Richard Clay (1915-1991) was a lieutenant-commander in the British Royal Navy who accompanied the Gracey mission to Saigon, where it accepted the Japanese surrender in September 1945. Ho Chi Minh had already declared independence and the Viet Minh nationalists were occupying key buildings, but General Gracey ignored them and issued orders to help the French regain control. The Viet Minh declared a general strike, then took armed action and attempted to blockade Saigon. By October the city was running short of food. Clay was tasked with organising an operation to resupply Saigon by convoy down the Mekong River from Phnom Penh. The wider context is that of the determination of the victorious European powers to take back their colonial possessions, relying if necessary on the use of surrendered enemy forces, as was the case here.

The manuscript of the journal that Clay wrote up soon afterwards is now with Imperial War Museum London, and the main part, edited for clarity, is reproduced below. I am his stepson and have recently transcribed this from a copy that I kept. Clay also had a role in running Saigon Port, initially with the cooperation of the Viet Minh labour union, though this soon ceased when the British intention become clear.

• Tags: Cambodia, Issue 25, John Gittings, Richard Clay