Welcome to Hong Kong War Diary - a project that documents the 1941 defence of Hong Kong, the defenders, their families, and the fates of all until liberation.
This page is updated monthly with a record of research and related activities. Pages on the left cover the books that have spun off from this project, and a listing of each and every member of the Garrison. Comments, questions, and information are always welcome. Tony Banham, Hong Kong: tony@hongkongwardiary.com
Image:
May Images
Bob Tatz's new book (courtesy Bob Tatz), Leo Landau book (courtesy Barbara Harding), Greater Green Snake (author)
Mount Nicholson Foxholes, High West AOP (both author), Argyle Street rollcall (courtesy Hong Kong News?)
FEPOW Art Exhibition (courtesy Meg Parkes), Clipper Lounge (author), HSBC Model (courtesy Keith Grant)
May News
I suppose there are many reasons why the suffering of Hong Kong’s civilian population during the war has not seen much public discussion. There have been so many books (and I’m guilty of at least four of them…) about the garrison and the Colonials, but their experience – unpleasant, and often fatal, though it was – was on such a small scale in comparison. This month I finalised a full-length article for the next Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society describing the starvation, the mass exodus, and the persecution of these civilians. Using every source I could find, I have attempted to calculate a total number of deaths and justify my conclusions. I won’t pre-empt myself here and now, but upon publication I will revisit the subject.
31 Bob Tatz let me know that his book launch for Lost In The Battle for Hong Kong will be in Edmonton on June 6. Hopefully there will also be a Hong Kong launch later in the year.
30Meg Parkes let me know that the exhibition The Secret Art of Survival, Hidden artworks by British Far East POW 1942-1945, will open at the Victoria Gallery & Museum, Liverpool, on Saturday 19 October.
29 Michael Hurst notes that the Spring-Summer 2019 Taiwan POW Society newsletter "Never Forgotten" is up on his website now.
27Brian Edgar notes: “Some scenes from a silent film directed by Chester Bennett have appeared on YouTube. Bennett was one of those who made trips from Stanley into town to spend the money loaned to the internees by the Japanese in spring 1942. He turned down repatriation to the USA because Franklin Gimson asked him to stay behind to help the British. He was guaranteed out of Stanley, probably by his Macanese wife, and in town he became a BAAG agent as well as smuggling money, messages etc into Stanley. He was executed on Stanley Beach on October 29th, 1943.” 27 A Danish researcher has been asking about Blanche Isabella Scott, several of whose children were either evacuees from Hong Kong or were interned at Stanley.
26 Charles Bennett’s (RE) nephew got in touch. 26 Bill Lake kindly sent me this link to a pdf copy of the official Canadian report on the ”Canadian Participation In The Defence of Hong Kong, December 1941”.
23 Both Gerry Tuppert and Burke Penny were kind enough to let me know the sad news that Gerry Gerard, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, had passed away yesterday at the age of 97. I had met him on his last visit to Hong Kong.
22 While waiting for a flight at Hong Kong airport I was able to meet Barbara Harding (daughter of Leo Landau, HKVDC) who was also flying that night. She kindly presented me with a copy of a privately printed booklet containing many of his diary pages and illustrations from Shamshuipo. 22 The VIP referred to below contacted me again, and we had a very pleasant walk (without the TV cameras this time) over the hills from Wong Nai Chung Gap to the site of the old North Point POW Camp. I was hoping to show him some of Hong Kong’s fauna along the way, but alas all we found was an absolutely huge female Giant Woodland Spider being pursued by four small but hopeful males!
21 I finalised my two articles for the next Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society today. One is a short review of the Anslow and Charter journals, and the other is a full-length study of Chinese civilian fatalities in Hong Kong 41-45. I hope the latter leads to much useful debate. 21 Michael Maddess has: “found around 8 or 9 old war caves in Tai Lam country park around 500m below the MacLehose trail.“ Does anyone know if these are the ‘standard’ Japanese tunnels?
19 I spent the whole day today at the Peninsula Hotel and Shamshuipo Park, filing with our VIP visitor. It was a lot of fun, and the Pen looked after us very well. At the moment we don’t have a date for the documentary to be released but when it’s fixed I will announce it on this website. I should point out that I’m not the only Hong Kong wartime historian involved; you will see several familiar faces!
18 Steve Denton has done some very useful further research on the ‘official’ list of POWs on the Lisbon Maru, and has managed to show that several of these men were actually on different drafts. My original list ran to 1,828 but it seems that we are now down to 1,817 – suspiciously close to the official Japanese number of 1,816. This month I was too busy travelling to look into this properly, but I will do so in June.
15 Frank Chamberlain’s (Royal Marines) son contacted. Interestingly, Chamberlain was a batman at Argyle Street Camp and brought home a written account of the Anglo/American evasion attempt (see last month) which I think must have been drafted by Sawyer and was probably given to Chamberlain when Sawyer was sent to Japan. He also kindly sent me a concert program for “The Argyle Melody for 1943”. 15 Patrick Flynn kindly sent me some photographs from his father’s (Captain James Flynn) post-war 2/14th Punjabi reunions.
14Coming home from my usual morning walk in the hills I saw a beautiful, almost translucent, metre long Greater Green Snake right next to Old Peak Road. A helper walking a dog in front of me screamed “Snake!” But even with her helpfully pointing and shouting “there! there!” it was so still and camouflaged that I couldn’t see it for a full minute. Then I pushed it gently away from the road. I have seen so many of these killed by people who mistake them for the totally different Bamboo Pit Viper that I wasn’t taking any chances.
13I met a British TV crew at the Peninsula Hotel this morning to prepare for our filming with a VIP visitor on Sunday. Interestingly, we visited the Clipper Lounge from which their helicopter flies, and I loved the aeronautical decor! Unfortunately I have to be secretive about this project for the moment, but will announce details in due course.
8 I have one wartime photo of Argyle Street Camp in my collection. Does anyone know the original source? I suspect it’s the Hong Kong News, but am not certain.
5 Janet Hayes (Barbara Anslow’s niece) very kindly put me in touch with Sergeant Leslie Millington’s son (see last month).
4 Stuart Woods kindly sent me some photographs of the AOP on Mount Nicholson (funny how these things always happen in pairs). I will visit it next time I go up there. He notes that some rocks further up the hill: “are where a boy in the 1970's found a .303 rifle and after a failed attempt to fire it decided to burn it on a small camp fire. It subsequently discharged itself due to heat and shot him in the leg hitting an artery, he survived but almost bled to death.” Anyone know any more details of that story?
3Trudged up to the top of Mount Nicholson this morning and found a large area of well-preserved fox holes that I had not previously noticed. However, the path up to the summit is pretty badly eroded now. There were also a lot of wild pig diggings, one of which had excavated the back end of a Canadian .303 rifle cartridge (illustrated).
1 I walk up High West most mornings, but today deviated from my usual route and took the path that goes round to the West from the top of Hatton Road. I followed it to the old Artillery Observation Post, which for some reason I had never visited before. There’s not much to see – except, on the way back, a full-grown wild boar! May the first is a little late in the year to be seeing the pigs. 1 Keith Grant kindly sent me a couple of photos of a: “silver gilt model of the old bank building given to Archie McAlpine on his retirement on 16 June 1956.” Earlier Keith had told me that Archie McAlpine (who was interned at Stanley) was his great uncle by marriage, and: “was chief engineer for Hong Kong Bank and lived in a flat at the top of the bank… His wife, my great aunt, Elizabeth McAlpine, was evacuated to Manila with her step daughter (Margaret) and decided to stay there only to be interned in Manila. Archie and Liz both returned to HK after the war.”
May 1st, 2019 Update
Image:
April Images
Arthur Whitaker and his wife (courtesy Donald Whitaker), Copy lion at new HSBC office (author), Lance Bombardier Holland (courtesy Andrew Holland)
BAAG Bugle (courtesy Bill Lake), Omine area view (courtesy George Boote), Shing Mun object (courtesy Martin Heyes)
In the epic defence of Stanley Village, the two Millington brothers (Leslie Charles and Henry James) fought side by side as Sergeants in the 1st Battery HKVDC, with Henry Millington being lost. This month I was asked an urgent question about them, but unfortunately (and perhaps surprisingly) I have never been in touch with the family. Can anyone help?
28 Brian Finch kindly sent me a copy of Jack Hughieson’s memoirs (see last month).
27Arthur Whitaker’s (RE, Lisbon Maru) son got in touch, kindly sending me his father’s account of the sinking and a photo. He notes: “The photograph of my parents was taken on the 50th anniversary of VJ day 1995. Dad was very ill at the time but wanted to be part of the memorial ceremony in Horsham where they lived. He passed away February 1st the following year aged 80. [And] I was especially interested in the photographs of the POWs in the Exhibition section. It is possible that he is in the 12th picture, 5th from the left wearing a hat and looking down at his plate, there is certainly a resemblance there.”
26 Brian Edgar kindly solved an old puzzle for me today. I have a note from 2007 about Ken Sawyer, RAVC (and one of the best artists in POW Camp) escaping from Lantau with three Americans and three British servicemen, before the group became split up with the British being recaptured and the Americans ‘being killed’. Brian has found a newspaper article By Guenther Stein Special Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor, from 25 March 1942. In Chungking she interviews Robert Douglas Casey, of Seattle, and Charles Hatlan of St Louis, who had just arrived there after trekking from Hong Kong where their Standard Oil Tanker Admiral Rilliam [sic] had been sunk. They describe how they escaped with a third colleague, Howard Swaney of San Francisco, and four privates of a British Middlesex Regiment. The team stole three small boats and rowed to Lantau. After a few weeks there was a skirmish with the Japanese and they ‘lost one of our Middlesex soldiers’. The other three British then ‘decided to escape to Castlepeak’ but were captured and ‘beheaded immediately’. Mr Swaney became ill and decided to surrender to the Japanese and was believed killed too. Hatlan and Casey then left ear in February with Chinese assistance and successfully escaped. Sawyer names the four British men as himself, Middlesex George Pape Middlesex (who perished on the Lisbon Maru), Horse Ambulance Driver Leslie Wheatley RASC, and Private Mike Jacobs, RAMC (who actually succeeded in escaping). He also describes meeting a Chinese gentleman, after the two groups separated, who told them all three Americans had been killed. The British, he says, were recaptured on the 29th.
23 Corresponding with Barbara Anslow and Jennifer Dobbs today, I let the latter know that in my ‘living’ version of NtSC I have updated the notes on the death of her father (having recently been sent his death certificate) to: “Prisoner of the Japs, Dew, page 238 describes how Dobbs and his American wife Alice had come from Kunming in south China to Hong Kong for the Christmas holiday, and when the battle started he volunteered and lost his life. But his daughter Jennifer corrects: ‘Actually they did not go to HK for Christmas. They would not have left us children behind if that were true... They went on business, to visit a dentist and Christmas shopping and planned to return before the holidays.’ Until Alice was repatriated (probably in June 1942 with the other Americans), their two children John and Jennifer were stuck in Kunming with no idea of their parents’ whereabouts. With a War On, Higgins, page 375 claims: ‘He was sent to Kowloon with others who were to take up prepared positions in the New Territories and has not been heard from since.’ Family lore is that he was in a building that was hit, though of course if that were true the date would be more likely 12th. His death certificate states: ‘killed in a boiler explosion’ with a date of 25 December.” Presumably that telegram refereed to was to the Colonial Secretariat, but it would be interesting to see if it (and perhaps other such reports) could be found.
20 George Boote is staying with family in Kyushu and took the train over to Omine to photograph the site of the old POW camp and mine there, kindly sending me a selection.
18 Martin Heyes described a strange find outside the Shing Mun Redoubt: “As we were leaving, something metallic caught my eye - glinting in the sunshine. [All] I could see was what transpired to be the corner of a metal box, the soil surrounding which was very loose after recent rain. I was able to dig it out with bare hands. The box had a metal clasp which was not locked and, upon opening it, I discovered this blue ceramic pot ‘sealed’ with a piece of adhesive tape inside. There was an (empty) plastic envelope in the lid of the box. I didn’t open the ceramic pot; for some reason I didn’t feel it appropriate. I left everything in situ.” Very odd.
16 I was delighted today to be contacted by the family of Miss Marjorie Matheson, the redoubtable wartime manager of the Repulse Bay Hotel, who kindly sent a photo. My correspondent notes: “Marjorie Matheson was born at Wei-bai-wei in China, 23 April 1902. Her father had moved from Perth, Australia to Hong Kong about 1900 to become a Stock Broker. His name was Robert Thomas Matheson, and when he became ill he returned to Brisbane, Queensland and died but his wife Lillian was in Hong Kong with their daughter at the time of his death in 1929. Marjorie visited Brisbane on various occasions, so I remember her well [and] we visited Hong Kong on our way back to Australia in 1966, when Marjorie took us to the Repulse Bay Hotel. She told us how she ‘Put as many medals on her chest and demanded that the Japanese let them bury their dead’. She was a big lady and the Japanese were small!! And I read somewhere someone asking if it was her who was in charge of the Helena May, well it was her. Marjorie lived her whole life over there and died in 1972 in Hong Kong.”
15Brian Finch told me the sad but fascinating story that Lionel Sidney Smith of the Middlesex, who was one of the ‘hard men’ on the first draft and passed away in 2012, had a son: “Kenneth Richard Smith [who] was killed by a landmine on 8.6.74 while serving with Australian SAS in Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe)”. Today both are buried in Colchester Cemetery. 15 Steve Denton sent me an interesting record of death of Gunner William Henry Edward Hart, 6202039, of the 8th Coast Regiment, RA. The date of death was 24 September 1945, and in WSST I described him as dying on a hospital ship. However, this form gives the cause of death as “Injuries in air crash”. The three known and infamous plane crashes were on 10 September 1945 so it would be feasible for someone injured on that day passing away on the 24th. However, only one of the three B24s that crashed that day had survivors. I checked the MACR and there is no one of this name listed. However, for the first time I realised that three, or possibly four, of the survivors picked up at sea were indeed ex Lisbon Maru. They were: Clifford Rumary, Andrew Grieg, Thomas Hanley, and possibly William McDonagh, Royal Scots. A British soldier with his serial is in the manifest, but (strangely) under the name ‘Floyd C Bennett’. The fact that Hart is buried at Yokohama clearly means that he wasn’t lost at sea. So I wonder if there was a fourth plane crash? Just before he passed away, Taffy Evans mentioned to me that he too had survived a plane crash, and he’s not on the manifest of the known aircraft either. I never had the chance to follow that lead up.
14Frode from Denmark kindly sent a link: “Just a quick link solving the question of identity of Jorgensen, Jorgen, Ship’s captain, died 16 December from his wounds.”
13 Ron Holland’s (RA) son got in touch. Not only does he have a great photo of his father, but also the nominal roll of 36th Battery. 8th Coast Regiment! This is extraordinarily helpful. Prior to this I had a pretty complete list of 8th Coast Regiment gunners, and a roll for 30th Battery. Now, with 30th and 36th documented, I can be sure that the majority of names I have remaining are from the third and last Battery: 12. It also seems from these documents that 12, 30, and 36 Batteries were known as A, B, and C Batteries. Holland was a batman in Argyle Street and is mention in Ray Barman’s book Resist To The End. 13 The Argus in Australia posted a story about Neville Cavanagh, one of eleven Australians who volunteered for service and ended up being sent to Hong Kong as part of the RN Dockyard Police. Cavanagh also survived the Lisbon Maru 13 I went for a long walk today, up Violet Hill. I was looking for bits and pieces but it was pretty pointless as the summit was in thick fog. At one point I found a cartridge but it turned out to be a blank from post-war British carbine. On the way home I took Black’s Link as far as Middle Gap, and then tool the path that goes off to the left, and eventually joins onto Middle Gap Road. Only a short way along it I happened to look up to my right. Now, I must have walked along that path a hundred times, but I had never before noticed what looks like a long, low, brick built gun position. Once home (after looking at the sites of the houses on Middle Gap Road and Coombe Road mentioned in Bob Tatz’s war time memoires – see last month), I looked it up in Gwulo – that now indispensible tool for all Hong Kong historians. Very interesting!
11 George Chanduloy sent an interesting email about ‘accidentally’ discovering the office of the old anti-Japanese Guerrilla war of the East River Column Association (HK) (now renamed the 'Old Soldiers Cultural Association'.) George had two uncles who were with the BAAG - Uncle Andrew in Post X and later with the USAAF, and Uncle Lui with his mission bringing aid into Burma. Copies of the original BAAG ‘crest’ have also been circulating between the group. 11 Thanks to research by Brian Finch I learned today that Lisbon Maru survivor Jack Hughieson had ended the war at Miyoshi. I just listened to the IWM recordings of Jack, and on Reel 6 he indeed mentions that he ended the war in Miyoshi Camp. As far as I know that’s unique for an ex-HK POW. According to this article it’s Miyoshi in Hiroshima Prefecture, and thus only about 50km from the centre of Hiroshima itself. Close enough to see the flash of the bomb, I would imagine. A number of families have told me that their fathers or grandfathers had seen the Hiroshima or Nagasaki Bomb, and up till now I have discounted these as probably a mis-remembering of travelling through one or other of these cities after Liberation. But this account sounds credible.
7Elizabeth Ride sent the BAAG group the URL to a Canadian documentary about the Battle of Hong Kong which I assisted with. I certainly consider it to be one of the better efforts.
6 Steve Denton discovered the POW Index Card of Arthur Jack ‘Bill’ Evans who was one of three men to escape from the Lisbon Maru and evade recapture. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Japanese have marked him as ‘deceased’! He also found the card for ERA James Chambers. The Shamshuipo POW list shows him as having been on the Lisbon Maru, but his card shows that this is clearly an error. 6 I don’t normally show the military artefacts that turn up in Hong Kong from time to time, but this one is different. Early in the mornings I like to climb High West, and today near the base of the path I found a smashed .303 bullet (illustrated). At that location I don’t believe it’s likely to be associated with the fighting. Perhaps it’s more likely to be an over shoot from the old butts just a few yards further down the hill.
4 I have had another request to try to solve the disappearance of a Hong Kong Chinese civilian during the Japanese invasion. It’s personal, so I will keep it anonymous. It is typical of this type of request, which I received occasionally: “The reason why I am reaching out to you is, my father, who is in his late 80s now, has asked me for the help. And I just don't know how to start. It is related to my grandfather, who was killed in - nowadays it is called Shatin - during the first few nights of invasion. Based on the story from my dad, they landed somewhere close to that area for equipment and supplies unloading, and my grandfather was killed on the night of the landing. My father's family took the body to some [Air Raid] shelter along with 3 other bodies. I am tasked to find the remains, if there is a way. My ask is, do you have any idea how I can start the search?” I don’t hold out much hope. Selwyn Clarke had said that some 4,000 civilians perished in the invasion, and those bodies which were formally recovered appear to have been mainly buried in mass graves.
3 Today I met Keith Grant, who kindly asked me to sign his copy of Reduced to a Symbolical Scale. His mother Thelma was evacuated, and her father (Willian Organ, HKDDC) died as a POW. 3 Jim Trick kindly sent a link to a new interview with surviving Canadian Royal Rifles veteran Hormidas Fredette. 3 Bill Lake sent the BAAG group a photo of the BAAG bugle, noting that it was: “presented in 1944 by a Lt. Colonel Boyes-Cooper. It is at the moment in storage at the RHKR (Vol) Clubhouse in Happy Valley.” 3 Barbara Harding, daughter of Leo Landau of the HKVDC, sent a wonderful photo of her and her parents at home in May 1949. 3 The April Java Journal contained an obituary of Bill McCauley, whose death I reported last month.
2Today I visited for the first time HSBC’s Kowloon-side archives at the HSBC Centre at Tai Kok Tsui. Previously I had corresponded with their archivists in London, going back as far Edwin Green, But this new archive is super high tech and impressive, and also very hospitable! I was very pleased to see that they had fibreglass replicas of the two lions downstairs, complete and accurate down to the last piece of shrapnel damage!
1 Simon Biggs has written a blog about the role of the Royal Marines in wartime Hong Kong.
April 1st, 2019 Update
Image:
March Images
Alex at PB314 (courtesy Alex MacDonald), Leighton Hill ARP tunnels (via facebook), Portal 107 (author)
Church Guest House (author), Attack on the Stanley Gap AA position (via facebook), Tyndareous Stone (courtesy George Boote)
Battle for Hong Kong (courtesy Philip Cracknell), Omine Second drop (courtesy George Boote), Norman Hendy wedding (via Brian Finch)
March News
This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of my arrival in Hong Kong. I’ve often mentioned it, but it was great timing! Back in 1989 everyone told me that I was wasting my time trying to research Hong Kong’s war: everyone was dead, no one wanted to talk about it, and anything written down had been burned to boil rice during the occupation. And in those days before the Internet propagated to most ordinary people, it seemed that I was the sole person interested in the period. Fortunately they were wrong. I had some lucky breakthroughs and discovered that there were plenty of survivors (then) still around, and they wanted to talk to me so their stories would not be forgotten. And family after family had kept diaries, letters, and all sorts of other documents. And for about ten glorious years this was the world’s only website dedicated to the topic, and everyone interested came straight to me! Now times have changed. The veterans are mainly gone, but there’s a growing and mature community of interest. Hong Kong’s war has gone mainstream.
31 Dave Deptford kindly let me know that: “Currently on eBay at S/No 382862149962 (medal groups) are Four Medals, 39-45, Pacific, Defence and War, to R (Robert) Clapperton Cpl 46786 Royal Scots, along with award slip (to relatives). Your Garrison List confirms his presence, as Lost... Current price GBP263.00.”
30 Barbara Anslow kindly let me know the bad news that ex-Stanley Camp internee William Macauley died last week at the age of 92. She notes: “When the Japs attacked Hong Kong he was 15, in a boarding school in Kowloon, his parents were in China. He became a despatch corps messenger during the fighting. After the surrender he joined all the British civilians sent to Stanley. Having no family, he had to fend for himself in the camp where he worked in the kitchen and got extra food. He attended the camp school and sat his O levels there. I knew him by sight. War over, he was united with his mother in England; his father had died, and his elder brother - shot down in the war. Bill joined the RAF and served for 23 years. I re-met Bill 5 years ago through the Java Club, at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace; later I met him and his wife Kay at other Java club functions, he was a happy and vital member of the club.”
28 Bob Tatz kindly sent me the wartime chapter of his biography to review. If the rest of the book is as absorbing as this chapter, then I am certainly buying a copy! Hopefully it will be launched in Hong Kong towards the end of this year. Among many other things, the story mentions the Church Guest House, which is only about five minutes walk from where I live. I’m always concerned that unimproved pre-war buildings like this will suddenly be demolished, so I went down with my camera and took a few photos.
26 Francis Cheung notes that the Japanese may have established a germs research institute in wartime Hong Kong. He notes: “A private collector, G S Zhang, recently told the media in Mainland China in 2011 he found an archive entitled ‘Germs Research Institute in Hong Kong’ from an old book store in Japan, which came with 2 B/W photos probably showing the responsible Jap officers and family photo of the highest official. There was also an organization chart (compiled in 20-Oct-1944) outlisting the responsible officers/positions and their respective duties.” 26 Stephen Verrals let me know that the Royal British Legion and other ex-services associations have a project to place a Hong Kong memorial to Chinese servicemen at the UK National Arboretum. They wish to list on the memorial all the Chinese British Army units from 1842 to 1997. That’s a challenge, if we are to be sure that no one is left out.
25 Kathleen Crawford, RSM Donald Matheson, Royal Scots', daughter, let me know that her daughter is visiting Japan later this year for the rugby world cup and would be hoping to visit his POW camp. I reminded her that it was Osaka #1B.
22 Ian Gill sent a link to his article mentioned last month: “My parents' unlikely love story in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.”
21 Brian Finch, in his Lisbon Maru researches, has discovered an amazing story of a survivor of that vessel who married in Japan in 1945! But I won’t scoop him, as this is his own (rather exciting) work.
20Just for fun I sent Alexander MacDonald a Hong Kong War Diary T-Shirt, and I was pleased to see him wearing it on a recent expedition to PB314 (where he is perched at the entrance). 20 Someone posted to facebook’s Battle of Hong Kong page a map showing the layout of the grid of air raid shelters under Leighton Hill, so on my way to work this morning I had a quick look. Starting from the side of the small HSBC on Leighton Road I found several of the entrances to be quite accessible. I took a quick photo of Portal 107 and when I have more time I should go back and walk round the entire hill and see how many are still visible in total. Also on facebook, someone else posted the best copy I have yet seen of the Japanese war artist’s painting of their attack on the Stanley Gap AA position. As far as I can tell, it is almost entirely accurate.
19Today was the thirtieth anniversary of me moving permanently to Hong Kong. It is impossible now to calculate how my life would have turned out had I not made that move, but I am very glad that I did!
18George Boote kindly sent me copies of two documents. One was ‘The Last Phase at Omine’ by Geoffrey Gordon Tyson (an Australian, not captured at Hong Kong). And the other was an excerpt from Blackwood’s Magazine of January 1946 called ‘Sweet Waters’ by Lieutenant John Gibson, D.S.C., RNVR, describing the liberation fleet’s entry into Hong Kong in 1945. The Omine work is purely paintings and sketches, the one of the ‘second food drop’ on the camp after Liberation is especially good. 18 Vic Ient gave me the welcome news that he is writing a book about his father, Albert Ient, Royal Corps of Signals, and his comrades.
16 Richard Moddrel kindly sent a photo of his father Peter Moddrel, Royal Corps of Signals, and colleagues dressed ‘on parade ‘Tenko’ Aug 1979’ taken in Blandford Forum, Dorset.
14 Bill Lake kindly sent Shaftain’s account (from Elizabeth Ride) of the negotiation with the Hong Kong triads to prevent them massacring Europeans as the Japanese attacked. 14 Brian Edgar notes that there may be a TV series about Emily Hahn, including her time in Hong Kong.
10 The Researching FEPOW History Group (RFHG) have sent a reminder about their Workshop on 10 June 2019 at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House (London). They will be covering diverse topics, including: Indian POWs of the Japanese, Jewish POWs of the Japanese, The legacy of medics in captivity (Bill Frankland and Cicely Williams), Australian Military Nursing and Internment, FEPOW memories and material culture, and Transgenerational stories, including experiences of camps in Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Sumatra.
10 Ron Abbott, referring to the photo labelled No 5 Section, No 2 Platoon Royal Scots in the January edition, notes: “Unfortunately, I can't make out the cap badge although it could be that of the Royal Scots based on approximate size and shape; but even then I'm not convinced that it is. The main problem is... these men are wearing kilts. With the exception of the Pipers in that battalion, nobody else wore kilts. Not the commissioned officers, not the warrant officers nor the rank and file. Only the Pipers... and they wore plain glengarries, not diced glengarries as can clearly be seen in this photograph. The only battalion of the Royal Scots in which all wore the kilt was a Territorial battalion, specifically the Dandy Ninth, e.g. the 9th (Highlander) Battalion, Royal Scots; and they were not in Hong Kong even in their amalgamated form as the 7/9th Battalion by WW2. Do you have any other information about the photograph?” Can anyone clarify?
9 Dave Deptford notes: “Via The Saleroom, ‘Police Medals’, by Charterhouse Medals, Group of 4 to A.B. Allan. Includes rare Hong Kong Naval Dockyard Police Long Service Medal to Allan, with Pacific etc. Blurb contains photo of him allegedly in Gordon Highlanders.” I assume this must be Divisional Inspector Alec Bruce Allan. 9 Like many other aficionados, I have pre-ordered Philip Cracknell’s Battle For Hong Kong 1941. 9 Brian Finch’s research has found a son of Garfield Kvalheim of the USS Grouper (the boat that sank the Lisbon Maru). When I knew Gar, he and his wife Fran had no children, but apparently he had children from an earlier marriage.
7George Boote kindly sent me a link to a newspaper article about the diary of Ralph Nicol, Royal Rifles of Canada. He also notes that he has: “just been catching up with HKWD, I noticed the link for the Japanese tank. I have just bought tickets to see it running at the tank fest. I really hope that they show in the UK the Lisbon Maru documentary that you have been working on, as a point of interest In the Army museum in Chelsea, before they did the massive refurb, they had on display a model of the Lisbon Maru, alongside a fan that belonged to the Japanese captain. They no longer display those items, they also used to display the stone that used to be on the peak mentioned in Martin booths book Gweilo; Tyndareus stone alongside a magnificent oil painting of the survivors of the ship wreck.” Well this was great, because I have often remembered that stone memorial which used to be where the top of Hatton Road joined the playground between The Peak and High West. At some point it was removed, but the text on it said: “This stone memorial was erected by Lieutenant Colonel John Ward, Commanding Officer, in memory of those men on the 25th Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment, who died when the troopship TYNDAREUS struck a German mine off Cape Agulhas, South Africa, on 6th February 1917. The Battalion had embarked in England and were en route for Hong Kong to carry out garrison duties. There is no doubt that the exemplary conduct of all ranks after the accident contributed in considerable measure to the Master’s ability to prevent his ship from sinking with further loss of life. The 1st Battalion of the Regiment subsequently fought with distinction during the defence of Hong Kong – December 1941.”
5Colin Standish kindly let me know that one of the few remaining Royal Rifle of Canada veterans had passed away, Bill MacWhirter.
4Bill Lake very kindly hand delivered my copy of The First Shall Be The Last (the Charter Stanley Camp diaries) to me today (illustrated). It’s certainly a massive volume! I will report back on it when I’ve finished. 4 Brian Finch kindly sent a photo of Norman Hendy’s (Sick Berth Petty Officer, HMS Tamar, RN) wedding day in 1934, with Norman Williams, acting as best man.
3 Last month I noted the passing of Peter Moss, and was delighted to see that Jason Wordie had written an obituary. I was a little surprised, though, to see that he didn’t mention that Robert Thompson was himself a Hong Kong evader! (Though it is perfectly possible that sub-editors might have deleted words for reasons of space).
2As you were! If you saw last month’s attempts to separate the two Private Andrew Blacks of the second Royal Scots, please ignore it. The paper trail is horribly confused with pencilled notes adding ‘Thomas’ as the middle name in some cases, and ‘Christie’ in others. But – working with my ever-patient colleague Steve Denton – we have decided it’s logical to give precedence to the Liberation Roster. After all, the Americans would simply have asked the rescued man’s serial number so it should be correct. That gives us: Black, Andrew Christie - Private 3054080 U 1-2.10.42 LM Black, Andrew Thomas - Private 3054483 W 19.12 (XD1)
1 Aside from the new BAAG facebook page, we are communicating on a regular basis with the group of ‘relatives and friends’ behind it. Elizabeth Ride today sent some biographical details of Dr Raymond Lee. In light of my recent draft paper on the wartime deaths of Hong Kong’s civilians, it was interesting to read this sad paragraph: “In the early part of 1943 when the Japanese began to deport the destitutes of Hongkong into free China the problem of dealing with them became an acute one because of the number and the shortage of hospital accommodation. In view of their condition which was caused by malnutrition and starvation it was a hopeless fight in dealing with them in an ambulatory manner because what they required more than anything else was food and more food. Since no organisation took any interest in these poor helpless wrecks it fell on the Medical Unit in initiating relief measures.”
March 1st, 2019 Update
Image:
February Images
HKVDC Battery practice, 2 Battery HKVDC, HKVDC two minutes silence (all via Frode)
Osborn Memorial, St John Ambulance Memorial, New tunnel? (alll author)
Leo Landau (courtesy Barbara Harding), James Atkins (via Martin Heyes), The Slightest Chance (via author)
February News
For reasons that will become apparent in a few months, I am very keen to establish contact with more people with connections to 1 Bty HKVDC. This month Leo Landau’s daughter got in touch, which was great. But I am still looking for more diaries and photos of this unit if anyone can help. Contact with the family of Captain George Fred Rees, CO of the Battery, would be particularly welcome – or any lead on their War Diary (if it exists).
And on a second matter, I wonder if any sleuth out there can help find the family of Captain Rob Roy McGregor, USN, the captain of the USS Grouper (214) which sank the Lisbon Maru? You would think a captain would be relatively easy to track down, but I have had no success.
26There are plans afoot for a proper memorial to the Lisbon Maru at the NMA. I will of course provide updates as the project progresses.
24 Steve Denton has proven that there is another mistake in CWGC files. They list Andrew Christie Black, 3054080, as being lost in the Lisbon Maru, whereas we can now show that this man was on the first draft to Japan and survived the war. The Andrew Black lost on the Lisbon Maru was in fact Andrew Thomas Black, 3054483.
20Colin Standish kindly let me know that Fred Cooper, Royal Rifles of Canada, passed away in January. He also very kindly sent me a number of transcripts of interviews with veterans conducted by Chuck Rolands. 20 I heard today via Annemarie Evans that Peter Moss has passed away. He and Cyril Pereira (of the SCMP in those days) were the first two people to read and critique the original ms of Not The Slightest Chance. He will be missed.
16Clare Makepeace notes: “I just wanted to let you know that my article on the war graves of British POWs who died while constructing the Thai-Burma railway was finally published this month.” While the subject is the railway, it includes mention of Arthur Basnett who was lost in Hong Kong.
12 Brian Edgar has found an interesting PhD thesis called The Life and Times of Percy Nettle, who was a Stanley Internee. 12 Martin Heyes notes that he has had a request from the daughter of Gunner James Edward Atkins, who was a member of 8 Coast Regiment, 30 Coastal Bty, during the battle. He also kindly attached a photo of Atkins. He asks what is the meaning of the group names under 30 Coast Battery in my nominal roles? Sadly, I don’t know! These were given to me by a relative of the CO and I don’t have a key. So if anyone knows (in this context) what 10s, PF, BCAs, Tels, BPR, Elo, etc. mean we would both be grateful. I can possibly guess some, but am looking for an authoritative answer.
11 Jennifer Lo contacted me to say: “I wanted to inform you that my grandfather, [last surviving HKVDC 3 Company veteran Sam Lo], passed away peacefully on February 8, 2019 at 10:27 am. He was 94 years old. His birthday was January 30, 1925.“ We were just in the process of arranging a war pension for him from the Hong Kong Government.
10Steve Denton kindly confirmed that the Gunner Edward Arndle (RA, Lisbon Maru) on my website should in fact be Edward Arnold. The original mistake is in the CWGC records.
9The BAAG facebook page is really gaining momentum, with many interested parties (including families of BAAG members) continuing to join.
8 Anne Ammundsen (Captain Bob Newton’s, Rajputs, niece; Bob was killed by a mortar outside North Point Power Station), kindly let me know that the family has written up: “the transcripts (done by his brother, Roy) of Bob's letters to his parents - written from both India and Hong Kong during the course of WWll. The booklet is 74 pages long,” She has sent me the full set. 8 Leo Landau’s (HKVDC) daughter got in contact. She mentions her father’s wartime diary, which sounds very interesting. 8 Elizabeth Ride kindly sent the new BAAG group four photos of banners painted at post-war BAAG reunions in the 1950s. Some names are in English and very familiar: I see ‘D Hunt’ and ‘M Talan’ for example), but most are in Chinese. However, this is very useful as the transliteration of Chinese names to British in those days was pretty irregular, and in practice the Chinese versions are fare more useful.
7 David Beningfield kindly sent a pre-war photo of his father (William Beningfield) in uniform. 7 Bill Lake kindly informed me that there is indeed a second plaque on the St John Ambulance memorial, and kindly sent me a photo. With the help of these plaques I have updated my records, but am left with far more questions than answers. While anecdotally I know that many of their 56 deaths occurred in Wong Nai Chung Gap and Stanley, I don’t know firm details of any – and suspect many more deaths occurred during the occupation. But one name really stood out, Ambulance Sister Katima El Arculli of the Victoria Nursing Division. El Arculli is a name famous in Hong Kong history, and the family is still very influential today. I am very surprised that I can’t find details of Katima anywhere. 7 Old friend Frode in Denmark emailed me to say: “As mentioned in my mail last month, I am happy to let you know that my book about the Danish Hong Kong-volunteers, IKKE EN JORDISK CHANCE, will be translated into English with a view to publish in the autumn by Earnshaw Books in Hong Kong/Shanghai. The extensive translation and editing work is now about to start, and I am looking forward to the cooperation with the professional translator and the publisher.” He also sent me a number of excellent high-resolution photos of HKVDC exercises, parades in Central, and two equally high-resolution photos of 2 Battery, one of them captioned! Captioned photos of this quality are any historian’s dream. The ranks include Second Lieutenant William Andrew Mackinlay who at that time was married to Sheila Mackinlay (nee Jeffries). But he was transferred to the Middlesex during the battle and was killed on Christmas Eve. His widow later married Policeman Searle (they were both in Stanley Camp). I know their son and sent him this photo, he kindly replied that Mackinlay was: “a solicitor with the firm of Messrs Deacons, who on 13/11/36 was living at 15/19 Observatory Road, Kowloon. (see Hong Kong Daily Press; ‘Forthcoming Wedding’ - same date). He was admitted to the Supreme Court to practice as a solicitor on 3/10/32. He was also involved at that date with the Machine Gun Troop of the HK Volunteer Defence Corps. He was also involved in the Hong Kong ADC, which is where he met my mother Sheilah Jeffries, when they were both acting in Noel Coward play. According to my mother he had come first in his law exams (whether in HK or the UK I do not know), and was a Yorkshireman, with family, including a sister, in Yorkshire. Their wedding was on 18/12/36 at St Andrews Church, HK. My mother told me that he was picked out from the HKVDC to be an officer in the Middlesex Regiment as he was seen as extremely efficient, brave, and outstanding officer material. I do not know the date of his transfer. On the 13/12/41 he wrote a long letter to my mother giving as his address: 1st Btn. The Middlesex Regt, (D.C.O), c/o G.P.O. In it he describes his duties: his main job was to liaise with the Police, and went every evening to Central Police Station 8 Banham Road, where he mentions seeing Lance Calthrop. The night before he had been going up on high ground (every hill) searching for spies. He also mentions in this letter that Professor Simpson with the Gunners was wounded loosing his little finger. He also mentions meeting up with a Major Gunn of the Royal Scots. His regiment was rather reduced in numbers at this time and he mentions that his Quartermaster is Capt. Guscot. On his death my mother received the following letter from his commanding officer which I write out in full: Murray Barracks Hong Kong 28th December, 1941 Dear Mrs Mackinlay, I find it most difficult to write to you to tell you how truly sorry I am that you have lost one of the best and most gallant of husbands. Your husband was killed going out to see what had happened to a patrol which the G.O.C. had ordered to be carried out at all costs. At the time he was in command of a mixed detachment of Middlesex, R.A., and R.S. none to easy a body of troops to handle, in the neighbourhood of Canal Rd East close to the Happy Valley. He had handled his command with great gallantry and I placed the utmost reliance on his judgment. He was a grand example to my men. Until the fatal night he had been attached to my HQ and had shown himself a most able and reliable officer. I find it most difficult to believe he has gone. As you know he was slightly wounded by a bayonet wound in his leg and I was glad to be able to send him to Bowen Rd to see you that night. I know, from the very little he said to me how fond and proud he was of you and you can rest assured that no one but you was ever in his mind. Speaking personally I have lost a hastily made friend and my sympathy in your irreparable loss goes out to you. Believe me, Yours sincerely, H.W.M. Stewart.” He also kindly attached a photo of Mackinlay.
6 Today I finished my first draft of an attempt to calculate how many of Hong Kong’s population as at December 1941 perished before liberation. There is still some tuning up to do, but it seems possible to establish a credible range of 300,000-340,000. I am hoping this will be published by the Royal Asiatic Society. 6 As is now my tradition on the second day of Chinese New Year I set off on a longish walk. Conduit Road to the top of Jardine’s Lookout, via Bowen Road and Park View on the way there, and Black’s Link, Coombe Road, Barker Road, and Chatham Path on the way back. On the way I stopped at the St John Ambulance Memorial at Wong Nai Chung Gap and discovered that the memorial plaque to those lost in the war really is there (as Anne Ozorio had told me). But only 37 names from their 56 fatalities were listed. Perhaps I missed a panel? Later I saw that there was a new wreath on the Osborn Memorial on Jardine’s Lookout itself, that someone had cleared the vegetation from the Artillery OP at the top, that the big typhoon last year had cleared trees blocking what looks like a second tunnel entrance to PB3 at the bottom of Black’s Link, and that what may be a ‘new’ Japanese tunnel had become visible at the top of Black’s Link (just up hill from where the buildings end).
5Brian Finch kindly sent a newspaper report from the Liverpool Echo of 9 June 1950 of Bill Evans’ death. Evans was one of the three men who not only survived the Lisbon Maru, but evaded recapture. I have long known that he was assassinated by mistake in Vietnam, but these credible details are new: “Mr. A. K. W. Evans, English inspector of the British American Tobacco Company, was shot dead last night in Saigon by Vietminh terrorists, who also shot and killed a Vietnamese policeman. Police believe the terrorists mistook Mr. Evans, aged 47, of 12 Crown Crescent, Scarborough, for someone else. Mr. Evans arrived in Saigon from Djakarta last month, and was driving the French assistant manager of the tobacco company, M. Maurice Lebas, and two friends from the factory at Cholon. They were stopped by a group of four Vietnamese, including a girl. The men in the group opened fire with automatic pistols. Mr. Evans was shot through the head and died instantly. Lebas was wounded twice in the arms. The killers escaped in a waiting car, but were challenged by a Vietnamese police patrol. The police opened fire and the Vietminh men replied, killing one policeman. The car vanished in the traffic. The Franco-Vietnamese Surete has launched an extensive search. Mr. Evans, who left Britain last January, leaves a widow, a French-woman, living in Saigon. Mr. Evans had no children. He represented the British American Tobacco Company in China for many years. He is a member of a Bristol family, and is a brother of Mr. E. P. Evans, secretary of the Scarborough Rugby Union Club. He was in Scarborough on leave last year, and was expected on leave again in August - Reuter.” Just as a side note, the only other ex-Hong Kong POW I know who was killed in Vietnam was ex-Winnipeg Grenadier John McCoy, who was in fact an American and later volunteered for service in the Vietnam War as a Ranger. He was killed in a firefight there in the mid-60s.
3George Boothroyd’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) great nephew got in touch.
2 I always warn people about the danger of unexploded ordnance in the hills, where everything from revolver ammunition to grenades, mortars to shells (of up to 9.2 inch and 240mm in calibre), and bombs of up to 2,000 pounds have all turned up in the last few years – and often. But I never thought to warn anyone of unexploded potatoes… 2 I set off on my usual route up the hills early this morning, and almost immediately came face to face with a Masked Civet Cat on Hornsey Road! Our older son was staying with us over the summer and said he often saw them there, when running at night when the temperature dropped. Later on the same walk, on Chatham Road, I found another porcupine quill. I keep a little glass of them now, in my study (illustrated – which might give you an interesting view into a corner of my study!). 2 Blacksmiths Books the publisher, kindly sent me a copy of Paul Letters’s book The Slightest Chance today (can’t think where he got the idea for that title?) I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction, but it’s getting good reviews and knowing Paul I am sure the research behind it will be spot on.
1 Bill Lake was kind enough to inform, me that the January 2019 update of this website failed again. I still don’t know what the bug is, but seem to have found a workaround which incorporates using on browser to edit the site, and another to publish it. 1 I saw today (via Elizabeth Ride) that Gwulo has – with her help – put together a very useful starting list of BAAG agents, together with other information.
February 1st, 2019 Update
Image:
January Images
David Kyle (courtesy Jean Hughes), X Heavy Bty (courtesy Ian Inglis, via Brian Funch), Told In The Dark (author)
Royal Scots 5 Section 2 Platoon, Parachute cord tablecloth, Gale family (all via Brian Finch)
BAAG Team (courtesy Bill Lake), Cape Collinson Battery before and after the great typhoon (courtesy Tan)
January News
For some time Elizabeth Ride, daughter of Brigadier Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride, CBE, has suggested that the various ‘friends and families’ of BAAG (the British Army Aid Group) should get themselves together into an Internet-based community like the Stanley Group or the Battle of Hong Kong facebook page. As a result, a few of us have helped create this page. The steering committee has also had its first meeting (see the photo: from left to right Sandra Lau, Bill Lake, Dennis Cheung Tsun Lam, Rusty Tsoi, Dr Chi Man Kwong), and content has started to arrive. Please feel free to take a look.
29 Today I saw a British newspaper report about a restored Japanese Type 95 tank. I’ve seen wrecked ones on remote Pacific islands, but this one is in working order. I believe this is the type the Japanese used in their attack through Tai Tam and down into Stanley where they ran into the two pounders of the HKSRA 965 Defence Battery.
26 A lady in the UK has started a formal petition to the UK government for 15 August to be a national day of commemoration to remember those who fought in the Far East, and the POWs in particular. Those interested can see details and sign up here.
25 I hesitated whether to add this, but while searching my 100,000 or so archived emails for something completely different I found this amusing correspondence from my birthday in 2004, with Janet Jacobs whose father was on the railway. She noted: “Can't remember if I told you this already but it is really funny. Do you recall I told you about the two old boys I serve and one was on the railway and the younger of the two was stationed in HK post war for many years, he told me he had a book for me to read and it transpired it was yours? Well here is a rough account of him bringing the book in. ‘Good Morning boys, how are you both?" ‘Ar ya ar reet this mornin'?’ ‘Yes thanks I'm fine.’ ‘Here's the book I promised ya.’ ‘Oh fantastic thank you, I kinda know the author you know.’ A look of ridicule and disbelief preceded. ‘You KINDA know the author, wos his name then?’ ‘Tony Banham’. ‘Ya just rid that on the frunt, din’t ya?’ ‘No seriously, I do honest.’ ‘Where's he live then?’ ‘Hong Kong - of course.’ ‘You’re funny int ya eh, bet ya dun’t know his wife's name?’ ‘I do, it's Rowena actually.’ ‘Oh ar, got any kids has he?’ ‘Yes he's got two boys.’ ‘Two boys eh, I suppose ya knows thems names an all?’ ‘They're Mark and Harry.’ ‘Ar Mark and Harry indeed, how old are they then? ‘ ‘Mark's about six and Harry was born the day my Dad died, so he's two and a half.’ Another look of ridicule, and he then looks at the brother and smiles and says, ‘Wot else dya know bout him then?’ ‘He was born in Morley St Botolph, lived in a pre-fab and his sister was a curator at Wisbech Museum a good few years back, and he's coming over to Wells in August with his family for a holiday.’ He chuckles away and then proclaims very loudly: ‘Ya know wot dunt ya gal?’ ‘No, what's that then?’ ‘You’re full a shit, but you can still borra me book!’ Tony, isn't it wonderful!”
24 Another interesting set of photos via Brian Finch today, this time from George Robins of the Middlesex showing the Cricket XI and a tablecloth made of silk webbing from a parachute – believed to be from food parcels dropped into camp by the Americans. Also, from John Inglis RA, a fine portrait of X Heavy Battery, HKSRA (Inglis is second row from bottom wearing glasses – seventh from left), and a very atmospheric photo of the Gale family (the father, Edward Gale Senior, has his right hand on the shoulder of John Gales, and his left hand on that of Edward Gale, who was on the Lisbon Maru with the RCoS. The boys’ sister Margaret is standing in front of Mrs Gwenllian Gale). This photo is a reminder of how much tougher was for most families in those days. I recall a Lisbon Maru survivor telling me many years ago that pre-war he was sent down a coal mine at the age of fourteen with no training or safety equipment, and after that experience nothing in his life really frightened him again. Finally, he included a rather fine photo from Matthew Smith’s (Royal Scots) family of number 5 section 2 platoon. 24 From Brian Finch today, particularly fine photos of John Barnes, RA, and Alfred Keeler, Middlesex. For the latter, Brian’s correspondent noted an email from me from ten years ago noting: “Here are two entries from the diary of Sergeant Bill Poulter, Middlesex. It's not happy reading, as your great uncle so nearly made it. He passed away on the day the Japanese surrendered. These entries are from 1945: ‘Pte. Andrews of the Middlesex Regiment died on the night of 30/31st of July. He appears to have died quietly in his sleep and his is the third death since we came here. After his body was cremated, I took his ashes and kept them. On the night of 1/2nd August, we had another raid. It was quite close this time. They were bombing the town of Toyama, which is about five miles from us. Nearly all the camp was watching the raid; in fact we had a grandstand view. As the raid started we could see the planes, they looked all silvery and it looked like lots of little stars were falling from them. Later as the incendiaries took effect, the planes changed from silvery to rose red; it was a lovely sight from where we were. None of our sentry was visible; in fact I think the camp was deserted, except for the prisoners. After the raid was over and we were all supposed to be in bed, the Jap sentries turned up and walked round the camp. Nothing worthy of note happened until the night 14/15th August when we had a local alarm but it turned out to be a damp squib, nothing to get excited about this time. On the morning of the 15th at 3am Pte Tom Keeler died. He had got steadily worse since coming up here. I think he would have made it if he had had proper medical treatment. Today I have received some information and I’m undecided whether to keep it to myself or to tell someone. If I tell some one, it’s bound to get round the camp and if it’s not true it may cause a big disappointment. I think I will keep it to myself and enter it in my diary and wait conformation. This is the news. At work today, August 15th, a small boy came up to me and in a very furtive manner said, ‘Shenso Oware’, this means in Japanese, ‘The War is over’ I’m inclined to believe that it is true. To my way of thinking the time is about ripe for this to happen. Anyhow time will tell if it is true. Twenty planes came over and restocked us with food. Later a correspondent from the “Yank” came to the camp taking photographs and notes about the camp. Boy, does he hate the Nips, anybody would think that he had been a prisoner to hear him talk. He was very interested in the two white boxes that I have; they contain the ashes of Keeler and Andrews. FLASH! We leave here on September 6th, this is supposed to be definite. I sincerely hope so.’ Exactly how Mr Keeler's remains got back to Acton I don't know, especially as Mr Andrews' remains were lost. This, and other extracts from Bill's diary, are covered in my Lisbon Maru book.”
23 I emailed Ray Barman today (son of BQMS Barman of ‘Resist to the End’ fame), but was very sad to receive a reply from his wife saying that Ray had passed away in February 2017.
21After a gap of some years I am back in contact with Maltby’s grandson. Among other things he asks: “Did you ever see the Chinese film ‘Love in a Fallen City’? A love story between a Hong Kong Chinese couple during the invasion. Unfortunately no English subtitles or dubbing available but an interesting enactment of the Peninsula Hotel siege with actual military characters who do speak English. Grandfather is seen at the end embarking on a launch over to Kowloon Side to surrender the colony.” It sounds interesting. Has anyone seen it? 21 Today I received the awful news that Glenis Devereux had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I was emailing her just a few days ago. Her father - John Michael Devereux, who survived being shot in the face during the fighting - was a sergeant in the Royal Scots. 21 Via Brian Finch I have an interesting schematic of Kobe House drawn by Alec Smith, RE.
20 Leslie Coxhill’s (HKVDC) son got in touch, kindly sending images of a menu (from Hiroshima #5B, Innoshima, POW Camp). The menu is largely written in faux French, making fun of the Japanese, and it is signed by twelve other POWs. The only thing I don’t understand is that it is entitled ‘Victory Dinner’ and dated Tuesday October 24th, 1944. What is significant about that date? 20 I received a sad and totally unexpected email from Bob Tatz today: “I was devastated at the news of [Ruth Sewell-Baker’s] death on New Years Day, and would like to share this with you. I am so thankful that Ruth and I reconnected after a gap of 73 years when I visited her in Oxford in 2016, the same year that I visited Barbara Anslow. The following was the announcement I received from her husband Roger: Ruth died peacefully on 1st January in the JR Hospital, Oxford, having had a totally unexpected severe stroke at home the previous night. Her memorial service was held today, Saturday, January 19, 2019.” Better news, though, is that Bob’s memoirs should be published later this year.
19 1 Battery HKVDC were all but wiped out in the battle of Stanley where they held the frontline on Christmas Eve. But has anyone ever heard of a War Diary? Or have had contact with the family of the Battery’s CO, Captain George Rees? I would be grateful for either. 19 David Kyle’s (Royal Engineers) daughter kindly contacted me today. Sadly she noted: “Just to inform you my father David Kyle, Army number 1874148, 22 Fortress Company, passed away 31st December 2018, in his 100th year. Dad was in Hong Kong until the surrender to the Japanese, he was in Shamshuipo Barracks, until 1942 then transferred to Japan, Kawasaki 23-D. His POW number was sapper 228.” She kindly sent a couple of post-war photographs of him.
18 A small group of like-minded people have created the BAAG Descendants and Friends Group of facebook. They published the minutes of their first meeting (last might, at the Police Sports and Recreation Club in Mong Kok) and kindly sent me a photo. 18 This evening Crown Wine Cellars held a party to celebrate the renewal of their lease on the Little Hong Kong premises. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend, but I was very much cheered by the news!
16I had an extremely interesting call with a UK documentary company this morning. I hope the unusual project they are working on comes to fruition!
15Colin Hodgson’s (Royal Corps of Signals, Lisbon Maru) son got in touch.
14 I received the latest Java journal today and was very pleased to see three Hong Kong related stories there. They published an article on Barbara Anslow’s book (already into its second edition!), another on Ron Freer, and a third about Bill Macauley. Ron was an early victim of Shamshuipo’s diphtheria epidemic, and never really recovered. But what I hadn’t known until recently is that his father was killed in the Great War. Admittedly Ron is 103, but even so it seems amazing that someone with that background should still be with us. And long may that continue!
12 Old friend Tan got in touch to say: “I saw your post about the searchlight of Collinson Battery damaged by typhoon. I went there to check the damage as I just visited the site a year ago. I am so shocked to see the damage caused by the typhoon. The solid concrete structure standing around 10 meters above sea level over 70 years smashed in to pieces. Most unbelievable is the left searchlight completely disappeared! All the remaining structures are gone and only the clean base left there. The road connecting to it also disappeared! I attached a photo I took before to show how the structure looks originally for you to compare. Typhoon Mangkhut really caused huge damage to HK coast.” His before and after images really are amazing. Tan also sent me photos of other damage around the coast to a variety of wartime structures; I wish he was in charge of Hong Kong’s heritage! He also shot some very interesting drone footage of the impact of that typhoon.
11 Today there was a Canadian Ministerial visit to Saiwan. The Consulate asked me to accompany them, but (I think for the first time) I had to turn them down as I didn’t have enough notice. It’s a shame as I really enjoy helping out when I can, and it’s a privilege to get to meet such interesting people. I hope it went well.
10The Researching FEPOW History Group (RFHG) announced today that registration is now open for their one-day workshop at the Institute of Historical Research, London. They note that: “We are really excited to announce that our next one-day workshop will take place later this year on 10 June, 2019. As ever we will be covering a wide range of topics all related to captivity, internment and forced labour across Southeast Asia and the Far East during the Second World War. The full programme for the day will be confirmed in early March 2019. Tickets are £25 plus a small booking fee. This will include light refreshments (delegates will be asked to bring a packed lunch), and please note that places are strictly limited.”
7Today I heard from the family of evacuees Barbara Ellen Hayward and Richard Twyman Hayward, aged 13 at the time. He had been born in Hong Kong in 1927. His father was Allan William Hayward, Captain of the Hong Kong Cricket Club, who apparently died in Burma in 1943. 7 A lady in Northumberland sent me an unusual and interesting email: ”I love vintage things and so my mum bought me a vintage evening bag from a Charity shop in Sunderland, Wearside, England. It looked 50s in age. Upon using it, I realised that it had a bank note in it. This looked like Monopoly money! I passed it onto my twin boys to play with/put in their ‘odds and ends’ box. The next day I was curious as I realised it could be used to date the bag possibly. To my surprise I think I have an original 1941 bank note which I believe to have been issued between Oct 41 and Dec 41.” It certainly looks like a genuine note. Now, my wife – if she gives someone a purse or bag – always puts a small bank note in it for luck. Perhaps that’s an old tradition? This may well have been a gift from pre-war Hong Kong.
5 I hear that the Al Jazeera short about Crown Wine Cellars is out. Here is the link on YouTube. 5 This morning (as we often do on a Saturday) my wife and I walked along Bowen Road and climbed up to Wanchai Gap, seeing another four wild boar in the process.
4Walking home from my annual medical examination at Matilda Hospital I came across a wild piglet (illustrated) and her much large dad! This was on Homestead Road, and they were both so tame I think someone must be feeding them.
3Phillip Cracknell posted a fascinating blog about Brigadier Jack Reeve, who commended the Hong Kong infantry immediately before the Japanese invasion, leaving the Colony in November 1941. I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of him before. He also posted a second one, covering the story of Captain Douglas Baird, Royal Scots, who survived the Lisbon Maru.
1 Sylvia Midgett put a 1950 newspaper advertisement for ‘Told In The Dark’ on the Battle of Hong Kong facebook page, showing the original price of HK$3.50. I buy copies of every book from this period of Hong Kong’s history that I ever hear of, but this was one of the hardest to track down. Eventually, perhaps ten years ago, I found my copy via Sotherans, and it cost a small fortune. 1 Steve Denton kindly sent a link to an account of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru by Alf Hunt.
January 1st, 2019 Update
Image:
December Images
Barbara Anslow's 100th (via Rosemary Mitchell), Edward Phillips (via Brian Finch). Saiwan 1954 (courtesy CWGC)
Annual Canadian Memorial Service (author), Charter Journal (courtesy Bill Lake), HMS Cicala (via facebook)
ARP Truck (courtesy Phillip Cracknell), May Huang letter (author's collection), Yau Sam Lo (courtesy Jennifer Lo)
December News
First of all, apologies for the late publication of last month’s update. I actually hit the ‘publish’ button on time on the last day of November, and didn’t realize that anything had gone wrong until TK Wong kindly let me know. Apparently I hit a bug in the software which I use to update the site each month. That was a surprise. Fifteen years ago I hit bugs quite often, but it has been very stable since then. Hopefully all’s well this month!
31 Philip Cracknel has published a nice article about Captain Norman Cuthbertson, Royal Scots, who was genuinely heroic aboard the Lisbon Maru. 31 Research by Brian Finch makes a very strong case that Edward Upton, RE, died of diphtheria in the first hold of the Lisbon Maru before she sank. Previously I was only aware of two naval men who shared that fate (with Beri Beri being their cause of death). In a letter to Upton’s widow, his CO Lieutenant William Clarkson states explicitly that he died in the hold and was carried up to the deck and buried at sea.
30 From information supplied by Brian Finch, it appears that the Plymouth Naval Memorial (which I have never visited) has a panel or panels dedicated to the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. That had never occurred to me before. I had assumed that all the lost naval men listed there would simply be in rank and alphabetical order. If anyone has a photo, I would be grateful.
29Jennifer Lo (see last month) kindly sent me a contemporary photo of her grandfather, HKVDC and 3 Company veteran, Yau Sam Lo. 29 Kent Shum kindly sent me the Chinese poster advertising Fang Li’s new Lisbon Maru documentary.
27Bill Lake has confirmed that the Charter Diaries are now published and available. I know this has been a lot of work, and am very much looking forward to reading my copy.
25 Brian Finch has put together a set of links showing the publicity so far afforded the new Lisbon Maru documentary, expected to see completion in 2020: BBC World News 2018.7.9 BBC Today 2018.7.14 BBC Online 2018.7.14 Sunday Post 2018.9.2 23 Today I received an email that truly made my day: “Dear Tony, I want to thank you so much for first contacting me many years ago, and drawing me into the Stanley Group on line, because without that happening, I would not have met up with David Bellis and my war diaries would never have been published. This has been the most exciting year of my life! Regards and God bless, Barbara (Anslow).” As Barbara is one of my heroes (or heroines, to be more precise), it’s rather a big deal!
22 Today the CWGC put an old photograph of Sai Wan on facebook. Taken in 1954 it shows the cemetery before anything around it was built up. Interestingly, at mid left there are three clearly defined 500-pound bomb craters. In one of the comments, someone posted this video of me taking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau around the cemetery at the end of 2016. We appear at about 01.26.
21Brian Edgar sent an interesting link to a set of Christmas cards sent to Charles Collingwood Roberts, taipan of Swire, while in Stanley:
20 John Lomax’s (RA) son got in touch. 20 Elizabeth Ride (and others) have suggested that there should be a BAAG social media group (on facebook or whatever) in the same manner as the Stanley Group and the Battle of Hong Kong group. I think it’s a great idea, and hopefully we can kick it off early in the New Year.
19 George Boothroyd’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) grandson got in touch.
14Al Jazeera interviewed me on camera today for a documentary about Crown Wine Cellars. 14 Old friend Rob Weir was in Hong Kong again recently and took a closer look at PB14. He notes: “The Lyon Light Shelter shows obvious signs of shrapnel damage within the structure, consistent with reports that fighting took place there - in some form. The accessible outer walls of the PB, and a quick peek inside through an open loophole, showed no apparent battle scars. On this visit, I was able to get inside and have a good look. Apart from some damage apparently caused by probable squatter residents over the years, there is no apparent battle damage within the main compartment of the PB. As I mentioned previously, this PB is a little different to most of the other Beach PB’s in that it has an extended entryway along the left side. This is only obvious from the inside as the area is completely covered by a landslip externally. On the side of the entryway, opposite the entry to the main compartment is a large, roughly circular, hole. This has been filled with carefully laid stones and rocks, and is limited to one area rather than the whole side collapsing from the landslip. My theory is that it was caused by an explosive charge set against the outside wall. That could explain how the crew were overcome without fighting.” Rob included a few photos, but unfortunately it was so dark inside that they don’t meet this site’s (ahem) ‘high standards’!
11 On the Stanley Group, Brian Edgar notes: “Those who share my taste for the Inspector Morse and Lewis series will be pleased to know there's a Stanley Camp input. Here's Chris Burt, born Christopher John Burt, on May 1, 1942.” Barbara Anslow immediately replied: “Working in the camp hospital office, I well remember Chris Burt being born there, and seeing him as a new baby.”
8 Frank Hinge’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) grandson kindly sent a photo. 8 In answer to the question (see last month) of supplying food to frontline troops, TK notes from his study of the RASC and RCASC, that: “They (both Eng. and Can.) emptied the Central Depot at Queen's Road and dumped foods to various food stores in the hills across the island - Stanley, Wanchai Gap, Quarry Bay, Aberdeen, Chung Hom Kok etc. on the first two days of the battle. The new depot at Deep Water bay fed 59 units of around 10,000 men. They baked 8,000 to 14,000 lbs of bread per day up to almost Christmas Eve. They were required to make numberless issues (food) to even small units and sub-units, very often having a ration strength of only three or four. On the 21st they used mule transport to carry food to exposed hilltop positions. Those emergency food stores were quite near to the fronts and the soldiers could get tinned beef, corn, vegetables, and milk when hot meals were unavailable.” Although this is about Hong Kong Island, I imagine it was similar in the New Territories.
7Brian Finch managed to find a photo of Edward Phillips, Middlesex, who was lost on the Lisbon Maru. And as he says, “what a photo!” 7 I was working in Bucharest this week, seeing snow fall for the first time in many years. And at breakfast today I was informed that in my ‘real job’ I will now be reporting directly to Larry Ellison for a period. Unexpected, and good in some ways, but unfortunately likely to eat into the little free time that I still have for things historical.
6I had a very welcome email from Dennis Morley today, after having ‘joined the dots’: “Tony, I am now in touch with Rowena Alsey daughter of Arthur John Alsey band sergeant of the 2n bn the Royal Scots. This is a pleasant surprise. He was a likeable guy who I respected. Hope you and yours are well.”
5 Rudolph Raschle has been in touch, He notes that H. W. Ray, R.K. Butler, E. Butler, George Butler, Fitz-gibbon, D. Keats, Martin Ray, and John E Raschle were all relatives in Hong Kong during the war. In my records I can see: Butler, Ernest Oswald - Gunner, HKVDC. Shamshuipo POW Camp Butler, Reginald Charles - Stanley Internment Camp, British born 06.06.42, Electrical Engineer Fitz-Gibbon, William Guerin - Stanley Internment Camp, British born 25.03.85, Secretary PWD HKG Keats, Dorothy – In Stanley internment camp with her whole family. Apparently one of the Rays was a big noise in Hong Kong’s film community, after which the Ray Theatre was named (from Gwulo: Address: 102 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Truelight Building is the current occupant at the site. Ray Theatre operated during the period February 6, 1951 - March 1, 1971). https://gwulo.com/node/36570
4 Yau Sam Lo’s (see last month) granddaughter kindly sent me an account of his life. Interestingly she notes that when he was first in POW Camp: “My grandfather’s two older brothers also came to visit him every day. They knew how to speak Japanese and they paid money to the prison guards so they could bring food for him.” Her great-grandfather had been the President of Business Association for Taiwan, doing business with the Japanese, so the family knew how to speak Japanese.
3 Ivor Arthur Gale’s (RAF) grandson got in touch. Unfortunately his ‘reply to’ email address was incorrectly set so I could not reply. So Leigh Gale, if you read this then please fix it and try again! I am particularly interested as I have had so few contacts from Hong Kong’s RAF families. 3 Brian Finch sent me something I hadn’t seen before: a civilian casualty card for the Royal Marines / Royal Navy. This one was for Charles Collard’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) wife, with a rather endearing misspelling of his name. I hadn’t considered this aspect of war before, but of course servicemen would need to be informed if family were killed in air raids. Collard served on HMS Cicala, and while playing around on the web this month I came across a ‘new’ and rather good photograph of her. 3 Tai Hang Wong noted that yesterday he hiked the treacherous section of Maclehose Trail between Kowloon Pass and Sha Tin Pass which was part of the Gin Drinker Line on the south side of Lion Rock Hill facing Sha Tin Valley. He adds: “The following few pictures taken by Francis Cheung may be of interest to you. One of them shows a concrete military marker of the Gin Drinker Line. It is quite worrying to find the three original military markers in that section not being protected by any preservation measures at all, subjecting them to the damage of nature and vandalism. In fact the inscriptions on the one next to the display board that mentions the BAAG history is seriously worn out and illegible.” Of course this isn’t unusual, and generally the government is good at fixing or replacing defaced boards.
2 Today we celebrated the annual Canadian Memorial Service at Sai Wan. There was, as always, a good turnout and it was great to see many friends. Mike Babin from HKVCA was there as usual and we had a brief catch-up. Had a long chat with Bill Lake who is studying Helen Ho and her sisters. I immediately told him that I had a copy of a ‘thank you’ letter sent to her upon liberation by the senior officers in Sham Shui Po, but when I got home I couldn’t find it. I found copies for May Huang and Joan Ip, but can anyone lay their hands on Helen’s? To me the awful quality of the copies of these letters just adds to their value. The POWs owed such a huge debt to these ladies (who somehow got food and other things into the camps) that they were determined to show their appreciation whatever the technical difficulties!
1Barbara Anslow’s one hundredth birthday! I have probably noted before that thirty years ago when I first started studying this period in Hong Kong’s history, I came across Barbara’s diary quoted in secondary sources as if it was an ancient document. Little did I suspect that I would meet Barbara and her family and be corresponding with her to this day! And it’s not just me; she has generously given her time and memories to the whole community interested in those days. 1 Correspondence continues with Ken Salmon (son of Andy Salmon, RA, Lisbon Maru) who I met in Hong Kong last month. Of his father’s first wife (nee Martha Gomes) he notes of the 1940 evacuation: “she was heavily pregnant at the time and was disembarked in Manila where she gave birth to a baby daughter before continuing on to Australia, eventually settling in Sydney until after the war. Sadly, after reuniting with my father in Sydney, they returned to HK where Martha passed away in May 1950, aged 31.” Very sad, and what a challenge for a 21 year old to have a first child, by herself in a strange country like that.
December 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
November Images
Stanley cemetery damage (courtesy Philip Cracknell), William Cambridge (courtesy Alan Cambridge), High West (author)
John Weaver at the border, William Holland and friends (both via Brian Finch), Sendai POWs (via author)
Artur or Carlos Basto (via Meg Parkes), Charlie Bentham before and after (couresy Lisa Bates)
November News
Donald Neal success in retrieving the records of an HKVDC officer from Kentigern House (see the sixteenth) is very encouraging. He has kindly sent me the contact details of the people who helped him, and I will follow up with them. Up till now I thought that these details were not available in the UK (and so far, of course, I don’t know how comprehensive they are).
27 I received notice today of a new peer-reviewed journal whose inaugural edition includes an interesting article on fifth-columnists in the 1941 fighting in Hong Kong. 27 Kai Chiu Hung’s (3 Coy, HKVDC) great nephew got in touch.
26 The Researching FEPOW History Group has announced their next one-day workshop on 19 June 2019, and a two-day conference 5-7 June 2020. 26 On my way to San Francisco today I had a very enjoyable meeting – at the airport as all parties were flying out at roughly the same time – with Viveka Melki and Chi Man Kwong.
19 Brian Edgar has written this very interesting article about wartime collaboration (and its lack). 19 Rob Weir notes: “Visited PB 14 yesterday and, probably because of the typhoon, managed to get inside for a decent look. It is a strange beast: a standard two loophole ‘bent’ front beach PB, but it has an external air void running down one side and across the back, only ever seen before on one other in a photograph, and the access on the other side being through an extension which puts the entry at the front adjacent the loophole. This ‘annex’ seen in a slightly different form on the Tai Tam Junction PB. The combination of both must be pretty unusual. This must have made life interesting for the LL crew, as they would have to cross the front of the PB to reach the access steps, which are immediately adjacent the opposite side of the PB. No way could you get around the back.” I haven’t been there since I visited with Jim Thompson and the then CEO of Ocean Park around eight years ago.
18 Martin Heyes notes that he visited Stanley Military Cemetery just after the typhoon hit and found that one tree had come down. He and Philip Cracknell kindly sent photos of the damage caused, which the CWGC is rectifying. 18 Not strictly related to the second world war, but on one of my regular trips to the summit of High West I see the government seems to be fortifying it!
16Don Neal tells me he has been successful in getting the HKVDC service records of Colonel R.D. Walker from Kentigern house. 16 On the FEPOW facebook page, Lisa Bates posted photos of Charlie Bentham, RE, who was one of the ‘hard men’ shipped to Tokyo on the first draft of POWs from Hong Kong. He looks about 16 on enlistment, but considerably older and wiser when pictured as a POW.
15 Arthur Alsey’s (Royal Scots, Lisbon Maru) daughter sent a number of interesting photos of her father via Brian Finch. One of them (illustrated) clearly demonstrated the famous shorts! Normally I am not reporting Brian’s work in detail as it is all bound up in the Lisbon Maru documentary project, but Arthur’s name is so familiar to all readers of Barbara Anslow’s diary that I thought I should mention it. 15 Brian Finch continues to do sterling work on the Lisbon Maru families. Thanks to his efforts and continuing contacts through this website I now have photographs of 222 of those who were on board. Among some photos not directly related to the Lisbon Maru were a set showing Lance Corporal John Weaver, Middlesex, at the border with China, and another of Corporal William Holland, RCoS, and friends.
12On facebook today someone posted the well-known photo of Portuguese POWs at Sendai (there are similar photos of the Canadians too). I have a better quality version, but what made this special was the annotation, which read: “Top row: A.P. 'Chunky' Xavier, Henrique 'Ariri' Noronha, Eduardo A. 'Dicky' Noronha, Arthur Basto, Robert A. Souza, Leo A. Souza, Alfred J. M. Prata, E. J. 'Turibio' Cruz, J. M. Jesus, George Ablong. 2nd row: Marciano Silva, Benny Marçal, F. W. Reis, 'Tonin' Sequeira, Tommy M. Castilho, Caetano M. 'Gaita' Azedo, J. F. D. Ribeiro, Darius C. Alves, José A. Marques, Pepe Baleros. 3rd row: Carlos 'Sluggo' Soares, David Leonard, E. A. V. Remedios, Norman Leonard, Henrique Ribeiro, Richard Silva, Harry Mathias, António F.'Butter' Noronha, Freddy Rocha, Carlos 'Sonny' Rocha, Cezar A. Roza, Hugo Garcia, E. J. Figueiredo, Augusto 'Gussy' Sequeira. 4th row: Leo R. Campos (standing), C. A. J. Ribeiro (standing), Luiz Xavier, A. C. Neves, José M. 'Zinho' Gosano, Carlos 'Chodas' dos Remedios, A. M. Baptista, Dr. Patrick M. Cmeyla (U. S. Army), J. C. Remedios, António C. 'Tony' Barretto, Robert J. 'Bob' Barnes, A. Cruz, Luizito Remedios. Front row: M. A. Larcina, Roberto Silva, G. S. Edwards, 'Alichi' Ribeiro, E. S. Marques, Roque Silva, Aquiles V. Jorge, Hugo Ribeiro, Henry Souza, Cicero Rozario, A. B. 'Tony' Carvalho, Billy Wilkinson (squatting), António M. 'Smoky' Xavier (on one knee). 12 Charles Dobie kindly noted: “I found a 48-page illustrated booklet (half English, half French) published in 2005 by Veterans Affairs, Canada. It gives a short history of the Canadian Forces in Hong Kong during the invasion. If you don't have a copy I'll drop it in the mail to you. It is ISBN 0-662-68645-4.” I don’t think I have seen this before so am looking forward to receiving it.
11 A Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) shoulder flash turned up in the hills today. The only problem is that we don’t know whose it was. Of course it could have been lost pre or post-war, but perhaps most probably it belonged to an officer on the General List who was here during the fighting. But I don’t know of any of them from that Regiment (Neve, of course, was Royal West Kent, but that’s a different thing entirely).
10 Victor Branson’s (HKVDC) son got in touch. We have been enjoying researching his Great War and HKVDC progress. In the former he won an MC, with the citation: “T./Lt. Victor Cecil Branson, 13th Bn., R. Suss. R. For conspicuous gallantry near Becordel Becourt on 22nd August, 1918, on patrol. With a small party of men he entered the village of Becordel Becourt, then some 1,500 yards in front of our line, and discovered it to be free of the enemy. The same night, when the post of another company had been driven back, he immediately proceeded with two men, re-established the post, and at once pushed forward in pursuit of the enemy, obtaining a valuable identification some eighty yards in front of the post.” 10 Apparently some experts (see last month) believe that the true number of trees lost to the great typhoon could be as many as 100,000.
9 Steve Denton kindly sent this link from the Telegraph about Ron Freer (see last month). Everything seems about right except that of course he was not aboard the Lisbon Maru. 9 A reader sent an interesting question: What food did the men in the pillboxes have during hostilities? It’s not something I really know anything about. I assume the cooks would have tried to get hot food to them when it was safe to do so, and I assume they had some sort of rations stock-piled too, but if anyone knows the details I would be very interested to learn more. 9 Meg Parkes, who must be becoming the world’s leading expert in FEPOW art, let me look at ‘Tookie’ Poole’s scrapbook. Joseph Albert ‘Tookie’ Poole served in the 1st Middlesex, and like many other POWs asked his fellow prisoners to add a sketch to each page. Frustratingly I couldn’t identify all the artists, but found Nicholas Jaffer, Artur (or Carlos?) Basto, Alfonso Barretto, Francisco Soares, and Robert Barnes.
7 Yau Sam Lo’s (HKVDC 3 Coy) granddaughter contacted me, with the unexpected and welcome news that he is still with us, living in Canada, and now 93. He lied about his age and enlisted aged just 16.
5Ronald Clements, a freelance writer in the UK, has sent me a request for contact with anyone who can provide information for a biography he is writing about Dominica Deidre Danielle Taylor. Deidre was interned with her mother, Elizabeth Anatol Taylor, in Stanley Camp when around 7 months old, so aged four on their release. Elizabeth was from a Russian family with the surname Borisoff. Her husband, Alfred Taylor, was with the Royal Army Medical Corp. He was interned in Shamshuipo Camp and then transferred to Osaka on the 6th draft. The family were united after the war and came back to the UK on the Empress of Australia. Ronald believes that Leo A. Borisoff, a member of the HK police force, who was also at Stanley, may well have been Elizabeth's brother. Any information about Deidre, Elizabeth, Alfred and the Borisoff family would be gratefully received.
4 On the Stanley Group, Brian Edgar notes: “One of my cousins has given me the two 'lost' notes sent to my father's family in Windsor in early September 1945 just after he had left camp with my mother to try to get bread production going again”. The notes are here, and here are Brian’s families other cards and letters from the period.
1Continuing the great short trousers, long trousers debate, Jill Fell notes: “I've only just read the September query about short or long trousers for the HKVDC uniform in December 1941. The 1939 Christmas photo that I posted [here] shows the Signal Corps in short trousers. I assume it was taken no earlier than November. Twenty years previously, my uncle, Arthur Warren is photographed wearing HKVDC uniform with short trousers for his nephew's christening, whereas my younger father, wearing mufti, is in long trousers.”
November 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
October Images
Fran and Garfield Kvalheim (courtesy Sharon Tice), Royal Freer (courtesy Java Journal), High West trench (author)
Captured at Shing Mun (via Tim Ko), Middlesex Band around 1937 (courtesy Fiona Parkinson). Saiwan 1947 (via facebook)
Haystack, BMH Sergeants' Mess, May Road Garages (all author)
October News
The Hong Kong War Diary website dates back to 2000, but took its current form in October 2003. This month is therefore, believe it or not, the fifteenth anniversary of this blog in its current form. I believe it is one of the oldest (possibly even THE oldest) continuously updated monthly blogs in the world. Readers from day one have seen 340,000 words of text (equivalent to three typical novels, and all free of charge!) and 1,800 photographs.
So this extra-long edition will consist of two things: the usual monthly update, followed by a special round up of some of my favourite stories and photos from the last fifteen years. I thought I would choose one per year, just as a reminder of all that I have learned – and present it as a thank you to the now thousands of people who have kindly contributed to my knowledge of Hong Kong during the wartime years.
29 Peter Loughlin’s (HKPF, Lisbon Maru) great niece got in touch, kindly sending a photo. There were very few police on board, but by chance I had a copy of a POW post card he had sent his wife and young son, plus details of his career with the police force. I was able to give these to the family, but sadly after some research they informed me that the son (who they did not previously know about) had died at around the same time as Loughlin was lost on the vessel. 29 This evening I had a very pleasant dinner at my local with Ken Salmon (whose father Andy Salmon was on the Lisbon Maru) and Brian Finch and his wife Gillian.
28 Beautiful weather for my usual walk this morning. Among other things I photographed the May Road garages that Lube Estes had recently mentioned on the Battle of Hong Kong facebook page, the strange trench near the top of High West, and Haystack, a pre-war house on the Peak which is now the residence of the Japanese Consul. Also saw the first wild pigs of the season! 28 A very well preserved Royal Scots shoulder flash turned up in the hills today.
26 Robert Gibson kindly let me know about a new exhibition called Three Years and Eight Months: Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation, at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Lee Shau Kee Library which will run from October 4, 2018 – March 31, 2019. Details here. 26 The local press today carried stories of yet another Japanese grenade turning up. The quantities of ordnance that have been found over the years always amazes people, but when I remind them that shortly before hostilities commenced in Hong Kong the British issued an extra million rounds of .303 to each infantry battalion (i.e. six million more) then the scale becomes clearer.
22Philip Cracknel has posted a short blog on Stanley Internee Robert Grindley Southerton.
19 William Ure’s (Middlesex, Lisbon Maru) daughter got in touch, kindly sending many photos. One of them looks like it was taken in Singapore in about 1937, of the Middlesex Band (Ure is fourth from right).
18 Today I received a copy (via Brian Finch) of Andy Salmon’s personal diary and unpublished book ‘Remember My Face’ about the Lisbon Maru, co-written with Christine Henderson.
17Alex MacDonald asked for more information on Theodore Leslie Bell and Charles Mycock. This was a useful reminder, and I took my notes on Bell and added a few further findings before sending it back to Alex. Like the case of Mrs Hollands, sometimes it takes years to sort these things out and get official recognition, but there is now no doubt that Bell is an undocumented British fatality of the war – and deserves a medal for helping Father Percunas when he was wounded. In the words of Father Tohill: “One man never to be forgotten was a Mr. Bell who welcomed us to the Valley and had hoped that we could help in the construction of huts for the refugees. He had been put in charge of the work; he was not well and suffered from dysentery. He showed much goodwill and set about his work with zeal. After the war Fr. Perkumas [sic] told me how good Mr. Bell had been to him when he helped him leave the hut where he had been wounded by a Japanese bullet. Bell had supported him, and even when confronted with a Japanese machine-gunner who wanted them both to raise their arms, he had hesitated to obey, not wanting Fr. Perkumas to fall helplessly to the ground. For this reason, or probably because he was wearing khaki, the soldier did not hesitate to shoot him. The two of them lay on the ground for quite some time. Bell still tried to assist Perkumas to reach the red house. Before dying he spoke of God’s goodness, and asked the priest to forgive him for not having been of more help.”
16 I asked (on Elizabeth Ride’s sage advice) Audun Urke if he knew any details on the murders of the ‘five Swedish nationals’. He pointed out that the true number was three, adding: “the episode is mentioned in depth by the Norwegian Seaman's Mission pastor, Mr. Johan Nielsen in his account published in 1946. Unfortunately it is published only in Norwegian with the title "Av en sjømannsprests loggbok" (Den norske sjømannsmisjons forlag - Bergen 1946). Pastor Nielsen's church was an important meeting place for Scandinavian sailors in the period between December 1941 and February 1943. The three Swedish sailors came from the MS Ningpo, a Swedish Merchant ship scuttled by the crew in December 1941. They celebrated Christmas, Easter and other holidays together with the stranded Norwegian and Danish sailors at the Seaman's Mission in Chatham Road 2, Kowloon. According to Pastor Nielsen the three were: Anton Wilhelm Forsberg from Ljung, Paul Ingvar Lindquist from Stockholm, and Carl Wilhelm Anderson from Gothenborg, (The Swedish sources writes his name Karl, without mentioning the middle name - and you will also find Andersson with an extra ‘s’ in it).”
15Bill Lake kindly sent a cutting from the Hong Kong Telegraph of 9 December 1941 reporting on donations to the bomber fund. What struck us was the familiarity of the names of the donors: Bicheno, Cautherley, Hyndman, MacGregor, Wylie – all well known to anyone who has studied Hong Kong in the period.
12 Since last month’s big typhoon I have noticed how many new views there are in Hong Kong. Great swathes of trees and brakes of bamboo have gone, and opened up new vistas. Walking back from the office today along Bowen Road I noticed how clearly visible the old sergeants’ mess at the Bowen Road Military Hospital has become, without the cover of the blown down trees.
11 Several people reported that Barbara Anslow’s book is mentioned at length in a Daily Mail article today. 11 Brian Finch kindly sent several photos of Charles Haviland (RN, Lisbon Maru).
10And talking of mega fauna, the South China Morning Post today carried two stories about our wild pigs. In one they apparently attacked a couple of elderly people in the New Territories. In the other, three little pigs apparently went on a very orderly shopping expedition.
8 Today I received the October Java Journal (the newsletter of the Java Far East Prisoner of War Club 1942 – though for many years it has been open to every FEPOW). I was amazed and delighted to learn that Sergeant Ron ‘Royal’ Freer, of Hong Kong’s 8th Coastal Regiment RA, became 103 this month. I had no idea he was still around. He notes that he was stationed at Fort Stanley in Hong Kong, where he was in charge of the Plotting Table and Table Fire Director. He was then a POW in North Point before transferring to Shamshuipo where he stayed until liberation. 8 I took my new walk today, where instead of going Chatham Path, Barker Road, The Peak I go Chatham Road (cross Barker Road), Hospital Path, Severn Road, Plantation Road, Findlay Path, The Peak. As I neared the end of Findlay Path I saw a trio of young people gathered around a small animal. It turned out to be a dying masked civet cat; I think it had been attacked by dogs. Saddened by this I continued my walk to High West, and eventually came down via Old Peak Road. There, opposite the Ladies Recreation Club, I saw two young women standing over a large animal in a ditch. It turned out to be an adult porcupine, hit by a car. Lovely to see Hong Kong’s mega fauna, but very sad in this context. 8 Avery White’s (Middlesex, Lisbon Maru) daughter kindly shared many of her father’s photos and letters. The photos included one of Monkey Stewart, apparently proposing a toast at some pre-war celebration. The most interesting letters were written in defence of Japanese war criminal Hiroshi Morita. Most men actually felt that he was reasonable (in comparison to the majority of POW guards at Kobe), and actually helped the POWs from time to time. They felt that his sentence of twenty years was extreme, and tried to help his attorney reduce it. One 1951 letter, in good but imperfect English, was to White from Morita’s wife, thanking him for his efforts and confirming that Morita’s sentence had indeed been reduced. She asked for further help with Morita’s petition for release after serving five years. Unfortunately I don’t know the result.
6 Brian Edgar found this thesis concerning the Norwegians In Hong Kong before and after their February 1943 internment (Chapter 5). One thing that it notes: “The most relatable act of lawlessness to the Norwegians must have been the murder-looting of five Swedish nationals on Victoria peak, like them, the Swedish were third nationals, and strictly neutral in the war.” Brian added that in the book ‘Taken in Hong Kong: December 8, 1941: Memoirs of Norman Briggs World War II Prisoner of War’ by Carol Briggs Waite he found the quote: "One of the saddest instances of looting happened much later. When we were all sent to internment camp, we asked the three Swedish officers, as third party nationals, if they would like to move into the house. They were living in one room downtown in very cramped quarters. The proposal was put to them that if they lived there and kept the property out of the hands of the Chinese looters, the Company would make a settlement with them for the expenses they had in holding on to the Company property. They moved in about two weeks before we left. On April 10th they were informed by the Japanese that they would have to get out on April 15th, as the Japanese governor of Hong Kong was coming there to live. The reason for this was that it was about the only livable house left on the Peak. On the night of April 14, a gang of fifteen Chinese looters showed up, entered the house, murdered the three Swedish officers, and then went through the house and made a shambles of it. It was very sad, as we knew them quite well and knew they all had families at home in Sweden. The looters knew that it was their last night and, after the governor moved in, there would be an armed guard on the place. After the destruction, of course, the Japanese governor couldn't move in either." The location of the incident was 459 The Peak, also known as Altadena. I believe it is 27 Barker Road today. 6 I have been trying desperately to find the families of the crew of the USS Grouper, SS-214, the American submarine that sank the Lisbon Maru. None of the British POWs on board ever blamed the Americans; it was a Japanese ship carrying Japanese troops and war materials, thus a valid military target. I used to be in touch with crewman Garfield Kvalheim who passed away some years back, and today niece Sharon Tice sent me a wonderful photo of Gar and his wife Fran. Unfortunately I have not been able to contact any other of the families.
4 When I wrote the book about the Lisbon Maru I was lucky enough to find in the archives the now famous photograph of the sinking ship. It was clear, though, that originally there had been two photos. Andy Salmon’s family – perhaps twelve years ago – sent me a photocopy of the now missing second photo. It was taken perhaps thirty minutes after the first, and shows the vessel settling stern first, with the figures of POWs on the bows. Today the Salmons, via Brian Finch, kindly sent a clearer version.
3 Philip Cracknell posted a short but interesting new blog about Lisbon Maru survivor Henry Ross, RAMC, who perished in Japan. He notes: “This is a very short piece, mainly because I could find so little about him, but it's written as a tribute to S/Sgt Henry Ross, Royal Army Medical Corps. He died, aged twenty-six, from starvation/malnutrition whilst in a Japanese prisoner of war camp… He is remembered for always putting others before him, and even when the stricken Lisbon Maru started to sink, instead of trying to save himself he stayed on the ship, as long as possible, trying to save others and tend for the wounded and disabled. Captain Martin Weedon, 1/Mx believed he owed his life to S/Sgt Ross who tended him whilst Weedon was very ill with diphtheria.“ 3 Rob Weir, the expert on Hong Kong’s fixed defences, kindly wrote to me noting: “The purpose of this missive is to correct a minor point. The reference to the Cape Collinson Observation post in the September News opening paragraph should be Cape Collinson CASL (Coastal Artillery Search Light) Installation… There are two, separated by roughly 100 metres, their purpose being to illuminate targets for the Battery guns at night. The Engine House, which contained engines and generators to supply the electricity for the lights, is on the hillside roughly above this installation, but on the opposite side of the road.”
2Bill Lake noticed my mention of the special anniversary edition of the Hong Kong news of December 1942, and kindly sent me a copy of the entire newspaper! This is, I think, the first full edition of a Hong Kong News that I have seen. 2 I have had several interesting replies to my question (see last month) of whether Hong Kong’s defenders in 1941 wore long or short trousers. Ken Skelton in Canada reports Captain E. L. Hurd's, Royal Rifles of Canada, diary reporting on 16 December 1941: "During the morning of Dec. 16th the Imperial Troops raided our store house at Lye Mun and pillaged battledress. I complained to the O.C., Middlesex in our area and many were returned." Which is interesting but inconclusive as (no offense) the Middlesex were inveterate pilferers. I also looked up contemporary photos such as the one of Royal Scots captured at the Shing Mun Redoubt, and they are all wearing long trousers, and of the Canadians landing in November and marching to Shamshuipo all apparently wearing shorts. And then Barbara Anslow kindly let me know that: “my diary of 18.12.41 records that Sid Hale of Royal Scots who had been in Military Hospital with wounds, called to see me on his way to rejoin his unit 'wearing khaki shorts and tin helmet’.” So perhaps men wore a variety.
1 Brian Finch has reported something very unusual: the record of the funeral service of William Fraser, Royal Scots, in Kobe, 1943. As death in POW Camps was sadly on an industrial scale, I had previously assumed funeral services would have been almost robotic. Not so, it appears. This service, conducted by an American Naval Officer, Commander Harrison, was personal and sincere. 1 Another one from Brian Edgar. While Augusta Wexham and her husband (Robert Wexham, RN, who perished on the Lisbon Maru) appear in the records, there is no mention anywhere of a son, and of course it is nonsensical to suggest that a child was on the Lisbon Maru. 1 Brian Finch kindly sent me several photographs of Martin Weedon, commander of B Company of the Middlesex. One of them (illustrated) was a particularly fine portrait. 1 At the end of last month, Brian Edgar found an article from the Coventry Evening Telegraph, May 27th 2002. It read: “Schools Honour the Memory of PoW Campaigner. A CONCERT has helped a fund in memory of a wartime prisoner of the Japanese who died from a rare disease. A show by Catholic schools in Coventry raised pounds 975 for the Amyloidosis Research Fund in memory of Florence O'Grady, of Daintree Croft, Styvechale, who survived a Japanese PoW camp and went on to win compensation for inmates. She died, aged 63, last May, from degenerative disease amyloidosis. The concert was held at St Mary's RC School, in Lansdowne Street, Hillfields, where she was a teacher for 30 years. The proceeds have taken the total of the research fund to pounds 5,700, which has delighted her husband, Gerard. He said: ‘I'm very very touched by the way people have responded and it's most generous. It shows the esteem in which she was held because she really was an exceptional person.’ Mrs O'Grady was just three years old when her family was captured by Japanese troops who marched into Hong Kong in 1941. She was held in Stanley Camp on the island for almost four years. The tireless campaigner won pounds 10,000 compensation from the government last year as part of a payout to all former prisoners and their widows to recognise their suffering. Mr O'Grady, aged 61, said the Royal Free Hospital, in Hampstead, where the amyloidosis research fund is based, is the only place in the country which is researching the disease. He is campaigning for greater awareness of the rare condition which kills up to 300 people a year. He said: ‘They're now trying out drugs on people which will hopefully control the condition, which they're very positive about. I feel the more awareness is raised, the more things can be done in the long run.’ “ Researchers in the Stanley group believe she was Florence Roberta James, born 1 Dec 1937. Probably Florence’s mother was married to Private James Ivor James of the Middlesex who died on the Lisbon Maru. His POW card has Mrs James 368 The Peak HK. Barbara Anslow mentions a little girl Flossie James a couple of times in her recently published diary, she was a fairy in Peter Pan in August 1944 and was confirmed in May 1945. Oddly, James’s CWGC entry mentions no wife. 1 The HKVCA facebook page showed a very interesting set of photographs entitled ‘Officers of the British Forces and the Canadian Forces visits the Sai Wan War Cemetery in Chai Wan, Hong Kong, 1947’. I hadn’t seen these before. In fact I thing these pre-date the earliest Sai Wan photos I have in my archives, showing the top section of the cemetery bare of graves. 1 After my notes about last month’s typhoon and the number of trees lost, I see that number has now been upgraded to an unbelievable 46,000 (upgraded yet again at the end of the month to 60,000). The South China Morning Post reports that the old runway at Kai Tak is now being used to store them. The same edition also noted the coming retirement of Tony Chow Shek-kin, who has headed EOD in Hong Kong for many years and certainly deserves a long and happy retirement.
Fifteenth Anniversary Memorial
2003 These were real people…
“Hello Tony. I've found a photo of the Royal Scots Regiment in my husband's old family photo album. His father, Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant George Trinder (No 3049835) is in the front row, 7th from the left. I've attached it in case it is of interest to you. I have assumed that the two men whose photos are attached to the railing of the verandah were the officers. Do you think that is possibly correct? Aileen Trinder.”
It’s very easy when considering history to forget that the objects of our interest were real people. Mr Trinder was lost in the sinking of the Lisbon Maru, and I was immediately struck by the obvious character of the man in this outstanding portrait.
2004 … and some of them were children.
“My name is Karen, my mother Julia Bonner was a prisoner of Stanley Internment Camp, taken on her 12th Birthday 19th December 1941. Her nickname was Blondie, her mother Raquel Bonner was of Spanish decent, she married Captain William Worral in Stanley Internment Camp. He was well known in Hong Kong as a salvage Captain ‘Tug Boat Bill’. My blood grandfather Corporal Horace Bonner was in the Hong Kong Defence corps, when the island fell to the Japanese, he reported to headquarters and my mother never saw him again. He was the security guard at the Hong Kong Dock yards when it fell. I know that he was killed at war, however would like to know anything about his final days, if anyone can give me a clear indication of how to find any information about him I would gratefully appreciate it. When he died so did all the ties that my mother had with his family in England as all the records were destroyed. We know that he had 2 sisters and that is about it. Mum is the third from the right. The one laughing. She thinks this photo was taken around the 19th/20th December 1941. She remembers the date as the 19th, the day she was captured, was her twelfth birthday. She actually went to the French Convent School as a student before the war.”
I think the impact here is the combination of the exact place and time (North Point Camp, 19 December 1941) and the resilience of children. I used to know several kids who had been taken to North Point on that day, and although Julia is laughing here, what they saw – especially when wounded Canadians were brought in – stayed with them forever. Raquel and her two daughters were in Room 15/15 in Stanley with the Eagers and Worrals.
2005 Hong Kong was a prime posting…
“Tony, As requested photo which was taken in the Sergeants mess in Hong Kong. From left to right ‘Pop’ Ayers, Bill Poulter, Jim Ramsey, Dorothy Poulter, and Ivy Ramsey. I do not know who the two other men were. I know that Jim Ramsey, one of Dad’s friends, went down with the Lisbon Maru. Mum and Ivy remained great friends until 1993 when Ivy died. Regards, Robbie Poulter.”
Between the wars, Hong Kong and Shanghai were considered prime postings. A humble soldier could do very nicely in cities which (though it’s hard to believe now) were then very poor. This photo epitomises the high life, though all three men would see the lows of the Lisbon Maru with only Poulter surviving.
2006 … and women served too.
“Tony, Thank you so much for replying so quickly. The details below confirm some of the information we have found from her diary. I will continue to try to find more information on my grandfather. If I do I will pass it on. I have attached a photograph of my grandmother and one taken on the ship on their way to Hong Kong. I have also attached a beautifully illustrated poem written by one of the POW's. We found a number of sketches that my grandmother was given, some of them with notes attached thanking her for her kindness which is lovely. There was obviously a lot of talent around and evidence that people still managed to keep a sense of humour. We have found an original copy of a 'Special Edition' of 'The Snake & Staff' dated January 1942 which is very funny. I think it must have been distributed around Bowen Road Hosp as it mentions Norman Leath amongst others. If I can scan it well enough for you to read, I will pass it on. Thank you again. Kind regards. Jo Price.”
Joan Whitely was one of many women serving in Hong Kong. She was interned in Stanley, but left there soon after the Japanese surrender to work at the Central British School (now KGV) hospital.
2007 Families were destroyed.
“Hello Tony, Thank you for your email. I thought that as you were in touch with the Reed family that they may like to see the diary entry and envelope etc (photos attached). I suppose that there is no memory now of the diary being found. I expect that my uncle wrote to Mrs Reed at the time. Congratulations on your book. Regards. Ken.”
Middlesex soldier Percy Chittenden’s diary was found on Leighton Hill just after the fighting, and was kindly sent to him by the Reed family post--war. Sadly, that family lost four sons in the HKVDC during the war. Gunner Francis Oswald Reed, Private Edgar Vincent and Private Arthur Augustus Reed were all killed in the December fighting, and Private Stephen Arnold Reed died of wounds early in the New Year.
2008 It has been a real privilege to meet the veterans…
“Ok, Tony, here goes!! Kind regards, George”.
This photograph – taken during Barbara Anslow’s visit - is (from left to right) Geoffrey Emerson, my good friend the late Toby Brown, Barbara Anslow, Barbara's daughter (I believe), my wife, and a bearded George Cautherley (who was born in Stanley Internment Camp). Barbara was showing us round and explaining the story behind each headstone. Later we retired to Stanley for lunch. I have another treasured photo of Barbara and I giggling like teenagers, but I have no recollection why.
2009 … and to stay in touch with them.
“Dear Tony. Good morning! As spoke, the photos are also for you too. Those images are already deleted in our camera. Your website is a very interesting resource for study. I would view it and recommend to students. Best, Yours sincerely, mo-ching.”
Now, to most people that would mean very little. But to me it means Elizabeth Ride’s (daughter of Brigadier Ride, the founder of BAAG) annual visit to Hong Kong. We always met up, and I learned great deal. And our kids loved her visits too because their own grandmother was too poorly to travel by then, and Elizabeth would bring them little gifts; they called her ‘stunt nana’.
2010 Interest continues to grow…
“The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:”
This is one of Robert Gibson’s excellent photos of our Hong Kong Club walks. I started taking the Club for historical walks many years ago, when no one else seemed much interested. Now at least one of those who accompanied me then conducts walks of his own, and many more people – local and foreign – are passionately interested. The research by the younger generation today exceeds the little I was able to do then, and no one is happier to see this than me.
2011 … and finds, one way or another, keep turning up.
“Dear Tony, A W B Strachan, my father, was in Hampshire R 151358. He was a POW at Shamshuipo. I have a medical case, Japanese Issue and some provenance - drawing by A V Skvorzov and by Bird. I attach some photos, is this of interest? Regards, James Strachan.”
It seems that every month people find things in Hong Kong’s hills and are kind enough to let me know. I could have filled each one of these years with photos of shells, grenades, guns, magazines, bombs and so forth – but I chose not to as these things are dangerous and I don’t want to encourage people to search for them. But sometimes other, safer (perhaps? I’m not sure in this context!) items turn up too.
2012 They had skills that later generations lost.
“Hi Tony. My father was a 'guest of the Emperor' in Argyle Street during WWII, having served with the Middlesex Regiment. (I've found his name on your website.) He was captain of A Company. He was heavily involved in the Argyle Street POW Association for many years before his death in 1998. We've got some odds and ends of his adventures during this time which you may be interested in and also a detailed map of HK and surrounding areas reportedly drawn in the camp during his stay. We would like help in identifying the author/artist of this incredible artifact, not least because it would surely be of great interest to his family. We're visiting HK in November and wonder if we could meet up. Look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Philip Hudson.”
Captain John Hudson, Middlesex, family sent me this map (among many). I believe it was drawn by Lance Corp Ken Sawyer, Royal Army Veterinary Corps. Judging from the scrapbooks kept in POW Camp, everyone then could sketch and write poems that put our modern generations to shame.
2013 Not every project pans out.
“Dear Tony, Just finished the whole text in time, please see attached medium quality PDF from p.1-18. There are 3 photos and one logo embedded in the Microsoft Word document that you did not email to me. They are images from p.1 (one pic and the HK Club logo), p.3, p.17. Please email files to me so that I could improve the photo quality. Thanks. Au Yeung.”
Aaargh! I spent years (literally) writing Walking The War, a book of illustrated war walks – and drawing the maps by hand - and for one reason or another it never got published. What a shame. Maybe one day. These were the ten carefully researched walks I put together over the years for the Hong Kong Club.
2014 It happened here…
“Hi Tony, I see you try to combine the old and current photo together. Here is the result I did with a photo on your site. It's a very powerful image when combine the pass and current image together. Also a new way to tell the story. It will be very interesting to make a book or exhibit with this kind of images. How do you think? Regards, Tan.”
Hong Kong, perhaps more than any other city, has changed dramatically since 1941. Sometimes so much so that it is hard to grasp that the events we read about really happened in our streets and hills. This merging of ‘then and now’ helps fix those events in our times.
2015 … and reverberates to this day.
“Tony, Here are some more photos you might consider for your website. One, the whole group in Stanley Cemetery - 1 Dec. Union Jack - in St Stephen's Chapel, 2 Dec. Ian Gill presented this flag, which was said to have been hidden and raised in a POW camp in Indonesia in 1945, later given to his mother, Billie Gill, and he draped her coffin with it in 2006. The people in the photo were children, born or conceived in Stanley Camp, except Cortia Chung and Winnie Wong of St Stephen's College and me. Geoff.”
Geoffrey Emerson’s photo is worth a thousand words. All these people started their lives in Stanley Internment camp and revisited Hong Kong in 2015 for the reunion which Geoffrey organised.
2016 The foundation is intergenerational respect…
“Tony, Once again thank you. It was great to meet you in person. Attached are some photos of today for you. Sincerely, Ben.”
Ben Dalgleish’s grandfather was Ip Kwong Lau, a member of the Hong Kong Chinese Regiment. He escaped from wartime Hong Kong, joined up with BAAG, then became a Chindit. Uniquely (to the best of my knowledge) he later became the only member of Hong Kong’s wartime garrison to join the SAS. (Winnipeg Grenadier John McCoy, an American, joined the Rangers post war and was killed in Vietnam. He may well have been the only other Hong Kong veteran to have joined Special Forces). So it’s not surprising that Ben joined Watershed for their uniformed re-enactment of 1941 marking the seventy-fifth anniversary in December 2016. But the fact is that most of the emails I receive are also from current generations trying to understand the experiences of their ancestors.
2017 … and we’re not finished yet.
“Dear Tony, I am happy to attach the full cover of ‘Reduced to a Symbolical Scale’ for your perusal. Can you please give it a thorough review and confirm that it is ready for press? If there is anything else that requires attention, please let me know by Monday, 12 June. We will prepare the files for printing as soon as we have heard from you. Thanks and with very best wishes, Clara Ho, Managing Editor, Hong Kong University Press.”
So that’s the most recent book done and dusted. But there’s lots more to do. I have half a dozen potential articles for the Royal Asiatic Society at least half finished, and two or three more books I’d like to complete before I too leave this mortal coil. But of course I’ll report back on all of that in 2033 when Hong Kong War Diary celebrates its thirtieth anniversary!
October 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
September Images
Monkey Stewart (courtesy Colin Crabbe), Note from Monkey to Wallis (via The Lasting Honour), Kai Yuen in 1939 (courtesy Tai Wong)
Japanese propanganda leaflet (courtesy Colin Standish), HK News (courtesy Tommy Wong, via facebook), East Brigade HQ (courtesy Burke Penny)
Andrew Thomson and friends (courtesy Charlie Middleton), Sunday Post (courtesy Iain Gow), Cape Collinson then and now (courtesy Carly Yu, via Facebook)
September News
Egad, what a typhoon. The winds of Sunday 16 September were stronger than anything I have previously experienced. It was the most intense typhoon yet recorded in Hong Kong’s history, and – for those of you lucky enough not to be here – to be honest the most frightening. The authorities tell us we lost 17,000 trees, but I think those are just the ones on the built up areas; those lost in the hills are uncountable. And even our heritage suffered: the up till now perfectly preserved observation post at Cape Collinson was wrecked by the winds; thus we lose 2nd battery’s history.
30 For the first time in two weeks I was able to do my full Sunday hill walk of Hornsey Road, May Road, Chatham Path, Barker Road, round the back of the Peak, up and down High West, back up to Mountain Lodge, then down Mount Austin Road, Old Peak Road, and home. The smaller paths still had a few trees I had to walk under or over, but it’s mostly clear. What’s also clear is the amount of broken limbs on the surviving trees; now they have all turned brown, and on the east facing slopes of the hills there’s as much brown as green. 30 Anne Ozorio posted a very interesting link to a blog by Ben Thompson, who I believe is Private Ben Thompson, RASC. It describes Shamshuipo and his transportation to Japan on the third draft.
29 Andrew Thomson’s (Royal Scots, Lisbon Maru) family kindly sent me photos of him with two unidentified companions. I wonder if anyone can identify either of them? 29 I was a little shocked today looking at Amazon, to see copies of The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru advertised at GBP 851.99 and even GBP 1,589.33! I must ask HKUP to ship Amazon another edition at normal prices.
28 Here’s an interesting question: Which member of the HKVDC had the serial 4038? Whoever it is, something has been found in the hills that might once have belonged to him. 28 I had an enquiry today about British uniforms of December 1941. Would the men have worn short or long trousers? As the December weather tends to be cool I had always assumed the latter, but that is just a supposition. Does anyone have any concrete evidence?
27Brian Edgar has found yet another interesting newspaper report! This one concerns Canadian civilian nurse Mary Fairburn, who was initially evacuated from Hong Kong in 1940 but returned before hostilities. She was the wife of Thomas Fairburn, RNR. It was in November 2011 that I had a question from a journalist asking who nurse ‘G C Fairburn’ was. I replied: “I think she must have been Mary Constance Fairburn, born 06 - May - 1900. She was at the University Relief Hospital, and was a Canadian. She was interned at Stanley Civilian Internment Camp after the fall of Hong Kong, and was repatriated to Canada 23 - Sept - 1943.” Until now I had no idea what had resulted from this conversation.
25 Brian Edgar has found a newspaper report on the passing away of Audrey J. Casey (née Barton. She was one of the big Barton clan in Stanley).
21This is a long shot, but since my submariner friend Garfield Kvalheim passed away I have lost contact with all families of the crew of SS-214 USS Grouper – the submarine which sank the Lisbon Maru. Does anyone have any contacts with the families of any of the Grouper’s wartime crew?
20I learned today that my latest book, Reduced to a Symbolical Scale, has been reviewed in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong, Volume 58 (2018). I found it a very balanced and fair review, and loved the comment: “For the data, we have Banham”! The conclusion noted: “Banham’s work over many years on exactly this kind of meticulous enumeration of copious personal detail is always impressive. Unfortunately, the current management of Hong Kong University Press has allowed this work to languish under an odd title, a clumsy cover design and the kind of pricing that will prevent most people interested in this subject from being moved to buy it.” But I have to come clean; the price is out of my hands, but the title and the photo on the book’s cover were entirely my idea. While personally I actually quite like the cover, I have to accept that the title was more than a little self-indulgent. A previous reviewer had made a similar criticism. My thinking, of course, was that Winston Churchill’s famous comment: “This is all wrong. If Japan goes to war with us there is not the slightest chance of holding Hong Kong or relieving it. It is most unwise to increase the loss we shall suffer there. Instead of increasing the garrison it ought to be reduced to a symbolical scale. Any trouble arising there must be dealt with at the Peace Conference after the war. We must avoid frittering away our resources on untenable positions. Japan will think long before declaring war on the British Empire, and whether there are two or six battalions at Hong Kong will make no difference to her choice. I wish we had fewer troops there, but to move any would be noticeable and dangerous”, would give me the titles for all five of the books in this series. Alas, I screwed up on the Lisbon Maru book (which should of course have been entitled Frittering Away). Noticeable and Dangerous – the story of BAAG, the Hong Kong column of the Chindits, and all the other late war contributions of those who escaped Hong Kong’s garrison – is not yet complete.
19Captain John Reid’s (RCAMC) son got in touch, with the welcome news that he is writing a book about his father. Uniquely of all the Canadian officers, Reid went to Japan.
17 Reginald Spencer and Geoffrey Spencer’s (both RE, Lisbon Maru) family got in touch.
16George Mose’s (RA, Lisbon Maru) great grandson got in touch. 16 Typhoon day. We had noticed this one on the satellite data as far back as Tuesday when it was forming over Guam. Even then it looked like it might make a direct hit on Hong Kong as a Super Typhoon. At the height of the winds of Sunday afternoon we barricaded our French windows with our heavy teak dining table, locked ourselves in the kitchen (our Safe Room, sheltered from all directions), and listened to trees being torn down all around the house. When you see the destruction and rain fall on a scale like this, it’s amazing that so many relics from 1941 still get found up in the hills. And I suspect some of the old tree roots now brought to the surface may bear interesting bits and pieces.
15 Steve Denton and I have been straining our brains over Private William Mackay, 2927763, Royal Scots. Different documents both muddle him up with someone of a similar name, and show him as both being on the third draft and surviving Osaka #3B, and being on the Lisbon Maru and losing his life.
13Major Brian Finch has continued to collect many family stories for the Lisbon Maru documentary, This one, which for obvious reasons I shall leave anonymous, is one of the most moving and I will make no further comment: “My father never lived a normal life after the war. His head wound and physical injuries were a constant torment. He battled demons daily. His relationship with our mother broke down to a point where he tried to murder her and take his own life. Consequently, he was gaoled and found guilty with diminished responsibility and held in a psychiatric institution at 'Her Majesty’s Pleasure' for life. He was finally released into my custody shortly before his death aged 65.”
4Barbara Anslow’s book Tin Hats And Rice was waiting for me today when I returned from a business trip to San Francisco. Although Barbara had been kind enough to give me an indexed photocopy of her diary many years ago, I had never read it from end to end until today. What an experience! I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Hong Kong during the period.
3Martin Heyes reports taking the family of Bill McHardy (Hong Kong Police) for a tour of Hong Kong. He notes: “and what a fascinating career he appears to have enjoyed! He was in the Water (Marine) Police and also served in the New Territories. (I believe that pre-WW2, Water Police & NT were one and the same). In 1938 Bill was awarded the CPM for gallantry, together with a small group of other policemen including one Chinese coxswain. Despite spending an afternoon in the Public Records Office with the very efficient and helpful staff there, I have not been able to ascertain the details of the incident which led to this award. All I have been able to glean is that is was an incident on the border.” He also kindly sent a number of photos.
2Chris Harley gave me the good news that Jessie McDonald Holland has now been accepted into the Civilian War Dead list maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Unfortunately the Auxiliary Nursing Service does not warrant a standard CWGC headstone, so perhaps we can raise one locally. (See January). 2 George Boote kindly sent me a scan of a Lisbon Maru article in Britain At War magazine. 2 Joseph Yu notes: “I have just found in our College Museum archives today, which might be of interest to you. It was written by Mr Harry Norman Williamson, a teacher at Queen's College prior to the war, on 30 Dec 1941 (days after surrender) in Stanley, Hong Kong. Mr Williamson [was a gunner] of 2nd Battery HKVDC and was stationed and captured at Stanley Fort.” 2 Mike Butterworth kindly sent me a scan of the Sunday Post article about the Lisbon Maru featuring Iain Gow and his father. (Note that a number of versions of this editorial give the caption: “Chinese fishermen watch as the Lisbon Mari lists and sinks beneath the sea” to a photo that clearly shows Imperial Japanese naval personnel.) Iain himself sent me a scan from the print version too.
1 We are now well and truly in contact with the family of the renowned Henry William Moncrief ‘Monkey’ Stewart, Commanding Officer of the first battalion the Middlesex regiment. They note: “We have located two of HWMS’s photo albums which have pictures and a lot of written detail against these and go from around 1908 on wards covering school, Sandhust, First War postings, second war postings, all the way through to just a few of Hong Kong... You can see from one of these that HWMS was on leave in the UK up till May 1939 and we can’t find anything after that. So one has to assume that like the First war Medals any information after this was lost in Hong Kong.” Most excitingly, they sent some excellent photos of Monkey, including the lead photo for this month. 1 Michael Ryan’s (Middlesex) nephew got in touch, kindly sending a photo (illustrated). Ryan was one of the ‘hard men’ sent to Japan on the first draft. They note that: “Michael, son of Timothy and Margaret, came from Knockbarry, Co. Cork, Eire. He joined the British Army before 1937, joining the Middlesex Regiment, the 'Die Hards'... He fought in the defence of Hong Kong and was captured on Christmas day 1941. He was imprisoned in Sham Shui Po camp. He was later transported by hell ship to Japan where he laboured in the docks. He survived his captivity and returned home. He died on 30th June 1977 at Chadwell Hospital, Ilford.” 1 TK noted that he was quite delighted: “to come across several good photos of Kai Yuen ([which] means Perpetual Garden in Chinese) lately. I am sure you have seen the captioned letter before. Lt General Tadayoshi Sano (commander of the 38 Division, IJA) set up his divisional headquarters in Kai Yuen after landing on the morning of 20-12-41. He allowed Stewart to use a sheet of paper bearing the Chinese characters of Kai Yuen to inform Wallis to surrender in Stanley and it was dated 25-12-1941. You can see this letter in page 114 of Lindsay's book: The Lasting Honour. Benjamin Proulx (Canadian served in HKRNVR) vividly described Kai Yuen in his book (Underground From Hong Kong - page 175) after he emerged from the sewer pipe and the fountain. The captioned photos clearly show the fountain and the surrounding scenes.” Very useful! I have known of that photo for 30 years, but never before realized the significance of the Chinese characters. Obviously I immediately sent a copy to Stewart’s family. 1 Wayne Carew is trying to find the family of his mother’s cousin Veronica Thirlwell (Willey) who passed away in 2008 in Sao Paulo Brazil. He has sent numerous messages to Natalia Ramos who he believes might be her granddaughter but has had no reply (possibly because of the language barrier as they only speak Portuguese). 1 The granddaughter of 1940 Hong Kong evacuee Olive Tyner (who was married to William Tyner, RAMC, who died as a POW in Japan less than a week before the end of the war) contacted me to ask if anyone had a copy of the radio 3AR Hong Kong broadcast which I mentioned in Reduced to a Symbolical Scale. I have never heard of one, myself. 1 On the Battle of Hong Kong facebook page, Tommy Wong posted a copy of the HK News edition ‘celebrating’ the first anniversary of the fall of Hong Kong. 1 Colin Standish kindly sent me copies of more Japanese propaganda artwork. 1 Burke Penny (author of the useful book Beyond The Call) notes that he is: “gradually starting to work on finding more information about the activities of the RCCS at East Brigade HQ.” He has written a blog post on the topic, and kindly also sent me four photos that his brother had taken on site.
September 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
August Images
Tin Hats and Rice (author), "Monkey's" Court medals (courtesy Fiona Crabbe), Gowland Family (courtesy the late Janis Hollis)
Grayburn grave (courtesy Sandy Wynd), Ohashi POWs (courtesy Mark Clayton), First draft sample Index card (courtesy Steve Denton)
Lisbon Maru (survived) index card, Lisbon Maru (died) index card, Third Draft index card (all via Steve Denton)
August News
There are not enough hours in the day. Sometimes my own projects (Hong Kong civilian deaths during the war, BAAG and irregular forces, POW diaries, awards and decorations, etc.) seem permanently put on hold as I help other researchers and give as much assistance as possible to the Lisbon Maru documentary! The latter is going well. Several hundred families of those on board are in touch, and the next steps are (hopefully): A second shooting trip to the UK (early September), An investigative trip to Japan (early October), Meeting with survivor William Beningfield in Canada (mid-October), A third large-scale interview in the UK (late October), A trip to the US (in early November), Filming in Zhoushan, including underwater shooting of the wreck (in late November), A trip to Australia and New Zealand (to be confirmed). Meanwhile, the director is storyboarding the entire documentary, starting the preparation of the film reenactment part (script, art direction, creating the ship model, studying costume props, casting, and so on), hopefully finishing this part before the first half of 2019. In the second half they will focus on editing, music, colour matching, dubbing etc. If all goes well it will premiere in London in late October 2020, but let’s see.
30 I heard today that Janis Hollis (daughter of Cuthbert Gowland, HKVDC) had passed away on the fifteenth. She gave me a great deal of help in writing Reduced to a Symbolical Scale, and the hard times she experienced during the war often made me realize how lucky I (and many of my generation) have been in comparison. I dug out a photo that Janis had sent me of the family. Her father is at the back, and she is far right at front. 30 My copy of Barbara Anslow’s book was waiting for me when I returned from San Francisco. I’ve actually had an indexed copy of her diary since she sent one to me at least ten years ago, but it’s still very nice to see it in book form. I believe David Bellis of Gwulo deserves a lot of the credit for facilitating its publication.
27Sandy Wynd kindly sent me a photo of Vandeleur Grayburn’s grave taken recently. He notes: “It was the 75th anniversary of Grayburn’s death last week and in line with every year HSBC places flowers on his grave. I took this photo on Saturday and they were already wilting under the sun.” 27 For many years I have wanted to track down the family of Lieutenant Colonel ‘Monkey’ Stewart of the Middlesex, who not only commanded (arguably) the most professional force in Hong Kong’s wartime garrison, but also masterminded the epic defence of Wanchai, but was then the senior officer on the Lisbon Maru – passing away just days after reaching Japan. Today – thanks to Brian Finch’s sterling work – his granddaughter sent me a file full of photos and information. There’s a lot to process, but one image was of his Court medals (from both wars). The family also have the originals of his WWII medals, but not the WWI ones. Most likely these were either lost in Hong Kong or went down on the Lisbon Maru, but I thought I should check and see if anyone has ever heard anything about them?
26 Thomas nelson’s (RA, Lisbon Maru) family got in touch.
25 Mark Clayton posted a photo of POWs at Ohashi (Sendai #4 Branch Camp) at liberation. It looks to me to be George MacDonnel top row fourth from left, and it’s Richard Keays is in the second row from the front, sitting third from the right.
25 Having fielded lots of questions about Hong Kong POW Index Cards I thought it might be useful to post examples of four of the most common, relating to the first three drafts.
24 Today I met with Joseph Gregory S.Y. YU, a D.Phil Student at the University of Oxford who is studying non-governmental museums, with a particular interest in St Stephen’s College’s Heritage Gallery. His alma mater is Queen’s College, a number of whose teachers served during the war or were interned in Stanley. I’ll help research them properly when I have a moment. 24 Someone kindly pointed to a Leonard Birchall video on YouTube. While the link between ‘The Saviour of Ceylon’ and Hong Kong may not be obvious, he was an officer in Tokyo #3B, to which many of Hong Kong’s ‘hard men’ (the tough first draft) were taken. From We Shall Suffer There: James Ford: “September 15: Disembarked Yokohama. Capt. Otway, R.E., Lieut. Price, R.A.M.C., myself and some 200 men posted to Stadium Camp (originally Camp 2, later Camp 3B, Tokyo Area) in which we found Squadron Leader Birchall and W.O. Onyette, both of the R.C.A.F., and about half-a-dozen men, all of whom had come from Ofuna that same day. About a month later, Capt. Kauffman, U.S.M.C., and 72 Americans arrived from the P. I.” Leonard Birchall recalled: “Then, suddenly, in came this great big influx of these guys who had been on these hell ships coming up from Hong Kong, and starved and beaten and what‑not as well. But just full of hate. Not just [towards] the officers, but the Japanese, everybody ‑‑ they were still fighting. God! These officers ‑‑ Cecil Otway from the Royal Engineers and Jimmy Ford from the Royal Scots ‑‑ they got me on the side and said, they told me, they said, ‘If you go out there, if you say the wrong thing, you’ll be out behind the sheds and dead inside of 5 minutes. We tell you now.’ And they meant it. I knew, after I met them, after I stood up in front of these guys, that it was true. I said [to myself], ‘You’re going to have to fight like a hawk to get these guys to have any respect for anything. There’s no way of enforcing discipline – you’re in real trouble.’ So I had to go out, and we had the food dished out. It was the first food they’d had in I don’t know how long. It was just a bowl of rice and some soup. We said, ‘All right, you guys dish the soup and the rice out. Here are the officers’ bowls.’ There were six of us. I said, ‘Here are six bowls. You guys put the food in, divy it out as you can, and we’re not going to touch it; you go ahead and do it ‑‑ our bowls are there. Now, anybody thinks that we got more than you did, you change it. We’re not going to touch ours until everybody has been served and is happy. We’re going to do this every meal from here on out.’ ” 24 Ron Taylor (HK) was kind enough to let me know that Alexander ‘Shura’ Shivarg has passed away. He was a White Russian from Harbin, who fought in the HKVDC and became a POW in BMH Borrett Road and North Point. After the war, he was given a British Passport and settled in the UK where he opened a popular northern Chinese restaurant in Knightsbridge, the Good Earth. He was married to Joan Wyndham, the famous author, and lived in Chelsea, where they were both members of the Chelsea Arts Club.
22I received this query from a fellow researcher: “I am looking for information on a member of the British Armed Forces by the surname of Wilson who either died in HK, was MIA, or maybe was taken POW and died elsewhere. The only other information I have is that he had an Irish wife from Kilmihil County Clare and a small daughter. They were in Australia during the war, presumably evacuated.” I can’t find anyone in my evacuation records who fits this. Can anyone help? 22 Barbara Anslow’s book is available! Tin Hats and Rice can be purchased here.
20Very welcome news today from Chris Harley, that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is seriously considering Mrs Jessie Holland’s case (see January). I have provided two more documents that they requested. As she was a serving member of the ANS I am hopeful that her current unnamed headstone in the Colonial Cemetery (now called the Hong Kong Cemetery) will be replaced with a standard CWGC stone. 20 Frank Charles Hinge’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) grandson got in touch. 20 I asked Ron Taylor (HK) about the location of HKVDC service records (see the fifteenth). He kindly replied: “All HKVDC records were lost during the occupation and after the war many were recreated by WO2 Rakusen of the Pay Section so that HKVDC members could be paid correctly. I don’t know to what extent these records went as I never saw any of them. In the 1970s (I think) the Headquarters at Happy Valley was flooded and some of the records were damaged; again I am not aware of the extent. All personal records of HKVDC members and members of the subsequent formations (HKDF, RHKR(V) etc) were all sent to the UK prior to the handover in 1997. I believe that they went to a disused RAF hanger (Hendon or Hayes, Middlesex if I recall). I heard that while there some were again damaged by water! It seems that no one really regarded them as important so never took any simple protective measures! My recollection is that when the Army decided that it needed to centralise their records of past members, the HKVDC records were sent to the main storage depot somewhere in Derbyshire! When seeking the record for a past HKVDC member (which I never obtained) I was told that this depot comes under Kentigern House, Glasgow from where I had directed my enquiry; they say what box they need for the record of interest and the next day the box arrives in Glasgow. Presumably it is sent back as soon as the relevant record has been copied. This struck me as typically bureaucratic procedure and no doubt was thought up by a civil servant as a cost saving measure! My last communication was that the HKVDC record which I had sought was not in the box which it should have been. As far as I can understand Glasgow closed the file at this stage! It would thus appear that the HKVDC and quite possibly the RHKR(V) records are in a mess, and no one seems inclined to spend time and resources to try and sort them out.”
19Brian Finch kindly sent a photo of Harry Mace (RA, Lisbon Maru) as a youngster wearing Sea Scouts uniform (illustrated). 19 Wilfred Drew’s (RA, Lisbon Maru) nephew got in touch, kindly sending photos.
18Ron Taylor (UK) kindly sent me a photo of George William Hutchinson (RN, Lisbon Maru).
17Ming let me know today that Fang Li will shortly be advertising in Japan for anyone with knowledge of the Japanese side of the Lisbon Maru story, and in the US for anyone with connections with the USS Grouper. I emailed my old contacts (family of Garfield Kvalheim who helped me write the book), but have still not found his children.
15 The gentleman who thought he had the medal group to Major Victor Cecil Branson (see last month) has now concluded that in fact the recipient was Lieutenant Colonel Reginald David Walker OBE, MC, ED. He is seeking his HKVDC records, but I will need to take advice about that.
10 Another typically top quality blog from Philip Cracknell, this time featuring Douglas Baird of the Royal Scots (and also Lisbon Maru). 10 Thomas Baker’s (Middlesex, Lisbon Maru) got in touch via Ronnie Taylor in the UK. 10 Arthur Basto’s (HKVDC) son-in-law got in touch.
9 Colin Standish let me know that he had finally – after searching for six months – found the transcript of the Valour and the Horror’s interview with his grandfather CQMS Colin Standish, DCM, Royal Rifles of Canada. He was kind enough to send me a copy. Regular readers would know that I am not a fan of ‘historians’ who try to sell through making their works as controversial as possible – and the V and the H fall firmly into that category. However, the interview was a fascinating read.
8 I was contacted by the Air Historical Branch and sent them my annotated list of RAF personnel in Hong Kong during the war.
7Brian Finch, via the family, sent a number of interesting photos of Jim Fallace who escaped from the Lisbon Maru. Ming, who is the director of the documentary, translated the words on one of the photo thus: "On the 31st National Day of the Republic of China, Mr. Johnstone, Mr. Evans, Mr. Fallace, was rescued by the Chinese Allies from the East China Sea in Dinghai, they are out of danger. Take a photo to memorize it. Wang Jineng, director of the garrison of the Dinghai County, Zhejiang Province October 14, the 31st year of Republic of China 1942.”
6 With all the focus on the Lisbon Maru at the moment it’s important to also remember the Volunteers, the Indian army, and the Canadians (none of whom were on this draft). For the latter, I hear that as of this writing there are just eleven C Force Veterans still with us. One Brigade HQ, Horace Gerard, one Winnipeg Grenadier, George Peterson, and nine Royal Rifles of Canada: Phil Doddridge, George MacDonnel, Fred Cooper, William MacWhirter, Ralph MacLean, Doug Rees, and three others. 6 Philip Cracknell kindly sent me a photo (via the family) of Captain Kenneth Allanson who was on the Lisbon Maru. He has written another of his excellent blogs about him.
5 The Lisbon Maru documentary has soaked up most of my spare time this month. The two open searches are for anyone on the Japanese side who might have family connections with those in the Imperial Japanese Navy who witnessed the end of the vessel, and for any family members of the USS Grouper’s (SS214) crew. When I wrote The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru I was very lucky in finding Garfield Kvalheim from that boat (and his lovely wife Fran) but I never contacted any other crew members. Does anyone else have any knowledge of them? 5 I had an interesting discussion with Philip Cracknell about Hong Kong’s batteries. The three medium batteries in HK 3rd, 4th and 25th each had a troop of four 6-inch in two sections, but one battery would normally have two troops of four guns each. Why were Hong Kong’s batteries under strength? And what exactly is the definition of a ‘heavy’ battery?
3This is a little unusual. It appears to be a British 9.2 inch shell accidentally moved from one part of Hong Kong to another as a ‘natural’ part of land reclamation!
2 Author and historian Dr Bernice Archer contacted me to see if I would be interested in speaking at the 2020 RFHG Conference. I’m certainly interested (I spoke at the 2008 and 2010 conferences – though I can’t see the latter mentioned on their website), but it’s a little far out for me to be certain I’m free from other commitments at that time.
August 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
July Images
More Lisbon Maru photos (via author), Umbrella seat (courtesy Elizabeth Ride), Birthday card (courtesy Luba Estes)
Dixon card (courtesy Patricia O'Sullivan), Eighth Army Letter and full New Osaka Hotel list (both courtesy Brian Watmore)
July News
This summer (and this is why the July update is a little late) I have spent six solid weeks traveling, first on business and then holiday – twenty-two airports later I’m home. At the end of the holiday we spent a few days on Malta. It’s a fascinating comparison. Both Hong Kong and Malta are small, hot, islands (the former more dry and Mediterranean in style, compared to Hong Kong’s verdant humidity), but both saw war in very different ways. But Malta is preserved in time; those buildings totally destroyed have been replaced with modern equivalents but all old wars bear scars. Hong Kong maintains physical scars too – but in contrast they are only visible for those who know exactly where to look.
31Alan Bayram’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) son got in touch, kindly sending a number of photos. Bayram was one of the ex-POWs who volunteered to stay behind in Japan after liberation to assist the American forces in administering the evacuation of the others. They all stayed at the New Osaka Hotel. I had spoken to one other of this group (Charles Jordan, RA) before, but these photos included a letter of thanks from the US Forces, and a full list of the volunteers – neither of which I had previously seen. 31 Keith Grant (see April) kindly sent me a photo of Stanley internees Archie McAlpine, Elizabeth McAlpine. Annie Thomson (nee Organ) and Archie Thomson.
30Harold Bater’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) great grandson got in touch. 30 Harry Howard’s (Winnipeg Grenadiers) great granddaughter got in touch. 30 Barbara Anslow let me know that her book (a published version of her war time diary) is now ready for pre-order here.
25 Sandy Wynd points out that Major Shields’ grave in Stanley Cemetery (he died in Stanley camp aged 62) bears the incorrect age of 45. I think this must be one of those cases of the number slowly morphing over the years of being repainted.
24 Philip Cracknell has posted a new blog about the pre-war building 23 Coombe Road. 24 Today, my birthday, I saw a very kind card from Luba Estes on the battle of Hong Kong facebook page! 24 Martin Heyes notes that he gave a tour to Margaret Whyte (the niece of William Stirton McHardy, who was a HK Police Sergeant in charge of Cheung Chau at the time of the Japanese invasion of HK). Bill was interned in Stanley and Margaret has fond memories of her favourite uncle and his wife, Mona. Mona spent the war in Australia, having been evacuated in 1940. Martin also passed me a soft copy of the Hong Kong Government’s official Stanley list.
23Robin Fabel had earlier contacted me asking for suggestions of where to lodge his father's (Fred Fabel, Royal Army Educational Corps) POW Hong Kong and Japan papers. I suggested they might well find a home in his regimental museum. He has now let me know that there is no RAEC museum as such, but the Museum of the Adjutant General's Corps has welcomed them.
21 Steve Denton was kind enough to show me that Major John Vickers, Royal Corps of Signals (who is in my lists with a question mark) was not actually in the Hong Kong garrison. I suspect he died in Taiwan and was simply reinterred here.
20Brian Finch has been doing a great job, constantly sending me questionnaires and photos resulting from the Lisbon Maru advertisements in the Telegraph, Times, Spectator, and other publications. I’m not even trying to count them at the moment, but will do so when the flow slows down a bit. My feeling is that we have amassed at least 160 photos now.
19Gonville Jones’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) niece got in touch. 19 The HKVCA have a very nice tradition of posting ‘individual reports’ on facebook of members of C Force. Today they included a very nice colourised photo of Ferdinand Poitras (illustrated).
18 Chris Bilham, hearing of my studies of Hong Kong’s awards and decorations, notes that he has four medal groups to sailors who took part in the defence of Hong Kong: E.T.A. Davis, CERA HMS Tern (and Lisbon Maru survivor), A.J. Selman, A/P.O. HMS Tamar, KIA 25.12.1941, A.L. Downey, AB MTB 09 who escaped with Chan Chak, and F.W. Mitchell, Lt Cdr, HMS Robin. He also formerly had the medals of Lieutenant Scott-Lindsley (but sold them before discovering that his diary and sketches are in the RN Museum) and for the liberation has the DSO of V. McLaughlin RN, Captain of HMS Swiftsure.
17Fred Cowley’s (RA, Lisbon Maru) niece got in touch.
15Martin Heyes notes that he has recently helped Audun Urke write a paper on Norwegian sailors during the battle for HK and the subsequent Occupation. 15 Edmund Hutton’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) granddaughter got in touch, kindly sending a photo. 15 The Telegraph ran a Lisbon Maru story today. 15 Elizabeth Ride kindly sent me an old photo of the Umbrella Seat at the corner of Mount Austin Road on the Peak. While not strictly World War Two related, the structure obviously predates the war and I pass it every Sunday when I walk to High West and the Peak.
14 Today the BBC released their new Lisbon Maru story, which included a photo of one of Gong Li’s scans of the ship where it currently lies. 14 Robert Chilcraft’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) family got in touch. 14 Jack Green’s (RN, Lisbon Maru) daughter in law got in touch, kindly sending letters and photos.
13The BBC contacted me asking if there were any other known survivors from the Lisbon Maru still around aside from Dennis Morley (Royal Scots). I mentioned William Beningfield (Middlesex), who is the only other one I am currently aware of.
11 A researcher has found a group of unattributed miniature medals with a Territorial efficiency decoration bearing a clasp for Hong Kong, and an M.B.E. & M.C. plus campaign medals including a Pacific Star and a G.S.M. bearing a clasp for South East Asia 1945-46. He is still researching, but believes this may have been the group to Major Victor Cecil Branson, HKVDC.
8Here is the link to the extract from Mary Monro's Stranger In My Heart, published in the Post Magazine today.
7James Burns’ (Royal Scots) and Tommy Burns’ (Royal Scots, Lisbon Maru) great nephew got in touch, kindly sending photos and newspaper reports. 7 The Daily Express notes that Sidney Charles medals are for sale (showing a photograph of him which was given to me by his family, and presumably simply lifted from my website).
6 Lieutenant Colonel Fred Field’s (RA) grandsons got in touch, kindly sending his account of the battle and a number of images, including a show program for ‘Nuts & Mayhem’. I have been collecting as many of these camp entertainment programs as I can, but this one was new to me. I believe another photo is unique: it shows a row of RA officers taken at the HKSRA Centenary celebrations September 1941. From left to right: Ian McGregor ADC, Mrs Macleod, Major General Maltby, Jack Yale, Brigadier Macleod, Webb Temple, and standing, Field, Tony Atkinson and Geoff Proes. Yale and Temple would be killed at Wong Nai Chung Gap in December.
4Steve Denton kindly sent me a set of Canadian War crime affidavits, many referring to the executions of local Chinese civilians witnessed from the camps.
1 I heard from Patricia O’Sullivan who has been looking at the CO 1070 card collection at TNA. She found a card for Henry Dixon, an Irish-Portuguese, born in 1865 the son of the first Inspector of the naval Dockyard police. However, it states that he was out of camp and ‘Under camp diet and doing camp duties every day’. I’ve never seen that before. Anyone know what it means?
July 1st, 2018 Update
Image:
June Images
Final Lisbon Maru advertisement, and placing in The Telegraph (courtesy Ming Fan), the First 100 (author)
Donald Furzer (courtesy Andrew Furzer), James Gow (courtesy Iain Gow), Ken Hodkinson (courtesy Jean Clements)
Jessie Rachel Taylor (courtesy Fiona Tuck), book signing (courtesy Mary Munro), Bell diary page (author)
June News
Obviously the big news of the month is Laurel Films and their serious initiative to film a comprehensive Lisbon Maru documentary. For the last year I’ve been hearing about their work (and all positive), but this month I took a day off as they were in Hong Kong and spent it with them. They seem to have the hoped for combination of finance, competence, and passion. After all these years I think it might actually happen! I have now reached out to all the Lisbon Maru families I have spoken to over the years (something over 200) to see what we can pull together. One thing the team would love to do is trace the family of the ship’s master, Kyoda Shigeru. I have tried all the avenues I can think of both here and in Japan but without success.
Note: Extensive travel for the next three months may result in site updates for August to October being a few days late. Of note, the October edition will celebrate 15 years of this blog being published in this format, which will make this site one of the oldest continuously published monthly blogs in the world.
30 A number of Lisbon Maru families I contacted sent me ‘new’ photos of men on board, and I decided to feature three of the best on this page. At this point I have amassed 151 photographs of those on board.
28Andrew Furzer kindly sent me a link to an IWM recording of George Bainborough speaking about his wartime experiences, including the Lisbon Maru.
26Ravi Scout notes that the: “SCMP recently published an article titled ‘French navy memorial in Hong Kong for five sailors who died in great typhoon of 1906 gets overdue restoration’, about a heritage monument which is presently located within Hong Kong Cemetery: the ‘La Fronde’ obelisk. The Consulate General of France is organising a ceremony to unveil the renovated memorial at Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley. The event is at 11AM on 05 July 2018.” While not of course a Second World War monument, readers may still be interested.
25 Derek Hill’s (RA) son got in touch. He notes: “He was selected for transportation to mainland Japan on the Lisbon Maru and was placed on board. Shortly before departure however, he and three others were diagnosed with diphtheria, taken off the boat for fear of bringing disease into Japan, and returned to the camp. Good fortune comes in many guises.”
23 Long-time correspondent TK Wong notes that he: “just finished reading a book titled Double Threat by Ellin Bessner, 2018 New Jewish Press. She encompasses 17,000 Jewish Canadian soldiers who fought in WW2. A chapter is on HK and has 13 pages. It vividly describes the ten following soldiers. Lt. David Golden (WG-POW), Private Max Berger (KIA-the Ridge), Sgt. Robert Macklin (died in Shamshuipo, 22-12-42), David Schrage (WG, died on Awatea on way to HK), Hymie Greenberg (Signal Corp-KIA 19-12, Wanchai Gap), William Allister (Signal Corp-POW), Sgt. George Harrison (WG-POW), Jacob Rose (Signal Corp-POW), Louis Brown (RR-POW), and Frederick Zaidman (WG-POW). It is great to see more thematic books on the battle.” 23 The first Lisbon Maru documentary advertisement appeared today, on the back page of the Telegraph. The next will appear in The Times on July 9.
22Martin Heyes notes that he has found for sale in the UK: “the medals of Pte. Albert Leonard Edward of the 1st. Bn. Middlesex Regt., who was wounded and captured on 25 Dec 1941. He died in captivity in early 1942.” He can put any interested party in touch with the vendor. 22 My copy of Stranger In My Heart arrived! I have some long flights coming up soon, so will read it then and review it in the July edition.
21 The latest edition of The Java Journal, newsletter of the Java Far East Prisoner of War Club 1942 was published today.
19 Mary Monro kindly sent me a few photos from the launch of her book Stranger In My Heart, in Bath. I believe it will be featured in the South China Morning Post Magazine on Sunday 1 July. 19 Henrique Gonsalves’s (HKVDC) nephew got in touch. 19 Brian Finch very kindly sent me a copy of Captain Man’s, Middlesex, papers. At first glance I believe they will answer many questions.
18In creating my gold standard database of the complement of the Lisbon Maru, today I finished processing the first 100 photographs of those who were aboard. I made a little montage of them as they seemed quite impressive on my computer screen! I’m not quite sure how many more I have in my files, but my guess is another 50 or so. (And to find them, I have to trawl through tens of thousands of image files, and tens of thousands of emails).
15 Laurel Films today sent me the latest version of their newspaper advertisement, which I helped edit for them yesterday.
11Norman Cuthbertson, Royal Scots, who was on the Lisbon Maru and died in Japan apparently had a fiancée in Hong Kong called ‘Peggy’. Does anyone know who she was? 11 The HKVCA’s latest edition of their newsletter is out.
10Steve Denton sent me something very interesting: A letter to Brigadier Crockatt that originally enclosed the ‘smuggled list’ of British POWs in Hong Kong, suggesting that “D.P.W. write a letter of congratulations to Col. L. T. Ride, O.B.E., on this achievement.”
8Steve Denton kindly sent several files relating to Peter Moddrel, James Stewart Fancy, and Clifford George Webber. 8 While looking for a particular name, I went through the whole of RAOC WOII Fred Walter Bell’s amazing diary again. There are so many great pages there that I was originally planning to feature my three favourites this month, but in the end – as the Lisbon Maru rather dominated things – just chose one featuring a note by the RN Chaplain Charles Strong.
6 On the HKVCA facebook page, Colin Standish posted: “Our Hidden History... in my possession: When in Hong Kong this past February I noticed a gravestone which had a name I recognized. Alfred Wonnacott. It appears I have some dog tags from a man who died in the Battle. I do not know how my Grandfather came to have them. My family has had them since 1941. For 77 years. I called some of his relatives out-of-the-blue, spoke to them and will hopefully return the dog tags to them. It is incredible what stands the test of time…” CQMS Standish would of course have been responsible for returns, and would have been the right man to hand such dog tags to; my guess is that those responsible for Wonnacott’s original burial on Stone Hill gave Standish the tags in camp.
4 I took the day off and spent the whole time with Laurel Films, meeting their boos (Fang Li) and directors and discussing – both in our home and in Stanley – their ideas for a proper documentary about the Lisbon Maru. We came to an agreement, and I am signed on as a voluntary co-producer. They have access to needed funds, and seem serious.
3 Steve Denton kindly sent me the POW Index Card for Coder Peter Paget, RN. It is the most complex I have yet seen from ex-Hong Kong POWs, with at least nine changes of POW camps.
2 Fiona Spencer kindly sent me a photo of her great great aunt, Miss Jessie Rachel Taylor (see last month): “who was a missionary for more than twenty years, having previously been the headmistress of a major Girls School in England and then having run a VAD hospital during the First World War. Following her retirement, she held a post at St Stephen's College from 1939 and was then interned in the Stanley camp from 1942-1945; she was 69 when she was interned, although she seems to have given her age as 60 at the time. We know from an article in a Church Missionary Society periodical that she was ill when the camp was liberated and evacuated to Australia where she made a full recovery, returning to England where she then lived until her death in 1957. I wondered if anyone had come across any records relating to her during her period of internment or subsequent evacuation. We know that she subsequently made a substantial donation to the founding of St Stephen's Chapel, but not much else, though a note on the receipt also suggests that she had sent other papers there. Any help gratefully received.” 2 I was interested today to see a Hong Kong story on the CWGC web site. I am in touch with the Ablong family. 2 Elizabeth Ride, knowing of my research into civilian refugees into Mainland Chine kindly sent me the pages from the National Archives WO343 covering the ex-British forces Hong Kong people received by BAAG. 2 Today I received a complete list of all British Merchant Seamen captured by the Japanese.
1 I am working on a paper for the Royal Asiatic Society on the reduction in Hong Kong’s civilian population, between December 1941 and the end of August 1945, of around one million people. It seems odd to me that no one seems to have addressed this before. 1 Philip Cracknell has published an interesting account of the Tai Wai bunkers. As our younger son is currently studying in that part of Hong Kong (Island School is temporarily Mainland School…) it’s of particular interest.
Links to other Primary Sources.
George Bainborough, Leading Writer, Royal Navy. (Sound File) Kenneth Cambon, Rifleman, Royal Rifles of Canada. (Website) Maximo Cheng, Gunner, HKVDC, later with Chindits. (Sound file) Lloyd Beresford Chinfen, Hong Kong civilian, later fought with SOE. (Sound file) Charles Colebrook, Lance Corporal, RAOC. (Sound file) Francis Deloughery, Reverend Captain, Canadian Chaplains Service. (Website) Phil Doddridge, Rifleman, Royal Rifles of Canada. (Website) Tom Forsyth, Private, Winnipeg Grenadiers. (Website) Arthur Gomes, Corporal, HKVDC. (Sound file) Marjorie Grindley, Auxiliary Nurse, Stanley internee. (Sound file) John Harris, Second Lieutenant, Royal Engineers. (Sound file) Buddy Hide, Acting Stoker P.O., Royal Navy. (Website) Donald Hill, Squadron Leader, RAF. (Website) Drummond Hunter, Lieutenant, Royal Scots. (Sound file) Charles Jordan, Gunner, Royal Artillery, Lisbon Maru. (Sound file) Daisy Joyce, Stanley internee, embroiderer of bedsheet. (Sound file) Uriah Laite, Reverend Captain, Canadian Chaplains Service. (Website) David Lam, Private, HKVDC, later with BAAG. (Sound file) Tom Marsh, Sergeant, Winnipeg Grenadiers. (Website) James Miller, Private, Royal Scots. (Website) Raymond Mok, Sergeant, HKVDC Field Ambulance, later with BAAG. (Sound file) James O'Toole, Acting Staff Sergeant, RAOC. (Website) Maurice Parker, Major, Royal Rifles of Canada. (Website) Andy Salmon, Sergeant, Royal Artillery, Lisbon Maru. (Sound file) Joseph Sandbach, Reverend, Stanley internee. (Sound file) Albert Shepherd, Lance Bombardier, Lisbon Maru. (Sound file) Alexander Shihwarg, Private, HKVDC. (Sound file) William Sprague, Private, HKVDC. (Website). Charles Trick, Private, Winnipeg Grenadiers. (Website) Montagu Truscott, Corporal, Royal Corps of Signals, Lisbon Maru. (Sound file) Alec Wright, Second Lieutenant, HKVDC. (Sound file) Bernard Felix Xavier, Signalman, HKVDC, later OSS agent in Macau. (Sound file)
