09 Feb 1945, John Charter's wartime journal

The canteen goods have come in at last and the canteen was opened last Wednesday. But what a change in prices! Salt now costs Y22 per 1 lb (pdv £200) and we can buy only ¼ lb at a time. Wong tong is Y19 per ½ lb (pdv £170)!  No egg yolk powder has come in and this, the doctors say, is the best buy in the canteen. It is, apart from a few beans, practically our only protein supply. I hope more will come in though the cost may be inhibitive.

But news! The Philippines are almost in American hands and a food ship is leaving Japan on the 17th of this month with supplies for, amongst others, internees in HK! What excitement and jubilation. Also the Russians are almost in Berlin. So now it seems to be a race between the end of the war in Europe, the arrival of American forces in HK or the arrival of the food ship. Unless it is held up again, the food should be delivered to us by the middle of March by which time I think there is a very good chance that Germany will be finished and then anything might happen. It is just possible that the invasion of the China coast may have started by then and we would rather see the relieving forces than the food! So, in about 6 weeks’ time, things should begin to happen here!

Of course, looking on the blacker side of things, it is possible that the Americans may not choose HK as their jumping off ground, but somewhere fairly nearby, in which case their proximity may prevent the food ship arriving and they may take some months before they reach HK. But I hope not, because those months would be incredibly lean months for HK. Now the end seems so near, time goes incredibly slowly.