2.
47
Hundreds of women and children steyed behind in Hong Kong many romen were rented exemption, others refused to go - the wives of senior covernment officials stayed behind, sot jobs in the censors dent. or seid they were nurses etc., and most of the wives of men in higher positions in the colony remained - why this unfair discrimin- ation - many women have since had babies, and meny have since married
and since we have been here. and started their homes in the Colony - many women have obtained permission to return to the colony, but how it is done, we cannot find out, or I for one should try to get back. This week alone Mrs.Hazeland, a women of over 70 is returning to
a the Colony, also a Mrs. Cameron and her infant son and her Mother have just left for the Colony, and a lurs.Ashby and her two children have returned to the Colony We consider this discrimination most unfair end our husbands are all fed un too, but seem unable to do anything, I felt that if the facts were nut before you perhaps you could do something about the matter.
so
Also when we British women were ordered to leave the Colony hundreds of other white women were allowed to stay, such as Americans, French and other nationals, and they can still go into the Colony also there are thousands of half castes and Chinese women in the Colony, yet we were deported from our own homes.
This evacuation has meant great hardshin for us all - we get no financial help from the government (although I understand that Army and Navy wives are helped financially) and so it means that our husbands have tro homes to keep going, end in my case and many others it means three homes, as we have a son at school in England - Cost of living has risen very much in Hong Long end there are more tax- stions now too, and most men try to give every month to the ver funds end here we also find that living is higher than we were told and everything very expensive.
a new big
Life continues as usual in Hong Aong there are big social gatherings and nothing is on a war like footing
musement park has just been opened with the approval of the Government.
We claim that we should be allowed to return to our husbands end home s We want to know why we could not stay and face whatever might come, we should have been given the choice of staying or lerving, the same as the women of England have been given the choice over evacuation. We too, are British women and capable of doing our bit just the same as the women at home have done and are doing, in fact, we should be happier if we could do something to help
This breaking up of familes is all wrong, and through
there has been much this evacuation many homes will be broken up - unhappiness caused through it already.
The men in Hong kong formed a committee to try and get us back end e netition was sent to the Secretary of State, the lete Lord Lloyd, but it was refused, however, the evacuation order was then cancelled, that meant no more women were evacuated, but we were not llowed to return.
I quote the following from the Hong ong overland China Meil of the 14th May, 1941 as follows:
"Deen Wilson also visited St.Andrews to bid goodbye, but we still think his best farewell effort was his letter on the evacuation when he said that "until the deep-seated mistrust