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was then in full view of the Japanese at point blank range just across the harbour. When the shelling was particularly severe, a technician would start up the apparatus and depart quickly, returning to shut down at the end of the programme. This was satisfactory because there was no protection, and most of the non-European staff flatly refused to go near the place.
3. It is interesting to note that the Japanese (Major Asano) later claimed to me that they had put this station out of action by gunfire. This was not correct. The station was kept on the air right up to the time when it had to shut down owing to the final failure of the electricity supply. It is possible that I could have kept this station on the air right up to the time of the occupation if emergency generating plant which I had ordered for it had not been subjected to such abnormal delay that I had not received it.
VII. STUDIOS
1. From the cessation of broadcasting, at Kennedy Road to the day of the occupation, a programme of music and the Daventry news programmes were transmitted by local power from the studios to Government House by line. Mr. A.T. Lay, programme secretary, played the piano for some of these final trans- missions.
2. The broadcasting studios and control rooms in Gloucester Building remained relatively undisturbed throughout the hostilities.
3. A public address system of ten loudspeakers distributed in various densely populated districts of Hong Kong and Kowloon, and controlled from the studios, could not be made use of on account of the early disorganisation of these outlying dis- tricts.
VIII. CABE D'AGUILAR
December 8th. Operating satisfactorily under war conditions, but the routine motor-car which normally ran daily to carry food and urgent engineering requirements to this station failed without warning from the very first day.
December 10th. Managed to get a car and some food down to D'Aguilar.
December 12th.
Arrived home in small hours of the morning after transport of ZEK across the harbour and found Naval authorities requiring control of several Cape D'Aguilar transmitters. Gave necessary instructions, which were not properly carried out. Proceeded to job (3.00 a.m.) and effected change-over.
December 13th. Confirmed Naval control of three of our trans- mitters. They were preparing to blow up their transmitters on Stonecutters Island when a Japanese shell did it.
December 17th. Station working satisfactorily. This station was run periodically from its own emergency generating plant during failure of the public supply.
/December 18th.
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