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On the surrender taking place a number of pressing
problems called for immediate solution.
A.
(1) Rescue and health work at a standstill.
The invading forces seized or immobilised all available transport and hindered, or actually prevented, even pedestrian traffic in many districts.
(2) Necessity for initiative.
His Excellency Sir Mark Young having been detained, and, later, removed to the Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon, preparatory to being transferred overseas, and the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, Mr. F.C. Gimson being at that moment equally inaccessible, I felt compelled to take the initiative in the interests of the wounded and seriously sick and general community. I sought an interview with the Japanese Military Commander from whom I obtained formal permission for the Medical and Health Department to continue to function.
(3) Transport immobilised.
From the Commander's Chief A.D.C. Major (Count) Yoshigawa, I secured fifty-two signed permits to paste on the windscreens of ambulances to collect wounded and sick scattered all over the area, on motor hearses to remove large numbers of dead from the streets and hospitals to the cemeteries, on lorries to carry rice and other foodstuffs and fuel to the hospitals and billetee centres, and on dustcarts to remove large heaps of decomposing household waste which had accumulated in the streets during hostilities.
From the same military authorities, I obtained permits to draw petrol and oil for the motor transport, and food and fuel for hospitals, billetees and town cleansing coolies.
(4) Water supplies cut.
I, further, persuaded the authority to issue six blank passes to enable engineers of the Waterworks Department to leave their detention quarters in the Helena May Institute and Barker Road houses in Hong Kong in order that the water supply should be turned on again whenever possible. One such engineer accompanied me to the turncock near Queen's Pier to cause the Shing Mun water to flow into Hong Kong through the cross-harbour main.
(5) Breakdown of conservancy.
In addition to the complete breakdown of water and electric light and power, the whole town was in imminent danger of a major epidemic of infectious disease owing to the vast accumulation of refuse and the inevitable disruption in night- soil disposal, complicated by war damage to sewers.
(6) Colonial Secretary approves action.
The Hon. Mr. F.C. Gimson appreciated the necessity for the maintenance of these essential services, and later gave me formal approval to retain such of my Medical and Health Officers, etc., as I considered necessary to ensure this.
(7) Japanese Commander sanctions rescue and anti-epidemic work.
Actually, the military head of the Japanese Medical Department obtained permission from the Military Commander and, afterwards, from the Japanese Governor Rensude Isogai for me
to/