27 Nov 1942, John Charter's wartime journal

((More about the meeting to discuss the distribution of bulk IRC rations.)) The next day I wrote a letter to the Chairman, stating that, in spite of all the motions carried at the meeting, I thought there were a great many people people in these blocks who would welcome the use of a communal store in which to deposit their meat and sugar and asked if such a store could still be made available, as I viewed with alarm the possibility of having to store it in our already crowded room some 160 lbs of sugar and 200 lbs of tinned meat.

Stanley Mason came to see me and asked me if I would take the letter around the blocks and see how many people would append their signatures, as he felt the meeting had not been a representative gathering. This was rather more than I had bargained for, but I set off to do so. I had completed 2 ½ of the 24 flats in these blocks when a new BCC notice was put up. In these flats I had visited, more than 80% of the people signed. However, the new notice rendered unnecessary further efforts on my part, for it was a letter or notice from Gimson saying that the previous recommendation of the BCC had been submitted to the Japanese authorities for their approval.

He stated that, as the representative of the HM Government in HK he felt that he was answerable to the Home Government for the way in which these supplies were dealt with and that he must therefore issue them in the manner that would be most beneficial to the health of this community. He had sought medical advice on this point and this had led to the adoption of the scheme outlined in the previous bulletin. Well, that was that.