8.9.45. Beautiful fine day. Porridge & sausage meat breakfast, fish & stew tiffin with chicken soup, & an excellent evening meal of similar kind. Busy in store. Wattie Gardner delivered a letter for me to Dairy Farm making enquiries about my box there & I hear my name is on list for a package with China Provident. It is pretty useless visiting the godowns because of the chaos. In the evening got news that permanent Civil Servants not required on essential services will go on the Empress tomorrow & can opt to be demobilised immediately & travel as civilians. Did so – with Dick. A good rescript day, & there is I imagine quite a chance of being home for Jenifer's birthday. Hurrah! My gums are very sore these days, because of the unusual fact of having to chew one’s food after so much slop. My face is already much fuller in appearance. Feeling fine.

 

7.9.45. Showery day but fining in evening. Hard day’s work on the stores, but I strolled down to the Gloucester & saw Swan in the evening. Good food today of porridge bacon & spinach for breakfast, boiled ham & various veg for tiffin, fresh roast pork & veg for tea. Excellent & the tummy standing up very well. Coffee & cheese & white bread were other delights & went to bed with coffee & pork sandwiches. I have an idea that the HKVDC will go on the Empress of Australia shortly. It is of course all very difficult on account of Chinese & Eurasians and their dependants, & of the varied requirements of service husbands & Stanley wives. I shall be doing the job of RQMS as from tomorrow as Bill Hewitt is called out by the Controller of Fuel. Wrote again to Carrie, but no inward mail yet.

6.9.45. Showery day & very hot & humid. Went down to the office & met Jolly²⁰. More & more rumours as to what is going to happen to us, & it is difficult to estimate the position for and against trying to choose between travelling as a civilian or as a Private in the HKVDC. I think Jolly would call me out alright, but on the other hand things can happen overnight as it were & even now we may find ourselves on the Empress of Australia which may sail on Saturday. We fed quite well. I ate six rashers of boiled smoked bacon together with a little tomato & sweet corn & a cup of oatmeal porridge for breakfast. No ill effects. Tinned veg & meat stews for tiffin & tea. We also had cocoa three times today & a bread ration with jam. It is good feeding, but we would like more milk & some fruit. Still no inward mail which is damn disappointing. Today the town was very lively with cracker firing – Chinese “Victory Day”. They can apparently afford any amount. I want to go home.

            ^20.Later Director of Marine

 

5.9.45. Showery hot day. A little real oatmeal porridge & bacon for breakfast – a civilised meal though rudely cooked. Pork sausage meat & peas for tiffin, & canned fish for tea. Good bread ration too. Worked on the supplies all morning, but cleaned up & went to Harbour Office in afternoon. Filth everywhere. Went to look at the place where I was involved in the bombing that nearly got me. Of course that was about the only bit of war mess they have bothered to tidy up. From HQ to the Bank is in the same state precisely as it was when the war ended. Bomb & shell craters, rubbish & old junk. The town looks just crummy. Rumours we shall all go away as new people come in to take over all Government & other jobs. Visited Swan at the Gloucester in the evening – all is dark & dirty. Shall be glad to get away out of it & the sooner the better. I want to go home. Wrote a poor letter to Carrie.

4.9.45. Hot day. Typhoon has we hear moved northwards into the Formosa Channel. It has delayed the arrival of the Empress of Australia with 3000 RAF personnel until today, so Kowloon is not yet officially taken over & the Japanese troops there not yet disarmed. Looting is still brisk. The Government Regulation calling in all IOUs issued in the POW camps and Internment places is a damn good thing. Half the HKVDC & the HKRNVR paraded at 8am & got to Queen’s pier by about 10.30. Those with places to go to then left, & I went with those who had not to HKVDC HQ. I had thought of going to the Harbour Office with my newly acquired camp bed. Later I was glad I went with the lads, as I had a sentimental interest in ending my war career where I began it. We got some grub from the Food Controller, but got little more than bully & biscuits all day, but plenty of tea. Thursby asked me to help in the store. That let me in for a hell of a lot of work today – though we have coolies. I got a bit fed up with fellow Privates who volunteered no help but did a lot of grumbling. Lots of American Red Cross blankets & overcoats came up too – lord knows why the Japanese didn’t issue this stuff ages ago. Ronnie Sleap was first post-war bridegroom at Stanley today & will probably get world-wide publicity for it.

3.9.45. Fine day, but I think typhoon in the offing. Porridge breakfast, more meat stew tiffin. For tea we had our stock of chickens & ducks killed & fried, and our first real veg stew of dehydrated cabbage potato & carrots. Oh boy. Wrote letter to Mother. More fags & trifles from the ships. Volunteers to go to Hong Kong tomorrow. Hurrah! – but it is very short notice even with the little gear we have. Jones & Hammy called to Harbour Office to assist in collection of Government launches etc.

2.9.45.Sunday. Very hot day. Not mentioning grub – one is strangely not very interested in the matter. Chinese cooking staff are doing us quite well though with plenty fresh meat & sweet potatoes. We need vegetables. All the while odd quantities of booze & all kinds of homeside cigarettes. We get forms to fill up every hour or two about where we want to go etc. It is balls because of course I am subject to orders of the HK Government. Nevertheless things will be OK. Wrote an air mail letter to Carrie today – isn’t it good to think it may be home in a week. One is too excited to write a coherent letter though. We have a Post Office in the camp now – & Gnr York of the Bristol PO is running it. His feet are still in very poor shape. All bad sickness cases in the hospital & about the camp were taken to the hospital ship Oxfordshire today & will go straight away.