Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945
Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley
Geoffrey Charles Emerson
Series: Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series
Copyright Date: 2008
Published by: Hong Kong University Press
Pages: 268
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xwgnq
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Book Info
Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945
Book Description:

Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley tells the story of the more than three thousand non-Chinese civilians: British, American, Dutch and others, who were trapped in the British colony and interned behind barbed wire in Stanley Internment Camp from 1942 to 1945. From 1970 to 1972, while researching for his MA thesis, the author interviewed twenty-three former Stanley internees. During these meetings, the internees talked about their lives in the Stanley Camp during the Japanese occupation. Long regarded as an invaluable reference and frequently consulted as a primary source on Stanley since its completion in 1973, the study is now republished with a new introduction and fresh discussions that recognize later work and information released since the original thesis was written. Additional illustrations, including a new map and photographs, as well as an up-to-date bibliography, have also been included in the book.

eISBN: 978-988-220-549-9
Subjects: History
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-vi)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. vii-viii)
  3. List of Illustrations
    List of Illustrations (pp. ix-xi)
  4. List of Abbreviations
    List of Abbreviations (pp. xii-xii)
  5. Maps
    Maps (pp. xiii-xvi)
  6. Foreword
    Foreword (pp. xvii-xviii)
    Robert Nield

    The appearance of this volume, the third in the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series, signifies a tremendous achievement by a large and dedicated group of people — not least the author himself, Geoffrey Emerson. Stanley Civilian Internment Camp is something most people have heard of but know very little about. This book goes a long way to redress that situation. Not only in Hong Kong, but in the United Kingdom and elsewhere this book is going to be very welcome. I am delighted that the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, is able to make this possible.

    The...

  7. New Preface
    New Preface (pp. xix-xxii)
  8. New Introduction
    New Introduction (pp. 1-30)

    Soon after I began my research in 1970, I read in a Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, that a lady who had been interned in Stanley Camp was in Hong Kong from Australia for the publication of her autobiography. The lady was Mrs. Jean Hotung Gittins, daughter of Sir Robert Hotung, well-known philanthropist and multi-millionaire businessman.¹ The report said that Mrs. Gittins would be signing copies of her autobiography, Eastern Windows — Western Skies. As she signed my copy of the book, I mentioned to her that I was interested in Stanley Camp and said I would...

  9. Stanley Internment Camp, Hong Kong, 1942–1945:: A Study of Civilian Internment during the Second World War (M. Phil. Thesis, University of Hong Kong, 1973)
    • Preface
      Preface (pp. 33-34)
    • Introduction
      Introduction (pp. 35-54)

      On Monday morning, 8 December 1941, Japan attacked Hong Kong and seventeen days later, on Christmas afternoon, Hong Kong surrendered. At this time there were approximately 3,000 non-Axis, non-Chinese civilians in the colony.¹ During the fighting most of the British civilians had various jobs, such as nursing or helping with food distribution. The other sizable national group of civilians, Americans, were mainly businessmen and religious workers. When the surrender came, the civilians had no idea what was to become of them — would they be slaughtered, interned, imprisoned, repatriated or what?

      There was no problem over the British and Allied...

    • 1 Politics
      1 Politics (pp. 55-78)

      From the beginning of internment until January 1944, the Camp was under the control of the Japanese Foreign Affairs Department, a civilian administration, with offices in Hong Kong. On 1 January 1944, the Camp came under the control of the Japanese military, and its designation was changed from Civilian Internment Camp, Hong Kong, to Military Internment Camp, Hong Kong. (A list of Japanese who had contact with the Stanley internees is in Appendix IV.)

      During the occupation of Hong Kong, many difficulties occurred between the Japanese civilian and military departments. Hong Kong was controlled by the military, and the two...

    • 2 Life in the Camp I
      2 Life in the Camp I (pp. 79-130)

      The three basic requirements of man are food, shelter and clothing. Although the internees had cause to complain about their shelter and clothing, the greatest complaints centred on food. ‘Of all the hardships and privations to which the internees in Stanley were subjected, the insufficiency and unsuitable nature of the food provided were the worst.’¹

      The food was delivered daily from Hong Kong by lorry and unloaded in a garage near the former Prison Warders’ Club. From the garage it was distributed to the various kitchens. At first each block or group of buildings had its own kitchen, but when...

    • 3 Life in the Camp II
      3 Life in the Camp II (pp. 131-150)

      After the war, one of the most frequent questions asked of Stanley internees was, ‘What did you do all day?’ To someone who has never been interned or imprisoned, the idea of being confined to a limited space may bring forth visions of sitting around bored with little or nothing to do to keep amused or entertained. However, most former internees could say that they had had very little spare time and that the days seemed to be busy from dawn to dusk, and sometimes before and after as well. The majority of their waking hours were spent in the...

    • 4 Life in the Camp III
      4 Life in the Camp III (pp. 151-164)

      One of the outstanding features of Stanley Camp was the black market. ‘Outstanding’ because it undoubtedly prevented the death toll from increasing dramatically and because almost everyone participated — from the victorious Japanese and their Chinese, Indian and Formosan guards, to a large majority of the internees themselves. It demonstrated how upset values became and for some people, both victors and vanquished, it resulted in riches often temporary but in some cases permanent to this day.

      What is meant by the black market in Stanley Camp? Quite simply it was the securing of goods or money by illegal means, illegal...

    • 5 The Final Months and Liberation
      5 The Final Months and Liberation (pp. 165-176)

      1945 had begun with the tragic bombing of Bungalow C. Then, during February and March, the food problems, already very bad, worsened because of a serious shortage of firewood. Everything combustible in the Camp, including most of the parquet floorboards, dead trees and all the grass, had already turned to ashes. Some internees were forced to burn pieces of their cherished furniture, what little there was, and at least one desperate person cut the door to his room in half and burned the top part. Without warning, suddenly one day in mid-March, a large pile of logs was dumped just...

    • 6 A Summing Up
      6 A Summing Up (pp. 177-180)

      Although undoubtedly few of the Stanley internees would have said so during internment, they were in many ways fortunate. No one starved to death; the food was extremely bad and there was never enough of it, but the fact remains that every day of internment there was something to eat. As with so many of the problems faced, the internees showed considerable skill and ingenuity in creating variety in their food as well as in providing extra or specials for occasions like Christmas and V-E Day, May 1945. Such things helped to maintain morale. Likewise, as previously mentioned, in regard...

  10. A Note on Personal Interviews
    A Note on Personal Interviews (pp. 181-182)
  11. Appendices
    Appendices (pp. 183-216)
  12. Additional Appendices
    Additional Appendices (pp. 217-226)
  13. Bibliography
    Bibliography (pp. 227-230)
  14. Additional Bibliography
    Additional Bibliography (pp. 231-234)
  15. Index
    Index (pp. 235-244)
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