13th April 1961

Written on HSBC Beaufort airmail letter

Dear Mum Dad and Alan,

I have not received a letter for some time but expect there is one waiting for me in Jesselton. I return in two days time having completed the job I came for. The opening was an exciting affair. When I first arrived the contractors were still in the building and the first conferences were held in the dirt street. We got in in the evening before the opening and unpacked the desks and stationery to make the place look like a bank. At 9 am we set off the firecracker which made a five minute explosion and covered the road with red paper and the new paint with soot. Twenty minutes later when the smoke had cleared from the interior we were able to reenter the office and phone through that we were operating. The two managers from Jesselton came down in the evening and we had a party for 200 people in the Beaufort Club which was quite successful despite a large proportion of the guests not being in a position to write let alone run a banking account. However, we have progressed steadily since then and although nothing startling has occurred we have opened several accounts of different types and have our first loans & overdrafts approved by Jessleton. I expect to come down periodically to see how things are going. The train journey is hot & tedious and the Rest House very utility. The place has no attraction whatsoever although business wise it should grow and if a few roads are built out to civilisation the place itself may improve. I have not received official confirmation of S/Acct and am unlikely to do so now - however, I am being paid for the job & that is all that matters. I am of course curious to know why they have changed the system but I guess the ways of Head Offices have to remain mysterious. The family are all well & a visiting physiotherapist was pleased with E. progress and had some suggestions to make.

Cheerio for now and all my love, Peter