12 Feb 1942, John Charter's wartime journal

Yes; we can use the electric light tonight! What joy! Today we have had a good day – in spite of the cold!  For our evening meal we had rice, a little piece of stewed steak, any amount of stewed cabbage with a little tomato and to crown all a small pasty each of minced meat fried in pastry. It is the first time I have felt really comfortably full since I have been here. Let’s hope this is the beginning of better things.

It is really awful how one’s life seems to revolve round food these days. It makes one more mindful of the poor wretches who live perpetually at starvation’s door. I wonder if, when things return to normal we shall remember these lessons or whether we shall forget all in the general scramble for recovery. 

I was nearly frozen today, bricklaying in the open in a chilling north wind. This is exceptionally cold for Hong Kong.

The first death in camp occurred today. A Mr Shepherd died of dysentery. ((J O M Shephard died on 10 Feb 1942.)) I fear that with our low vitality and terribly crowded living conditions, diseases will spread rapidly in the hot weather. Flies are a menace even now when the sun shines for a little while. The hospital which holds 85 patients already has 65! Not too good.

I forgot to mention Marjorie Fortescue’s birthday. As a birthday treat, Tim arose early and fried the one tin of tinned bacon that he had brought. The nine of us had breakfast this morning! – a spoonful of bacon, a slice of bread and a cup of coffee! So today has been pretty good.