28 Feb 1945, John Charter's wartime journal

Still no news of the food though multitudinous rumours! The most popular one is that it is due here on Friday (two days time) though if that were true I think an official announcement would have been made by now. Another is that the invoices have not yet arrived and that nothing can be done until they do. It is most tantalising for we cannot even be certain that this ship was the Awa Maru and that the food has arrived at all and consequently we do not know whether we can open and eat up the remaining tins of food that we have or whether we must continue to eke them out. The ship was in HK for 24 hours (during which period it rained most of the time) and left next morning, headed in a southerly direction. I hope 24 hours gave them enough time to unload a large quantity of stores.

There has been a great deal of Japanese activity about here of late: continual blasting which carries on through the nights; pretty active air patrol and a good deal of shipping movement. Last night another cargo vessel and a small destroyer anchored in Tytam Bay. This is rather too near the camp to be comfortable! Numerous supplies have been arriving by junk and lorry for Stanley Fort and the other day four small mobile guns were taken up. I imagine the blasting is caused by preparations for gun emplacements round about here.

At the beginning of this year a new Japanese Military Governor replaced the Civil Governor and soon after he arrived he stated that the intended to convert HK into an impregnable fortress. “What, again?” said we. We thought we British had done that in 1941! Well, it remains to be seen if the Japs can make a better job of it. It is evident, however, that they are making hasty preparations for an attack on this Colony. This is the last day of Feb. something might happen next month; if not I hope it will be the month after.

For the last three days we have been revelling in the beneficence of warm sunshine. The temperature has risen quite a bit and what a difference it makes to life. Today is cloudy again but still fairly warm. Yvonne, who is now feeling fairly alright, has gone to sit out on the hillside. Her attack of chicken-pox has been pretty mild and she has not got a great many spots. The danger in this place is that some of the spots may go septic, but I don’t think this will happen in her case. In fact we have both been fairly free from that sort of thing. The others in this room have had quite a lot of trouble in that way. Elsie has, of late, developed signs of this ‘central blindness’ and has gone to the hospital this p.m. to be examined by Harry Talbot again. It is due, mainly, to malnutrition. I hope Elsie’s is nothing serious.

Fresh fish came in yesterday the first time for weeks! It was only a small amount but better than nothing. People are losing weight again after the good effects of the Canadian parcels.