14 May 1944, Diary of George Gerrard in Stanley Internment Camp Hong Kong

I wrote my monthly 25 word postcard to you on Friday and I do hope you are receiving these postcards from me. I am looking forward to receiving a recent date letter from you just to let me know how you are getting on, I keep hoping.

Well Hattori has spoken and parcels or supplies of meat etc. are not very far distant if they are not actually in the colony. Also the allowance is expected very soon, there 40 must have been a hold up somewhere probably due to exchange for one cannot see the Yen being worth very much elsewhere. Repatriation difficulties are due to one of the Dominions being sticky probably Australia. It is said that the wives there are kicking up a row about their men folk not being repatriated and giving every able bodied Japanese a lot of old women and decrepit who should never have been here in the first place and one can hardly blame them either.

There is a spot of bother in the camp just now with the Formosan guards who have been doing a lot of trading in gold and watches and in exchange for Yen and big wads of Yen and cheques are changing hands. One man in exchange for his Rolex watch was given 500 Yen and a cheque for £100, the cheque having been given by someone else in the camp for 500 Yen. and so it has gone on. I haven't a watch to exchange mine having been taken off me by a Jap soldier at North Point Camp. Although in a roundabout way I was offered 1000 Yen for my gold ring but nothing doing. I am not selling that in any case dirty Jap Yen wont buy my ring at any price. The upshot to this is that eight of the guards have been arrested and had up --- by the Gendarmerie who are I suppose jealous of the seems that have been going on. It is freely said that there may be further complications.

I saw Dr Yaroogski Eroogi on Friday who ordered me to lay off work for a fortnight owing to me having wet beri beri and a dicky heart and very low blood pressure. My heart pounds at a terrific rate and with the beri beri I have been putting on weight which is not natural and due to excess water. I see him again next Thursday so at present I'm taking things easy and lying back as much as possible. I am also having thiamine injections everyday from Mrs Cooper a sister at Block 10 which is just across the road from here.

The weather has been terrible, wet and miserable and difficult to get clothes washed and dried and of course everything else smells with the dampness. The news continues to be good and it should not be long now before the European War is ended and then Mr Nippon had better look out when Nimitz, MacArthur and Mountbatten get going.