24 Dec 1944, Diary of George Gerrard in Stanley Internment Camp Hong Kong

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.