& the day of the San Francisco Conference.
Cloudy, warm, humid.
Hosp. flagstaff.
Water on.
De Gaulle will ask for 3,000,000 Germans for agricultural work in France. Germans retiring N in Italy 21st.
Going back to Japan Hara gave party this am to Camp officials. “No more face slapping”, said he, and he hoped we would all return to our homes fit & well. (it will be their fault if we don’t).
A.R.P. discussion.
Heavy rain pm.
Raining, colder.
Truck hub.
Steve gave me Suk Yin.
2oz oil & 3oz Salt issued.
Stalin’s son as hostage. Big concentration of war vessels W of Luzon. Montgomery for Norway. Kesselring to conduct guerrilla warfare from Oslo. Laval not allowed entrance into Switzerland. W.Sumatra bombarded & good progress made in Burma. Nearly 800,000 homes destroyed & 3 million homeless in Japan due to bombing.
Cloudy, windy NE fine.
Water on & having cleared meter trap ensured full pressure on Block.
Truck.
21 districts in Berlin under Russian control. Our Ps of W & workers who had been forced to work in German factories now guardless in Berlin.
Fully equipped Japs go by, maybe to man a couple of their foxholes.
Lorry with veg. 6.45pm.
Some to-do during the day re Black-market. Graf [?] & Co. involved.
G X 9PM.
Overcast, drizzly, cooler. NE wind.
Made 2 finger rings from HK 10ct pieces.
King Leopold in our hands. Gamelin & Petain. Milan & Genoa captured by what Germans term “Bands of Hornets”. 500,000 Germans & Hitler defending Berlin. Stettinius President of San Francisco Conference. Goering resigned due to heart trouble, so the Nazis say.
∴ 9.30pm.
Lorry with veg. 7pm.
Overcast, heavy rain. hot. humid. SW wind.
Water on.
Hosp. lock.
Patten captured Links [Linz?] in Austria. 2/3s of Berlin occupied. Russians bombard with 2,000lb shells. Juveniles, women & kids are supposed to have taken up arms to defend the remainder & the only movement they can make is underground. Bremen & Hamburg capture. French & British Armies meet Russians 26th. Saigon bombed for 6 days & Tokyo & Kyushu heavily bombed.
Workers oil & sugar issued – 1.6oz & 2.4oz for 10 days.
Japs forbid any ref. to repat. or re-union in pcs. There are no more p.cs. so what? ((I think this refers to the postcards the internees could send out of camp.))
No oil due to diff. of transport across harbour.
Burma news excellent. Our forces reach ex British border. Nothing between British & Rangoon but paddy fields.
Last time ∴G.
Overcast, showery, hot, humid. SW wind.
Fetched sewing machine for A room. Odd jobs. German lesson.
Lorry in 5.30pm. parcels & papers.
Gave mirror away.
Tea 1.6, sugar 1 & salt 1oz issued.
Overcast, showery, cooler.
Odd jobs.
NE wind.
Yesterday’s Chinese paper contains account of Himmler’s request for unconditional surrender via Polish nobleman & Swedish Govt. & of Truman’s demise & Churchills non committal answer re its authenticity. German resistance in Italy finished. Provisional Govt set up in Austria (Renner).
Beautiful dry day.
Shovel & handles on tins.
German lesson.
Amery’s son, alleged to have broadcast for Germans during the war, captured.
No truck, no news.
Rumour has it that Germany finished 2nd.
Another lovely day.
Outside roll-call 8am.
Fixed up G’s mirror. Path Hosp. Ckhse. Helped G with garden.
Lorry in 7pm with oil.
Hitler dead? Adm. Donetz/Ikes over. [?] Goebbels committed suicide? British land on Borneo. Berlin captured 2nd. General Runstedt captured in Hosp German Navy surrendering in Denmark. Nicabar [Nicobar?] Island attacked by British. Laval interned in Spain.
Cloudy but fine, warm, cool NE wind.
Hosp.Ckhse path.
4oz oil issued.
Water on.
Canteen for W.T. & salt only. Y15.55 & Y4.90.
Foreign Ministers Eden, Molotov & Soong returned to their Countries. Stalin announced that Berlin was completely occupied 2nd & he promised the German people lenient treatment if they played the game. Churchill tells Himmler & Co that the negotiators of Peace would not get preferential treatment & that no Peace proposals would be accepted unless addressed to the 3 Powers together. Blackout off in Moscow.
Lorry with Canteen gear & papers. Helped G with havesack [sic]
Cooler & stronger wind pm.
Overcast, squally E wind.
H.Qs. tell us they lost yesterday’s papers.
Buckles for Vs havesack.
Rumours, “General armistice in force” “26 Countries send joint Ultimatum to Japan”. “Landing made in Saigon”
Overcast. squally wet E wind.
Odd jobs.
Sat & Sun papers arrived.
General surrender of German troops in Denmark, Norway, Holland, Germany & Italy 4th. 1,000,000 to Montgomery. Hitler shot by Reds 3rd on his way to kill Himmler’s family. Kyushu bombed. Europe finished except for clearing up odd spots. Now for the Far East we hope.
More A/r tunnels commenced & the sand bagging of certain rooms projected.
Cloudy, warm. Lovely day.
Odd jobs & cleared Hosp. kitch.chimney 6pm.
Excellent news bulletin. Japan to change her attitude towards Germany now that she has surrendered. The Tri-Partite Pact no longer holds. (What next Japan?)
Lorry with parcels 6pm.
Paper has old news in it. Goebbels & Keitel killed in Chancellery. Ex French generals & Premiers released.
Fine, cloudy, warm.
Odd jobs.
A/r alarm 11.15-11.50am. Large force of large planes 300 passed N above clouds.
Rangoon besieged & R.N. on its way up the Irriwaddy [sic]. German 2 Battleships, 2 H.cruisers, 1A/C & 20 destroyers surrendered to British. Large army 650,000 on the move in Yunnan. Kyushu bombed 7th. Official date & time of German unconditional Surrender. 7th at 2.41pm French time at Rheims. Japs still determined to go on to a “Victorious conclusion”.
Fish brooch. ∴G.
Beaton’s forecast for peace in Asia is July 8th.
Letter from home Aug ’43.
Overcast, drizzly. NE wind.
Planes around early am.
Water on.
Ran out of smokes, wong tong etc, lousy. Workers oil & sugar 4oz & 2.7oz. Steve gave me some tobacco.
Have made bets between ourselves re date of Jap capitulation. Myself 31st May, Steve 27th May, Monty 10th June, Mary 30th June. The one furthest away from date to provide curry chicken dinner.
Most of camp super optimistic.
Planes around noon.
Rained all night.
Lorry with veg. 7.00pm.
Cloudy, fine.
Outside roll-call 8am.
Brackets for blood-transfusion tubes.
Hitler’s body cannot be found. Great jubilation at home & in US on 8th. All power to be directed against Japs now. Dutch assist in Tarakan. Jap bombed heavily.
Oil, tea, sugar & salt issued. 25% cut in oil.
∴C. ((Not sure if this is the same person as "G", or someone else.))
Fine, warm, water on.
Odd jobs.
Food cover Flower.
Altered routine.
Lorry with veg. 6pm.
Japs again aver determination to go on. Kyushu heavily bombed 10th. Churchill says conscription to go on.
Fine, cloudy, warm.
Day off.
250,000 US troops to arrive in Far East every month. All troops to have 30 days leave first. Surrendered German fleet & 100 s/ms to be used out here too. France to take part. Dunkirk & Crete held out till 10th inst.
Lorry with nil 6pm.
Sun bathed on roof.
∴G.
Overcast, dry & warm.
Odd jobs.
Photos to G.
Lorry with nil 7pm.
Water on.
Rumour re repatriation again rears its head. Camp grown veg to be included in Jap ration despite their promise to the contrary.
Lorry with nil 7pm. Paper has nothing worthwhile in it. Germans in East Asia under surveillance. ∴C
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