FO371-46258 — Page 143

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Page 5 of Commander-in-Chief's, Hongkong No. C. in C. Hongkong 5/67/3

of 6th October, 1945.

132

25.

5th September

On 5th September I moved ashore to Government House with my personal staff and Captain E.G.A. Clifford, RN., Chief Staff Officer to Rear Admiral Commanding 1st Battle Squadron, whom Admiral Daniel had lent me as Chief of Staff. Captain A.H.T. Fleming, my Chief Staff Officer as Flag Officer Commanding, 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron, remained in INDOMITABLE with A.C. 11's Office Staff to assist B.S. 1 in the administration of the Aircraft Carriers.

By this time the situation in both Hongkong Island and Kowloon was comparatively quiet, the only trouble being petty looting by Chinese.

26.

6th September

VENGEANCE and QUIBERON arrived on 6th September fram Leyte.

The Japanese Forces, acting under instructions from me, disarmed themselves, placing their small arms etcetera in dumps and confining themselves within a given area of Kowloon city. It was not possible to place them in camps as British Prisoners of War were still in occupation. It was notable that, although specific instructions were given that all swords were to be turned in labled with the owner's name, not one appeared. The excuse given was that all the swords had been taken by British troops as souvenirs, which, in fact, was not true.

7th September

27.

Brigadier D.M. MacDougall and twelve senior Civil Affairs officers arrived on 7th September, having made the journey from Madras in one hop. Mr. John Keswick, who is attached to the British Embassy in Chungking and has been Political Liaison Officer in South East Asia Command, also arrived as Political Liaison Officer on my staff.

28. An ex-Japanese submarine chaser was commissioned as HM.S. TAMAR, Base Ship, Hongkong.

8th September

29. Six cargo "SAM" ships carrying the equipment for the SHIELD Force arrived on 8th September and prepared to unload their cargo. The R.A.F. by this time had completely taken over the occupation of Kai Tak airfield and the bulk of the policing duties in Kowloon.

30. During the day some of the more notorious of the Japanese war criminals were rounded up and confined in Victoria Jail, including the Commandant of the Prisoner of War camps. Several others, however, escaped before our arrival and efforts are now being made to trace them.

The total number of Japanese disarmed was approximately 18000, but a 3000 were still at large in the New Territories.

31. On the evening of 8th September, as a result of a meeting with Brigadier MacDougall, Mr. Gimson and Mr. Butters, Financial Secretary and Controller of Currency, a signal was made to War Office for Civil Affairs presenting the currency situation in the Colony and giving proposals for the issue of overprinted Japanese Military Yen notes as emergency currency until the arrival of Hongkong

dollars.

9th September

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32. Rear Admiral Fleet Train (Rear Admiral D.B. Fisher, CB., CBE.), arrived on 9th September in MONTCLARE together with other units of the Fleet Train.

On 9th September Major General Pan Hwa Kuo, Chinese representative to the surrender of Hongkong, Colonel Adrian Williamson, United States representative and about a dozen other senior officers of the Chinese Military Delegation to Hongkong arrived from Kurming by air.

/General Pan

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