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the war there. On the morning of December 8th 1941 I reported to the Jockey Club Auxiliary Hospital which was a temporary hospital in the buildings of the Race Club. I had been detailed to report at this point should hostilities break out. There we re two wards to commence with a Men's ward in the Long Betting Hall downstairs and a Women's Ward on the First Floor in what had formerly been various people's Race Boxes. I understand that later on due to the heavy bombing and shelling in that area all patients were moved downstairs. The patients, when I was there, were all Chinese patients most from the Tung Wha Hospital and of the very poor classes and suffering from T. B. and or mal-nutrition and it seemed to me that they were merely moved out of the Tung Wha Hospital as there was no hope of their recovery to make room for wounded in a properly equipped hospital. The Jockey Club temporary Hospital was in the charge of a Chinese doctor by the name of Dr. Lin this name I am not certain of - and the Matron was a Miss Williams who was a nursing sister from the Queen Mary Hospital. I was there until Friday 12th December when I was asked by Dr. Valentine to drive. a van as the Chinese drivers in the Auxiliary Transport Office all went on strike at that time.
When I left this Relief Hospital was staffed almost entirely by the Voluntary Auxiliary Nursing Service, there were quite a number of English women, a lot of Chinese and the remainder Eurasians.
On my arrival at the Internment Camp at Stanley there was in the same roon as me a Miss E. G. Paterson, formerly a school mistress in the HongKong Government and during the War an A. N. S. who gave her account of what actually happened when she was nursing in the Happy Valley Relief Hospital. I will remark here that I noted that
she was not always entirely correct in some things she said
but she described this very feelingly and I feel with truth. The hospital at this time had no communication with the town or elsewhere
the Japanese having invaded that part of the city and apparently
a Japanese Officer with his men came to the Hospital
and inspected it - He did not speak English but apparently
K
his attitude was not to interfere with the Hospital staff or the running of the Hospital. He left, leaving behind him, presumably to guard the Hospital, nine Japanese soldiers who immediately his back was turned approached the nurses one soldier speaking a little English and the women were taken off by twos returning some hours later in a state of hysteria this continued during the night two Japanese soldiers going into the dormitory where the nurses were and flashing their torches into the faces of the nurses and then ordering the ones they liked to accompany them.
This
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