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our Christmas dinner consisted of some dry bread given to us by the prisoners already there. We were in the Kowloon Hotel for a month and were given only hot water and badly cooked rice twice a day. Luckily some of us had money and we were able to buy tinned food at exhorbi- tant prices from the Chinese boys in the hotel. While there was no actual brutal treatment there, we were made to bow low to the Japanese any time they came into our rooms, which was often and at any time of the day or night. All windows were covered and we were not allowed from
floor to the other. A committee was formed there, consisting of Mr. Shields, Major Manners, Mr. T.B. Wilson of the American Steamship Lines and Mr. Hollis Gale of the American Red Cross. They met with the Japanese every day and tried to get our conditions bettered and to ob- tain medicines and more food but, although the Japanese promised every- thing, they did nothing at all to better conditions and they allowed the Chinese to charge any price they wished for the things they sold to
one
us.
On the night of January 22nd, at ten o'clock we were told that we were to be taken to Stanley the next day, which had been made into an Internment Camp. They told us that we would be taken into absolutely bare rooms, as the British had not cooperated with the authorities as the Americans had and that the Americans would have much better quarters and treatment than we would. It is true that the Americans got to Stan- ley first and that they did get better quarters with furniture and better facilities and it is also true that they did cooperate with the Japan- ese while the British tried to bargain to remain in their homes. How- ever there were only four hundred Americans and twenty-six hundred British and it was a good deal easier for the Americans to take care of their small company. When we arrived at Stanley Camp there were a large number of British already there, only the people from the Peak and the hos- pitals and Government offices came later. About fifty people who had been on the third floor of the Kowloon Hotel were put into the first floor of the Dutch quarters. The rooms were absolutely bare. In the room with my husband and myself were six other people, three men and three women. When we left the Kowloon Hotel we were told that we could not take any blankets or bedding with us. We were in despair, as it was quite cold by that time. Mr. Hollis Gale interceded with the Japan- ese and they finally agreed to allow us to take the bedding with us provided Mr. Shields would sign for it and promise to pay for it later. Otherwise we should have all been without covering of any kind. I was given a camp bed by one of my friends and it was many weeks before the rest of the people in our room had anything to sleep on except the floor. Mr. Shields slept on the floor on blankets until after his severe ill- ness, when I obtained a camp bed from the hospital for him. The people from the Peak district came into camp the day after we did and they were given the worst quarters, those occupied before by the Indian warders and guards at Stanley jail. It is remarkable how those three thousand people at Stanley stood up under the terrible food and living conditions. Everyone tried to keep their quarters as clean as possible and to supple- ment the very poor food that was given to us. The conditions at the hos- pital were very bad. The doctors and nurses worked extremely hard, but it
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