CO129-590-25 Accounts of events leading up to surrender and subsequent treatment of prisoners- etc 23-4-1942 - 28-9-1943 — Page 182

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The air raid siren sounded and I went out to the front

terrace.

I had just finished breakfast and it was 8 a.m. on

the 8th of Dec. 1941.

My house-boy William came out with me, and, quite unperturbed,

pointed out three enemy planes over Kai Tak.

There were four

Smoke and

splashes beside a large ship lying close in shore and then,

appreciably later, the detonation of the explosions.

dust were rising from somewhere in Yaumati.

We watched the Japanese planes diving on Kai Tak for some

time: they seemed to disregard the desultory fire from the

It was a calm ground and came low, using their machine guns. brilliant morning. Sampans and junks crowded the still harbour

and all around Chinese were about their usual business.

returning from market with their string bundles basked in the

Coolies

sun as they slowly climbed the Peak, and I saw amahs hanging out

Parties of women and children washing in nearby gardens.

filtered along the forest paths in the never-ending search for firewood, and a gang of P.W.D. road-menders settled lie surely with their tools round the inevitable excavations in the road-way.

After a while I got out my car and drove down town.

Half-way down Magazine Gap Road a Chinese in the smart green

uniform of the A.R.P. stopped me and said it was forbidden to

move during a raid. So I got out and watched our A.A. guns

firing at the raiders, whose number had now increased to about

a/