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MACAO LEAVE CENTRE VERY POPULAR More than 300 servicemen from the Hong Kong area have already spent a leave at the new NAAFI/EFI leave centre in Macao. The centre is the former Bela Vista Hotel and is the only leave establishment in non-Allied or non-occupied territory. The limited number of men fortunate enough to obtain the leave speak highly of the comfort and amenities of the centre and find the Portuguese colony interesting and pleasantly quiet. The centre originated from a suggestion of Major General F. W. Festing, G.O.C., Hong Kong. The scheme was taken up by welfare workers with the assistance of the British Consul in Macao, Mr. J. P. Reeves, and the use of the Bela Vista was offered by the Governor of Macao, Commander Gabriel M. Teixeira. “Beautiful View” is well situated on a hill at the southern and [sic] of the Colony and commands a full view of the harbour. When taken over by NAAFI/EFI it was entirely redecorated and refurnished and was officially opened in March. Full hotel service is accorded the men on leave who pay only a nominal amount for the five days’ stay. Each party at present consists of about 40 men from all Services but it is hoped to increase the figure to 60. Well Organized Management of the hotel—which has 30 rooms—is well organized and there is a minimum of restrictions, the lists of “Don’ts” familiar to Servicemen being noticeable by their absence. Men may wear civilian clothes if they wish and service extends to shoe-cleaning and the time-honoured morning cup of tea served in the bedrooms. Four meals a day are served by a competent kitchen, a beer ration is available , and guests may be entertained. During each leave period, a football Appendix 6 Appendix 6 154 match is arranged with a Portuguese police team, a swimming party visits nearby Coloane island, and the centre holds a dance on the final evening of the stay. Such considerations make a Serviceman’s leave very enjoyable and earns his full appreciation. The centre also caters for men on leave from H.M. ships calling at Macao. Governor’s Interest With its quiet, old world atmosphere, wide avenidas lined with banyans, old forts and similar reminders of the past, Macao—oldest foreign Colony in the Far East—has plenty to interest the British Serviceman. He also learns of the Colony’s precarious position during the war, when it was virtually surrounded by the Japanese, when it gave refuge to 10,000 British and American subjects. The Governor of Macao, a Commander in the Portuguese Navy, takes a particular interest in the ships and men of the Royal Navy. He visited H.M.S. Plym, which called at Macao four hours after the surrender, and recently six B.Y.M.S. and three other mine-sweepers went to the Colony, the largest number of Royal Naval ships to visit at the same time. Both Admiral Lord Fraser, C.-in-C., British Pacific Fleet, and Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt, C.-in-C., Hong Kong have visited Macao. The Governor has inspected the leave centre and wrote in the visitors’ book “ … to all the boys … we have been praying and well-wishing for them during the war … we are thankful to them for what they have done.” Most Enjoyable Bela Vista is under the management of Sergeant G. Wiley, of Sheffield, who had previously spent three years in Bermuda doing similar work. He is assisted by three members of the Women’s Voluntary Service and has a local staff numbering 30. Mrs. D. Dalton, W.V.S., has flown several thousand miles on Service welfare work, and opened clubs and canteens in Malaya after re-occupation. Her two colleagues at the centre, Miss Evelyn Shaw and Miss Haulwen Llewellyn, whose homes are in England, served at a jungle reinforcement camp in India and opened the Union Jack Club in Hong Kong. The Bela Vista’s visitors’ book is already page after page of testimony to the success of the centre with such remarks as: “My most enjoyable leave.” ...

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