Wednesday 23 November 2022

Josef Abosch and family in Stanley Internment Camp

On the Stanley Camp Register of Civilian Internees, held at the Imperial War Museum in London,  the first three names are Mr Josef Abraham Abosch , his wife Rosa and their son Ralph Frank. 

 

Surname

Given Names

Date of Birth

Date of Death

Camp No.

Billet

Abosch

Joszef (sic) Abraham

29/3/1911

21/10/1976

1292

Block 13/Room 73

Abosch

Rosa

23/9/1920

n/k

1293

13/73

Abosch

Ralph Frank

7/2/1940

n/k

1294

13/73

 

I am always interested in the personal stories. Who were they and what happened to them ? I set out to do a bit of investigation. I found that they were Jewish and of Polish nationality. Josef (sometimes written as Jozef or Joszef) appears to have been born in Berlin and likewise Rosa. 


How long had they been in Hong Kong ? Were they escaping persecution with the growth of extremism in Germany and with Poland under threat of German invasion ?


Why were they interned  given they were not  British, American or Dutch ? Were other Poles in Hong Kong interned ?   


The Prison Officers' Club in late 1945 with the Indian Quarters at the rear


The Abosch family were billeted in Block 13 part of the Indian Quarters.  They occupied Room 73 which they had to themselves, at least at the time the register of internees was compiled.  Not everybody wanted to share a room with a toddler and Ralph Frank was barely two years old. 


Block 12 and 13 of the Indian Quarters as they appear today


Josef describes himself as a 'merchant' or salesman working for an import/export firm called A. Vago. In another document he describes himself as a medical attendant. Was he involved in Civil Defence during the battle ? Was medical attendant his wartime role? When did he first come to Hong Kong? and what was the company referred to as Vago? Did he form it in Hong Kong or was he posted to be the agent in Hong Kong. So many questions and so few answers.


Josef Abosch 


The fact that they were billeted in the Indian Quarters, together with their high camp number, suggests that they came into camp with the so-called Peakites. The Peakites were residents or people billeted or otherwise staying with Peak residents. They were lucky in that they avoided the initial incarceration in the cheap short-stay brothel hotels in the western area of town where most others were initially interned before moving to Stanley. They were unlucky, as late comers to Stanley Camp, to be allocated the least preferred accommodation at the Indian Quarters. 


During the battle, Mrs Rosa Abosch was listed as being admitted to Matilda Hospital on 23 December 1941 with Ralph, her infant son. Mothers with infants were being given shelter there. The Matilda Hospital being situated on the Peak, also provides further credence that she was staying on the Peak - perhaps billeted there rather than a resident of the expensive and exclusive Peak District.


After liberation in September 1945, the family were given passage to the UK on the Empress of Australia. The ship, carrying many former civilian internees, arrived at Liverpool on 27 October 1945. Josef Abosch appears to have got a job as an interpreter (I assume German/English) with the US Army in postwar Britain and Germany.


In April 1947 he married Ruth Cocklin, a US Army nurse stationed in Europe. They married in Hendon, Middlesex. Did he and Rosa get divorced and what happened to Rosa and Ralph ?  In July 1947, Josef Abosch migrated to the United States to start a new life, perhaps facilitated by his work with the US Army and his having, by then, an American wife.  The couple appear on the manifest of the Sobieski sailing from Cannes and arriving in New York in July 1947.  They had taken a holiday in France before proceeding to the United States.


Josef settled in the United States but he and Ruth were soon divorced (I don't have a date but I think after 1950 as the 1950 census shows them still under the same roof). At that time he was working as a furniture salesman. Around this time he  appears to have married Anna Deutsche. He passed away in 1976 in Baltimore, Maryland. His grave (sourced on findagrave.com) records his wife as Anna ('Kiki') Abosch (22/9/1911 - 3/4/1981). There is of course no mention of Rosa, Ralph or Ruth. 


The memorial stone


Perhaps, somebody, possibly a family member, will know the story and help to fill in some of the blanks by commenting below or emailing the author at: 

Philip.G.Cracknell@gmail.com


.................


Addendum 1 (24 November 2022):

I contacted a family member (Ruth Cocklin's family) who informed me that Ruth and Josef were indeed married in 1947 but they divorced and Ruth never or seldom spoke of him after that and she never re-married. The family member thought that she (Ruth) felt she had been hoodwinked. A sad story in itself. There is still a mystery over what happened to Rosa and her son. Did they return to Hong Kong ? The third wife, Anna, was mother to four children. Were the four children from a previous marriage as she would have been nearly 50 when she married Josef Abosch. There is at least one resident in Hong Kong bearing the name Abosch - I wonder whether related to Josef and Rosa. I am trying to contact him ......but I already feel like an intruder. I try not to be judgemental but I suppose history and research can become an intrusion even long after the events in question. 




Wednesday 23 March 2022

ML 310 - Escape from Singapore - February 1942

In February 2017, I wrote a post on my blog about Major Douglas Dewe, a Medical Doctor serving with the British Indian Army based in Singapore during the battle. I fell into the story by chance rather than by design. I was browsing old Hong Kong newspapers when I came across an article in the Hong Kong Daily Press dated 19 August 1941 concerning the divorce of Major Dewe from his wife Rona. They had married in 1934 following the death of Major Dew's first wife.

Major Dew's marriage to Rona broke down in 1938 at about which time Rona had struck-up a relationship with a forty-year-old rubber planter in Malaya by the name of Oswald Cutler. In the August 1941 hearing, the court granted custody of the two children to Major Dewe presumably on account of his wife's infidelity. By August 1941, Major Dewe had become engaged to a charming divorcee by the name of Mrs Peggy Frampton. 

The war started in December 1941, a few months after the court hearing. Major Dewe, his ex-wife Rona and Oswald Cutler all ended up in Japanese prison camps for the duration. Peggy Frampton was in Kuantan on the east coast of Malaya at the time of the Japanese invasion. She quickly collected Major Dewe's two sons and her daughter, Rae, and drove in a black Humber all the way to Singapore. Not long  after Peggy's departure the Japanese landed at or around Kuantan. As Peggy Frampton drove south, the road bridges were being demolished behind her. She reached Singapore with the three children and got out on one of the last evacuation ships leaving Singapore. Peggy took the children to India where she resided during the war. Her fiancĂ©, Douglas Dewe, survived the prison camps in Singapore and Burma. On release he found Peggy had re-married in India. Perhaps she had assumed that he had died during the battle or during  the subsequent incarceration.  

While updating the article on Major Dewe, I discovered a little bit more about his erstwhile fiancĂ©, Peggy Frampton. Her husband, from whom she had divorced was Commander Pendarvis Lister Frampton. I found an old newspaper article reporting their wedding in April 1935. She is referred to as Mrs Peggy Fischer (nee Jeffries) the owner of the Garter Club in Mayfair. The couple were married at Marylebone Registry Office. When WW2 commenced Commander Frampton was assigned to HMS Sultan the shore establishment in Singapore. During the Battle for Singapore Frampton served as a  Staff Officer reporting to Rear Admiral Ernest Spooner, the Senior Naval Officer in Singapore and Malaya.

Rear Admiral Spooner, Commander Frampton and Air Vice Marshall Conway Pulford were ordered to leave Singapore (just before the Fall) and re-convene at Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Frampton  and the two senior officers escaped from Singapore on  the Fairmile-class motor launch ML 310. They left Singapore on Friday 13 February two days before the Fall of Singapore. They never made it to Batavia. All three senior officers died a few months later on a malarial infested island off the east coast of Sumatra. This is their story,  their last story and the last voyage of His Majesty's motor launch ML 310.

Captain P. G. Frampton & Mrs Peggy Frampton (British Newspaper archive)

Lt Richard Pool, RN, remembered waking up that Friday 13 February to the sound of the guns. The loudest being the British 15-inch and 9.2-inch coastal defence guns. The guns were designed to fire on naval targets at sea and as a result they mostly had armour-piercing shells and lacked HE and shrapnel shells more suitable for the landward firing they were by then engaged in. There had been continual air-raids and shelling. The Japanese had already landed on Singapore Island and had established a bridgehead. The Japanese had complete air dominance. The defence of Singapore had disintegrated into chaos. The evacuation of civilians and key military personnel from Singapore had been taking place in greater urgency as the Japanese advanced on the island. It resembled a mini-Dunkirk style operation with boats or every shape and size being utilised. 
That afternoon Rear Admiral Spooner called a meeting in his office at Fort Canning. He told us that the decision that Singapore could not hold out had been taken and orders for all remaining Naval and Air Force personnel, as well as selected Army technicians, to leave Singapore had been given.  (Lt Pool) 
Lt Pool was ordered by Rear-Admiral Spooner to be ready to take him and Commander Pendarvis Frampton to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies by motor launch that night. Their party would also include Air Vice Marshal Pulford, acting as Air Officer Commanding, Far East. Spooner was married to Megan Foster a highly acclaimed soprano. She had been evacuated a few days earlier on 10 February 1942.

Rear Admiral Ernest Spooner with his wife Megan Foster 

Lt-General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding British Troops in Malaya allowed Lt Ian Stonor, his ADC, to leave that same evening with Spooner and Pulford.  Lt Stonor, Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders, left the Battle Box at Fort Canning with Wing-Cdr Atkins, Pulford's senior staff officer, and proceeded to the dockyard by way of Clifford Pier. They boarded the Fairmile (ML 310). Spooner, Pulford and Frampton were already aboard.

The Fairmile class motor launches were naval patrol boats armed with a 3-pdr Hotchkiss quick firing gun and deck mounted machine guns. The boats had a length of 112 ft and a displacement of 85 tons. The had twin screws and could produce a speed of 20 knots. ML 310 sailed at around 11:00 p.m.

Fairmile-class motor launch (internet)


The commander of ML 310 was Lt Jonny Bull, RNZNVR. The boat's crew consisted of eighteen men which included two officers (Lt Bull and Sub-Lt Henderson, RANVR) and Li Teng, the boat's Chinese cook also known as Charlie. In addition to the crew there were some twenty-seven military  passengers making a total forty-five men aboard the ill-fated ML 310. 

The twenty-seven military passengers included:

Rear-Admiral Spooner, RN
Air Vice Marshall Pulford, RAF
Commander Frampton, RN
Wing Commander Atkins, RAFVR
Lt Stonor, A&SH
Lt Pool, RN
Sgt Hornby and five Royal Marines
Two RAF other ranks.
Three Royal Engineers other ranks
Sgt Wright and four Military Police
Five RN ratings

They headed south and left Singapore in flames, ruins, disorder, and facing the bleak prospect of inevitable defeat. Shortly after leaving Singapore ML 310 developed a steering problem and later ran aground. Lt Pool, feeling responsible for Spooner and Pulford's safety, decided to go over the side in a dinghy and examine the propellors and shaft to ensure they had not been damaged in the grounding. As he came back aboard the ML  his hand was badly crushed between the dinghy and the side of the launch by the strong tide. 

Shortly before dawn, the tide rose sufficient for the launch to float off the reef. A few hours later they anchored close inshore at a small group of islands. The plan was to lay up during the day to avoid being spotted by Japanese warships or aircraft. They put up camouflage netting to conceal the boat. That night, 14 February they continued south and by dawn on 15 February they were approaching the Banka Straits off the coast of Sumatra. Once again they laid up during the daylight hours on 15 February. Lt Pool's injury had worsened and his whole arm was swollen. Spooner and Pulford decided to head to Muntock, a small port on Banka Island, to get medical attention for Pool's injury. Having seen few aircraft they decided that afternoon to break cover and continue in broad daylight rather than wait for nightfall.

Air Vice Marshal Pulford

While heading towards Banka Island, they were spotted by a squadron of Japanese warships including cruisers and destroyers.  One of the warships opened fire  and another sent off a seaplane which dropped bombs which fell astern of the launch. The launch sped towards nearby Tjebia Island with the aim of putting the island between them and the Japanese ships. The launch ran aground on a reef close inshore to the island. A Japanese destroyer was sent to intercept ML 310. They tried to re-float the vessel but to no avail. Lt John Bull, the boat's captain, Sub-Lt Henderson, the first lieutenant, Lt Pool and Wing-Cdr Atkins remained onboard, the rest of the personnel were ordered by Spooner to wade or swim ashore and conceal themselves in the jungle. 


Map showing Singapore, Batavia (now Jakarta), Banka Island and Tjebia

The Japanese destroyer hove to and fired serval shots only one of which hit the launch causing minor damage. The Japanese lowered a boat with a boarding party consisting  of an officer and a party of armed sailors. They came aboard the launch cuffing and hitting the four officers left onboard. The launch was already damaged but the boarding party made sure it could not be re-floated. Having finished disabling the boat, the Japanese boarding party made a semi-circle around the four captives. Their guns raised and the officer holding his sword. They were about to be shot. The officer, however, decided to spare them and allowed the four men to paddle their dinghy ashore. As they struck out towards the shore, they were expecting to be shot before they reached the beach, but the Japanese got into their own tender and returned to the destroyer. 

It was a small island, about a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide with thick foliage and white sand beaches. The island was surrounded by a rocky reef. There was hill in the northern part of the island on which there was a Dutch Army radio station manned by a dozen Javanese military personnel. There was a small sparsely populated village. The few inhabitants made a living from fishing and gathering Copra. Many of the occupants had left for Banka Island. The remaining inhabitants, concerned about Japanese reprisals for harbouring British military personnel soon left the island. They took the only seaworthy fishing boats. Lt Stonor went up the hill to the radio station.  The station crew had seen the launch and heard the gunfire and assumed that they were being attacked by the Japanese They had then destroyed the radio. The ML 310 passengers and crew were marooned without any form of communication.

The group decided that a party led by Lt Bull, would repair one of the fishing boats that had been left as unseaworthy, and then try and reach British forces in Batavia to alert them of the presence of the senior officers Spooner and Pulford and the rest of the group at Tjebia. The Island may have looked idyllic, like a Robinson Crusoe Island, but it was far from it. The fishermen called it 'fever island'. The island was malarial and the group of marooned servicemen were plagued by thick swarms of mosquitoes. 
The air was so thick with mosquitos that we could hardly breath without getting them up our noses  or into our mouths ; their vicious whine as they hovered round us was unceasing, as were their bites. Outside the hut, the chirping of millions of crickets and croaking frogs mingled with the hum of other tropical insects. (Lt Pool)
On the evening of 20  February Lt Bull, the coxswain, one RN rating, and two Javanese one of whom was the radio station commandant left in the repaired  prahu for Java. Sailing and paddling at night and laying-up in the daylight they eventually reached Batavia. The naval authorities were informed and an American submarine USS S-39 was dispatched to rescue the stranded group, but although the submarine sent a party ashore they found nobody on the island. This is still a mystery, but perhaps they were on the wrong island or were not sufficiently diligent in their search.

The remaining group on the island had access to three months supply of tinned food salvaged from the wreck of ML 310. They also had access to rice that had been left behind by the villagers. There were banana, coconut and papaya trees on the island. There was water availability through wells and streams. The tinned food was rationed out. They had food but not enough of it and what they had lacked sufficient nutrients and many later developed beriberi, pellagra and other malnutrition related illnesses.

Rear Admiral Spooner was the senior officer out-ranking Air Vice Marshal Pulford. Lt Pool described Spooner as active and forceful. He had commanded HMS Repulse  before being promoted to flag rank. Pulford was quiet and  somewhat withdrawn. Pool described Frampton as 'a rather large, florid' man who had left the Navy and then been recalled on the outbreak of war in 1939. George Atkins was a 'quiet reflective man' who had been living in Malaya as a civilian before the war and spoke reasonable Malay. Like Frampton he had been recalled to the service. Richardson was a Warrant Officer Boatswain. Pool described him as 'old and tough'.

After Lt Bull's party had left for Batavia, the two Royal Engineer sergeants worked with Frampton to repair one of the abandoned boats. Frampton was obsessive in his determination to get off the island and sail to Batavia. After two weeks on the island, and having carried out the repairs, Frampton decided the boat was ready to be launched. They tried to launch it without sufficient rollers, but the boat fell to one side damaging and cracking the hull. It was after this setback that Frampton got ill.
Commander Frampton  completely lost heart in the venture. A few days later he developed a bad chill, with violent shivering fits. With no doctor in the party, we could only suspect malaria. From this moment on, he appeared to lose all interest in the life and work on the island. (Lt Pool)
Around the end of February, there were three additions to the group.  The first was Pte Docherty, Gordon Highlanders, who was found by Pool and Stonor on the west beach. He had been on another vessel that had escaped from Singapore on 13 February. The second one washed up on the same beach was a naval rating, Stoker Scammell. A few days later another survivor, Aubyn Dimmitt, an Australian civil engineer working at the naval dockyard was found on the west beach. He had been drifting in a small dinghy. All three men had been on an RAF auxiliary craft the Aquarius. The vessel had been sunk in the Banka Straits by Japanese aircraftAll three of these subsequent arrivals later died on Tjebia Island. 

Commander Pendarvis Frampton died on 7 March, three weeks after landing on the island. It was later determined that he died from cerebral malaria. The absence of rescue which had been expected within a few weeks of Lt Bull's departure and the death of Frampton  lowered the morale. More of the survivors got sick. There was quinine powder left on the island but some of the group were reluctant to take it because of the awful taste and the side effects like loss of hearing. Three days after Frampton's death Air Vice Marshall Pulford died. The survivors were struggling with the heat, lethargy and depression. Sub-Lt Henderson took to his bed and would not get up. He just lay there until he died.  PO Keeling was on lookout duty when he developed a sore throat. His throat became so swollen that he could not swallow. He died within 24 hours. The group were suffering from a variety of illness including dysentery, malaria, beriberi and pellagra. The Javanese crew of the radio station were also effected and by this time three of their crew had died. The food stocks were running low. They estimated they had enough to last  until the end of April. 

Charlie, the Chinese cook, asked to go with a Javanese fishing prahu to Daboe, the principal town on Singkep Island. He claimed he had contacts there and could arrange for a fishing junk to pick up the survivors left on Tjebia. The understanding was that he would be back within a week. He reached Singkep, but did not alert anyone to their plight and he never returned. At about this time, two Royal Engineers, S/Sgt Lockett and S/Sgt Ginn left for Banka Island on a fishing prahu manned by two, apparently unsavoury-looking, Javanese. The two Royal Engineers were never seen again. It was thought they had been killed by the two Javanese boat men. 

In April, Rear Admiral Spooner died. He had been a tower of strength and provided strong leadership to the marooned group. His death was sudden and unexpected.  He had always appeared to be one of the fittest, but death was not discriminating. The Javanese radio station crew had suffered several deaths and the survivors had managed to get off the island probably on a Javanese prahu. Those still fit enough from the ML 310 group on Tjebia repaired another Prahu. They realised that they either got off the island or  they would die on it. On 15 May, three months after they first landed on Tjebia they sailed the repaired prahu to Saya, an island between Tjebia and Singkep. The crew consisted of Atkins,  Pool, Oldnall, Stonor,  Johncock and Tucker. Warrant officer Richardson stayed with the sick and a few healthy men to handle the chores like the collection of water. The prahu was wrecked on the rocks of a small island near Saya. They were picked up by a fishing boat and taken to Singkep where they were held by the Javanese police and then passed to the Japanese as prisoners of war. The rest of the group on Tjebia were picked up and the group were all returned to Singapore. They arrived at Clifford Pier on 23 May 1942 and were then moved to Changi POW Camp. 

Nineteen died on that forsaken fever struck island, the first of which was forty-six-year-old Pendarvis Frampton. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cite his wife as Peggy Winifred Frampton. Perhaps she was not yet legally divorced, albeit engaged to Major Dewe. After the war the bodies of  the nineteen men buried in shallow graves on Tjebia Island were exhumed and reburied at Kranji War Cemetery. 

Kranji War Cemetery



Appendix 1

Fates 

19 died on Tjebia Island including the three survivors from the RAF  Auxiliary vessel Aqarius

1 died in Singapore

3 sailed to Batavia and survived

2 sailed to Banka Island and were missing presumed killed

1 deserted

22 of the original 45 on ML 310 were incarcerated at Changi in early June 1942
===
48 Total (excluding Dutch Army radio station crew).
===


Appendix 2

Execution of a Spy

Captain Patrick Stanley Heenan, 16th Punjab Regt, was convicted of treason after being caught spying  for the Japanese during the Malayan campaign in December 1941 and January 1942. Peter Elphick and Michael Smith in their book Odd Man Out (1988) postulate that he was shot by Corps of Military Police (CMP) guards on 13 February 1942 - two days before the Fall of Singapore. This may have been ordered by Rear Admiral Spooner or by Air Vice Marshal Pulford. It is possible, that the detachment led by a sergeant (Sgt Reg Wright) consisting of four other Military Police were given the task of shooting the alleged traitor. This was done by the harbour-side with his body allowed to drop into the water. Spooner and or Pulford may have then ordered  the CMP detachment to join the evacuation in ML 310.


Appendix 3

The Admiral's Wife

Rear Admiral Ernest John Spooner (22/8/1887 - 15/4/1942) married Megan Foster (1898 -1987) in 1926. She was a well-known soprano. She accompanied her husband on his last posting to Singapore as Read Admiral Malaya. HMS Scout had departed Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 with HMS Thanet. Scout was alongside the dock at Keppel Dockyard on 9 February when the First Lieutenant, Christopher Briggs, observed a car pulling up alongside the ship. It was carrying Mrs Megan Foster Spooner. Lt Briggs recalled that she was accompanied by the Admiral's steward and the Admiral's coxswain. The admirals wine cellar was brought aboard as a gift for the wardroom. 'We put Mrs Spooner in Lambton's cabin [Captain's cabin]. He had his sea cabin under the bridge. We set off as soon as it was dark, our orders were to proceed to Tanjock Prior, the port of Batavia. .... As soon as we had anchored, a boat arrived to collect Mrs Spooner and the staff. She was taken straight over to a ship, the SS City of Bedford which was sailing for Australia'. (Source: Farewell Hong Kong (1941) (2001) Christopher Briggs.


Appendix 4

Crew and passengers of  ML 310  ( Source: Lt Stonor & Lt Pool)


Officers

R/Adml Ernest John Spooner, RN - Died (Rear-Admiral Malaya)

AVM Conway Pulford, RAF - Died (Air Officer Commanding)

Cdr Pendarvis Frampton, RN - Died

W/Cdr George Atkins, RAF - Survived

Lt Richard Pool, RN - Survived.

Lt Herbert Bull, RN - RNZNVR - Sailed for Batavia (CO of ML 310)

Lt Ian Stonor, A&SH - Survived (ADC to Lt-Gen Percival)

Sub-Lt Malcolm Henderson, RANVR - Died (First Lt on ML 310)

WO Boatswain  Richardson, RN - Survivor. (Commissioned WO)


Other Ranks

PO Charles Fairbanks, RN - Survived (ex HMS Prince of Wales) 

PO Ralph Keeling, RN - Died.  (Ex HMS Repulse) 

L/S Andrew Brough, RN - Sailed to Batavia with Lt Bull (ML 310 crew)

A/B Leonard Hill, RNZNVR - Sailed to Batavia with Lt Bull (ML 310 crew)

A/B Bert Gibson, RN - Died

A/B Jack Haywood, RNZNVR - Died (ML 310 crew)

A/B Robert Flower, RN - Died. (ML 310 crew)

A/B James Russell, RN - Died (ML 310 crew)

A/B Herb Oldnall, RNZNVR Survived

AB Ronald Johnson, RN - Survived (ML 310 crew)

AB Alfred Robinson  RN - Died (ML 310 crew)

Sto Arthur Bale, RNZNVR - Died  (Rear-Admiral's driver)

StoPO Edwin Towsend, RN - Died (ML310 crew)

Sto John Little, RN - Died

Sto Edward Tucker, RN - Survived (ML 310 crew)

Sto William Paddon (ML 310 crew)

PO MMecc H S Johncock, RN - Survived   (Senior Rate on ML 310)

OrdTel Hector Smethwick, RN -Survived

OrdTel Alan Tweesdale, RN - Survived (ML310 crew)

Sgt Edward Hornby, RM - Died

Cpl Samuel Sully, RM - Died

Pte James Robinson, RM - Survived

Pte James Robinson, RM - Survived

Pte Charles Davy, RM - Survived

Pte James Sneddon, RM - survived

S/Sgt James Ginn, RE - Sailed to Batavia with Javanese (Missing)

S/Sgt John Luckett, RE - Sailed to Batavia with Javanese (Missing)

S/Sgt Richard Davies, RE - Died

Sgt Reg Wright, CMP - Survived

Cpl Stan Shieff, CMP - survived

Cpl Henry Shrimpton, CMP - Died in Singapore two days after return.

Cpl   Reg Stride CMP - Survived

Cpl Jack Turner, CMP - Survived

AC Arthur Bettany, RAF - Survived

AC Norman Smith, RAF - Survived


Cook Li Ting - Deserted (Referred to as Charlie) (ML 310 )


Joined group on Tjebia Island

Pte James Doherty, Gordon Highlanders 

Sto Leonard Scammell, RN

Aubyn Dimmitt Civilian civil engineer working at naval dockyard


Archive sources:

Report by Wing Cdr George Atkins, RAFVR  (UKNA  WO 344/362/2)

Report by Lt Ian Stoner, A&SH (UKNA)

Book sources:

Course for Disaster Richard Pool

Singapore's Dunkirk Geoffrey Brooke

Internet Sources:

Muntokpeacemuseum.org 


Gallery


Lt-General Arthur Percival



Thursday 17 March 2022

Brigadier Cedric Wallis - and the trunk

I received an email from Maria Curran, one of the the administrators of the Facebook site Liverpool Hidden History. The site has more than 44,000 members around the world, one of which, Robert McLoughlin, in  Western Australia had come across the story of a trunk that had once belonged to Brigadier Cedric Wallis that turned up in Perth. The story started when Frank O' Brien living in Perth, Western Australia decided to buy a trunk in which he would send some items to his relatives living overseas. He purchased the trunk on-line from a local seller. There was a brown fabric cover inside the trunk (see Gallery photo below) which at first he did not take much notice of. He sent off the trunk to his relatives but without the cover. Then later on looking at the cover he noticed the name Brigadier Cedric Wallis a passenger on the Empress of Scotland departing Liverpool for Quebec in October 1951. Frank O'Brien was curious to find out more about Cedric Wallis. How did the trunk end up in Western Australia and who was Cedric Wallis - what was his story. Frank published an article in the local newspaper which was seen by Robert McLoughlin. He noticed that the trunk had started its journey from Liverpool and posted the story on Facebook Page 'Liverpool Hidden History'. Frank O'Brien did some research of his own and discovered that Wallis and his then wife (he was married three times) visited Sydney, Australia in 1972 intending to stay for eight days. They gave the Canberra Oriental Hotel as their intended address in Sydney. Did he travel with the trunk and then leave it behind?  Wallis by  this time was seventy-six. Was he visiting relatives in Australia? I seem to recall he had some relatives in Australia - and I wonder if it was they who sold the trunk?

One of the interesting aspects of this story is how the world wide web allowed the simple query to travel from Australia to Liverpool to Hong Kong and back to Australia and  to form a circuit of information exchange. Imagine how difficult that would have been back in the pre-digital world in which many of us grew up. When I first heard the story - I thought it might have been Wallis's pre-war trunk left at his flat in Argyle Street on the eve of battle in December 1941.

It was a post-war trunk and passenger records show Brigadier Wallis as a passenger travelling alone to Canada in October 1951. Ten years earlier Wallis had fought with great courage and determination as an infantry brigade commander in the Battle for Hong Kong. He had suffered the misery and brutality of being incarcerated in Japanese prison camps that followed the British capitulation in Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941. He, no doubt like many, came back a changed man. His marriage ended in divorce and a second marriage also ended in divorce. He married his third wife in Quebec, Canada in 1953 and finally found solace. The marriage lasted until his death in October 1982 

The discovery of the trunk prompted me to write a brief post on Brigadier Wallis. A difficult task because he was on the one hand a very courageous officer, and on the other hand, an officer embroiled in controversy because of his comments about Canadian troops under his command and more particularly about Lt-Col Home the commander of the Royal Rifles of Canada. He wrote in the Brigade War Diary that he considered shooting Lt-Col Home for staging what was tantamount in his opinion to a bloodless mutiny. This of course does not play well in Canada, his adopted home after the war. 

Personal Details

Cedric Wallis was born 7 March 1896 in Nottinghamshire, England. In 1914, at the age of eighteen, he joined the British Army as a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards, part of the Household Cavalry Division. He was selected for officer training and served on the Western Front as a subaltern in the East Lancashire Regiment. He was wounded in action and lost his left eye. He subsequently wore a black patch or a dark monocle over his blind eye. He transferred to the British Indian Army in 1917 and served initially in Mesopotamia.

Serving with the British Indian Army 

He married firstly to Angele Van De Wouwer, a Belgian, in April 1920 at St George's Hanover Square. They had two children, a son, Bruce Exton (1924-1997) and a daughter, Angela (b.1927). The two children were born in India. Bruce Wallis served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and later  from 1950 to 1958 with MI6 and MI5 serving in London and Finland. Bruce Wallis later settled in America living in New York and later in Sarasota on the gulf coast of Florida. His sister, Angela, settled in Sussex, England. 

With Indian independence looming, the career prospects for Indian Army officers was limited. Brigadier Cedric Wallis left the Indian Army in 1946. He then took up a civilian administrative role with the British Army on the Rhine (BAOR). His first marriage to Angele must have broken down because in October 1946, he married Marjory Mills. The marriage did not last and ended in divorce a few years later. It may have been while working in Germany that Wallis met Ingeborg Subbe (1925-2010), a German national, some thirty years his junior. They married in 1953 in Quebec, and settled in Vancouver, where Wallis developed a successful business career. Wallis passed away in Vancouver in October 1982, aged eighty-six. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in Hamburg, Ingeborg's   hometown. When she died, twenty-eight years later, she was buried beside him. 

 Marriage to Ingeborg 22 October 1953 in Quebec

Early Military Career

He first joined the Indian Army in 1917. After the First World War ended Wallis served as Chief Political Officer in Mosul (present day Northern Iraq). He later served in Persia, India and Burma.  In 1922,  he was promoted to the rank of captain. In 1940 Wallis was transferred from India to Hong Kong where he became battalion commander of the 5th Battalion 7th Rajput Regiment.

Brigadier Wallis 

Battle for Hong Kong

After the arrival of Canadian reinforcements (Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada) in November 1941, Major-General Maltby, the military commander, decided to form two infantry brigades. The Mainland Brigade (also referred to as Kowloon Brigade) and the Island Brigade. Wallis was promoted to Brigadier and took command of the Mainland Brigade. Brigadier John Lawson, the  senior Canadian officer, took command of the Island Brigade. The Mainland Brigade were dug in along the defensive line known as the Gin Drinkers Line. After the withdrawal of the infantry from Kowloon, Wallis took command of East Infantry Brigade with his HQ at Tai Tam Gap. Lawson commanded West Infantry Brigade with his HQ at Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap. Lawson was killed in action after trying to extricate from his besieged brigade HQ. The British garrison surrendered on Christmas Day 1941 known afterwards as 'Black Christmas'. Wallis was interned at Sham Shui Po Camp and then Argyle Street Officers Camp. In August 1943, Major-General Maltby, Brigadier Wallis and twelve other senior officers were moved from Argyle Street Camp to Formosa and later to a POW camp in Muckden,  Manchuria. 

The deep underground bunker at Tai Tam Gap where Wallis had his East Brigade HQ

The photo above shows the underground bunker which had formally been a Fortress Plotting Room used by Eastern Fire Command. The concrete pillars were the legs that supported the large steel plotting room table. It was here that Wallis sat with his maps spread out over the plotting table and telephones placed in easy reach around him. He hated commanding the battle from an underground bunker. After the Japanese successfully landed on Hong Kong Island he moved his Battle HQ to Stanley and formed a defensive perimeter on the hills around Stanley.  

During the fighting, and  for example, the East Brigade counterattacks from Stanley on 20 and 21 December, Wallis was always close to the front line. He was the sort of officer that preferred to lead from the front. At Stanley he was prepared to hold on until all ammunition and water had been expended. Brigadier Wallis never showed any lack of courage or determination. He was a  demanding boss but he asked from his men no more than he himself would do. He was a fighting brigadier and well versed in the profession of arms. He got on well with his staff officers and his immediate superior, Major-General Maltby, the military commander, also from the British Indian Army. However his reputation was somewhat mired by the controversy surrounding his comments in the war diary. 

Controversy

The East Brigade War Diary (UK National Archives CAB 106/35) details the difficulties and clashes between Brigadier Wallis and Lt-Col Home during the closing stages of the battle in and around Stanley. In the most controversial part of the war diary Wallis wrote that he considered arresting and shooting Lt-Col Home for staging what Wallis considered to be a bloodless mutiny. Despite the difficulties between the two commanders, Lt-Col Home did keep his battalion in action up until the very last moment before the surrender on Christmas Day. Home had served in WW1 and had been awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in action. 

Lt-Col Home, RRC Battalion Commander 

Officers and men were exhausted, many had been in continuous action and nerves were frayed. All who fought in the Battle for Hong Kong fought with great bravery. They were fighting a losing battle, which became increasingly clear to the combatants as the battle raged on. Churchill always knew that Hong Kong could not be defended but he also realised that for geopolitical reasons he could not take troops out. That was part of the reason why Hong Kong was so poorly defended especially in terms of aircraft and warships. If Hong Kong was attacked by Japan it would have to be sacrificed but not without a fight. Towards the end, the governor, Sir Mark Young, and the military commander, Major-General Maltby, were following Churchill's orders to 'resist to the end'. They were told that every day they could hold on would help the Allied cause. They did their best under the circumstances and they did resist to the bitter end.

.......................


Acknowledgements

Frank O' Brien (AUS) for sharing the story of the trunk and his research 

Alex MacDonald (HK) for help researching personal details of Brigadier Wallis (inc. marriage details)

Maria  Curran (UK) from FB site Liverpool Hidden History for bringing the story to my notice

Robert McLoughlin (AUS) for referring the story to Maria Curran and  to me and putting me in touch with Frank O'Brien


Gallery:

The trunk cover bearing the name Brigadier Cedric Wallis (travelling from Liverpool to Quebec October 1951) 




Wednesday 23 February 2022

Pillbox 9

Pillbox No. 9 was a Beach Defence Unit (BDU) consisting of a pillbox (PB) and a separate Lyon Light structure. The Lyon Light (searchlight) was housed in a concrete structure with steel shutters.  It had a crew of two men. A small generator powered the searchlight. Communication between the PB and the Lyon Light (LL) structure was effected by voice pipe. The LL structure was normally 10 to 50 metres away from the PB and usually situated above the PB. The PB had telephone connection with Company (Coy) HQ and the other pillboxes in their platoon/group. PB 9 was situated on Aberdeen Praya Road looking southwards towards Ap Lei Chau (aka Aberdeen Island). It was located to the west of the Aberdeen naval base and dockyard. The PB and LL has long been demolished, but I found there is a photo (see below) showing the LL structure on local history web site 'Gwulo.com'.  Click the link. https://gwulo.com/atom/22417 

LL 9 on Aberdeen Praya. (Source: Gwulo.com)

In the photo, which I believe is dated 1940, you can see the closed steel shutters in the searchlight aperture and the ventilation shaft with its spoked ducts. The PB was probably located at the waterline and close to the LL. The Beach Defence Unit (BDU) was manned by soldiers from 'A' Coy 1/Mx. The company was commanded by Captain Hudson who was responsible for the PBs from No 1 at Sandy Bay to No. 11 on Ap Lei Chau (Aberdeen Island). These 'A' Coy pillboxes are illustrated in the extract from the wartime map shown below. It will be seen that PBs 10 and 11 were located on Aberdeen Island.

Wartime map showing 'A' Coy 1/Mx PBs 1 to 11

'A' Coy 1/Mx shared their Coy HQ with 'B' Coy Winnipeg Grenadiers at Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. 'A' Coy had three platoons (4, 5 and 6)

No 4 Platoon (PBs 1, 3, 4 and 5) Initial Platoon Cdr 2/Lt Wynter -Blyth

No 5 Platoon (PBs 6, 7, 8 and 9) Initial Platoon Cdr 2/Lt K.D. Cole (later 2/Lt Newton)

No 6 Platoon (PBs 10 and 11) Initial Platoon Cdr 2/Lt P. A Newton.

PB 9 was commanded by Sgt Thomas Richard Montague Castle. He was born February 1908 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. He joined the army, aged eighteen in 1926. He was promoted to full sergeant in 1937. He was a regular soldier with fifteen year's experience by the time war started in Hong Kong.  Road blocks were established near PB 8 (Cpl Kendall) and at PB 9 (Cpl Reeves).

During the first week there was a lot of bombing and shelling in the Aberdeen area. Following the Japanese landings on the Island  - Sgt Castle (and possibly his ten-man crew) was dispatched to fight in an infantry role.  

Extracts from 1/Mx War Diary:

Tuesday 16 December: Heavy air raids on Aberdeen. PB9 had a severe time but no casualties.

Wednesday 17 December:  A stick of bombs was dropped in Kellett Bay which narrowly missed PB 7.

Friday 19 December: One section under Sgt Castle under the command of 2/Lt Newton sent to support Winnipeg Grenadiers (WG) at Shelter E1-1.

Saturday 20 December:  The party under 2/Lt Newton  occupied Shelter E1-1 during night 20/21 replacing 'B' Coy WG.

Sunday 21 December: Orders received from GSO-1 [senior staff officer] that all PB crews were to be held in readiness to move to any part of the Island. ... Two sections under 2/Lt Newton  sent for defence of Aberdeen Industrial School [naval base] of which one section under Sgt Castle sent to position south of Bennet's Hill.

Monday 22 December: Half of 'A' Coy were deployed around Bennet's Hill defending the approaches to the naval base at Aberdeen Industrial School. The other half were deployed on the north shore (Wan Chai area).

Thursday 25 December: Sgt Castle's section south of Bennet's Hill was shelled and L/Cpl George Barkway was killed and one Vickers MG was hit and destroyed.  At 1600 hours the order was received  to cease fire, cease hostilities.  

Sgt Castle was interned at Sham Shui Po POW Camp. In September 1942, he was drafted with other members of 1/Mx to work as slave labourers in Japan. He boarded the ill-fated armed Japanese freighter, the Lisbon Maru. The freighter was sunk by an American submarine not realising that the vessel was carrying some 1,800 British POWs. Sgt Castle survived the sinking, but not long after arriving in Japan, in a weakened state, he died of dysentery at Hiroshima Military Hospital.


...................

Acknowledgements & Sources:

Russell Timmins (Information relating to Sgt Castle).
Gwulo.com (Photo).
UK National Archives (1/Mx War Diary - WO 172/1689).







Monday 21 February 2022

The landings on HK Island and subsequent movements by 230th Infantry Regiment (the Shoji Butai)

On the night of the 18 December 1941, three Japanese infantry regiments landed on the northeast shore of Hong Kong Island. Each regiment deployed two of its three battalions. One battalion in each regiment being held back to be used under divisional command. A Japanese infantry battalion consisted of approximately 1,000 men. In addition to the infantry battalions there was artillery, gendarmes, engineers and  other units being landed during the course of the night. One can reasonably assume that some eight thousand Japanese troops got ashore that night of which six thousand were frontline infantry. During the night, and during the course of the following morning, the bulk of this force converged from different directions on Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap.

Broad direction of Japanese advance  following landings on the north shore

The Japanese overran the defenders on this section of the north shore. The ratio of the invader to the defender was greater than ten to one. There were 8,000 invaders and no more than 700 to 800 defenders (see calculation below). 

The Defenders:

The British deployed one infantry battalion, the 5th Battalion 7th Rajput Regiment to defend this 5 kilometre stretch of the shoreline between North Point and Shau Kei Wan. The battalion deployed three companies, 'D' Coy (Capt. Newton) at North Point, 'A' Coy (Capt. Ansari) at Shau Kei Wan and  'C' Coy and HQ Coy at or around Tai Koo. The battalion commander Lt-Col Cadogan-Rawlinson had his battalion HQ located at Tai Koo Police Station. He had one company, 'B' Coy (Captain Course) in reserve at Tai Hang. The defenders included:

Three companies of Rajputs and Bn HQ (estimate 450)

Hughes Group at North Point Power Station (estimate 40)

Pak Sha Wan coastal Defence Battery (estimate 40) 

'C' Coy Royal Rifles of Canada at Lye Mun Gap  (estimate 120)

Sai Wan AA Fort (estimate 40)

Sai Wan 6-inch Howitzer Section (40)

Lye Mun Barracks 3.75-inch Howitzer Section (10)

Middlesex Flying Platoon survivors at HKE power station (10)

Estimate:  750


The Defence of the hills inland from the landing area 


(1) At Wong Nei Chung Gap and Stanley Gap:

No. 3 Coy HKVDC manning PBs 1 and 2 and section posts including JLO 1, 2 and 3  and various roadblocks. Major Evan Stewart had established his Coy HQ in a splinter proof shelter under AA battery. (Estimated Coy strength 120) 

Stanley Gap 3.7-inch AA battery. Two AA guns.  (estimate 60)

Stanley Gap 3.7-inch howitzer battery.  Three guns.  (estimate 70)

'D' Coy Winnipeg Grenadiers close to WNC Gap with splinter proof shelters located between WNC Gap Road and the upper section of Blue Pool Road. At that time Blue Pool Road extended from Tai Hang Road to WNC Gap.  (estimate 120)

No 1 Platoon No 1 Coy HKVDC at Quarry Gap (aka Sanatorium Gap) and at PB 45 on Mt Parker Road (north side the gap). (estimate 30)

Estimate: 400


(2) Reinforcements sent up into the hills on the night of the Japanese landings

Lt Birkett's platoon (from HQ Coy) were sent in two trucks from Winnipeg Grenadiers HQ at Wan Chai Gap. Burkett in one truck and his Platoon Sgt, Tom Marsh, in the second truck. (estimate 30)

Lt French's platoon (from HQ Coy)  (estimate 30)

Major Gresham's 'A' Coy (estimate 120)

Estimate:  180


Taking all the estimates, for the north shore, Stanley Gap, WNC Gap, Quarry Gap  and the JLO ridge-line we have a total of 1,280 in the area facing c. 8,000. The Japanese were able to concentrate their forces. The Japanese troops that landed on 18/19 December all converged on WNC Gap. The British counter attacks that followed were often carried out by inexperienced troops like the RN contingent fighting as infantry, HKSRA gunners and Royal Engineers. When regular infantry was deployed it was more often in company strength rather than battalion strength. 

                             

The 230th Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Shoji - the landings and the initial movements

The Shoji Butai, consisting of the Second and Third Battalions (2/230 and 3/230) of the 230th Infantry Regiment, landed 500 to 600 metres to the east of North Point. They landed between 2150 hours and 2400 hours.  Colonel Shoji came ashore with the second wave  at approximately 2240 hours. After some thirty minutes, Shoji's HQ group moved inland and uphill to what he described as the west bank of a large lake but what was in fact Braemar Reservoir. Here he established his Regimental HQ. He described this as being some 800 metres due south of the landing area. The reservoir was filled in after the war and built over. It is now accommodates Braemar Hill Mansions and an adjacent park known as Choi Sai Soo Park.

Communications with other units including Divisional HQ were not completed until 0230 in the early hours of Friday 19 December. Colonel Shoji then moved his HQ party uphill to a path known as Sir Cecil's Ride. This path led around the north face of Jardine's Lookout to WNC Gap. He arrived at the north side of Jardine's Lookout (point K on the map below) at 0330 hours. At that location the commanding officer of the Third battalion (3/230) advised Colonel Shoji that:

A. "The pillbox defences on Jardine's Lookout ('JLO')  were mainly manned by Indian troops. Their strength unknown". (1) It is not clear what is meant by this. There was an AOP on the summit of JLO perhaps this was meant. It may well have been manned by Indian gunners from HKSRA. 

B.  "The Umino raiding patrol had captured, at 0140, the pillboxes on Jardine's Lookout thoroughly defeating the British force. Lt Umino plus five others were killed in this action". (1) This probably referred to the forward defended localities known as JLO 1, 2 and 3. These were section positions with wire entanglement and an MG positioned in a weapons pit or emplacement. These forward defended localities were manned by HKVDC No 3. Coy.

C. The planned advance route proved to be narrow and poor and the unit could only advance in two files

Colonel Shoji then gave the following orders:

(a) Third Battalion (3/230) would proceed along Sir Cecil's Ride  and head towards WNC Gap.

(b) Second Battalion (2/230) would attack and overpower British resistance  on the left flank (i.e. the Jardine's Lookout Ridgeline which overlooked Sir Cecil's Ride and then proceed "through Jardine's Lookout  to the 5-road junction" (WNC Gap). 

Shoji noted (1) that by 0500 hours both battalions were ready for the attack.  Shoji followed the Third Bn along the Ride with the two reserve companies heading towards WNC Gap. Soon both battalions were in action.

"Not only was fierce rifle fire heard from the direction of the Second Battalion, but suddenly from the area of the 5-road junction (WNC Gap) fierce rifle fire and movements of armoured units were heard. "(1)

There were no armoured units operating in WNC Gap at that time. However, at or around dawn, PB 1 opened fire as Shoji's troops (3/230) reached WNC Gap. A large number of casualties were incurred as Japanese troops went eastwards and uphill to attack the Stanley Gap AA Section and westwards to attack the police station at the gap and to picket the Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) situated at the junction of the upper section of Blue Pool Road and WNC Gap Road. 

The Second Battalion (2/230) reached the JLO ridge-line after fanning out and advancing uphill from Sir Cecil's Ride. They were in a firefight with Lt Birkett's mobile platoon around the Artillery Observation Post (AOP) on the summit of JLO.  They also bumped up against 'A' Coy Winnipeg Grenadiers and Lt French's mobile platoon in the gap or shoulder between Mt Butler and Jardines Lookout. 

Sgt Tom Marsh, Lt Birkett's Platoon Sgt, saw 'A' Coy already in a fighting retreat as his platoon reached the AOP and described them as being some 200 metres to the east of the AOP. Lt French and Lt Birkett's mobile platoons, both from HQ Coy, WG, hd been trucked from Wan Chai Gap during the night to defend these two positions. 'A' Coy had been sent up from their base at Shouson Hill. Their orders were to proceed to Jardine's Lookout and then to move to Mount Butler.  By dawn all three Canadian units were under attack and during the morning and early afternoon they were overrun and destroyed. 

The Commander of the Second Battalion (2/230) reported to Colonel Shoji that the British, it was in fact 'A' Coy WG, "were retreating towards the east and south east ravines in front of advancing Japanese troops. The battalion was expected to rendez-vous in the area of the captured anti-aircraft defences [Stanley Gap]". (1) 

The Doi Butai later joined the attack attacking from the east and from the rear. The Canadian company ('A' Coy WG) were retreating back to Stanley Gap where they had de-trucked and started their deployment. During this fighting retreat the Coy Commander, Major Gresham, leading one group and the CSM, Sgt Major Osborn, leading the other main group were both killed in action. 

Shoji described the intensity of British artillery fire. He describes how at one stage while resting in a depression at the captured AA battery they suddenly came under howitzer fire from British guns at Happy Valley. His troops in the area between WNC Gap and the AA battery were heavily shelled and a lot of casualties incurred. The vickers guns had already taken their toll in the morning when the Third Battalion first reached the gap. Shoji recorded   how the third battalion continued to press home the attack at WNC Gap on 19 December but owing to the combination of resistance from PB 1, British artillery fire, counterattacks and  lively fire from 'D' Coy WG shelters .......... he incurred very high casualty rates which included the battalion commander. Shoji estimated his casualties as being eight hundred on the 19 December. A shockingly high figure because it would represent an 80% casualty rate for that one battalion.....that is if correct ...... but this is included in his signed statement. The Shoji Butai  waited anxiously for the arrival of the other Japanese regiments.  He writes that by 1240 hours on 19 December the leading units of the Tanaka Butai began to arrive. Shoji met with the leading platoon commander from the Tanaka Butai. He wrote that this was the "first occasion we had met with our own troops since the landing. I judged that the Doi Butai would arrive soon. Just before sunset (19 December at 1900 hours) a report came in that the Doi Butai had arrived at the gap". Rumours had apparently reached the Divisional Commander (Lt-General Sano) that the Shoji Butai had been annihilated near the five-road junction.

The approximate route taken by 2/230 and 3/230 Shoji Butai from the landing ground at North Point 

After WNC Gap had been fully secured on 22 December, the Shoji Butai proceeded down Blue Pool Road towards Happy Valley and started fighting their way up Stubbs Road in the direction of Wan Chai Gap. 

It was Shoji's Butai that first arrived at WNC Gap. The Tanaka Butai (229th Infantry Regt) arrived at Stanley Gap in the afternoon of 19 December. They played no major part in the fighting in this area. During the evening of 19 December the Tanaka Butai followed Violet Hill Path to Middlespur and thence to Repulse Bay. The Doi Butai arrived later on 19 December at WNC Gap having been held up by Rajput resistance at Tai Koo and in fighting with 'A' Coy WG as the Canadian company tried to fight their way back to Stanley Gap.

It was the Shoji Butai that captured WNC Gap and captured the two PBS (PB 1 & 2) on the western slopes of Jardines Lookout. It was they who captured the AA battery at Stanley Gap and it was they who scaled Jardines Lookout from Sir Cecil's Ride to attack the the two mobile platoons and 'A' Coy, WG, albeit later joined by the Second Battalion (2/228) of the Doi Butai. 


Sources

(1)   Translation of statement by Major-General Toshishige Shoji formerly OC 230th Infantry Regiment Japanese Imperial Army concerning the activities of the Shoji Butai during the capture of Hong Kong.  Dated 18 November 1946 ( UKNA WO 235/1015) 

(2) Statement by Sgt Tom Marsh (HKVCA)

(3) Japanese battle maps (Japan Centre for Historical Records).