5 Aug 1943, Chronology of Events Related to Stanley Civilian Internment Camp

Birth of William Bernard Harris.

Franklin Gimson noted in his diary that this was a 'bad-tempered day' because no meat was provided.

There's a meeting in A. W. Brown's room in Block A4. Three Lane, Crawford directors accompany Brown, the company manager, while A.L. Shields, D. L. Newbigging and two others represent Dairy Farm. The two teams are seeking a plan to merge the companys' over-lapping operations after the war and thus elminate the 'hate' that sometimes arose between them. It seems that the prospects are good: Brown claims that the only remaining question is which company is to retail tinned goods. Nevertheless, the anticipated merger won't happen until 1960 when Dairy Lane Ltd. is set up.

A 'special draft' of 14 very senior officers and their batmen (21 in all) is sent away from Hong Kong as a  result of suspicions over their involvement in the BAAG network. It includes the overall commander Christopher Maltby, his number two Cedric Wallis (who was on the brink of an escape attempt) and Henry Barron Rose, the head of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps. They will arrive at Shirakawa Camp in Taiwan on August 9 and be joined by former Governor Mark Young and his batman on 12 September. Later they will be sent to Japan and end the war at Shenyang in Manchukuo (Manchuria).

Sources:

Gimson: Franklin Gimson, Internment in Hong-Kong March 1942 to August 1945, typescript held at Rhodes House (Oxford), Ms. Ind. Ocn. S222

Meeting: Nigel Cameron, The Milky Way: The History of Dairy Farm, 1986, 142, 174-175

Special draft: Tony Banham, We Shall Suffer There, Kindle Edition, Location  1904