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Chapter Fifteen It was as well that the bombing of Bungalow C occurred when hope was vibrant in the wake of such cheering war news, otherwise many more might have succumbed to the harsh conditions we were yet to endure before relief came. As it was, morale had sunk to its lowest ebb. Thi s wa s perhap s onl y natura l for , followin g th e Januar y sunshine, the days grew bleaker as winter reached its bitterest in the heavy Scotc h mist s an d bitin g wind s o f traditiona l Chines e Ne w Year weather . A s wel l a s progressively poore r rations , w e face d more stringen t demand s a s Japanes e temper s shortene d furthe r with their many reverses. They knew that they were beaten yet they could no t accep t defeat . The y gre w dail y mor e arrogant , findin g fault with our every action and riling us continually for our lack of courtesy, actua l o r imagined . T o boos t thei r ow n flagging moral e they forced us rain or shine to assemble daily in the open for roll call, whereas up until then it had been sufficient fo r each representativ e to answer for his block. In their absurdity they even picked on th e way we stood and the manner in which we were dressed - th e Camp Commandant made it his personal responsibility to teach us how to bow. American bombers continued to fly over, intent on targets in the city, bu t th e sigh t o f the m n o longe r thrille d - w e wer e to o apprehensive o f a repetition o f the ghastly tragedy so fresh i n ou r minds. We did, in fact, have a further scare some months later when an unidentifie d plan e droppe d a number o f what mus t have bee n practice bombs in the vicinity of St Stephen's main building, one of which pierce d a ceiling and remaine d suspende d aloft . Th e whol e episode was shrouded in mystery and, failing to find any reason fo r the half-hearted attack , we immediately tried to rationalize it. W e decided tha t th e attac k mus t hav e bee n stage d b y th e Japanes e authorities eithe r a s a hoa x or , an d thi s seemed th e mor e likely , simply as an attempt to create friction between the Allies. The latter premise was supported by the fact that, although only slight damage 147 was sustained by the bomb's entry, The Hong Kong News reporte d 'an indiscriminate ai r attack by American bomber s on defenceles s Stanley Camp , renderin g homeles s 25 0 Britis h internees' . Th e minor scratche s receive d b y a few fro m fallin g masonr y gav e th e Commandant an excuse to make a personal visit to demonstrate his concern. He ordered immediate evacuation of the building, forcing its inmates to seek shelter in an exposed verandah. The y were no t allowed to resume residence until long after al l danger had passed, and te n day s elapse d befor e ou r labou r squa d wa s permitte d t o remove the harmless bomb which contained no explosive. Easter cam e an d w e welcome d th e milde r day s an d sof t se a breezes. Besides, we knew this would be our last Easter - we' d be out by Christmas. No longer a faint hope, this was now a certainy. Even the thought of going through the horrors of another war did little to dampen ou r expectation. The Japanese obviously had no intention of givin g up Hon g Kon g without a struggle an d ha d bee n makin g feverish preparation s fo r som e tim e past . Shelter s an d foxhole s were tunnelle d int o th e hill s around us . Accordin g to the guards , defence area s were being built in the vicinity of all the camps. The prospect was disconcerting but we considered this preferable to the inaction which had been ours for so long. In Ma y The Hong Kong News brough...

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