Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire

Chapter Four

Chapter Four Tweed Ba y Hospital , a three-store y buildin g o f re d brick , wa s pleasantly situated facing the sea. The top storey consisted of a large dormitory fo r fift y nurses . Fou r ward s occupie d th e intermediat e level and on the ground floor there were three more wards as well as offices, a n operatin g theatre , kitche n an d dispensary . Lik e th e Indian Quarters , i t ha d ston e floors , ill-fittin g meta l frame d windows an d nativ e latrine s - tha t is , wate r closet s fitte d belo w floor-level ove r which one squatted . The hospital was in the charge of Dr K. Uttley, a senior government medical officer . Th e medica l an d surgica l staffs wer e governmen t officers, Universit y professor s o r doctor s i n privat e practic e wh o had volunteered their services; nursing sisters came from governmen t hospitals. Volunteers did all the chores and laundry. I was placed in a war d wit h abou t a doze n mother s wit h babie s an d on e elderl y unattached woman . W e manage d wel l enough, bu t I should hav e preferred not to have been placed with the mothers, especially when their babie s cried from hunge r o r discomfort. Still , I was thankfu l that I was free t o come and go until curfew eac h day . There wer e many grumble s abou t th e foo d - o r th e lac k o f i t - but , a s I ha d expected the worst, I didn't think it too bad. It had been a long day and I was ready for bed. I washed myself in a borrowe d bow l an d cleane d m y fac e unde r th e ta p i n the toile t room. I d o no t us e cosmetic s excep t lipstic k but , fro m th e ope n wicker basket which contained my few possessions, I found a jar of rather expensiv e skin-crea m missing . Its loss was one of those disagreeable thing s tha t al l internee s ha d t o lear n t o accept , bu t i t taught me to take greater care of what was left. The relative comforts of Tweed Bay Hospital notwithstanding, I sought escap e fro m th e mother s an d babie s a s ofte n a s I could , returning only for meals and at curfew. However, the cold February winds an d frequen t heav y drizzl e di d no t encourag e open-ai r activity; furthermore, th e entir e cam p area , enclose d i n a barbe d 42฀ wire fence, was roughly only half a square mile. It took a maximum of seven minutes' brisk walk to cross from an y one point. Whenever I return to Hong Kong I never fail to revisit Stanley something seem s t o dra w m e ther e - perhap s t o commun e wit h some of those who did not come through the ordeal of internment . My visit in November 196 9 coincided with Remembrance Sunday . After the memorial service, we spent a few minutes in the cemetery, which is now being cared for by the military authorities - the gravestones of the defence forces were erected postwar. The atmospher e on tha t brigh t November mornin g was clear an d cris p but restful . Walking through to the grounds of St Stephen's College, I noticed a new chapel. Otherwise nothing seemed to have changed . The building s se t asid e fo r internee s consiste d o f tw o mai n groups: those associated with Stanley Prison and others belongin g to St Stephen's College. East o f the prison near the hospital was a cluster of modern flats. First, there were the four large blocks built around a rectangular courtyard, which were known as the 'Marrie d Quarters' becaus e i n normal time s they house d th e British priso n officers an d their families. Three smaller blocks, for single officers , stood a t th e northeas t corne r o f th e larg...