Additions & Amendments

The research behind this site and “Not the Slightest Chance” has been going on for some nearly twenty years, and will likely continue well into the future. New information and documents continue to turn up, and when they are relevant to areas covered by the book – or of general interest to historians covering Hong Kong 1941 to 1945 – they will be listed here.

Additions to “Not the Slightest Chance”

Acknowledgements

Page xiv: Bunny is in fact ‘H.W.’ rather than ‘H.E.’ My apologies.

Dec 12

Captain Bert Hubbard’s War Diary states: ‘On the morning of the 12^th Guervitch (on of the F.A. clerks) counted 1235 shells falling in the vicinity of the [Mount Austen] barracks between 8.30 and 9.45 a.m. One wing of barracks set on fire and aprox 2 million rounds of .303 small arms ammunition exploded. Raging inferno and fire fighting hampered by lack of water.’

Dec 14

Page 73: Bunny Browne comments: ‘It so happened that on the afternoon of December 14 I had to take over as duty officer for A&Q branches for the afternoon. It was then that I heard that Capt. Pardoe had been killed and virtually decapitated by a shell. Guest must have passed it on to me. I remember it well as when I volunteered for war time duties, Major Neve wanted me as a G3, and had it been agreed by my boss, it would probably have been me who was killed that day’.

Dec 19

Page 122: Les Duffy points out that ‘220 men from HMS Thracian’ must be in error, as the complement was around 95. I believe this was in fact a mixed naval force.

Page 141: “[In the evening, attacking Wong Nai Chung gap with the HKSRA as infantry, I, Sergeant Booker] was told to walk with the Indians with my Thompson gun. At the Gap, the Indians were ordered to go up into the Police Station. As they attempted to do this, they were attacked by grenades which were also tossed among the armoured Cars…An officer was of the opinion that there were only a few Japanese and called for volunteers for a patrol. I volunteered and, armed with a Thompson, went down the road with two officers, one of whom I believe was Fielden. As we approached blockhouses, on the left of the road, we saw six figures run from the blockhouses across the road in front, challenged them, received no reply, and the officer and I immediately opened fire, observing three fall before our ammunition ran out. E hurriedly withdrew, Fielden was either killed or seriously wounded and did not return with us” (302).

Page 148: The death of Cuzner is covered (as Cousins) in (204), which also mentions the finding of Rifleman Pryce who had kept himself alive on rum for days, having been wounded at the same time as Cuzner was killed.

Page 160: Captian Bob Newton’s family have a letter from Cadogan-Rawlinson stating that Newton was killed by a mortar bomb at the main entrance of the North Point Power Station.

Page 164: Correspondence with the Ablong family has confirmed that A.E. Ablong (senior) of the ARP lost his life at Wong Nai Chung Gap on Dec 19^th whilst trying to bring sustenance to family members trapped in the Police Station. His name should be added to the Civilian list.

Dec 20

Dec 22

Page 211: The phrase: “KIA Repulse Bay Hotel Garages” is probably explained by this excerpt from Proulx: “At another bay nearby, Colonel Fredericks and fifty of his men were under siege, and it had been agreed that they would make a dash for it this evening [to the Repulse Bay Hotel.] The sound of running men was heard from the bend at the bottom of the road a hundred yards away. The whumph and thud of heavy boots told us they were British. A few seconds later, the Japanese set of Very lights that blossomed overhead in silent display. The road beneath became as bright as glass. A group of men were running hard along the road. They were British boys from the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Their uniforms shone in the gaudy light. From the shadowed undergrowth behind the hotel, concealed in the dark above and about them, the hidden Japanese rapid-fire guns opened up and poured a stream of bullets into the small stumbling group. The men began to pitch forward in twos and threes, like extras in a Hollywood war movie where the slaughter is extraordinarily successful. Nearly every man screamed as he fell, for a man hit by machine-gun bullets almost always screams… half the group reached the shelter of our verandah, retching for breath. The others lay out in the glaring light. They sprawled in bumpy and aimless heaps. Some still lived. We could hear them call, fretfully or in desperation. Mostly they called the names of their mates. “Al, I’m over here! Al!” “Hey Charlie! Hey Charlie! Hey Charlie!” Over and over again. The Japs kept their Very lights plopping above the scene so that we could not possibly rescue these men. Their guns chattered constantly at the sound of the voices, until, one by one, the crazy calls ceased.”

Dec 23

Page 222: 18.45 Movement of West Brigade HQ: Colonel Rose to “G”: “West Inf Bde Fwd HQ moving to 515, The Peak Tele 29141, taking radio. In direct contact Fortress and West Inf. Bde Rear HQ (Peak Mansions) (TeleFortress 163)” (302).

Dec 24

Page 242: Bombardier Weller: “Round about ten [pm] we were in a line behind St Stephen’s College, overlooking a football field with two friends. About midnight a terrific racket started in the village and tracers were flashing through the treetops. There was a lot of activity and this went on all through the night. Of course what we didn’t realize was that our platoon in the centre and on the right had fallen back, so in the morning, first light – this was Christmas morning – we suddenly realized that we were completely surrounded. So there was only one thing to do and that was to pull back to Barton’s bungalow which was on the corner overlooking the football field. We made a break for it, reached the bungalow, and we were on the lawn outside. We eventually had to retreat inside when it got too hot for us there and there wasn’t any way we could get out. We knew we were cut off completely, and eventually the Japanese rushed the bungalow and then of course they brought up a flame-thrower and there wasn’t much you could do about that. They flushed everybody out. I, fortunately, managed to get the door shut and in the flames and smoke I managed to get my gas mask on and that, I think, saved me. I managed to stay where I was, but the rest in the bungalow were all bayoneted as they came out in flames” (205-12).

Dec 25

Page 259: Bombardier Weller: “In the afternoon, at about two o’clock or three I think it was, the Canadians counter attacked from Stanley Fort. I heard them coming. I was a bit worried because, you know, if I dashed out they might mistake me for a Jap. So I called out that I was a volunteer and a voice from somewhere shouted out, you know, Middlesex. I then discovered there were two chaps in the next room who had also survived, though they were badly burnt. They quickly joined me, and then of course the Japanese counter-attacked and before we could join up with the Canadians, they were driven back with heavy casualties. So I had these two chaps with me, a Corporal and a Private from the Middlesex. We were all in one room now and we stayed through the day and through the night and the chap who was very badly burnt – his face was just one big blister …” (205-13).

Page 276: Recent research by Chris Bilham shows that Harvey Loveday Porrett, listed in Not the Slightest Chance as losing his life on Dec 25^th, in fact was killed at Postbridge on Dec 19^th, having been on the ill-fated attempt on the Gap by Thracian men (212).

The Week immediately Following the Fighting

Page 283: Bunny Browne notes: ‘I well remember it was major Dewar who refused to surrender [Little Hong Kong], and page 201 confirms he was there.’

Photographs:

The caption to Photo 3 should read “Vildebeeste”, not Vildebeest.

Notes

Page 355 note 39: “Upon arrival at Volunteer HQ…an engineering detail were put on the job of cutting away the reinforcing bars of the smashed roof over the miniature range in order to let it subside and fill in the range. This was necessary in view of the fearful stench coming up from the range, from decomposing bodies of Indian troops killed during the bombing raid” (302 – Dec 26).

Page 360 note 54: Bunny Browne comments: ‘According to my record Nurkhan and his platoon of D Company left us on the morning of the 19^th when I went along Kennedy Road with them to see his Company Commander Capt. Mathers D Coy. This confirms that it was A and D Coys.’

Page 368 note 31: Barreto should read “Barretto”.

Page 373 note 99: According to Bunny Brown’s records this occurred on the 19^th.

Page 397, book (69). I have also since seen verses by Bombardier John W. ‘RAMP’ Bowen RA, and Corporal Norman Colley, RE.

(201) WWII History, Jan 2003, Vol 2, No. 1

This magazine carries an article “Heroic Defense of Hong Kong” from page 48 to 63, continued on 85. Like many such articles, the general feel is very accurate, but a number of errors have crept in. Lieutenant ‘Potato’ Thompson is a prime example, as is the idea that the Middlesex pillboxes came under Fortress Command, and that troops were at the Repulse Bay Hotel 'for a rest'. (However, I would certainly recommend the magazine).

(202) Wings for an Embattled China, W. Langhorne Bond, Lehigh University Press, 2001

This tells how Bond set up CNAC (China National Aviation Corporation). An interesting book in its own right, chapter 8 (pages 282 to 299) tells the story of Bond’s – and CNAC’s – involvement in the air evacuation of Hong Kong from December 8^th to 10^th.

One look at this huge volume shows that it was written by a ‘real’ historian, and the content doesn’t disappoint. The war years are covered in chapters 6 to 9. The depth of Alden’s reading on this period is astonishing – though it is a shame to see him use Hahn’s version of Boxer’s wounding almost verbatim.

This fine book, by a sergeant in D Coy RRoC, was one that I was unable to find before publication of NtSC (and to my shame called “This Soldier’s Story” in its bibliography). This was one Canadian who used his time in HK before the start of hostilities, in making contacts in the established British garrison. His description of witnessing a Rajput parade says a great deal about the old British Indian Army, and his coverage of life in the camps is excellent.

In the same vein as ‘Captive Christmas’, this book describes the years from 42-45 in a series of interviews originally broadcast on radio. The early chapters include some useful extra information on the 1941 fighting itself.

Chapter six of this well-known work covers the St Stephen’s College massacre, mainly quoting from Barrett’s war crimes testimonial.

Bergamini’s coverage of Hong Kong is misleading in some ways (for example, stating that a quarter of the ’14,500’ defenders were Canadian, or treating the battle around the reservoirs as strategic rather than incidental). The coverage of the attack on North Point power station is also flawed in date, and to state that ‘many of [the defenders] had learned to handle guns only in the week before’ rather misses the point that the majority of the Hughseliers were first world war veterans with far more experience than almost all the regular troops.

This has some coverage of the final days of Hong Kong under Japanese rule, and the politics behind the struggle to maintain Hong Kong as a British colony at the time.

The coverage of Hong Kong here is useful, as it documents that as late as 1937 the British Chiefs of Staff had stated that: “Hong Kong should be regarded as an important though not vital outpost to be defended for as long as possible”, and that the defence of Singapore had priority over interests in the Mediterranean. By 1939, the latter point had been reversed. Hart goes on to say that in 1940 the war cabinet accepted the new Joint Chiefs of Staff’s recommendation that the (then) four Hong Kong battalions be evacuated.

(210) Australian Prisoners of War with Hong Kong & Malaya Forces 1939-45, Mostly Unsung Military History research and Publications

As its name suggests, this is simply a list of repatriated Australian POWs, fifty-nine of whom were captured in Hong Kong as members of the HKVDC.

(211) The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China and the Japanese Occupation,

Philip Snow, Yale 2003

This book is available now. This is an interesting work, but confusingly titled. It does not cover the Fall of Hong Kong, but instead focuses on the period of Japanese Occupation. On this topic, it is the best I have read. However, the POWs are not covered as this is primarily a political work.

(212) The Orders and Medals Research Society, Autumn 1999, ‘Missing on War Service’ Chris Bilham

(213) Twisting the Tail of the Dragon, Jean Mathers

(214) Discovering Hong Kong’s Cultural Heritage, Hong Kong and Kowloon, Patricia Lim

(215) The Sinking The Of (sic) Lisbon Maru, G.C. Hamilton

Another work that I was unable to find before publication. It covers the period of the fighting, in the context of the period 1847-1982.

This slim volume would be very useful to Australian researchers, and includes names of 58 Australian members of the HKVDC.

Unpublished

(300) Diary of Albert W. Oxley, Middlesex regiment

(301) Report by 2/Lieut. R. M. M. King, B Coy, 1^st Middlesex Regiment.

(302) Addition to Ride papers: Extracts from War Dairy of Corps Signals HKVDC

(303) CO 980/67 Protests to Japanese government on the Lisbon Maru

Kindly supplied by Kim Tomlinson.