sun and then suddenly there was a terrific Swish as if bombs were falling, actually one went through' the roof of Block 8 and landed on Henderson, Keen and Goodwins room but didn't go off. Another on the road which slid under the --- and 2 went through' the roof of Bungalow A and some landed over onto the bank but strangely enough not one exploded, altho' there were a few causalities though none very serious. May Call, girl Woods and Ewan Houston were the worst. ((Probably Rev. Myhill, Leilah Wood, and Mavis Hamson, based on other reports of the incident.))

We were then ordered out of the buildings and told to go to block 10 where we spent the afternoon. Poor homeless victims but W Fyffe and I went to Dow Houston and so were made welcome with plenty of tea. Then we had a chow on the Tennis court with borrowed utensils and later we were allowed to go back to our own block (9) but the people in Block 8 had to park themselves all over the place. We took Waters and Mitchelson into our room. It is all a mystery as to whose plane it was and why out of about a dozen bombs not one exploded otherwise the casualty list would have been tremendous. The conjecture is that the plane was in difficulties and jettisoned his cargo so that they accidentally fell out of the bomb rack.

Happy Birthday to Nell and all good loving wishes. I had hoped we would have been outside and free, but not yet, and so would have been able to cable you. However that day can't be very long delayed now, especially as the meagre news we get is so good. Thanks your letter of 6/3/44 received yesterday

If the war is not over then the end is not far away if the stories we hear from the Formosan guards have any semblance of truth. They are running round in circles and trying to be friendly.

Thank God the War is over. Mr Gimson has just issued official statement that the Japs have accepted the terms as laid down by the Potsdam Conference. He is now in command of the camp. We now hope for an early release when the army and navy arrive. It wont be long now Nell.