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At the time when I left, we were given, besides the rice, a piece of bread, a little oil for cooking and each week about a quarter of an ounce of sugar. We were also towards the end given a measure of flour. From morning to night the main topic of conversation was food, food, food. As the weather got hotter, the fish would spoil. Sometimes we ate it anyway. At other times it was turned back and the Japanese would give us tinned sardines-one tin for 7 people. Usually there were six sardines in a tin and a measure would be required. I have seen a group of men sitting around one tin, watching every flake of fish being divided. Their eyes never left the hand of the divider. There were store houses in Stanley full of food. The Japanese military sent lorry after lorry to carry it away-for their own purposes. Several days the Chinese coolies, who were loading the food to take away, went on strike for more rice. The Japanese called for volunteers amongst the civilians and had more than they needed. It was an unforgettable sight to see lines of European men dressed only in khaki shorts and tennis shoes carrying a packing case on one shoulder and passing a tally stick to a Japanese tally man as they went by. They wore arm bands of service. For reward, they were given tins of food and allowed to open and eat as much as they could for their lunch. One man boasted of drinking six tins of condensed milk. Not content with gorging themselves, they began to steal and carried away more than was allotted to them and so the Japanese found it a better policy to re-engage the Chinese. I was told that had they not volunteered, they would have been forced to do the work at the point of a bayonet and it was better that they should volunteer. Had it been a matter of pride over stomach, the bayonet labour would have been preferable. Many of the men dropped tasks that had been allotted to them in order to do this coolie work. Others remained faithful
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