CO129-590-23 Situation in Hong Kong 25-4-1905 - 25-4-1905 — Page 234

Copy.

(F 2777/1193/10)

ɔir,

LANCHOW,

12th February, 1942.

233

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I beg to have the honour to write to you this letter describing conditions in Hong Kong prior to my escape from that place on 31st January 1942, and confirming the cable I sent you from Watlam. I am a British subject by birth - Passport No. 3708 issued at Hong Kong and have been a resident in Kweilin for the past nine years.

1. British and allied war prisoners:

Military Organisations.

Army, Navy and other

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They were first concentrated in several camps both on the Hong Kong side (Causeway Bay refugee camp, Shaukiwan, etc.) and on the Kowloon side (Argyle Street refugee camps and Chinese soldiers internment camps, Shamsuipo Barracks) but now have all been transferred to Kowloon and are concentrated in camps all round Argyle Street and Kowloon City and Shamsuipo Military Barracks. Indian soldiers are mostly in Argyle Street camps.

2.

British and allied der Prisoners:

t

Civilians.

They were first allowed ree, but during the first week of January 1942, they were asked to assemble in Murray Barracks and were sent to the following hotels for internment; Asia Hotel, Tai Koo Hotel, Meichow Hotel, Naming Hotel, but during the middle of January they were all removed to Stanley Prison. Staffs of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Chartered Bank and Mercantile Bank were taken under guard to their respective Banks to close up the accounts of the Banks and are still being done, and these for the time being are allowed to remain in a Chinese Hotel (Na Ping Hotel) until their accounts are fully made up. Dr. Selwyn-Clark is allowed free to operate as head of the Medical Service (situated top floor National City Bank Building). The Head of the Sanitary Department

is allowed to retain his post. I saw the Defence Secretary, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Lee and five other members of the Colonial Secretary Department in the Colonial Secretary's Office now situated on the 3rd Floor of Princes Building (Harry Wicking's Office). This Department is retained solely for the purpose of collecting and keeping a record of casualties and list of Britishers interned. Indians.

There was considerable Fifth Columnist movement before the war started. I speak and write Gujerati and understand Hindi and so I know what was going on to some extent and also the Indian Police was filled to some extent with propaganda. After the surrender of Hong Kong these elements were loud in their condemnation of the white race and Britishere especially. The Sindhi Association in Hong Kong were foremost in this and they lost no time in protesting their filial bonds with the Japanese; and the Indian agitators, Mr. Malik and another whose name I do not remember have taken charge of the affairs of the Indian community. They went so far as to inform the Japanese that the Parsee community' were absolutely pro-British and therefore they should not receive favour treatment and should be interned, but the well-known Beer Brewery owner, Mr. Ruttonjee, got over this and the Parsee community were left unmolested.

Sanitation. The whole city has never been swept and all over the place dead bodies are lying about. Flies infest the whole place. Water supply was resumed on the 22nd ultimo and light on about ne 2th ultimo. The streets are filled with rubbish piled mostly in

corners.

Japanese activities. The Army Headquarters is now established in the Peninsula Hotel. The Naval Headquarters is established in the Naval Dockyard. The Army controls Kowloon up to Kowloon City and Kowloon Tong, Wang Ching-wei's henchmen the New Territories, and Hong

H.E. Sir A. Clark Kerr,

British Embassy,

CHUNGKING.

Kong