tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83799622567419026052024-03-26T22:42:16.514-07:00Military HistoryShort articles focused on WW2 in Hong Kong and Singapore in particular and military history in general. Click the "Follow" button to receive new posts. For general enquiries please contact: Philip.G.Cracknell@gmail.comPhilip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-20653722719987858942024-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:002024-02-15T21:34:22.399-08:00Major Arthur Dewar, RASC<p style="text-align: justify;">Arthur John Dewar was born 3 August 1907 to Robert and Lily Dewar in Belgaum, India. He was an Australian who served in the British Army as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). He fought galllantly in the Battle for Hong Kong and in 1946 this was recognised by the award of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for gallantry in combat. <span style="text-align: left;">He was one of six recipients of the DSO awarded during the Battle for Hong Kong. The others five awards were granted to the following senior officers. </span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Major Bishop, Royal Rifles of Canada</p><p style="text-align: center;">Major Hodkinson, Winnipeg Grenadiers</p><p style="text-align: center;">Lt Colonel Stewart, Middlesex Regiment</p><p style="text-align: center;">Major Stewart, HKVDC</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">Major Templer, Royal Artillery</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The DSO ranks below the Victoria Cross and above the Military Cross. It is generally only awarded to senior officers in the rank of Major or above and only for gallantry in action. Dewar was a Temporary Major during the battle albeit his substantive rank was Captain. The citation for his award mentions conspicuous and consistent gallantry.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Arthur Dewar, apparently known as "Dumpy Dewar" according to Captain Wiseman, RASC, was a career officer who served in the Regular Army before and after the war. He was first commissioned into the Australian Army Service Corps and later transferred to the RASC. A shipping manifest dated March 1932 records his arrival in London on the SS <i>Narkunda, </i>aged 24 to take up his role with the RASC. He was travelling from Fremantle, Western Australia and bound for the RASC Depot in the Army garrison town of Aldershot. He was later seconded to the Sudan Defence Force. He served much of his time in Equatoria, South Sudan. After a period serving in UK he was transferred to Hong Kong in 1940. Captain Wiseman recalled that he lived in the Hongkong Club and was reputed to play bridge every night and supplement his Army salary with his winnings. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A passenger record dated August 1955 records him returning to Australia from the UK. Possibly following retirement from the Army. By this tine he was a Lieutenant Colonel with a distinguished war record. He was travelling with his wife Lois Alice on the SS <i>Himalaya</i>. He gives his permanent intended place of residence as Australia and his last place of residence as England. He retired to Swambourne a seaside suburb of Perth, Western Australia. He passed away at the early age of 59 in January 1967. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">He is particulary well known for holding out at the Little Hong Kong ordnance magazines at Shouson Hill and in so doing became the last organized unit to accede to the surrender of British and Allied forces in Hong Kong. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JytNGjeF2JzQC_D2B3Gdo_J6ZXbZMhGxuIxUA_KX_77OPNmHfc6GQC_khsK4za9I9gR1SfOWqgscpII4999GxCanx2pkhGM_DQSw2glmmri4tKK9iNB25kNTBI5Hy31OyCCf22O13ympU6g4dVjh_rkJYp6Uy0nHEikvPBfQqkAPcbivjrx1ofuL/s1009/Dewar.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JytNGjeF2JzQC_D2B3Gdo_J6ZXbZMhGxuIxUA_KX_77OPNmHfc6GQC_khsK4za9I9gR1SfOWqgscpII4999GxCanx2pkhGM_DQSw2glmmri4tKK9iNB25kNTBI5Hy31OyCCf22O13ympU6g4dVjh_rkJYp6Uy0nHEikvPBfQqkAPcbivjrx1ofuL/w444-h640/Dewar.png" width="444" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Captain (Temporary Major) Arthur Dewar (Source: n/k)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Monday 8 December 1941 at 0800 hours while crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island he witnessed the first air raid on Kai Tak and Sham Shui Po barracks which for many people in Hong Kong was the first indication that war had begun, although a state of emergency had been declared the previous day. Major Dewar was on his way to the RASC boats camber adjacent to the RN Dockyard. He was the officer in charge of the flotilla of War Department Vessels consisting of lighters and launches. These vessels included WDV <i>French, </i>shown in the drawing below, and<i> </i>WDV <i>Oudenarde </i>and WDV <i>Victoria</i>. They flew the Blue Ensign with a crossed swords emblem. They were the Army's maritime transport and entirely separate from the Royal Navy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvdIXOFOYf9s9eUU6x_r91YgtKPAZF_apb-6lDohYjxtomkyRtz3L2B3jMlTit8gEHsnJaWhDmnOYd9Gutw1-EAh_qU1ns5Z5H0EaIpRNjSi-3YHRq6Kzc2iHweuW9PKwPXg407StuvFXKCE7RzpWnNG1yLLtlQwShCX1r2eTahpaFUfCe9PGx2fe/s3827/IMG_4334.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2501" data-original-width="3827" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvdIXOFOYf9s9eUU6x_r91YgtKPAZF_apb-6lDohYjxtomkyRtz3L2B3jMlTit8gEHsnJaWhDmnOYd9Gutw1-EAh_qU1ns5Z5H0EaIpRNjSi-3YHRq6Kzc2iHweuW9PKwPXg407StuvFXKCE7RzpWnNG1yLLtlQwShCX1r2eTahpaFUfCe9PGx2fe/w640-h418/IMG_4334.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">WDV <i>French </i>(Source:<i> Recollections of a British Prisoner of War</i> by Bill Wiseman) </div><p style="text-align: left;">Captain Bill Wiseman, RASC, described the role of the Army's Water Transport as follows:</p><p style="text-align: left;">1. A cross harbour ferry service between SSP Barracks, Stonecutters Island and Tsim Tsa Shui and the RASC Camber.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2. An embarkation and disembarkation facility for service personnel.</p><p style="text-align: left;">3. A lighter service for loading and unloading service stores and ammunition.</p><p style="text-align: left;">4. Fast-going sea launches for towing targets for the 9.2-inch and 6-inch coastal defence batteries</p><p style="text-align: left;">5. For the movement of guns and mules as required. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Captain Wiseman describes the vessels as falling into three categories:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Harbour launches: </b> <i>Victoria, Malplaquet, Oudenarde.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Fast Motor Launches:</b> <i>French, Widgeon.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Lighters: </b>Various, with some having ramps down to their holds for transporting mules. The crews were made up of mainly Chinese personnel. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dewar describes how two of the RASC lighters were converted to mule lighters presumably by the addition of ramps. This being in anticipation that the mules would at some point need to be brought over from the Mainland to Hong Kong Island.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Monday 8 December and Tuesday 9 December Ordnance and NAAFI stores were moved to new and less exposed locations on the southside of the Island. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Thursday 11 December Dewar was advised that Withdrawal from the Mainland (WM Plan) was being put into operation. The WM Plan entailed the withdrawal of all troops and equipment from the Mainland to Hong Kong Island. The two mule lighters were towed initially to Holt's Wharf. One was later dispatched to the RN Camber in Kowloon and towed by WDV <i>Oudenarde. </i>The lighter returned to Hong Kong Island under Japanese shellfire with some 50 mules collected from Whitfield Barracks. Dewar describesd how the RN Dockyard, the RASC Camber amd the Ordnance Depot on the north shore of the Island were under increasing bombardment. Nevertheless the mules were disembarked without loss. One RASC officer, 2/Lt Keller, RIASC, was slightly wounded in both legs when the Motor Transport (MT) stores building was hit by artillery fire as he was passing. He was sent to the Military Hospital on Bowen Road. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The RASC Camber was evacuated with the personnel sent to the RASC depot at the golf course at Deepwater Bay. Dewar proceeded to Lye Mun continuing to take charge of the Army Water Transport vessels. The 2nd Battalion Royal Scots were brought over to the Island that evening (Thursday 11 December) and likewise the howitzers, Bren Gun carriers and artillery. The two Indian Army battalions commenced their withdrawal towards Devil's Peak. WDV <i>French </i>was sent to pick up soldiers from the Royal Artillery Observation Posts near Clearwater Bay. Dewar spent the night 11 of December at Lye Mun. On Friday 12 December he was advised that the Punjab Battalion occupying the centre of the Gin Drinkers Line (GDL) were to be evacuated that night together with mules from the pier at Devil's Peak Peninsula. A decision was taken later that all troops including the Rajput Battalion and their supporting artillery would be evacuated during the night of 12 December. WDV <i>Victoria </i>was brought over to Lye Mun from Taikoo Docls by Dewar with the assistance of personnel seconded by the Navy to act as coxswains, engine room artificers and deckhands, many of the Chinese crews having deserted. An American civilian, Doctor Frank Molthen, the owner of a private motor boat volunteered to assist in the evacuation of troops and equipment. The evacuation of the three inantry battalions with their supporting artillery, armoured cars and bren gun carriers was completed in a mini-Dunkirk style opperation. The task was initially carried out by the War Department vesssels, but they were later joined by the Royal Navy using the sole remaining destroyer, HMS <i>Thracian</i>, and four of their eight motor torpedoe boats. The MTBs were used to ferry troops from the pier to the destroyer. The final crossings were made on Saturday morning, 13 December, in broad daylight. They were vulnerable to air attack but fortunately Japanese aircraft did not appear that morning. Much of the evacuation was carried out at night without lights. The evacuation was a remarkable success due to good planning, good command and control and to some extent good fortune. Nearly all the military personnel were successfully evacuated and the only failure was the inability to bring the mules across because of damage to the mule-lighter.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the evaciation, Dewar was posted to Shouson Hill in command of 12 Coy RASC. On 19 December, following the Japanese landings on the Island and their capture of Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap, orders were given for the RASC to evacuate the work shops at Shouson Hill and the depots at Brick Hill and Deep Water Bay. The RASC personnel were ordered to relocate to Dairy Farm on Victoria Road and await orders. They were then instructed to form a composite company under the command of Lt-Col Frederick, RASC. The composite company consisted of RASC, RAOC, Royal Engineers, Royal Navy, Hong Kong Police and RAF. Dewar was part of this composite company of miscellaneous military personnel who were ordered to form a defensive line along a catch-water near Bennett's Hill. In the evening at about 1800 hours they received orders to abandon the line at Bennett's Hill and to capture Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap which had been largely captured by the Japanese earlier that morning on 19 December. Transport was arranged to take the composite company as far up Repulse Bay Road as possible. Movement began at 20000 hours. They could not get to WNC Gap which was covered by Japanese machine guns so they stopped at the Ridge slightly lower down Repulse Bay Road. The plan was for an attack on WNC Gap to commence at dawn on 20 December. However, at 2300 hours plans changed again and Fredericks was ordered to leave the Ridge and to reoccupy Shouson Hill the following morning. However that morning, 20 December, the Japanese had proceeded down Middle Spur and seized the critical road junction at Repulse Bay Road/Island Road. Lt-Col Frederick's party consisting of a walking group and a motor transport group moved straight into a Japanese ambush at the road junction. Casualties were incurred and the rest of the column withdrew back to the Ridge. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Major Dewar saw the lorries and marching group returning up Repulse Bay Road. He was briefed about the ambush by Major Flippance, RASC. Dewar asked Flippance to report the situation to Lt-Col Frederick at the Ridge. Meanwhile Dewar decided to continue down Repulse Bay Road to collect and assist any stragglers. He met Sgt Shiel, RASC, and ascertained from him that few if any were left behind. While they were talking at the roadside they spotted a Japanese patrol working their way up the road towards them. They took cover and allowed the Japanese to come closer before opening fire at a range of 80 to 100 yards. Dewar described in his war diary how four were definitely killed and another four to eight were either killed our wounded. The Japanese then started to reinforce their forward troops on the road and at the same time tried to outflank Dewar and Shiel by working their way up the hillside above the road. It was time to withdraw and avoid entrapment. Rather than proceedinng up the road and back to the Ridge they went down the steep hillside below the road. They reached the golf course at Deep Water Bay and made their way along the perimeter towards Shouson Hill. They noticed the Japanese flag flying from the old AA fort and made their way to the Food Store on Island Road.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the Food Store they came across a naval party of some twenty men made up from HMS <i>Tern's</i> ship's company and under the command of Lt Gerald Horey, RNVR. Dewar and Shiel joined up with this group and Dewar as the senior officer assumed command. Dewar and Horey reported to Major Marsh, 1/Mx, at his Coy HQ at Shouson Hill. Marsh asked them to garrison House No. 23 in order to protect his exposed flank and to prevent snipers getting into the nearby houses that overlooked Marsh's HQ. They were also ordered to help keep the road clear leading from Aberdeen to Little Hong Kong magazines. Dewar notified Lt-Col Andrews-Levinge, his commanding officer, of their situation. House No. 23 where Dewar established his HQ was in fact Andrews-Levinge's pre-war home. His wife, Ida, was one of the European nurses working at St Stephen's College Temporary Hospital at Stanley. She was fortunate to have survived the masacre of wounded patients, orderlies and medical personnel. The house provided line of sight on the old AA fort which had been occupied by Japanese troops. Sniper fire was periodically exchanged. Major Marsh issued the RN party with army uniforms to replace their more conspicuous blue naval uniforms. Marsh also provided the naval party under Dewar with LMGs and a Vickers gun and sent two 1/Mx machine gunners to bolster their group.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Sunday 21 December, an attack was carried out by a combined naval and army party on the AA Fort. The attack was led by Lt-Col Kidd, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment. The attack was unsuccessful and a number of casualties were incurred including Lt-Col Kidd was killedduring the attack. Dewar saw the assualt party passing No. 23. He described how the attack disintegrated after Lt-Col Kidd was killed. He obtained a further four RN ratings from the attacking party after it had broken up. The old AA fort was shelled by howitzers but the Japanese still had control of this prominent hill feature which commanded Island Road, the route to Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay. The Japanese continued to snipe at Dewar's party in No. 23. Dewar noticed Japanese troops on the southern slopes of Mt Nicholson and Mt Cameron moving from east to west. He directed fire using rifles and Bren Guns. The Vickers Gun supplied by Major Marsh was not functioning due to a missing lock. Early the next morning, Monday 22 December, they were subjected to sniper fire from the disused AA fort. Fire was laid down on Japanese positions on Mt Cameron and Mt Nicholson using the Bren Guns and the Vickers Gun (a new lock having been found). They were joined by Lt-Cdr Binney, another straggler from Kidd's asault party.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday 23 December, Dewar's party continued to be sniped at from the AA fort. Howitzer fire was again directed at the Japanese positions at the AA fort. On this day, they were joined by two more naval personnel, Lt Mitchell and Sub-Lt Rose, also stragglers from Lt-Col Kidd's group. They had become separated from the main party and had spent two days evading Japanese patrols. Major Dewar was praised for observing and directing artillery fire from the 9.2-inch guns at Stanley at Japanese positions on Cameron and Nicholson. They estimated the Japanese in this area of Cameron and Nicholson numbered one thousand - equivalent to a full Japanese infantry battalion. During the day the Japanese were closing in on House No 23 and Major Marsh's HQ. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On 24 March the defenders at Shouson Hill were subjected to heavy mortar fire. This continued from 0900 to 1030 hours when the firing moved to Bennett's Hill and Aberdeen. Two mortar shells hit House No 23 causing two casualties who were evacuated by car to the hospital at the Aberdeen naval base. Marsh ordered Lt Hanlon, RAOC, and his Ordnance group to evacuate the magazines at Little Hong Kong. However on reporting this to China Command they were told that a further convoy was scheduled to pick up ammunition from the magazines that evening. Marsh ordered Hanlon to re-open the magaznes and Dewar's group were ordered to reinforce the ordnance group at the magazines and provide local defence. The ammunition convoy arrived at 2200 hours. The next day, Christmas Day, Hong Kong surrendered. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lt Lewis Bush, HKRNVR, a Japanese speaking British naval officer was asked to go to Government House with Lt Suzuki to facilitate an interview between Major-General Maltby, the Army commander, and a Japanese Colonel. Maltby asked about the mixed army and naval group manning the magazines at Little Hong Kong as there had been no word as to their fate. According to Lt Bush, Suzuki knew about them and replied that they were still holding out and had fired at Japanese troops whenever they approached and that they had rigged the magazines with explosives. Bush went to the magazines with Suzuki and informed them that Major-General Maltby had ordered a cease-fire and assured the defenders that they would be given safe conduct by the Japanese. Bush writing in <i>The Road to Inamura </i>(1972) writes that he was warned that he may have difficulty because the officer in charge was a particularly stubborn Australian who might choose to blow up the thousads of tons of ammunition rather than surrender. After Bush's intervention the men came out and surrendered the magazines. The Japanse were relieved. The prisoners were taken to Aberdeen and given a slap-up meal and provided with whisky and beer. Their Japanese captors were impressed that they were willing to blow themselves up with the ammunition rather than surrender. This group commanded by Major Dewar were the last organised group to surrender in the Battle for Hong Kong.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuf9GMH5PqihZyQbBq_crntQXaeSiquGWD9H32kpDlS5jL42Yg_iWk2vJQqzeJpIFvN1OmRpMZANr1OzQKpemCkK2Kkte8_8FCYHxu3D0NgjCTcJTgZ2YImeU5TgIb__X1m9Feqq2ZVye86llQuEZ7cVks1vrQhqazIA8r_XIzkfdGLCc_UbyYWvf/s1174/10904456_10204067597503841_3070283362128648928_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1174" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuf9GMH5PqihZyQbBq_crntQXaeSiquGWD9H32kpDlS5jL42Yg_iWk2vJQqzeJpIFvN1OmRpMZANr1OzQKpemCkK2Kkte8_8FCYHxu3D0NgjCTcJTgZ2YImeU5TgIb__X1m9Feqq2ZVye86llQuEZ7cVks1vrQhqazIA8r_XIzkfdGLCc_UbyYWvf/w640-h392/10904456_10204067597503841_3070283362128648928_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Little Hong Kong Magazines circa 1941</div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7213S5DWobefukKqksI7hzCxa4mTRkobsiRttahyphenhyphencrm5OzY5KatiRlaSU5m7tDHdnfixRUFyjZ9ORhAaM0NVwsBx-KWHRRe5GO_yFFwzRlp6QZ4LrDUKT1BPDmvQGpz1HcRASQZP5FZUq-oLDyvrGx_0oSCY2PExH_oVHPoEtfMbjYUkfAT5yIC4G/s4032/IMG_6977.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7213S5DWobefukKqksI7hzCxa4mTRkobsiRttahyphenhyphencrm5OzY5KatiRlaSU5m7tDHdnfixRUFyjZ9ORhAaM0NVwsBx-KWHRRe5GO_yFFwzRlp6QZ4LrDUKT1BPDmvQGpz1HcRASQZP5FZUq-oLDyvrGx_0oSCY2PExH_oVHPoEtfMbjYUkfAT5yIC4G/w640-h480/IMG_6977.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> One of the surviving magazines at Little Hong Kong (January 2024)</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65kax8_Fp0F-bWq2xXVTj9jCG-7p6ib_fwct7J_T0sgqhOVK8-RPtLKwf5o3DC40vp2uhBST44Ivch0UB4exQldBsoUrs9qR2xR454AuhVSo826UulJmcKdb0rDwhul2Md_K9oeTXvZGAdcceiACp_VNmiCNunIMbl3be9Y_-ObkYBvRZGoJ8jt75/s4032/IMG_6974.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65kax8_Fp0F-bWq2xXVTj9jCG-7p6ib_fwct7J_T0sgqhOVK8-RPtLKwf5o3DC40vp2uhBST44Ivch0UB4exQldBsoUrs9qR2xR454AuhVSo826UulJmcKdb0rDwhul2Md_K9oeTXvZGAdcceiACp_VNmiCNunIMbl3be9Y_-ObkYBvRZGoJ8jt75/w640-h480/IMG_6974.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Information board at Little Hong Kong </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Sources: </b></p><p style="text-align: left;">War Diary of Major A J Dewar (Appendix 'D' of RASC War Diarry) held at UKNA WO 172/1694A</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Recollections of a British Prisoner of War </i>(2001) Captain E. P. (Bill) Wiseman.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Battle for Hong Kong </i>(2019) Philip Cracknell</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Road to Inamura</i> (1972) Lewis Bush</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-18753561652997541372023-10-12T03:48:00.000-07:002023-10-12T03:48:30.289-07:00The tragic loss of the submarine HMS Thetis<p style="text-align: justify;">The submarine HMS <i>Thetis</i> was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead. She was laid down in December 1936 and launched in June 1938. A year later, in June 1939, three months before war began, she sank during sea trials in Liverpool Bay with ninety-nine fatalities. She was salvaged, repaired and renamed HMS <i>Thunderbolt </i>and commissioned in October 1940. She entered war service with considerable success but was sunk, for the second time, in March 1943 with the loss of all hands. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The accidental sinking of HMS <i>Thetis </i>in 1939 was, and remains, the worst peacetime loss of a submarine in British naval history. <i>Thetis</i> was carrying it's naval crew, other naval officials and a number of Cammell Laird personnel. The submarine carried a total of 103 men on that fateful day and only four survived. The submarine had an estimated thirty-six hours of breathable air but this was reduced by a half because of the number of personnel onboard - double its normal complement. The sinking was not without it's share of controversy. Did the Admiralty do all that they could to save the crew and official passengers as opposed to just saving the submarine? Why did she sink and why did so few survive?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdajSeRbk-hIZBgDh9trz9t5_pUEE1UhgLRaBAXVPDyM2OV4xJm117topiUpHA7vPrPGwekTy4aZLBE1P03WXVV_r14d-eOi3gq35A0MJYsWlekG90w74OWVkhKR7DRIX8Xae8TgfFi_vPGREC2qodXP8_tUZRq8ZIVBsj2bZGmpb1rN1ZKVqZUEC/s1080/359510868_1037197260780878_8632714646553283298_n%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdajSeRbk-hIZBgDh9trz9t5_pUEE1UhgLRaBAXVPDyM2OV4xJm117topiUpHA7vPrPGwekTy4aZLBE1P03WXVV_r14d-eOi3gq35A0MJYsWlekG90w74OWVkhKR7DRIX8Xae8TgfFi_vPGREC2qodXP8_tUZRq8ZIVBsj2bZGmpb1rN1ZKVqZUEC/w640-h426/359510868_1037197260780878_8632714646553283298_n%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;">HMS<i> Thetis</i> beached on Anglesea after salvage (Photo Source: Facebook)</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The 'T' Class Submarines</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thetis </i>was a T-class submarine and one of the first of the class to be built. Fifty-three of these diesel-electric submarines were built before and during the Second World War. They were designed to replace the older 'O', 'P' and 'R' class of submarines. They had a surface displacement of 1,290 tons, a length of just over 276 feet and a beam of just over 25 feet. Their top speed was 15.5 knots while surfaced and 9 knots when submerged. They carried a normal complement of 48 to 53 men. They carried sixteen torpedoes which could be fired through six forward torpedo tubes. In addition, they were equipped with a 4-inch quick firing deck gun. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Accident</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On 1 June, 1939, the submarine, commanded by Lt Commander Guy ('Sam') Bolus, was undertaking sea trials in the Irish Sea before final acceptance procedures. <i>Thetis </i>was accompanied by the tug <i>Grebe Cock.</i> The tug's skipper was Alfred Godfrey. The tug was to standby and render any assistance necessary. On board the tug were two RN personnel, Lt Coltart and Leading Tel Crosby. At 1340, Lt Commander Bolus sent a signal to HMS <i>Dolphin, </i>the headquarters of the submarine service at Gosport. The signal gave his position in latitude and longitude and advised that he was about to dive the submarine. He used a megaphone to advise the skipper and the two naval men on the tug that they were about to dive. Some of the passengers and officials may have normally been expected to transfer to the attending tug. However, nobody left the submarine because they all wanted to experience the dive. Lt-Commander Bolus must have assented but this meant he had double the normal complement and they were operating in a confined space. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thetis </i>prepared to dive, her tanks were flooded, but she was not diving bow-first and was submerging very slowly. Something was wrong. Checks were carried out including checks to the torpedo tubes. The accident occurred when the inner door on one of the torpedo tubes was opened while the outer one was also open. The sea came rushing in and the forward two compartments were flooded. The weight of water in the forward compartments caused the boat to go into a steep dive in shallow water hitting the soft muddy seabed nose-first. They were unable to blow the main tanks and resurface. The sinking occurred at around 1500 hours. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The men on the tug realised something was wrong because she was meant to have settled at periscope depth and released smoke flares. The tug failed to anchor at the point where the submarine sank and drifted some four miles from the stricken submarine. Some reports suggest it was too deep for the tug to anchor. The water had a depth of 150 feet at this location, whereas the submarine was more than 270 feet long. It was relatively shallow water. The submarine was unable to send radio messages whilst submerged. Accordingly Lt Coltart on the tug sent a message on the radio but because of the short range of the ship-to-shore radio it had to be relayed through a telegraph office ashore. The message did not reach HMS <i>Dolphin </i>until 1815 hours. A search was put into effect. The destroyer HMS <i>Brazen</i> was nearest and was one of the first ships on the scene.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The inner torpedo tube door had been opened by Lt Frederick Woods, the torpedo officer. A test cock on the inner torpedo tube doors should have alerted him to the presence of water in the tube, but the test cocks were not functioning properly as the test cock apertures had been painted over and blocked by dried paint. When opening the cock only a trickle of water came out and so Woods thought it was safe to open the torpedo tube door. As the water gushed in, Woods and another crew member attempted to shut the door but they were unable to close it against the torrent of water. The most forward watertight compartment was evacuated but the bulkhead door could not be closed and as a result both the forward two watertight compartments were flooded causing the submarine to sink bow-first.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It soon became evident that the crew and passengers may have to escape from the submarine by way of one of two emergency escape hatches. The next morning some of the fuel and the fresh water was pumped out in the hope of getting the boat to rise. However, only the stern lifted with part of the stern section sticking out above the surface level. After dawn, the rear section of the submarine was spotted in the daylight and the rescue vessels converged on the location. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Two of the naval officers, Captain Harry Oram, not part of the crew, and Lieutenant Frederick Woods, the torpedo officer, were able to escape and reach the surface. They were picked up by boats from HMS <i>Brazen </i>which had just located the stricken submarine. Captain Oram was commander of the 5th Submarine Flotilla which <i>Thetis</i> would have joined. He and Woods volunteered to try and escape through the hatch. It was a dangerous task and few of the crew let alone the passengers had experience of using the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus. This consisted of a nose clip, goggles and an oxygen breathing facility. The men would then enter the escape hatch, seal the door to the submarine, flood the escape chamber, and finally open the door in the hull and then ascend to the surface. Lt Cdr Bolus then ordered a second escape with four men. The more men that could escape the longer the breathable air would last. One of the four men is said to have panicked and opened the outer door too early and had damaged the hatch door. They were dragged out but three of them had drowned. A further escape effort was made by Leading Stoker Walter Arnold and Frank Shaw, a civilian, from Cammell Laird. They successfully escaped and were the last to do so. It is thought a further escape was made but something went wrong resulting in flooding. Th is caused the submarine to sink to the seabed snapping the hawsers that had been tied to the exposed stern. Only the four men referred to managed to escape from the submarine. The rest, ninety-nine men, died from carbon dioxide poisoning or drowning. Those who lost their lives included fifty-one crew members, twenty-six Cammell Laird staff, seven officials from the Admiralty, four from Vickers-Armstrong, two caterers and a Mersey harbour pilot.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>HMS Thunderbolt</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After HMS <i>Thetis</i> had been salvaged and repaired and after completing sea trials she was commissioned in 1940 as HMS <i>Thunderbolt </i>under the command of Lt-Cdr Crouch. Lt Stevens was apppointed First Lieutenant. She saw service in the Atlantic and in December 1940 sank the Italian submarine <i>Capitano Tarantini. </i>In 1942, she was equipped with two 'chariots'. These were manned torpedoes for use against enemy ships in harbour. She and her sister submarine, HMS <i>Trooper</i>, wee dispatched to the Mediterranean. Their first mission was unsuccessful and <i>Trooper </i>was sunk. A further operation took place at Palermo in January 1943. <i>Thunderbolt's </i>chariots sunk an Italian light cruiser and a freighter. However, two months later, in March 1943, <i>Thunderbolt </i>was depth-charged by the Italian corvette <i>Cicogna.</i> She sank - there were no survivors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQ_T5C1JLLjVFAeMDZZXSvwwFgtKQ8AOcXIL7he4yLslAaWrSySeITu1DOx7UVJVSpAejABCS9LrLsZuz1OdvmsrZmHLyk0pRXdu1V9yMzOua8fqb59H1t_zVSYYNLnwTzjTnQYm_dzfGleepodidnpTO8GY-nV54R1vTRMuKzf83bxUtGx-xj0CZ/s600/HMSM_Thunderbolt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="600" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQ_T5C1JLLjVFAeMDZZXSvwwFgtKQ8AOcXIL7he4yLslAaWrSySeITu1DOx7UVJVSpAejABCS9LrLsZuz1OdvmsrZmHLyk0pRXdu1V9yMzOua8fqb59H1t_zVSYYNLnwTzjTnQYm_dzfGleepodidnpTO8GY-nV54R1vTRMuKzf83bxUtGx-xj0CZ/w640-h548/HMSM_Thunderbolt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">HMS <i>Thunderbolt</i> (ex-<i>Thetis</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPbooDpQylNnCnd8lJziFNmbll5g1tVNaVBJI13Skzb_GzQpe9Pr6MhSiIyPeMFfBY-7heul19hEyEVjRjSJLFTR0Lm4R4lQtIYY9x6gBgQqkRkfhCJ6BbuL2BBGuGLFrRV-YDPBhiyUx_TjWVTyd-9aERwBJvdzbb6Rd9cvz7rdO_cT9AchUayy4/s694/HMS_Thetis_Jolly_Roger.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPbooDpQylNnCnd8lJziFNmbll5g1tVNaVBJI13Skzb_GzQpe9Pr6MhSiIyPeMFfBY-7heul19hEyEVjRjSJLFTR0Lm4R4lQtIYY9x6gBgQqkRkfhCJ6BbuL2BBGuGLFrRV-YDPBhiyUx_TjWVTyd-9aERwBJvdzbb6Rd9cvz7rdO_cT9AchUayy4/w416-h640/HMS_Thetis_Jolly_Roger.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">HMS <i>Thunderbolt</i> returning from a successful war patrol </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Conclusion</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was a shocking tragedy, with great loss of life that occurred in the few months before the outbreak of the Second World War. There was controversy and there were suggestions of a cover up or a white-wash by the Admiralty. There were questions raised as to why the exposed rear section could not have been cut open in the period while the rear section was above the surface and before the submarine finally sank. Some felt that the Admiralty was reluctant to damage the hull in this way because they wanted to salvage the submarine - even at the risk to the lives of the men trapped aboard. War was looming and the Royal Navy needed more submarines. There were questions raised as to why it took so long to find the sunken submarine and as to why the hawsers around the after section had been insufficient to prevent the submarine from sinking to the seabed. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The remains of the ninety-nine men who lost their lives were extracted from the salvaged submarine and buried at Hollyhead on the Island of Anglesea. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Further Reading</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>HMS Thetis Secrets & Scandal </i>(1999) David Roberts</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thetis Down - The Slow Death of a Submarine </i>(2008) Tony Booth</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thetis Submarine Disaster </i>(2014) David Paul </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thetis - The Admiralty Regrets </i>(2018)<i> </i>C. Warren & J Benson</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-33022953049057800962023-07-09T22:54:00.003-07:002023-07-10T00:26:14.107-07:00Lt Ralph Shrigley, HKVDC, who took his own life while under interrogation and torture<p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Ralph James Shrigley was born in Scotland in 1898. During the First World War, he served with the 2nd Bn Royal Scots Fusiliers. He must have been wounded in action because his army service records indicate "GSW" or gun shot wound (to abdomen). He was discharged from the army in January 1919 a couple of months after the war ended. I believe he enlisted in 1917. As a matter of interest, Winston Churchill also served with the Royal Scots Fusiliers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iOZkziQDrxdRN8PMOBq5PBOkSN1TR29osJxxoCS0UUquoMUlS6ofc2Lpf4YCRmFdPKzTEcOtO1hKr2CNc43OdjZLocZYj3RtR-4NDEtx9CxVfFg9Ny3vbt4KAuEqLkcv6PzNXEp7UgsjvwMfm3u8jgF84GqagtiEaJHeGg-jKeXfA5aY5A-1wv2w/s280/84535502_2555584644563397_3671679906837692416_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iOZkziQDrxdRN8PMOBq5PBOkSN1TR29osJxxoCS0UUquoMUlS6ofc2Lpf4YCRmFdPKzTEcOtO1hKr2CNc43OdjZLocZYj3RtR-4NDEtx9CxVfFg9Ny3vbt4KAuEqLkcv6PzNXEp7UgsjvwMfm3u8jgF84GqagtiEaJHeGg-jKeXfA5aY5A-1wv2w/w400-h400/84535502_2555584644563397_3671679906837692416_n.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Ralph Shrigley (sourced from Facebook Battle of HK Page)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the age of thirty, Ralph married Janette Agnes Whyte Howard (nee Brown) in Glasgow in 1928. Janette was known as "Nessie". Her first name is variously spelt in documents as Jeanette or Janette. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In October 1932, the couple are shown on the ship's manifest as passengers on the P&O liner <i>Strathnaver. </i>Their country of intended future residence was given as India and they disembarked at Bombay. I assume they worked in India for some years and at some point relocated to Hong Kong. Ralph was employed by Reiss Bradley. In 1936 Reiss Massey acquired Bradley & Co. These were two long established British trading companies focused on the UK-China trade. It was a well known corporation before the war. After the war they were acquired by Hutchison. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ralph and Janette were in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded the territory when the Pacific War began in December 1941. Compulsory service was introduced in 1939 and Ralph Shrigley joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC). Perhaps in view of his previous war service he was commissioned and held the rank of Lieutenant at the outbreak of war. Assuming Janette was in Hong Kong in June 1940 she forewent the compulsory evacuation of British women and children. Nurses and government employees were amongst those that were exempted. Janette had enrolled as a nurse in the Auxiliary Nursing Service (ANS) who during war time were assigned to civilian hospitals rather than military hospitals. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the Christmas Day surrender, Ralph Shrigley was interned at Shamshuipo (SSP) POW camp and Janette was interned at Stanley Civilian Internment Camp. Ralph was later transferred to Argyle Street Camp in April 1942 when it became designated as an officers camp. Later he was moved back to SSP Camp. Ralph and Janette were not to see each other again because Ralph took his own life while under interrogation by torture at Victoria Gaol in June 1944. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Information on Ralph Shrigley is limited, for example what was his role with the HKVDC and what unit of the corps did he belong to. I suspect he served in Corps HQ in Garden Road. He is credited with burying the regimental colours of the HKVDC at the time of the surrender somewhere between Corps HQ and HQ China Command (the Battle Box). These were not retrieved after the war as only Ralph Shrigley knew the exact whereabouts. What was left of them was reportedly discovered during construction of the US Consulate in the late 1950s. The colours had disintegrated and only the flag poles survived.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some accounts suggest the Japanese tortured him to force him to reveal the location of the colours. Perhaps that is right but I think this is unlikely. The Japanese most probably had no idea that the Volunteer's colours had been buried. Furthermore in 1944 when Shrigley was killed, they probably had little interest in retrieving them. They had beaten the British, and occupied the territory and they were more likely to be interested in what he knew of escape plans or communication with outside agents. BQMS Charles Barman, RA, wrote in <i>Resist to the End </i>(2009) that 'Colonel Mitchell, HKVDC, and Lt Shrigley were taken out of SSP camp by the Japanese authorities on 20 June 1944. Barman writes that they were returned in the evening. He added that those that returned from interrogation came back in a very poor physical state, and that some of those taken out of camp did not return at all. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">At war crimes trials held after the war, in January 1947, Lai Chung-yiu gave testimony<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) </span><span>to the court </span>concerning the interrogation, torture and subsequent suicide of Lt Shrigley. Lai had been charged with espionage and was being held at Victoria Gaol. Lai had been forced to act as an interpreter translating from English to Chinese during the interrogation. The Formosan interpreter presumably translated from Chinese to Japanese. Lai witnessed the interrogation of Lt Shrigley on two separate occasions. He also witnessed his death on 28 June 1944. The principal interrogator was a Japanese gendarme by the name of Ushigai. On the first occasion (20 June 1944) Lt Shrigley was subjected to the water torture and beatings with a leather strap. This went on all afternoon. Lai testified that he saw Shrigley a second time about a week later (28 June 1944).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Testimony</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. I want you to tell me what happened on this (second) occasion?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. When the gendarme asked him (Lt Shrigley) questions he still refused to answer - then he was given the water torture again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. How long did it last, this water torture?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. That day, the whole morning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. What was Shrigley's condition at the end of the interrogation?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. Very weak</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. Did you have any conversation with him ?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. On the way to his cell</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. What did he say?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. He said he could not bear such torture, he would die.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. Did you see Shrigley again?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. After that time, no, until he committed suicide and jumped down from the third floor of his cell (block).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. Tell me what you can of his suicide..........?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. After this last interrogation he walked back to his cell, his condition was very poor, he could not walk very well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lai was asked when he committed suicide and replied 'on a Sunday morning'. However 28 June is reported as the date of death but that was a Wednesday. Lai mentioned that he committed suicide the morning after the last torture session. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Q. Tell me what you know about that suicide the next morning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A. That morning about 10 o'clock I heard the sound of a dull thud ......I then peeped out from my cell and I saw a man lying on the floor. The Formosan interpreter (who had assisted Ushigai in administering the water torture) came to my cell and opened my door and asked me to come out, then he told me to take a last statement from the deceased (Shrigley) but at that time Shrigley was unconscious. They then shifted his body to the open yard and asked Dr Ramler to save his life.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Doctor Siegfried Ramler was an un-interned third national who was later arrested by the Japanese and held at Victoria Gaol which was alongside the Central Police Station. He provided medical attention to both prisoners and gendarmes. He gave evidence at war crimes trials about the use of torture at Victoria Gaol. He stayed in Hong Kong after the war and became a popular and successful practitioner. Lai stated that Dr Ramler gave Lt Shrigley an injection but it was already too late. A Japanese doctor arrived later and officially declared Lt Shrigley to be dead. The Gendarmerie must have felt cheated - no longer able to extract information under torture. Lai states in his testimony that one of the gendarmes kicked the motionless body and said in Japanese<i> bakayaro</i>, a<i> </i>disparaging insult.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">POW records <span style="font-size: x-small;">(2)</span> indicate he was buried at the POW cemetery alongside Argyle Street POW Camp. His remains were exhumed after the war and reburied at Stanley Military Cemetery in May 1947. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is not clear when Janette Shrigley, interned at Stanley Camp, first heard of her husband's death. She was billeted in Block 13, known as the Indian Quarters. The block still remains and is still used to house the families of prison officers (now called Correctional Services Staff). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAzZLF-y31HG33v7A0_lFLWc0ReLCbsDMGoRr5Wh1UO3oIVLduyEYz_C0RXT67hFMNUrfwwjUA0ElQWlh10eRrtTr6mCUY8s07HGLrln26GItfNkH1xIrzvMJZMpUY__vr3gYW8YSV9ysRdNcyZuHGGsrUMYVrzmTuvHJfSh72aBpWzs39aRWqBkF/s950/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="950" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAzZLF-y31HG33v7A0_lFLWc0ReLCbsDMGoRr5Wh1UO3oIVLduyEYz_C0RXT67hFMNUrfwwjUA0ElQWlh10eRrtTr6mCUY8s07HGLrln26GItfNkH1xIrzvMJZMpUY__vr3gYW8YSV9ysRdNcyZuHGGsrUMYVrzmTuvHJfSh72aBpWzs39aRWqBkF/w640-h494/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Indian Quarters - Blocks 12- 18 (just after the war)</div><p style="text-align: justify;">She shared a room (Room 87) with Alice Campbell, Clementine Cock and Dorothy Piercy. They were each married to members of the HKVDC who were held in the military POW camps. The three other wives were more fortunate in that their husbands survived the battle and the subsequent incarceration. After the Japanese capitulation, Janet was repatriated on the <i>Empress of Australia</i> and arrived at Liverpool in October 1945. She passed away in Scotland in July 1977 aged 79. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I went down to Stanley Military Cemetery one summer afternoon to take a photo of his grave and to remember him and what he endured. He suffered so much from the torture and beating that he would rather die than live. He cheated his interrogators and as far as we know he did not talk. Whatever secrets they were after - he took to his untimely grave. His grave lies well tended in the peaceful cemetery so well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Janette's message inscribed on the memorial stone bears the poignant message:</p><p style="text-align: center;">In remembrance</p><p style="text-align: center;">of my dear husband</p><p style="text-align: center;">so sadly missed</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcTVT7_v5MzJM2_A5nbY_CEnnblCu8531j96nArzN-xE3skUsel5-nTMEwxDTLnL-ame5Z6O8tGOUmvKupskRreizB-aaTOeDr6KSCdRh6Sdu5hEWBQVG3Z2z4GuqwYsmjt35sMSTIsIn5KVMQbFLeaDs638ZufH1nyTxto6JJN4TzZTQg19oafl5/s4032/IMG_5936.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcTVT7_v5MzJM2_A5nbY_CEnnblCu8531j96nArzN-xE3skUsel5-nTMEwxDTLnL-ame5Z6O8tGOUmvKupskRreizB-aaTOeDr6KSCdRh6Sdu5hEWBQVG3Z2z4GuqwYsmjt35sMSTIsIn5KVMQbFLeaDs638ZufH1nyTxto6JJN4TzZTQg19oafl5/w640-h480/IMG_5936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Notes</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">(1)<span> UK National Archives File No WO 235/999</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>(2)<span> </span></span>Commonwealth War Graves Commission</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-79887612125094655412023-04-18T19:37:00.005-07:002023-04-19T23:20:25.441-07:00Henry Jemson Tebbutt<p style="text-align: justify;">I first saw the name Henry Tebbutt in the <i>The Hidden Years </i>(1967) by John Luff. One of the houses on Repulse Bay Road is captured in a sketch map on page 98 of this book and is described as Tebbutt's House. In those pre-war days, as depicted in the sketch map houses were often known by their owner's name. In the map we see Danby's House and Compton's House. Two of the villas, Altamira and Holmesdale are still extant, although now respectively referred to as Estrellita and No 4 Repulse Bay Road. Beautiful pre-war villas like Postbridge and Twin Brooks have been replaced by high-rise apartment blocks but some still retain the old names of the villa that once stood on the plot. As for Tebbutt's house, it was close to the road junction at Repulse Bay Road/Island Road. It may have been near the site of present day Pine Crest or Manhattan Tower. Here's the sketch map from that classic book on the Battle of Hong Kong. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmmYFfKkhPy4UhFQH5EmlrokMRRsUykxbhHe7ASQ3XWZgEPj6OsxPEB6Ljvj_lFLEmjG9Z3vwfU1w5sPCTtEzV3iuoJx_1Zh4YHY6OITa5Wiv0PsWIymTKchPFpHCyVony5XU5NmqjFLg9dl93wQ5VBCzEkJHbj4dqnYawWLffms1Pu1WX6jmSw/s3272/fullsizeoutput_4aff.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3272" data-original-width="2378" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmmYFfKkhPy4UhFQH5EmlrokMRRsUykxbhHe7ASQ3XWZgEPj6OsxPEB6Ljvj_lFLEmjG9Z3vwfU1w5sPCTtEzV3iuoJx_1Zh4YHY6OITa5Wiv0PsWIymTKchPFpHCyVony5XU5NmqjFLg9dl93wQ5VBCzEkJHbj4dqnYawWLffms1Pu1WX6jmSw/w466-h640/fullsizeoutput_4aff.jpeg" width="466" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Repulse Bay Road (Source: The Hidden Years (1967) by John Luff</div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Henry Jemson Tebbutt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 4 July 1893. During the First World War, he served in the British infantry and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1917 in the Royal Fusiliers. At some point he qualified as an architect in UK. There is a record of him sailing from UK to Shanghai on the SS <i>Somali.</i> Another shipping record shows him travelling from UK and bound for Hong Kong in October 1925 aboard the SS <i>City of Cairo. </i>This ship that carried him to Hong Kong was torpedoed and sunk in the South Atlantic in November 1942. At the time, the ship was carrying nearly 300 passengers and crew including a number of women and children. The survivors took to the overcrowded life boats. They were nearly 2,000 miles from Brazil and 500 miles from the nearest land - the Island of St Helena. The German commander of the U-boat surfaced and gave the survivors a course to steer and before departing, he said "Goodnight and sorry for sinking you" ................but that is another story and the subject of a book by Ralph Barker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Hong Kong he was employed firstly by the well known Hong Kong architect firm Palmer & Turner and later by Davies, Brook & Gran a Shanghai based firm of architects. He married Elizabeth (Betty) Ada Hindmarsh in November 1932 at Muswell Hill in North London. She was, 22 years old, seventeen years his junior. They returned together to Hong Kong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He joined the HKVDC in the rank of lieutenant based on his wartime service in the First World War. Betty joined the Nursing Detachment of the HKVDC and served as a volunteer military nurse during the battle. She may have served at both the Military Hospital at Bowen Road and the Temporary Military Hospital at St Albert's, Rosary Hill. After the battle she was interned at Stanley Camp. She was billeted in Block A3 which was part of the American Quarters and would have moved there after the Americans were repatriated in July 1942. She shared a room with Philip and Joan Witham and their infant child and another married couple John and Emile Richardson. Henry Tebbutt was incarcerated at SSP Camp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5pqWH0aFRozUxC7mq8msz5jUOXCn01aBdN72hl7BwuSRqU4Adm5Ra16pxchQRI3aOyfoY4cjcdXXiFp6sWyu4J4x6DH3AnzCszzc2W--mKLwYZwhG8ZqnU_Bj9E2We7dRAO74hNSWNBzmQtTF0qEA1ihPI20_IXdwqK2PjInLnyBK0NMUmsH9Q/s2660/Tebbutt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="2660" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5pqWH0aFRozUxC7mq8msz5jUOXCn01aBdN72hl7BwuSRqU4Adm5Ra16pxchQRI3aOyfoY4cjcdXXiFp6sWyu4J4x6DH3AnzCszzc2W--mKLwYZwhG8ZqnU_Bj9E2We7dRAO74hNSWNBzmQtTF0qEA1ihPI20_IXdwqK2PjInLnyBK0NMUmsH9Q/w640-h374/Tebbutt.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tebbutt's POW Card from SSP Camp (Ancestry.com) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The POW card shows 'next of kin' as Mrs E. A. Tebbutt and gives an address as c/o St Albert's Hospital, Rosary Hill. After liberation Henry Tebbutt was repatriated to UK on the SS <i>Highland Monarch </i>which docked at Southampton in November 1945. Shipping records on Ancestry.com show him returning to Hong Kong alone in 1946 on the SS <i>Otranto </i>with a number of other returnees. The marriage seems not to have survived their respective internment in Japanese prison camps. Betty appears to have remarried after the war to Richard McCaffery an American working for the Foreign Service. They moved to Malaga in the South of Spain. She died there in 1984 and he (McCaffery) in 1988. They were buried at the English Cemetery in Malaga. There were no known children in either Betty's first or second marriage. </div><p style="text-align: justify;">There is little information about the Tebbutt family, no photographs, no detailed record of service in the HKVDC, just a few miscellaneous records and passenger manifests and a sketch map and what first caught my attention..........a house called Tebbutt's House on Repulse Bay Road. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">...................................</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Addendum: </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Desmond Hindmarsh:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Betty Tebbutt's brother Desmond Ernest Hindmarsh was also in Hong Kong before and during the war. He served in the HKRNVR. He was the commanding officer of HMS <i>Indira</i> (an auxiliary patrol vessel). It is possible that Henry Tebbutt met Betty in Hong Kong although marrying in North London. Desmond Hindmarsh died in Hong Kong in 1951. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Tebbutt was incarcerated in the following prison camps:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">North Point 29 Dec 1941 to 23 Jan 1942</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sham Shui Po 23 Jan 1942 to 18 April 1942</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Argyle Street 18 April 1942 to 4 May 1944</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sham Shui Po 4 May 1944 to 4 Sept 1945</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p></div>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-66194091306900960582023-03-29T00:42:00.003-07:002023-04-02T00:28:56.922-07:00Robert & Marjorie Grindley<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I received an email at home in Stanley, Hong Kong, from Peter West, the Museum Manager at the Eastchurch Aviation Museum located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. He described how a set of medals awarded to one Robert John Vaughan Grindley </span><span>had been passed to the museum.</span><span> </span><span>I immediately recognised the name and was able to confirm that Robert Grindley had been a prison officer in Hong Kong and had served in the Stanley Platoon of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the battle in December 1941, he had taken part in the close quarter fighting in and around Stanley Village and the road approaching the prison. He and his wife, Marjorie Betsy (Betty) Grindley, a volunteer nurse, were interned at Stanley Civilian Internment Camp (a Japanese run prison camp) from January 1942 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. In the mid-1950s they retired and settled in Minster, on the Isle of Sheppey. It seems firstly at 110, Wards Hill Road, the address was given on a 1951 and 1954 passenger manifest, and later at No. 2 Seaside Avenue which connects with Wards Hill Road. The medals were found in a faded brown envelope in the attic of a bungalow named 'Tintagel' in nearby Whitethorn Gardens in 2018. The medals were recently passed to the museum who were interested in identifying whether there were any direct descendants, children or grandchildren to whom they could pass the medals, otherwise the museum will continue to look after them. <br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgabDKwm2vGQ5emvB93o9UYUkIbr5JEoPeLIOm6KLceMgSQm5Z3I3m0jE7tw2Wp_Kk03n08jbJIboex_jxPdg3FG1Ut0xmlSuVH_H_-b-tkFvFBO0PLg_sQAaEQHzM3eqfpoOO7mvqwGRNTBgcK5THqn61hk4v34SUQA5ZxXkMGmnwkdDaltAl4w/s623/thumbnail-1%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="623" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgabDKwm2vGQ5emvB93o9UYUkIbr5JEoPeLIOm6KLceMgSQm5Z3I3m0jE7tw2Wp_Kk03n08jbJIboex_jxPdg3FG1Ut0xmlSuVH_H_-b-tkFvFBO0PLg_sQAaEQHzM3eqfpoOO7mvqwGRNTBgcK5THqn61hk4v34SUQA5ZxXkMGmnwkdDaltAl4w/w640-h334/thumbnail-1%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The War Medals - courtesy Peter West (Eastchurch Aviation Museum)</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The medals from left to right consist of:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1939-1945 Star, </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the Pacific Star,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the Defence Medal</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1939 - 1945 War Medal</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hong Kong Efficiency Medal </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The two star-medals have Robert Grindley's name engraved on the reverse and the other three medals have his name engraved on the rim. This is unusual as WW2 campaign medals issued to members of the British forces were not named (engraved or impressed). Peter Weedon, a war medal enthusiast, advised me that some recipients of such medals had their names privately engraved. Apparently Boots, the high street store, offered this engraving service at that time. It was only because these medals had been engraved that they could be linked to their original owner. Peter Weedon advised that the Efficiency Medal is quite rare as only 224 were issued with the Hong Kong clasp. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmisQBLFQzXm6nnVPe6jTfV2fZQ7oDjrEVbmqUXN6kWxG1xfJbW-60gHFdYwQ-qnCFLhIm_DiueT6uIi5DlwRPFIQqUYnutVn5RoXnA4m9esaZcTUZ8A8yzTbGsmZYChZzwX43JNtBBMyqCwTffO8v4g-Esj2W7aHGwwpHV0ol1Kzdh4snANVYw/s1080/thumbnail-2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmisQBLFQzXm6nnVPe6jTfV2fZQ7oDjrEVbmqUXN6kWxG1xfJbW-60gHFdYwQ-qnCFLhIm_DiueT6uIi5DlwRPFIQqUYnutVn5RoXnA4m9esaZcTUZ8A8yzTbGsmZYChZzwX43JNtBBMyqCwTffO8v4g-Esj2W7aHGwwpHV0ol1Kzdh4snANVYw/w633-h434/thumbnail-2.jpeg" width="633" /></a></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The reverse of the medals - courtesy Peter West (Eastchurch Aviation Museum)</span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So who were Robert and Marjorie Grindley. We know a bit more about Marjorie because in 1980, six years after her husband's death she recorded an oral history interview for the Imperial War Museum (IWM) about her wartime experiences during the battle and her recollections of life at Stanley Internment Camp. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Robert John Vaughan Grindley was born 9 December 1904 in Coventry. He shared the same name as his father who was born in 1877 and died in 1968. At the age of 16, in 1920, he joined the Royal Navy. His service record shows a history of good conduct and details the warships he served on. He discharged himself, by purchase in 1934, while serving on HMS <i>Tamar</i> the base ship in Hong Kong. He then joined the Hong Kong Prison Service. Many of the European prison officers in Hong Kong were ex-servicemen like Robert.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marjorie Grindley (I have not yet discovered her maiden name) was born in March 1917 in Luton a suburb of Chatham. She was brought up in Gillingham. In 1922, aged five, she went to Hong Kong for a period of 3 years while her father, a civilian working for the Admiralty, was assigned to the colony. Marjorie and her family returned to Gillingham in or about 1925. After leaving school, she went to secretarial college and after graduating worked for a firm of solicitors. In 1936, her father was assigned again to Hong Kong for a second stint. Marjorie, eighteen years old at the time went with him, although reluctantly as it meant leaving her boyfriend in England. She quickly got a job as a stenographer working for the Hong Kong Government. As a government employee, she was exempt from the compulsory evacuation of British women and children that took place in June/July 1940. She enrolled as a volunteer nurse in the Auxiliary Nursing Service (ANS). She lived in Gap Road and enjoyed the better life style of an expatriate in Hong Kong compared to life in the UK at that time. They had a Chinese servant and enjoyed the vibrant social life that Hong Kong provided and as a single lady she had ample invitations to dances and other social events. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Romance returned and she married, the former Royal Navy sailor, Robert Grindley. I have not been able to establish the date of their wedding but it must have been between 1937 and 1940 in Hong Kong. Robert was thirteen years older than Marjorie. There is no record of there being any children from their marriage. After their wedding she and Robert moved into the European Married Quarters (EMQ) in the Stanley Prison compound. Her parents returned to UK before the outbreak of war in Hong Kong. Robert, along with most of his colleagues joined the Stanley Platoon of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp (HKVDC). The HKVDC was a militia made up of civilians including British, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian and many other nationalities. The Stanley Platoon was made up of prison officers most of whom had military experience. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the Battle for Hong Kong, Robert was fighting around Stanley Village and the road leading to the prison. Marjorie described in the IWM interview how he and Captain Chatty were at the Prison Officers Club 'picking off the Japanese as they came down the road'. Chatty was the former adjutant of the 1st Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He had been serving a prison sentence at Stanley having been found guilty of sexual assault on a Chinese youth in King's Park Kowloon after a night of heavy drinking and opium taking. He had been released on the outbreak of war and had fought gallantly having been restored to the rank of temporary captain. Marjorie was still living in their flat at the EMQ and working as an ANS nurse at the temporary hospital known as Tweed Bay. Before the war, the hospital had been used to accommodate Indian single prison officers who had dormitory style accommodation. The former accommodation block converted to a hospital was originally designed for civilian casualties but as the fighting drew closer to Stanley the casualties were mainly military. There were three hospitals at Stanley. The temporary military hospital at St Stephen's College, the temporary civilian hospital at Tweed Bay and the purpose built, albeit small, hospital in the Prison. As the flats were increasingly machine gunned and hit by artillery fire, Marjory moved into the hospital at Tweed Bay with another lady and her baby who had been billeted in her flat at the EMQ. At the hospital, Marjory recalled the number of amputations being carried out by Dr Hackett, the Prison Doctor. She also described the burials with the graves being hastily dug by Cannon Martin, the Headmaster of the adjacent St Stephen's College.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After the battle ended, during the evening on Christmas Day, Robert and Marjorie were allowed to move back into the prison along with most of the Stanley Platoon. It is not clear whether they were already wearing their wardens uniforms or whether they were in military uniform. If the latter they no doubt made a quick change into their prison officers uniforms. </span><span>In late January they were moved from the prison to Stanley Internment Camp. The camp consisted of the grounds and buildings at St Stephen's College and the prison compound (except the actual prison itself which the Japanese continued to use). The prison officers accommodation blocks were used as part of the internment camp. The camp housed some 3,000 British, American and Dutch civilians. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Robert and Marjorie were initially billeted in the Indian Quarters (IQ). These red-brick blocks (shown in the background of the photograph below) originally accommodated married Indian prison wardens and their families. Robert and Marjorie shared a small flat with nine internees, four in one room and five in the other room. At the beginning they slept on the concrete floor. The only bedding was the blankets they had brought in from the prison. One of her room-mates a married prison officer stole tinned food that Marjory had kept in a suitcase. She never spoke to him again. After the Americans were repatriated in July 1942 as part of a civilian prisoner exchange, Robert and Marjory, were re-billeted at the Prison Officer's Club. Finally they had a room to themselves and eventually obtained a mattress. Most internees suffered from malnutrition as a result of the poor diet and diseases like beri-beri and dysentery were common. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ni6OhVvt1MJ5Ew72bKNCVOiJLHDPuDhlTGBuTJRvvnIyhcTFqYgiLIkgHr3iqDJD3nzVxB3cikq8Ej__q2tjWgi_jnCRZenwFGbjQK5PK64O3jd6RnDAsJR8nw9GXmQ07jj_F5jbbgi5UrvRI4T64IHkrvmadBLtEwvIWPVRs6MCRypVKME9zQ/s950/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="950" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ni6OhVvt1MJ5Ew72bKNCVOiJLHDPuDhlTGBuTJRvvnIyhcTFqYgiLIkgHr3iqDJD3nzVxB3cikq8Ej__q2tjWgi_jnCRZenwFGbjQK5PK64O3jd6RnDAsJR8nw9GXmQ07jj_F5jbbgi5UrvRI4T64IHkrvmadBLtEwvIWPVRs6MCRypVKME9zQ/w640-h494/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Prison Officer's Club, the IQ in the background and the Dutch Block to the left</div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A the end of the war, Marjorie was repatriated first. She recalled being taken on an aircraft carrier to Colombo and then by passenger ship to UK. Robert stayed on to help re-establish the prison and returned later to the UK. After repatriation leave they returned to Hong Kong and Robert resumed his career in the prison service, now called Correctional Services. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>They retired in the mid-1950s to Minster, near the sea, in the Isle of Sheppey. Robert died at the still young age of sixty-nine in 1974. Marjorie lived on for a further forty years, until 2014, when she died at the grand old age of 96. As far as I can tell she continued to live in Seaside Avenue with its bungalows and neat gardens. From her garden gate you can see the sea. How the medals ended up at Whitethorn Gardens is still a mystery. Perhaps given to someone by Marjorie. The important thing is that t</span><span>he</span></span><span> medals have been found and identified. They tell the story of one man's service in the Royal Navy, his career as a prison officer in Hong Kong, his marriage to Marjorie, the close quarter fighting during the battle for Hong Kong and the hardship they both endured during internment; and then finally a peaceful retirement near the sea at Minster where they could reflect with equanimity on days gone by.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Peter West</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Peter Weedon</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eastchurch Aviation Museum </span><span style="text-align: left;">https://eastchurchaviationmuseum.org.uk</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Imperial War Museum (Sound Tape No. 4653). Available on the IWM web site</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-73455247187857341812023-03-12T21:40:00.000-07:002023-03-12T21:40:14.479-07:00The Surrender at Singapore<p style="text-align: justify;">The former Ford Motor Factory at Bukit Timah was the location for the ignominious surrender of British and Commonwealth troops on Sunday 15 February 1942. The British commander was Lt General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding (GOC) British troops in Malaya (which included Singapore). The Japanese 25th Army was led by Lt General Tomoyuki Yamashita who became known as the 'Tiger of Malaya'. The surrender was ignominious because Percival surrendered an army consisting of some 85,000 British, Australian, Indian and Malay troops to a smaller Japanese army of around 35,000 men. Yamashita's forces had out-manoeuvred and out-fought the British in Malaya. They had moved with great speed through the peninsula towards the all-important goal of Singapore. This was part of the grand plan of the Japanese high command to capture what they called the southern resources area which provided access to rubber, oil and other raw materials in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. The Japanese army crossed the Johor Straits that separated Malaya from Singapore on 8 February and a week later they captured the bastion of British military strength in the Far East. Singapore had been seen as the 'Gibraltar of the East' ...........an impregnable fortress.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Winston Churchill described the defeat and subsequent capitulation as 'the worst disaster and the largest capitulation in British history'. One would have to go back to 1781, to the Battle of Yorktown in the American War of Independence or even to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 to find another such calamitous defeat. The loss of Singapore is sometimes described as a national disgrace and Percival is generally blamed by historians for lack of leadership, and for surrendering rather than fighting on. The British and Commonwealth soldiers that were subsequently incarcerated as POWs in South East Asia suffered terribly and many thousands died during their captivity in Japanese prison camps and labour camps. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">...............but has history been fair to Percival ? or could it be, at least in large part, that he was not given the tools to complete the task. The Japanese had both air and sea superiority. Percival had insufficient aircraft many of which were antiquated and obsolete like the Vickers Vildebeest and the Brewster Buffalo. Some Hawker Hurricanes arrived late in the battle but there were not enough. The Imperial War Museum describes how the Japanese had 600 aircraft and the British had only 158. The Japanese had 200 tanks whereas the British had twenty-three. Percival had asked for more tanks but none were sent. They were needed elsewhere. He had the manpower but insufficient aircraft, warships and armour. The loss of the battleship, HMS <i>Prince of Wales </i>and the cruiser HMS <i>Repulse </i>was catastrophic. The two capital ships with their escorting destroyers had no air-cover because the aircraft carrier, HMS <i>Indomitable, </i>which should have been part of their task force (Force Z) had run aground in the Caribbean Sea. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS0YBfQfFH62J4bHPua07L1MfguXQD5z_yM16GLfHIDzN2cRv-27UirPgAx5GWmhZLBsKBB8ViQMUrkSfQ1bTY2j2Diqhu32nT5JUYFhqkq9XbrLEyeY911Zu1fqZpJz8rPvLpFUhSLu1g84s3Tj4uY1mQL0iCLXcPYB6fyLAbos0427aPbNX2w/s4032/IMG_5148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS0YBfQfFH62J4bHPua07L1MfguXQD5z_yM16GLfHIDzN2cRv-27UirPgAx5GWmhZLBsKBB8ViQMUrkSfQ1bTY2j2Diqhu32nT5JUYFhqkq9XbrLEyeY911Zu1fqZpJz8rPvLpFUhSLu1g84s3Tj4uY1mQL0iCLXcPYB6fyLAbos0427aPbNX2w/w640-h480/IMG_5148.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Former Ford Motor Factory in March 2023</div><p></p><p>The Ford factory, built in art deco style, was completed and opened in October 1941 just weeks before the war started with Japan on 8 December. The Japanese used the factory as Battle HQ during the fighting around Bukit Timah, a high point on the island. Today the factory is a national monument and home to an excellent museum. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkJQoO16BN7visSgMHb4LocSIopdUCP2534LBVJDnSBzJkBeKAjHTDwTooDWjqJCs5Uw5DuximEHWNn7-b8IeIUuXClYtQ6kGI7YfNN03h1g4NqShO1vXdUQpqVMk4A4R9JRRIqFU6WRNG0wDqcgII-dGeNfruFtgTmubsnBKnnWlIR_vq-_MEw/s4032/IMG_5130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1840" data-original-width="4032" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkJQoO16BN7visSgMHb4LocSIopdUCP2534LBVJDnSBzJkBeKAjHTDwTooDWjqJCs5Uw5DuximEHWNn7-b8IeIUuXClYtQ6kGI7YfNN03h1g4NqShO1vXdUQpqVMk4A4R9JRRIqFU6WRNG0wDqcgII-dGeNfruFtgTmubsnBKnnWlIR_vq-_MEw/w640-h292/IMG_5130.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The factory as it looked at its opening in 1941</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NxeHjMG4YzKIkZcKejdLbhNIJVsL9svCMoLUUvBEOq9vGo-VumIGmUEYwo9FlFVUWYtoJEbiUEGTfsIkfAki8dpG-1cohTivFdZz-P5FU2ehVxzFq7Q8TfIcCRP1dayFuPOu2mXXYxigJHUTzbAncbFdI2QUIZhvLmZYgpe04AhNgzhVLxyyrQ/s800/Surrender_Singapore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="800" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NxeHjMG4YzKIkZcKejdLbhNIJVsL9svCMoLUUvBEOq9vGo-VumIGmUEYwo9FlFVUWYtoJEbiUEGTfsIkfAki8dpG-1cohTivFdZz-P5FU2ehVxzFq7Q8TfIcCRP1dayFuPOu2mXXYxigJHUTzbAncbFdI2QUIZhvLmZYgpe04AhNgzhVLxyyrQ/w640-h440/Surrender_Singapore.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The surrender party arrives at the Ford Factory (above) artist rendition (below)</div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpF6cXoNUHccXSHtLbDUi6GG7oBh2bI7XQ_UYhy-hKBuBuT4Rwlky0GbfSTFL0uhlvPmmiaEDQC6ZCGJ-KoRNlncxeTs8vaND0wQDC2Bob8U7-7x1qvQIYF_oTR30yfHKg5YAOGyoVCdwCXM2TxGADUhh_Xf1XR2-Pgpgcmq_OiOZVWG36AD4QUw/s808/miyamotosaburo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="808" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpF6cXoNUHccXSHtLbDUi6GG7oBh2bI7XQ_UYhy-hKBuBuT4Rwlky0GbfSTFL0uhlvPmmiaEDQC6ZCGJ-KoRNlncxeTs8vaND0wQDC2Bob8U7-7x1qvQIYF_oTR30yfHKg5YAOGyoVCdwCXM2TxGADUhh_Xf1XR2-Pgpgcmq_OiOZVWG36AD4QUw/w640-h480/miyamotosaburo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The four British officers were from left to right: Major Cyril Wild, interpreter, bearing the white flag, Deputy Adjutant General, Brigadier Thomas Newbigging, bearing the union flag, Brigadier Kenneth Torrance and Lt General Arthur Percival. The interpreter carrying the white flag (a task no-one wanted) is caught by a Japanese cine camera casting away the white flag with an air of disgust. Brigadier Newbigging appears to admonish him. The surrender formality took place at the factory.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lOojAZNuzixgA9AIuFad4XT5cqW2VXFhNPoO_MDWpSUXgAtE1v-IaqMKsqmcNAvzf6FtmT6pcOnyEUwvJdXEuMFgsAZEJQlN5Asux9Lmvtq1fSToMbADkSy0clInFJsqc27GTO9lXr0qocS0dxb1Vg0RfJVou3z_oKKEYh2qCmDKC5HhkMgxaw/s1062/surrender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1062" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lOojAZNuzixgA9AIuFad4XT5cqW2VXFhNPoO_MDWpSUXgAtE1v-IaqMKsqmcNAvzf6FtmT6pcOnyEUwvJdXEuMFgsAZEJQlN5Asux9Lmvtq1fSToMbADkSy0clInFJsqc27GTO9lXr0qocS0dxb1Vg0RfJVou3z_oKKEYh2qCmDKC5HhkMgxaw/w640-h426/surrender.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Artist rendition of the surrender negotiation</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhpC80MdCId51eXpQg6oUNukFLz7q1tlDrkyjXu6rS8Zr2GAf_UgpgArXRLwgpVlwvhVyWPUk2k90guGPyzNLs4LK0pIcwwRg8_QV4f7RD6wCbG0SBoqCscoH-Cs6xlF6TPedtklV9hFOh1FHhs0s3GrprD5q56Vi053MbzzgvcfXYY6rbEGcow/s500/500px-BritishSurrender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhpC80MdCId51eXpQg6oUNukFLz7q1tlDrkyjXu6rS8Zr2GAf_UgpgArXRLwgpVlwvhVyWPUk2k90guGPyzNLs4LK0pIcwwRg8_QV4f7RD6wCbG0SBoqCscoH-Cs6xlF6TPedtklV9hFOh1FHhs0s3GrprD5q56Vi053MbzzgvcfXYY6rbEGcow/w640-h360/500px-BritishSurrender.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Signing the surrender at the Ford Factory</div><p style="text-align: justify;">Percival had expected an attack on the northeast shoreline rather than the more swampy northwest coast. He put the main component of his defence force in this sector. The Japanese carried out a decoy assault on the NE sector but their main force came ashore and quickly overwhelmed the defenders on the northwest shore. Percival was forced to withdraw his troops and form a perimeter around the city. When the Japanese captured Bukit Timah, they secured possession of the reservoirs and the water supply. In fact, the Japanese did not turn off the water supply but water shortages were caused by numerous broken water mains resulting from the aerial bombing and artillery bombardment. The moral of some of the defenders was poor. They had been beaten and pushed back through Malaya to Singapore and now their backs were to the sea. The RAF had withdrawn to Sumatra and Java and the Royal Navy had lost its two main surface ships. The Japanese had achieved full control of the skies and the seas. The ammunition for the AA guns and the field guns was close to running out. Moreover the water supply was expected to extinguish within 24 hours. The victorious Japanese army were at the gates to the city with its large civilian population. Churchill had ordered the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Sir Shenton Thomas, and by extension the army commander, Lt General Percival, to fight to the last man. However, Percival realised that there was no longer any useful military advantage to be gained by fighting on. In order to save lives, both civilian and combatants, the time had come to capitulate. He had sought permission from General Archibald Wavell to surrender when he felt the limits of military endurance had been reached. Wavell had encouraged Percival to fight on but on Sunday 15 February he sent a telegram which whilst still exhorting him to continue to resist it gave him the discretion to capitulate once the situation on the ground warranted it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqTxlN0Qe28zPe7pG8x3bVwn9C0lznZ7TJYujz5CkSkTWclliC_z2xnnarrWBmCazhQkvmU9of3hzhqbKdtr-pNVdVi2uqwUMtMb1U-t8_w2_5d-VL-ifNR7RqMUZ8ATpuSoq7B9Zg9JNsapcQbl6pRFxyd928v1yR3cuyQU_UznOdJrV5uek8A/s4032/fullsizeoutput_49b3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2091" data-original-width="4032" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqTxlN0Qe28zPe7pG8x3bVwn9C0lznZ7TJYujz5CkSkTWclliC_z2xnnarrWBmCazhQkvmU9of3hzhqbKdtr-pNVdVi2uqwUMtMb1U-t8_w2_5d-VL-ifNR7RqMUZ8ATpuSoq7B9Zg9JNsapcQbl6pRFxyd928v1yR3cuyQU_UznOdJrV5uek8A/w640-h332/fullsizeoutput_49b3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ford Factory during the Japanese occupation</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0dDaw4h9eksxHSEBs87H38EOgr75GuoIN-R-zPMKbb9SZuD8ex8HUFVHZEnG82b8zIQTaPJ1pJoRnX2MWtYzQ5mO0MiGdsMuDuWrlJllLSdixm3bb1PlJpKMv7baQxjDnojI7sfdKc-sDJnZy4uOk3iy2Pxp0ZGUVR58kZY5AkFKCwM4j0r81w/s800/Arthur_Percival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="555" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0dDaw4h9eksxHSEBs87H38EOgr75GuoIN-R-zPMKbb9SZuD8ex8HUFVHZEnG82b8zIQTaPJ1pJoRnX2MWtYzQ5mO0MiGdsMuDuWrlJllLSdixm3bb1PlJpKMv7baQxjDnojI7sfdKc-sDJnZy4uOk3iy2Pxp0ZGUVR58kZY5AkFKCwM4j0r81w/w444-h640/Arthur_Percival.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lt General Arthur Percival </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnTpqc2F5unAhTSbWHGpmMbrw2QT-7fJ9nt2Puq0VX7_4hoiXhRCc1s24hfle8O3DqqL5t0OzPibw4mFshYiI3EAvs9gM4YX8g1ls2yh6mI_KR1cP8oczHoPnk42MJ3Nb8a_Swo-lHWmfDRTh7K9h6JH6-JqZEWlWFA86lEOqevrYSsmcRetnDw/s322/Sir_Thomas_Shenton_Whitelegge_Thomas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="227" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnTpqc2F5unAhTSbWHGpmMbrw2QT-7fJ9nt2Puq0VX7_4hoiXhRCc1s24hfle8O3DqqL5t0OzPibw4mFshYiI3EAvs9gM4YX8g1ls2yh6mI_KR1cP8oczHoPnk42MJ3Nb8a_Swo-lHWmfDRTh7K9h6JH6-JqZEWlWFA86lEOqevrYSsmcRetnDw/w452-h640/Sir_Thomas_Shenton_Whitelegge_Thomas.png" width="452" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">H.E. The Governor Sir Shenton Thomas</div><p style="text-align: justify;">Having received Wavell's assent giving Percival the discretion to cease fighting, Percival and his commanders and staff at the Battle Box made the painful decision to surrender the garrison. Percival explained that the choice was either to counter-attack Bukit Timah and recapture the water supplies and food depots - or to capitulate immediately. A successful counter-attack was not deemed feasible. It was clear that the battle had been lost - it boiled down as to whether to surrender now or surrender later. Later that morning Brigadier Newbigging, a senior staff officer, Major Cyril Wild as interpreter and Hugh Fraser, the Colonial Secretary drove out along the Bukit Timah road to Japanese lines to negotiate terms. The Japanese gave the party a large Japanese flag with orders that the flag must be flown from the roof of the Cathay Building, the tallest building in Singapore. The flag should be displayed for at least ten minutes and would signify that Percival had agreed to meet Yamashita that evening at the Ford Factory. The British delegation then returned to Fort Canning with the Japanese demands. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Percival and the surrender party, drove to the Japanese front line and were then conveyed to Yamashita's HQ at the Ford Factory. They were shown to a meeting room with a conference table. At around 6:45 pm Lt General Yamashita arrived with his staff officers. The Japanese general extended his hand to the British officers. Yamashita opened the negotiation by stating that the Imperial Japanese Army will consider nothing but unconditional surrender. Percival wanted more time to consider and suggested that they respond the following day. Yamashita in a raised voice insisted they accept unconditional surrender there and then and if not the firing would resume that evening. The Japanese General stated that they cannot accept any further British resistance. It must end now. Percival asked Yamashita not to permit the Japanese Army to enter Singapore city until the following day. He would return to his HQ and give the orders to cease firing and disarm. Yamashita then told Percival that they would need to take into their custody the senior British officers and the Governor as a sign of good faith. Percival appeared shocked. Yamashita continued to berate Percival until at 7:40pm Percival assented to the Japanese demand for unconditional surrender. He had little choice. He did not know that the Japanese army was smaller than his and that they were over-extended and at the end of their supply line. Had he fought on it would only have delayed the inevitable defeat which had effectively already occurred with the capture of most of Malaya and Singapore and Percival's army pushed back to a defensive ring around the city. It was agreed that the British forces would be notified of the capitulation and all firing would cease by 10 pm. The troops would disarm and a thousand would retain their arms to preserve law and order. Percival asked only that the Japanese protect the British women, children and civilians caught up in the battle. Yamashita agreed and Percival signed the instrument of surrender.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Postscript</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Percival was imprisoned at Changi until August 1942 when with other senior officers he was moved to Japanese occupied Formosa an later to Manchuria. After release in 1945 he was invited to witness the Japanese surrender in the battleship USS <i>Missouri. </i>He was also invited to attend the surrender of Japanese forces in the Philippines led by Yamashita. Yamashita was tried and found guilty of war crimes. He was sentenced to death by hanging. Percival returned to UK and lived in Hertfordshire with his wife and two children. He retired from the Army in 1946. He became Lord Lieutenant of the county in 1951. He was President of the Far East POW Association. He died aged seventy-eight in 1966.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-23920267752807364912023-02-13T20:52:00.007-08:002023-03-26T21:24:06.028-07:00Archibald and Frances Cook - their story of a family separated by war <p style="text-align: justify;">In December 1941, forty-three year old Scotsman, Archibald (Archie) Cook was employed as the captain of the Hong Kong-Canton steamer the SS <i>Fatshan</i>. He had been working on the China coast for some twenty years. He was married to Frances, an American from a missionary family who had been born in Shantung and spent much of her life in China. The family lived at Felix Villas near the intersection of Mount Davis Road and Victoria Road on Hong Kong Island. The outbreak of war in the Pacific would see the family split up. The three oldest children, Calvin (14), Luther (13) and Athene (10) were in Chefoo northern China where Frances's mother lived. The three youngest children, Clyde (6), Celene (5) and Van Dyke, still an infant born in 1941, were in Hong Kong. Frances and her three youngest children were interned at Stanley Camp. Archibald Cook had sailed his steamer up to Canton and was there when war began. His vessel was seized and he was placed under house arrest. The family survived the battle and were eventually reunited again in Lourenco Marques in August 1942. Their reunion was all too brief because Archibald Cook, a master mariner, was called back for sea-service in the South Pacific. This was at a time when merchant navy officers were in short supply. This is their story of war and separation on the China Coast against the backdrop of the Pacific War.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHTQ7sU7ZPkDdh-8kWSkF8-L_E68zB4tasnC0HwOx_kUrFOqFwxzasMOrDFytS3vKMPK-MjsX8GiGC69O2HJ0lybq_NbGo6SDlqX7f819tEH1NKe4CqNVJRkjP7ph1QJT3E1WUzrNihpIC9xIgbcowDEbfiIJaQ0Za9jUn8SAY9a57pEZfUUdBg/s600/600px-Fatshan_II_Swire_Flag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="600" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHTQ7sU7ZPkDdh-8kWSkF8-L_E68zB4tasnC0HwOx_kUrFOqFwxzasMOrDFytS3vKMPK-MjsX8GiGC69O2HJ0lybq_NbGo6SDlqX7f819tEH1NKe4CqNVJRkjP7ph1QJT3E1WUzrNihpIC9xIgbcowDEbfiIJaQ0Za9jUn8SAY9a57pEZfUUdBg/w640-h472/600px-Fatshan_II_Swire_Flag.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">SS <i>Fatshan </i>plying the river route from Hong Kong to Canton (Source: Wikipedia)</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSeJdZtJfABiNWddxt7KExjFFwvHAQqsW05gYMWYI2wQw_lp46j_tp6QlPMC0a_eeAm_fPeb4BXPd2VS36sxqj0OqYnOjl0zAJqmi0EpIoFHVPa7n53tiiOKcIvQC8_hJac80zvGAen_fJW6OZeu6mf8vAo6e-U7_7hTDFx1WYrFcH_RTP0C7Pg/s280/4f44362d-643b-4f15-ab19-a809ca433bc5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="195" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSeJdZtJfABiNWddxt7KExjFFwvHAQqsW05gYMWYI2wQw_lp46j_tp6QlPMC0a_eeAm_fPeb4BXPd2VS36sxqj0OqYnOjl0zAJqmi0EpIoFHVPa7n53tiiOKcIvQC8_hJac80zvGAen_fJW6OZeu6mf8vAo6e-U7_7hTDFx1WYrFcH_RTP0C7Pg/w279-h400/4f44362d-643b-4f15-ab19-a809ca433bc5.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Captain Archie Cook (Source: Ancestry.com)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Archie Cook's Story</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sabre rattling and tension between Japan and the West (USA and UK) increased in November/December 1941. In November Canadian reinforcements, consisting of two battalions and a Brigade HQ, arrived in Hong Kong. Brigadier Wallis, commanding the Mainland Infantry Brigade, had his three infantry battalions in their battle positions on the Gin Drinkers Line by mid-November. During Archie Cook's sailings up and down the Pearl River he had seen the extent of Japanese military and maritime movements. He realised that war was imminent although many in Hong Kong still thought that the Japanese were blustering. After Cook arrived back in Hong Kong from Japanese occupied Canton on 3 December 1941 - he enquired from his employers, China Navigation Company, whether given the increased tension, he should sail as planned for Canton on Saturday 6 December. He was told that the Royal Navy would decide on commercial sailings in and out of Hong Kong. The Royal Navy movements officer approved the sailing and Cook left his home at Felix Villas early on Saturday 6 December to take the SS <i>Fatshan </i>up river to Canton. <span style="text-align: left;">As the steamer </span><span style="text-align: left;">sailed out of the harbour, passing Mount Davis, he could see his family waving from the verandah at Felix Villas. </span>The next day, Sunday 7 December, a state of emergency was declared in Hong Kong and on Monday morning while the<i> Fatshan </i>was still at Canton<i> </i>the Pacific War began. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">As the ferry approached Japanese controlled waters she passed a Japanese gunboat riding at anchor. The <i>Fatshan, </i>in keeping with maritime practice dipped her ensign and the gunboat returned the salute. The Japanese gunboat then weighed anchor and followed the British vessel up river. At 1100 hours they entered the narrows known as the Boca Tigris Channel (the Mouth of the Tiger). Here, as usual, they embarked a Japanese military harbour-</span>pilot to take them up river to Canton. Further upstream they stopped and anchored for standard quarantine and health checks. On Monday 8 December, Archie Cook was up at the crack of dawn. He noticed a grey naval launch with Japanese marines aboard heading out towards his ship. He guessed that this meant that war had started. In a matter of minutes the launch drew alongside and an officer and a party of marines boarded the vessel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I went to meet the boarding party and stop any possible incidents. Our Indian anti-piracy guard of six Sikhs immediately threw a cordon around me. They were willing to give their lives, if necessary, to save me. I motioned them aside and told them not to interfere with the Japanese. The boarding party was led by a Naval Reserve officer, a former Nippon Yusan Kaisha (NYK) Captain of a merchant man." <span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The <i>Fatshan </i>was taken into Japanese custody and marines were posted as sentries at various points around the vessel. The passengers, mainly Chinese, but with some foreigners, were disembarked. They were transferred to a barge and taken to Shameen. The Chinese were released and the European passengers including Archie Cook were corralled in the gardens of the British Consulate, registered and assigned to </span>various residences on Shameen Island. Archibald Cook was assigned to a house with Lytton Bevis Wood, a partner in Deacon & Co, a long established trading company. Wood had been on the ferry from Hong Kong. They were held under house arrest at Lytton Wood's place of residence for a period of four months. In March 1942, all the foreigners (British and American), were ordered to leave their place of residence/business and assemble at the nearby Victoria Hotel which acted as a temporary internment centre. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In April 1942, a group of fifty British and American civilians were taken on a Japanese coaster to Shanghai to await a repatriation vessel as part of a civilian internee exchange. In May 1942, Archie Cook was repatriated and first went to Shanghai. On 5 August he sailed out of Shanghai <span style="text-align: left;">on the repatriation ship <i>Tatsuta Maru</i> accompanied<i> </i>by a second repatriation ship, the <i>Kamakura Maru. </i>The <i>Tatsuta Maru </i>had started her voyage at Yokohama on 30 July. In Japan, she took aboard some 60 British internees including Sir Robert Craigie, the former British </span>Ambassador and his diplomatic staff. The passengers included diplomats from a number of other countries including the Belgian Ambassador and the Australian and Dutch Charge d' Affairs. The two repatriation vessels made port stops at Saigon and Singapore taking on a few more civilian refugees at each port. The two vessels were carrying nearly a thousand repatriates each but they were the lucky ones as most British internees remained in concentration camps until the Japanese capitulation in August/September 1945. The <i>Tatsuta Maru</i> arrived in <span style="text-align: left;">Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa on 27 August. The British and other repatriates were disembarked and exchanged for Japanese mainly diplomatic repatriates from UK, Australia and India. The British and other non-Japanese repatriates boarded the SS <i>El Nil </i>and the SS <i>Narkunda</i> bound for Liverpool. The <i>Tatsuta Maru </i>left carrying the Japanese internees loaded with 48, 818 Red Cross Parcels for Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees. Some ten days after Archie Cook arrived in Lourenco Marques on the Tatsuta Maru, the SS <i>City of Canterbury</i> arrived from Melbourne carrying Japanese internees including Kawai Tatsuo the Japanese Ambassador to Australia. The Ambassador carried four small white boxes in which were the remains of crew members of the Japanese midget submarines that were involved in the attack on Sydney Harbour. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Archie Cook's family had been separated for some nine months. The </span><span style="text-align: left;">three oldest children at boarding school in Chefoo had boarded the <i>Kamakura Maru </i>in Shanghai. </span>Frances and the three youngest children, Clyde, Celene and Van Dyke had been interned at Stanley Camp. They were repatriated with the American nationals from Hong Kong in July 1942 on the <i>Asama Maru. </i>Lytton Wood heard from a British diplomat at Lourenco Marques that Frances and the three children had arrived several weeks earlier and were still in town. After leaving the ship and heading for the agent's office Archibald ran into Frances and the children on the street. At the shipping agent's office there was a cable from the shipping line in London waiting for Archie and ordering him to take passage to Sydney and report for sea service in the southwest Pacific. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Frances Cook's Story</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Frances recalled that on Saturday morning, 6 December, the family rushed to the verandah to wave to Archie as the SS <i>Fatshan </i>sailed by heading for the Pearl River. It was a beautiful sunny day as the steamer sounded its siren. It had been a hurried good-bye that morning when Archie left home. Frances caught a glimpse of him on the bridge and that was the last they saw of each other until August 1942 when they were reunited in Portuguese East Africa. Their home at Felix Villas was below Mount Davis with its battery of three 9.2-inch coastal defence guns. The battery became one of the most bombarded locations in Hong Kong. When there was a break in the bombing the two older children would collect the bomb splinters and sometimes the propaganda leaflets dropped by </span>Japanese aircraft. Their neighbour was a French lady by the name of Germaine. Her husband was a doctor who had just passed his medical examinations. The bombing and shelling around Mount Davis eventually forced them to leave and she stayed with her friends Doctor Harry and Mrs Winifred Clift at their home near the university. On 20 December 1941, Frances decided to make a trip to Felix Villas to bring back some of their possessions. Their home was a mess with all the window panes smashed and the floors covered with dirt and debris. When Frances heard of the Christmas Day surrender she could hardly believe it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">We had been repeatedly told we would not surrender, but fight street by street. We were also told by radio every day that the situation remained unchanged. The power station was latterly put out of action. There were no telephones or radios, but the news sheet was still printed and the news here was the same. The following day we saw the Japanese flag flying from the Peak.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An old sea captain who returned to his home at Felix Villas told me in the internment camp... that at first he had managed to live without much interference but later armed Chinese looters came in hordes and he was forced to leave his home to them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our neighbour Germaine returned on December 26 and later her body was found on the road and taken to hospital for identification. Her husband, who had just passed his final medical examinations in December, was killed at his post. Whether either knew the other was dead I do not know. They had been married about a year. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(2)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday 5 January 1942, all 'enemy nationals' were instructed to report for registration and internment at Murray Parade Ground. They were initially interned in various short stay hotels and boarding houses. Mrs Clift, Frances and the children were interned at Nam Ping Hotel. She recalled there were some 150 internees staying in the hotel.They were joined by another lady, Molly Tyrell, in a room about 12 square feet on the third floor of the building. They were lucky because their room had a toilet and bath. On 21 January they were moved by boat to Stanley internment camp. Although American, because she was married to a British citizen, she was interned with the British rather than the better accommodation enjoyed by the American internees. She and the three children moved into one of the staff bungalows at St Stephen's College. She was included in the US repatriation in July 1942. She shared a third class cabin on the <i>Asama Maru </i>with thirteen other occupants. The exchange of prisoners took place at Lourenco Marques and the American repatriates boarded the SS <i>Gripsholm </i>a Swedish vessel. Frances and her three children were given permission to remain in Lourenco Marques to await the arrival of her husband and three older children on the <i>Tatsuta Maru </i>and <i>Kamakura Maru</i> respectively. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>The SS <i>Fatshan</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The vessel was built at Tai Koo Dockyard for the China Navigation Company a subsidiary of the Swire Group. She was named after the city of Foshan. The vessel with a displacement of 2,639 tons was completed in 1933. I believe she tied up at the Sheung Wan dockside which was not very far from the Coook's family home at Felix Villas. The Japanese, having commandeered the <i>Fatshan </i>and renamed her the <i>Kota Maru</i> and used her to make the round trip between Hong Kong and Canton under a Japanese flag. After the Chinese revolution in 1949 ships were barred from making port calls at Canton and the <i>Fatshan</i> sailed between Hong Kong and Macao. In 1971, she was sunk in a typhoon with eighty-eight lives lost and only four survivors. It is interesting to note from Archie's account that as late as 1941 she still carried an anti-piracy squad of armed guards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Felix Villas</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were originally two low blocks of terraced houses on Mount Davis Road close to the junction of Mount Davis Road. They were built in the 1920s and named after the developer Felix Alexander Joseph. Felix Joseph was born in Hong Kong in 1890. He had UK nationality and died in 1949. A brother, Joseph Edgar Joseph was briefly in Stanley Camp but released to town (possibly guaranteed out). The upper of the two blocks which comprised Felix Villas had ten terraced houses and the lower block which still survives had eight terraced homes. The upper block was demolished in 1995. The blocks were on either side of Mount Davis Road. There was a murder in December 1930 of a Chinese servant at the home of French national Rene Ohl the Manager of Messageries Maritimes. Rene Oil lived at No 9 Felix Villas when the murder occurred He later moved to No 2 Felix Villas. It is not clear who was the French neighbour (Germaine) living next door to the Cook family and how she died. Felix villas were used by the Royal Artillery at Mount Davis for accommodation after the Battery Plotting Room had been destroyed by Japanese artillery and again for accommodation after the surrender.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Residents of Felix Villas in 1941</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Archibald & Frances<b> Cook </b>(House No. n/k)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Cyril & Mollie <b>Blake</b> No. 15. <b> </b>(Interned at Stanley Camp with infant daughter)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">George& Marguerite <b>Boulton </b>(House No. u/k) (Interned at Stanley Camp)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ernest William Charles <b>Simmonds</b> No. 6 (Interned at Stanley Camp)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Notes:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><i>When You Were Absent</i> (2002). by </span><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal;">Frances Wight and Archibald Cook (P. 76) Biola University</span><span style="background-color: white;"><i> </i>Publications </span></span><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><i> </i></span></span></div><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/biola-pubs/53</span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(2)</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><i>When You Were Absent</i> (2002). by </span><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;">Frances Wight and Archibald Cook (P. 15) Biola University</span><span style="background-color: white;"><i> </i>Publications </span></span><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><i> </i></span></span></div><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/biola-pubs/53</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;">Acknowledgments:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Ancestry.com</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Steven K. Bailey </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Biola University Web Site</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Gwulo.com</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Clinton Chong (for "When you were absent" by Frances and Archibald Cook)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Gallery:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmePEAUr_OJHahjUoKEn5JUORm6IQ8s0SY5e0u-vmwitxxcnp1gY195MCaDIAEN5p23IQQhiklgb_jXZlUWFylYxmYeqkpiiBY5X06T5S3CSD-ZTwjIxn_rgAij7X0ak-47xVO5b-47n8DufCqLWUTQov3IySnPCyXsnB9dKtBt-dn3ViJjSiMYA/s3746/IMG_5301.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2142" data-original-width="3746" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmePEAUr_OJHahjUoKEn5JUORm6IQ8s0SY5e0u-vmwitxxcnp1gY195MCaDIAEN5p23IQQhiklgb_jXZlUWFylYxmYeqkpiiBY5X06T5S3CSD-ZTwjIxn_rgAij7X0ak-47xVO5b-47n8DufCqLWUTQov3IySnPCyXsnB9dKtBt-dn3ViJjSiMYA/w640-h366/IMG_5301.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">UKNA file on movement of <i>Fatshan (Courtesy of Dr Steven K. Bailey)</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iqRHQE0LIEZcwAmsMudgFPxpADu5gOiY24sOUa9t8_QytD8je4D0_GAhPU93Mzxhft8nFfq9Gnt9Y-CQGzauzXqtkCyqkFKC55cWCJVfsw61jHrto4sbadEov_sJ-N6q88d_0Kl8y5Q-Aw5mjykb24Xz9LlgIwq_DvLBuCV1YBRxDG2UKw-C4Q/s3762/IMG_5302.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2101" data-original-width="3762" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iqRHQE0LIEZcwAmsMudgFPxpADu5gOiY24sOUa9t8_QytD8je4D0_GAhPU93Mzxhft8nFfq9Gnt9Y-CQGzauzXqtkCyqkFKC55cWCJVfsw61jHrto4sbadEov_sJ-N6q88d_0Kl8y5Q-Aw5mjykb24Xz9LlgIwq_DvLBuCV1YBRxDG2UKw-C4Q/w640-h358/IMG_5302.jpg" width="640" /></a>UKNA f<span style="text-align: left;">ile on movement of</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><i style="text-align: left;">Fatshan (Courtesy of Dr Steven K. Bailey)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-30110050007871674522023-02-01T19:08:00.004-08:002023-02-14T15:56:35.630-08:00Captain Cyril (Potato) Jones , 2/RS<p style="text-align: justify;">Captain Cyril Ramsay Jones, 2/RS, was a colourful and controversial character. When the battle started he was the commanding officer of 'A' Coy 2nd Battalion Royal Scots. He was blamed by many for the loss of the strongpoint known as the Shing Mun Redoubt on the Gin Drinkers Line (GDL). He is often portrayed as a flamboyant and party-going type of officer. He was known as 'Potato' Jones and more disparagingly as 'Pansy' Jones. Was he to blame for the loss of the redoubt? Why was he known as 'Potato'? and what happened to him after the war? This post is an effort to find out more about this controversial officer. After the war he disappeared from view and did not turn up at regimental reunions. What did he do after the war ended and what became of him? Was he negligent in the defence of the redoubt or was he a victim of inadequate manning. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cyril Jones was born 18 January 1910 in Edmonton, North London. His parents, Henry Brereton Jones and Louisa Carlisle Ramsay, were born in Montevideo, Uruguay of British parentage. His father, Henry Jones (1869-1924), graduated from Cambridge University and entered the clergy in 1892. He was attached to various churches in London. University records state that had been a 'partial cripple' since childhood and that he was 'more and more hampered by his infirmity but always showed great courage and refused to allow it to hinder his work'. He was the Vicar of St James's Church, Upper Edmonton from 1909 to 1924. He died aged 54 at St James's vicarage. It was here that Cyril Jones spent his formative years. The 1911 census shows nine residents at the vicarage. These included one year old Cyril Jones, his parents, an aunt and two house guests. The household also included three servants, a cook and two housemaids. Today the church has been deconsecrated and converted into flats and I think the same fate may have befallen the vicarage.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cyril Jones was the eldest of three siblings, Keena Mary Jones (1911-1999) and Edward Brereton Jones (1913-1941). Cyril was sent to Marlborough College where he served as a lance corporal in the college cadet corps. After leaving school he graduated from Oxford University. Information is sketchy but he is said to have worked as a journalist. He married Agnes Mary Marr (1908-1966) at Marylebone in October 1937. Jones was twenty-seven when he married Agnes whose family lived in Edinburgh. Two years later a notice in the London Gazette dated June 1939 announces his commission as a 2/Lt in the 8th Battalion Royal Scots which I believe was a territorial battalion. His commission seems to have been helped by his service in the Marlborough College Cadet Contingent. The war started a few months later in September 1939 and sometime between 1939 and 1941 Cyril Jones was posted to the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots who were based in Hong Kong. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpSrkaUpEutR6ck0_agqwco9L_Ch1YUNYkaAS6zlJ-tblC3MDbPOt0vV_izJP6-RBInKhtW72FB_wHJ39rC2iXQQbpnMPTNxxcMB1ogMqmOu8LO1ul5ZgWWciTQeXpCdC_RTxSwp-B1_xuVpOXpntPO2Wa8NyliKQCdZhg7eKLEVuP2ESVfCgRA/s796/1234039_10200823710768700_1653821193_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="796" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpSrkaUpEutR6ck0_agqwco9L_Ch1YUNYkaAS6zlJ-tblC3MDbPOt0vV_izJP6-RBInKhtW72FB_wHJ39rC2iXQQbpnMPTNxxcMB1ogMqmOu8LO1ul5ZgWWciTQeXpCdC_RTxSwp-B1_xuVpOXpntPO2Wa8NyliKQCdZhg7eKLEVuP2ESVfCgRA/w640-h314/1234039_10200823710768700_1653821193_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the pre-war (1941) photograph above - Captain Jones (probably then a lieutenant) is seen standing in the back row at centre. He is wearing battle dress and a tam o shanter (headdress) which replaced the red and white checked glengarry in 1941. He stands out because of his height. He was six foot four inches. Thirty-one year old Jones must have been glad to be assigned to Hong Kong. The war had not come to Hong Kong. The lights were on and the bars and restaurants were full. It was a city known for its sports activities and its vigorous social and night life. Although the threat of a Japanese invasion of the colony had lingered since 1938 when Japanese troops arrived in South China. Jones reputation for hard drinking and party-going did not enamour him to Brigadier Cedric Wallis, his brigade commander. Wallis said of Jones: 'I formed my opinion of Captain Jones as a weak Company Commander prior to the outbreak of hostilities particularly during the training and from personal observation'. (UKNA CAB 106/166).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Emily Hahn, the feisty American Author and writer for the <i>New Yorker </i>describes how she met Jones, then a lieutenant, at a party at J. J. Paterson's home in Fan Ling. She writes in <i>China to me </i>(1944) that Doctor Tony Dawson-Grove arrived 'while I was being entertained by one Lt Jones of the Royal Scots, who at the age of thirty was getting a reputation as a character'. Dawson-Grove greets Jones, 'How are you Pansy'. Dawson-Grove and Jones had been at Oxford together. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Jones assumed command of 'A' Coy in October 1941. On 11 November his company occupied their war stations on the western flank of the GDL. Jones established his Coy HQ in the Artillery Observation Post (AOP) at the rear of the redoubt. The AOP was large with plenty of space for his ten-man HQ. He shared the AOP with the Royal Artillery personnel consisting of Lt Wilcox, RA, and four British and Indian other ranks who manned the AOP. From the AOP the Royal Artillery personnel could observe fall of shot and direct the fire onto the respective target area. The platoon defending the redoubt, known as the Shing Mun Platoon, was commanded by 2/Lt Jack Thomson. This was one of three platoons that made up 'A' Coy. The platoon consisted of twenty-six men. Not enough to cover this large complex of tunnels, and inter-connected pillboxes, trenches and firing bays. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTUN6zKWeOu3cTK2vJg0zhh1tq_EeTyG0zUg-QIxpeWbvHz6UV6hPhaidr2ZWielURbPcZS5sOQGB6qCMJMNBtqjXYM_QNqPJ7lXDJPVykR4KmcFJBjKpKRFkWX-xu8ED1tMgZSzFRVD1YDVulLfuIi90RlRXmZMzl2-xpAttkCNfLZxh6ZLmoA/s639/IMG_1258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="639" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTUN6zKWeOu3cTK2vJg0zhh1tq_EeTyG0zUg-QIxpeWbvHz6UV6hPhaidr2ZWielURbPcZS5sOQGB6qCMJMNBtqjXYM_QNqPJ7lXDJPVykR4KmcFJBjKpKRFkWX-xu8ED1tMgZSzFRVD1YDVulLfuIi90RlRXmZMzl2-xpAttkCNfLZxh6ZLmoA/w640-h490/IMG_1258.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A Royal Scots officer in 1941 on the Gin Drinkers Line</div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The redoubt was attacked on the second night of the battle (Tuesday 9 December 1941). Jones, Thomson and Wilcox were surrounded inside the AOP together with some seventeen other ranks. They were unable to get out through the grill gate at the bottom of a flight of steps leading from the kitchen area (known as the Strand Palace Hotel) located close to the tunnel entrance. The gate had been locked by Private Wylie. Wylie took the key with him when he went down to meet Mike Kendall, from a special operations unit, who wanted to brief Jones on enemy movements he had observed during the day. However the redoubt was attacked before Wylie could escort Kendall to Jones's HQ in the AOP. This left the trap door in the roof as the only point of egress. A few other ranks were able to get in by way of the trap door, but by the time Jones and Thomson tried to get out and take command of the Shing Mun Platoon the AOP had been surrounded and each time the trap door lid was lifted it brought down rifle and machine gun fire. The next day the Japanese used explosives to force an entry. Jones had no choice, the AOP had been breached, and he surrendered the position. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2R3LkfAB4XipRENdeHWtwW_KETU7jSpMdWMWTntTca3apmogzs17003qVevWHFBcESoV6SALmAWLogdsIOTAIRQ6I6jx-J4Ewz0I5-bjIiOza-5gzF1WCTFv9m0-x-htOstLX21dVGy7DUn1Om5Np8hYluLGgSG6wVvumqr9gWOpgHEmTGUXaQ/s480/11215711_1630769953866963_3376300416454319367_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="480" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2R3LkfAB4XipRENdeHWtwW_KETU7jSpMdWMWTntTca3apmogzs17003qVevWHFBcESoV6SALmAWLogdsIOTAIRQ6I6jx-J4Ewz0I5-bjIiOza-5gzF1WCTFv9m0-x-htOstLX21dVGy7DUn1Om5Np8hYluLGgSG6wVvumqr9gWOpgHEmTGUXaQ/w640-h438/11215711_1630769953866963_3376300416454319367_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Captain Jones (bottom left) taken prisoner at the Shing Mun Redoubt 10 December 1941</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">In the-photograph above we see Jones, his hair neatly parted, moustachioed and marching ram-rod straight with other Royal Scots and Royal Artillery gunners captured at the redoubt. The soldier with a patch over his eye is 2/Lt Thomson partially blinded by grenade shrapnel when the AOP was breached. After interrogation at Japanese HQ at Tai Po the prisoners were held in a villa at Fan Ling. The villa was used as a temporary internment facility. The villa had been the home of William Stanton and Elsa, his wealthy American wife. When Jones entered Sham Shui Po Camp three weeks later he was remembered for striking a dramatic poise as he strode in wearing a ladies expensive fur coat which he had purloined from Elsa Stanton's wardrobe.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The loss of the redoubt, resulted in the line being compromised in that Japanese troops occupying the redoubt could fire down on the rest of the line extending from the redoubt to the sea. The line had to be moved back to the ridge running from Golden Hill to Lai Chi Kok. This was steep and difficult terrain and most importantly it was unprepared. There were no slit trenches, no barbed wire and no minefields. The Royal Scots gave ground and a decision to evacuate the Mainland was made on 11 December. Brigadier Wallis was furious that the redoubt had been captured and his Mainland Brigade had to be evacuated earlier than planned from the Mainland. A Court of Enquiry was convened in May 1942 at Argyle Street Officers Camp to look into the culpability of the loss of the redoubt. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Brigadier Wallis, who considered Jones to be a weak officer, stated that he considered objecting to Jones being promoted to company commander with the responsibility for the redoubt. However, in the end he decided not to override his battalion commander. He wanted the battalion commander, Lt Col Simon White, to be free to command and fight his battalion as he thought best. During a visit before the battle with Major General Maltby and Col Newnham (senior staff officer) he had stressed the importance of the men being in slit trenches above ground and only using the PBs for shelter during aerial or artillery bombardment. The PBs could be used for storage and for long shoots utilising their fixed mountings. He had stressed the importance of patrolling forward. 'A' Coy had three platoons. One based at the Redoubt under Lt Thomson and one based at Pineapple Hill, a flat-topped hill on the west side of the reservoir near Pineapple Dam, with the third platoon occupying the area south west of Pineapple Dam. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Jones was criticised for the lack of listening posts (static patrols). If he had placed a listening post near the dam - they would have heard the deployment of two Japanese battalions. The Japanese commander, Colonel Doi, used two companies of his third battalion to attack the redoubt. To do this his men crossed the main dam to reach the redoubt. Another Japanese battalion was deployed in the Shing Mun River gorge ready to attack Smuggler's Ridge once the redoubt had been captured. The remaining battalion was held in reserve. Static patrols or forward fighting and recce patrols would have come across these Japanese deployments. It is true that Lt Thomson had just returned from a patrol but he had patrolled laterally along Smugglers Ridge to 'D' Coy Rajputs HQ rather patrolling forward. The main dam was the critical point and had been left unguarded. It was a mixture of incompetence and lack of manning. The twenty-six men that made up the Shing Mun Platoon was not enough to defend the redoubt which covered 250 yards north-south and 350 yards northeast-southwest. At least a company would have been needed to properly man the redoubt and conduct sufficient static and mobile patrols. Even if a company had been deployed and proper patrolling had been implemented it would only have delayed the inevitable capture of the strongpoint. The Japanese were able to concentrate their force. Colonel Doi had three battalions at his disposal each consisting of one thousand men. Wallis recognised that a single platoon was not desirable but more troops were simply not available. Lt Douglas Baird, 'B' Coy positioned on Pineapple Ridge between 'C' Coy and 'A' Coy recalled that there was a half mile gap between the platoon on his left and that on his right. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Court of Enquiry never completed its task. It was adjourned and left in abeyance and finally dropped. The transcript of the proceedings was buried in Argyle Street Camp with the intention of recovering it after the war. It was, however, never found. After Lt-Col Simon White died in the 1950s it transpired that he had kept a copy of the proceedings perhaps in order to defend the good name of his battalion. He had kept the copy concealed throughout his incarceration. It was lodged in the National Archives and access was restricted for 50 years until 2008.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Gandt, the author of <i>Season of Storms </i>(1982) wrote that 'in camp he (Captain Cyril Jones) achieved dubious fame as a willing lecturer on any and all subjects. At the war's end, instead of boarding the troopship home with other POWs, he, characteristically, hitched a ride aboard a submarine. After a brief post war career as a journalist, Potato Jones dropped from sight, still controversial.' </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">....................</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-6204275045583091622022-11-23T23:32:00.009-08:002022-11-25T00:44:10.919-08:00 Josef Abosch and family in Stanley Internment Camp<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the Stanley Camp Register of Civilian Internees, held at the Imperial War Museum in London, the first three names are Mr Josef Abraham </span><b style="font-family: Calibri;">Abosch </b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, his wife Rosa and their son Ralph Frank.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; color: black;"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Surname<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Given Names<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Date of Birth<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Date of Death<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Camp No.<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b>Billet</b><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Abosch<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Joszef (sic) Abraham<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">29/3/1911<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">21/10/1976<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">1292<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Block 13/Room 73<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Abosch<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Rosa<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">23/9/1920<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">n/k<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">1293<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">13/73<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Abosch<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.05pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Ralph Frank<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">7/2/1940<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">n/k<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">1294<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">13/73<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p>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. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p>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 ?</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Why were they interned given they were not British, American or Dutch ? Were other Poles in Hong Kong interned ? </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPjHemhGfe6oDlBag9wyr9jPNn532rjkpBDyv9S9QZXflLBKqVW1m7zGeKfR-ileMneWPrnqMAu8MoWXtyyJLhWaqhXfXvFlYAnNnUTxItOM-l0jJsI9mYq4a76_WuQWvBUk5GkKj0AeNCieA2QnXCi2DQcYIepv4pre_mQEF6G4zsV66mbCIwg/s950/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="950" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPjHemhGfe6oDlBag9wyr9jPNn532rjkpBDyv9S9QZXflLBKqVW1m7zGeKfR-ileMneWPrnqMAu8MoWXtyyJLhWaqhXfXvFlYAnNnUTxItOM-l0jJsI9mYq4a76_WuQWvBUk5GkKj0AeNCieA2QnXCi2DQcYIepv4pre_mQEF6G4zsV66mbCIwg/w640-h494/johnson-ontario-harbours15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Prison Officers' Club in late 1945 with the Indian Quarters at the rear</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">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. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbMonYDNzpcvo7qWekICtXeUYYwFXQRTz8TiiBY8nbiUzAuxdhhpA_kvF1gg6nmahZZxM69Nu7fdUG-xRkHXb7vG6LuyYaRXd8qDgTBh_Dq83WkrWIGsjYO4KJm8ZF9SXgSMgeheboo07hwRj7tvRAu3575nvitmTxEX4blYWkFbwgGTL2odOJA/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbMonYDNzpcvo7qWekICtXeUYYwFXQRTz8TiiBY8nbiUzAuxdhhpA_kvF1gg6nmahZZxM69Nu7fdUG-xRkHXb7vG6LuyYaRXd8qDgTBh_Dq83WkrWIGsjYO4KJm8ZF9SXgSMgeheboo07hwRj7tvRAu3575nvitmTxEX4blYWkFbwgGTL2odOJA/w640-h480/IMG_0098.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block 12 and 13 of the Indian Quarters as they appear today</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAjHc0QoWQ7hdN3QuCFid_s_U8eXy9GJK2uq2teGrfw0zzHnEpeqqD72v55Sq34rCptwzT9jsKSCFVYIqkxJNS4hx7mjAGMVAEVVG4-AVB5CHWFitIQoRNqkFw59CzJTExMtN-reptN9p25axaHVaWaTpZhZRtCv1xBSbBpQefE6jTGViSfVYPg/s160/2cccc8a3-8048-4ebf-ba2c-160847fe3ad0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAjHc0QoWQ7hdN3QuCFid_s_U8eXy9GJK2uq2teGrfw0zzHnEpeqqD72v55Sq34rCptwzT9jsKSCFVYIqkxJNS4hx7mjAGMVAEVVG4-AVB5CHWFitIQoRNqkFw59CzJTExMtN-reptN9p25axaHVaWaTpZhZRtCv1xBSbBpQefE6jTGViSfVYPg/w640-h640/2cccc8a3-8048-4ebf-ba2c-160847fe3ad0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Josef Abosch </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">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. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After liberation in September 1945, the family were given passage to the UK on the <i>Empress</i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri;"> of Australia</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. The ship, carrying many former civilian internees, arrived at Liverpool on 27 October 1945. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Josef Abosch appears to have got a job as an interpreter (I assume German/English) with the US </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Army in postwar Britain and Germany.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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 <i>Sobieski </i>sailing from Cannes<i> </i>and<i> </i>arriving in New York in July 1947. They had taken a holiday in France before proceeding to the United States.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg806E3jM7__QHv9MP-R1fKgu_JZL3-QpvkSnd_BtlPFh-xmgF85ENziJP1fPI4IQAMjBjLeQPGVCRXJKbBnI7dtqFYJGxFUiN6Ze4jSEiGSPBPVJgw5zVHAPBNhukLdjTJuC-RESl2iWXWwdsr5uo2G99p2P47GbxSevfa0ZvmSebQSrSsPQK7zQ/s700/35717345_136243082241-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="700" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg806E3jM7__QHv9MP-R1fKgu_JZL3-QpvkSnd_BtlPFh-xmgF85ENziJP1fPI4IQAMjBjLeQPGVCRXJKbBnI7dtqFYJGxFUiN6Ze4jSEiGSPBPVJgw5zVHAPBNhukLdjTJuC-RESl2iWXWwdsr5uo2G99p2P47GbxSevfa0ZvmSebQSrSsPQK7zQ/w640-h542/35717345_136243082241-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">The memorial stone</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">P</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">erhaps, 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: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Philip.G.Cracknell@gmail.com</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.................</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Addendum 1 (24 November 2022):</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">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. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-1856896451572466082022-03-23T00:14:00.003-07:002023-03-14T21:04:00.986-07:00ML 310 - Escape from Singapore - February 1942<p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">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 fiancé, 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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While updating the article on Major Dewe, I discovered a little bit more about his erstwhile fiancé, 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<span face=""Google Sans", arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; text-align: start;"> </span>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 <i>Sultan </i>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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj10_ywG2Khck_L45SWEhM8mou_LztCLwNn0VW9ePgoacG-XyOh-N_r6o7LL2gjW0spNntT0VLEy_sxOjKC4T11kFidXeVJUbQKmgzFQ6eCbrsxqMse9lMhGPBLl8q1xrmHaCOEUImtMtSoRK64GsjrDQZFJoHivBKecKGB5HE2XA1P7H3IT_-TsA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj10_ywG2Khck_L45SWEhM8mou_LztCLwNn0VW9ePgoacG-XyOh-N_r6o7LL2gjW0spNntT0VLEy_sxOjKC4T11kFidXeVJUbQKmgzFQ6eCbrsxqMse9lMhGPBLl8q1xrmHaCOEUImtMtSoRK64GsjrDQZFJoHivBKecKGB5HE2XA1P7H3IT_-TsA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Captain P. G. Frampton & Mrs Peggy Frampton (British Newspaper archive)</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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) </div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHi2MDJnkLJtQHnpj639oRTpAWUmC3lnTazmgyl2LRVf4vzDtuOq08elJJJe0Gy-s6CzdqqKw8akg540YdlwhPmKvBeBahqQc3E8shScO5hcivtWA6dcuMQuvf3o_NeJeiLNYCXf0C7-jc4hStbGGEfoTAhVymac16zcJ1wnhlhbAhQ7IUHeofg/s814/21559095_1854819231209872_5373106185227803792_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="814" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHi2MDJnkLJtQHnpj639oRTpAWUmC3lnTazmgyl2LRVf4vzDtuOq08elJJJe0Gy-s6CzdqqKw8akg540YdlwhPmKvBeBahqQc3E8shScO5hcivtWA6dcuMQuvf3o_NeJeiLNYCXf0C7-jc4hStbGGEfoTAhVymac16zcJ1wnhlhbAhQ7IUHeofg/w640-h420/21559095_1854819231209872_5373106185227803792_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rear Admiral Ernest Spooner with his wife Megan Foster </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSHPexT8Dp8Dnm_oHZBKeqPnYUrjNf5x02LuuuShPM7NkUDX4r3hzzlxMZhc7pGnhmPYtlUBk5T-Rphg7RG1qHC4WlBneAhY66cd17fd4MnNLzp2MAMnDniuo4sSmQj6RwKan_GntuNR43DP-dSmVyUnt5WFC1ZjM2upWlyRAjCLfPPnXT0T3axQ=s278" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="278" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSHPexT8Dp8Dnm_oHZBKeqPnYUrjNf5x02LuuuShPM7NkUDX4r3hzzlxMZhc7pGnhmPYtlUBk5T-Rphg7RG1qHC4WlBneAhY66cd17fd4MnNLzp2MAMnDniuo4sSmQj6RwKan_GntuNR43DP-dSmVyUnt5WFC1ZjM2upWlyRAjCLfPPnXT0T3axQ=w640-h419" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fairmile-class motor launch (internet)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The twenty-seven military passengers included:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rear-Admiral Spooner, RN</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Air Vice Marshall Pulford, RAF</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commander Frampton, RN</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wing Commander Atkins, RAFVR</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lt Stonor, A&SH</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lt Pool, RN</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Hornby and five Royal Marines</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two RAF other ranks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three Royal Engineers other ranks</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Wright and four Military Police</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Five RN ratings</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcHy9Qgxg5mfoJsHpPPKyJ8QalvmnEBMBQry-nJLcLzWQhPwP2Pnxt_Q-x5-ZCusIdym0sL1wG2H0GKMNY-c3h9xaiOlI6t27S4bNZ0SIrbkCU2fpzWfoVknpwgPbQ38INKzTn07PViR31I6zY1g1ZvZZcekmO563f0jmP-5HkPe3E6DS7K3iMA/s461/Conway_Pulford.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcHy9Qgxg5mfoJsHpPPKyJ8QalvmnEBMBQry-nJLcLzWQhPwP2Pnxt_Q-x5-ZCusIdym0sL1wG2H0GKMNY-c3h9xaiOlI6t27S4bNZ0SIrbkCU2fpzWfoVknpwgPbQ38INKzTn07PViR31I6zY1g1ZvZZcekmO563f0jmP-5HkPe3E6DS7K3iMA/w278-h400/Conway_Pulford.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Air Vice Marshal Pulford</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_zsfS51mu5OulZ-QruoJu7GH0Isx6_eoY3QcqBPXpGsLorOa3gRrTcuO-hWEH9m0wKIKuDdZhZGGFDfyz1ajqL17mk-5Omsg95EC24kTYSCEbg_TW3hleK8myTEib5x3stEhq9YQp01_uKTutP1w4sCL0g5gD5GcOZIbPawbulrEXHYdLH5kFg/s3642/IMG_4191%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2533" data-original-width="3642" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_zsfS51mu5OulZ-QruoJu7GH0Isx6_eoY3QcqBPXpGsLorOa3gRrTcuO-hWEH9m0wKIKuDdZhZGGFDfyz1ajqL17mk-5Omsg95EC24kTYSCEbg_TW3hleK8myTEib5x3stEhq9YQp01_uKTutP1w4sCL0g5gD5GcOZIbPawbulrEXHYdLH5kFg/w640-h446/IMG_4191%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Map showing Singapore, Batavia (now Jakarta), Banka Island and Tjebia</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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)</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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<i> Repulse </i>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'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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)</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>Aquarius. </i>The vessel had been sunk in the Banka Straits by Japanese aircraft<i>. </i>All three of these subsequent arrivals later died on Tjebia Island. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqsHVeWU56d2ELBnJDCBEYzxlNvkAK5NeF7kpUlA5LYAqZDX26kt_qFEHnSnA_Sk_gPcYS4tdApmDqb_wLwUZ4ZXLSPzer8R--LnXffVuxmZWLWm4U0JMn-elYmmy9-fbdUbgtCQZVBGWhHDHK4YgXXUjWhUtc4jYOWmOv09cXXMjzFO5rVVgDw/s1024/kranji-july-2004-41.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqsHVeWU56d2ELBnJDCBEYzxlNvkAK5NeF7kpUlA5LYAqZDX26kt_qFEHnSnA_Sk_gPcYS4tdApmDqb_wLwUZ4ZXLSPzer8R--LnXffVuxmZWLWm4U0JMn-elYmmy9-fbdUbgtCQZVBGWhHDHK4YgXXUjWhUtc4jYOWmOv09cXXMjzFO5rVVgDw/w640-h480/kranji-july-2004-41.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Kranji War Cemetery</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix 1</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Fates</b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>19 died on Tjebia Island including the three survivors from the RAF Auxiliary vessel <i>Aqarius</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 died in Singapore</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>3 sailed to Batavia and survived</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>2 sailed to Banka Island and were missing presumed killed</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 deserted</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">22 of the original 45 on ML 310 were incarcerated at Changi in early June 1942</div><div style="text-align: justify;">===</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>48 Total (excluding Dutch Army radio station crew).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>===</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b>Appendix 2</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b>Execution of a Spy</b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>Odd Man Out </i>(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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix 3</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Admiral's Wife</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>Scout </i>had departed Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 with HMS <i>Thanet. Scout </i>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 <i>City of Bedford </i>which was sailing for Australia'. (Source: <i>Farewell Hong Kong (1941) </i>(2001) Christopher Briggs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix 4</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Crew and passengers of ML 310 ( Source: Lt Stonor & Lt Pool)</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Officers</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">R/Adml Ernest John <b>Spooner</b>, RN - Died (Rear-Admiral Malaya)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AVM Conway <b>Pulford</b>, RAF - Died (Air Officer Commanding)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cdr Pendarvis<b> Frampton</b>, RN - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">W/Cdr George <b>Atkins</b>, RAF - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lt Richard <b>Pool</b>, RN - Survived.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lt Herbert<b> Bull</b>, RN - RNZNVR - Sailed for Batavia (CO of <b>ML</b> 310)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lt Ian <b>Stonor</b>, A&SH - Survived (ADC to Lt-Gen Percival)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sub-Lt Malcolm <b>Henderson</b>, RANVR - Died (First Lt on <b>ML</b> 310)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">WO Boatswain <b>Richardson</b>, RN - Survivor. (Commissioned WO)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Other Ranks</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">PO Charles <b>Fairbanks</b>, RN - Survived (ex HMS Prince of Wales) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">PO Ralph <b>Keeling</b>, RN - Died. (Ex HMS Repulse) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">L/S Andrew <b>Brough</b>, RN - Sailed to Batavia with Lt Bull (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B Leonard <b>Hill</b>, RNZNVR - Sailed to Batavia with Lt Bull (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B Bert <b>Gibson</b>, RN - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B Jack <b>Haywood</b>, RNZNVR - Died (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B Robert <b>Flower</b>, RN - Died. (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B James <b>Russell</b>, RN - Died (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A/B Herb <b>Oldnall</b>, RNZNVR Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AB Ronald <b>Johnson</b>, RN - Survived (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AB Alfred <b>Robinson</b> RN - Died (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sto Arthur <b>Bale</b>, RNZNVR - Died (Rear-Admiral's driver)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">StoPO Edwin <b>Towsend</b>, RN - Died (<b>ML</b>310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sto John <b>Little</b>, RN - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sto Edward <b>Tucker</b>, RN - Survived (<b>ML</b> 310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sto William <b>Paddon </b>(<b>ML </b>310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">PO MMecc H S <b>Johncock</b>, RN - Survived (Senior Rate on <b>ML</b> 310)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">OrdTel Hector <b>Smethwick</b>, RN -Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">OrdTel Alan <b>Tweesdale</b>, RN - Survived (<b>ML</b>310 crew)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Edward <b>Hornby</b>, RM - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Samuel <b>Sully</b>, RM - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pte James <b>Robinson</b>, RM - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pte James<b> Robinson</b>, RM - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pte Charles <b>Davy</b>, RM - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pte James <b>Sneddon</b>, RM - survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">S/Sgt James <b>Ginn</b>, RE - Sailed to Batavia with Javanese (Missing)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">S/Sgt John <b>Luckett</b>, RE - Sailed to Batavia with Javanese (Missing)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">S/Sgt Richard <b>Davies</b>, RE - Died</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Reg<b> Wright</b>, CMP - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Stan <b>Shieff</b>, CMP - survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Henry <b>Shrimpton</b>, CMP - Died in Singapore two days after return.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Reg <b>Stride </b>CMP - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Jack <b>Turner</b>, CMP - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AC Arthur <b>Bettany</b>, RAF - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AC Norman <b>Smith</b>, RAF - Survived</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cook Li Ting - Deserted (Referred to as Charlie) (<b>ML</b> 310 )</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Joined group on Tjebia Island</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pte James <b>Doherty</b>,<b> </b>Gordon Highlanders </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sto Leonard <b>Scammell</b>, RN</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aubyn <b>Dimmitt </b>Civilian civil engineer working at naval dockyard</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Archive sources:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Report by Wing Cdr George Atkins, RAFVR (UKNA WO 344/362/2)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Report by Lt Ian Stoner, A&SH (UKNA)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Book sources:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Course for Disaster </i>Richard Pool</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Singapore's Dunkirk </i>Geoffrey Brooke</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Internet Sources:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Muntokpeacemuseum.org </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Gallery</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_b17ORqIdrGEIT0e8lXpwwoJcmnQub96T8gLCIlM9BGGwsSTyyfiMZZNDtc3fFItjo2FPaIu1tNFknEEv_RRPmWHgzhjtTZtUXy8xsnam1ol-bZPQC1V1pTpG-hWRd5bF8pWiv128_fMQRcbCpEK-_rO3qt0vzBi0xA9Dmpr3AMShDhlLMz47yg/s264/images.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="191" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_b17ORqIdrGEIT0e8lXpwwoJcmnQub96T8gLCIlM9BGGwsSTyyfiMZZNDtc3fFItjo2FPaIu1tNFknEEv_RRPmWHgzhjtTZtUXy8xsnam1ol-bZPQC1V1pTpG-hWRd5bF8pWiv128_fMQRcbCpEK-_rO3qt0vzBi0xA9Dmpr3AMShDhlLMz47yg/w289-h400/images.jpeg" width="289" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lt-General Arthur Percival</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-42769020241060290172022-03-17T20:14:00.019-07:002022-05-31T19:20:41.131-07:00Brigadier Cedric Wallis - and the trunk<p style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>Empress of Scotland </i>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?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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 </p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Personal Details</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVxJ9vT9tJ_E5AEMlDRWfb2vsWG2AgkhwZqeo8v0ZZrZC2W06Fk_rpNLjN64b0c6LjZUEdKRuK4tz67K3lANZdVFMbvS5WxI68gMnbeZp9_woitlH46irNBXevgbNXffOkbCFbv4XkKkrOle59hSkWAUWqa4jFtS39dnckQpWb9rkk9z3qzSrYig=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="741" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVxJ9vT9tJ_E5AEMlDRWfb2vsWG2AgkhwZqeo8v0ZZrZC2W06Fk_rpNLjN64b0c6LjZUEdKRuK4tz67K3lANZdVFMbvS5WxI68gMnbeZp9_woitlH46irNBXevgbNXffOkbCFbv4XkKkrOle59hSkWAUWqa4jFtS39dnckQpWb9rkk9z3qzSrYig=w242-h320" width="242" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Serving with the British Indian Army </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiElwaxouhNQnXk52JLrmJH-z5W_0YQNyzbWjBV_ihNHV5_E4jqemBGWMvefxhOyEcg3DNHxh__bWV_a4e3zVgp2UYvB0aug5X2dZMpuHOUGdic-7EUc-AhJ7lKdCxwscdVH9pnz5b0dJJpS9mF6B0wa83D_UcsEmiej3mZV2YqX6qypQ_3sIHvjg=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="765" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiElwaxouhNQnXk52JLrmJH-z5W_0YQNyzbWjBV_ihNHV5_E4jqemBGWMvefxhOyEcg3DNHxh__bWV_a4e3zVgp2UYvB0aug5X2dZMpuHOUGdic-7EUc-AhJ7lKdCxwscdVH9pnz5b0dJJpS9mF6B0wa83D_UcsEmiej3mZV2YqX6qypQ_3sIHvjg=w478-h640" width="478" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Marriage to Ingeborg 22 October 1953 in Quebec</div></span><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Early Military Career</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGOCXD4rffyEa-zI_YfCj9UzPI_OpgfK2qXkIloi3shpg66zkcsW6DhZfQtGUVXxS4u8VK0reUJZRNrKyT06HbFDbp8EfkQJ7p0Xa7xsD0md9EdcaTRbkUdmdR6SneINigvJTffU2c7RbvWaNMJD9MhzNbKXomoRK12BntnU179_0xzltjutW8QA=s250" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGOCXD4rffyEa-zI_YfCj9UzPI_OpgfK2qXkIloi3shpg66zkcsW6DhZfQtGUVXxS4u8VK0reUJZRNrKyT06HbFDbp8EfkQJ7p0Xa7xsD0md9EdcaTRbkUdmdR6SneINigvJTffU2c7RbvWaNMJD9MhzNbKXomoRK12BntnU179_0xzltjutW8QA=w320-h400" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Brigadier Wallis </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Battle for Hong Kong</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJvm-4qEk4OPpzRKItxLs6w0bqqxyWP4PdBBn3y7WejuDZC7l_55TR18OJ6Eb7ESbQlO4GhFMHQiIDRvKOBC37tBOAlcDOU8Ifw-nFjjrMn76abyR7n3YN4ML_Mz2dtMnBe-2DGA2_NzCgAIZbTKQK4PeS0NniVwaRc4mo1TnWgL5gXp0CKMGVQQ=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJvm-4qEk4OPpzRKItxLs6w0bqqxyWP4PdBBn3y7WejuDZC7l_55TR18OJ6Eb7ESbQlO4GhFMHQiIDRvKOBC37tBOAlcDOU8Ifw-nFjjrMn76abyR7n3YN4ML_Mz2dtMnBe-2DGA2_NzCgAIZbTKQK4PeS0NniVwaRc4mo1TnWgL5gXp0CKMGVQQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The deep underground bunker at Tai Tam Gap where Wallis had his East Brigade HQ</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Controversy</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic-FEVkDbLG5p_XKD2Fsckp52mIbCu4NV405pndSdiRL0Bs74pJQppS5GpbPhainbHiEz11I0_nsaBHhQSh1FLmGv0ZoJuEySuYQGyK0xzVVq7PYF0IC5v4stLjMZXZKdU3zypf-IVBG-mpvIPczO4fV60bnVwiT_Cbeq-cerm7bi4ndThtU1VAw=s709" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="451" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic-FEVkDbLG5p_XKD2Fsckp52mIbCu4NV405pndSdiRL0Bs74pJQppS5GpbPhainbHiEz11I0_nsaBHhQSh1FLmGv0ZoJuEySuYQGyK0xzVVq7PYF0IC5v4stLjMZXZKdU3zypf-IVBG-mpvIPczO4fV60bnVwiT_Cbeq-cerm7bi4ndThtU1VAw=w255-h400" width="255" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lt-Col Home, RRC Battalion Commander </span></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: center;">.......................</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Acknowledgements</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Frank O' Brien</b> (AUS) for sharing the story of the trunk and his research </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Alex MacDonald </b>(HK) for help researching personal details of Brigadier Wallis (inc. marriage details)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Maria Curran </b>(UK) from FB site Liverpool Hidden History for bringing the story to my notice</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Robert McLoughlin </b>(AUS) for referring the story to Maria Curran and to me and putting me in touch with Frank O'Brien</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Gallery:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTTBd0e37NGXOqhDAqPktu4ubOSpmc5CoAR-9bCJlGco_MM6FGJJo8bEk9Ug0tsy4HgZ8sIoZX1FAAXz5VCVZIKb6t3uXsjmiIxUlsywt_OKOiy-NH8zSixp5WorqB-1YF5NxDQ7l_ycDVrMsWI6mg9ELh3MmnmRHGAveqis_tN_Na1CBRBPOsA/s1600/Trunk%20Cover.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTTBd0e37NGXOqhDAqPktu4ubOSpmc5CoAR-9bCJlGco_MM6FGJJo8bEk9Ug0tsy4HgZ8sIoZX1FAAXz5VCVZIKb6t3uXsjmiIxUlsywt_OKOiy-NH8zSixp5WorqB-1YF5NxDQ7l_ycDVrMsWI6mg9ELh3MmnmRHGAveqis_tN_Na1CBRBPOsA/w640-h480/Trunk%20Cover.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">The trunk cover bearing the name Brigadier Cedric Wallis (travelling from Liverpool to Quebec October 1951) </div></span><b><br /></b><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-85127003860903116332022-02-23T04:14:00.000-08:002022-02-23T04:14:00.236-08:00Pillbox 9 <p style="text-align: justify;">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. <a href="https://gwulo.com/atom/22417" style="text-align: left;">https://gwulo.com/atom/22417</a> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY4-RAHEFizGMpWGTB-b_FhQWe9kPFaX_R3zirhoinxP90IP8cZAi0vA3AIf1W9hqDXx_AFKZ4rlNuLYGXGfRpd-TRNX6gE5-NqEe_8BdUCp9MeG8RXIXCYhzxU4vk04fuL1pLAZDqGeQycc2XdQS50UVB9Eyk40O98kIajMQBdAFzkRXdNalvSQ=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="640" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY4-RAHEFizGMpWGTB-b_FhQWe9kPFaX_R3zirhoinxP90IP8cZAi0vA3AIf1W9hqDXx_AFKZ4rlNuLYGXGfRpd-TRNX6gE5-NqEe_8BdUCp9MeG8RXIXCYhzxU4vk04fuL1pLAZDqGeQycc2XdQS50UVB9Eyk40O98kIajMQBdAFzkRXdNalvSQ=w640-h420" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">LL 9 on Aberdeen Praya. (Source: Gwulo.com)</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS2ZKuC0ljTm2_RAwaLuRrAbKBuhC5Ub9yI8oSqNDRbNEYIIMzvdWUKqPIyCK8iaf5EdNss_pFnbOpUq7uWvkH9P9iSZcORzwxlnCiSAj0rf2NrXkqI7Si2S8cIab6q6XKRscN2NXnCzEgrsrOLDZImQZSLBrjKxkcI1Q-5XHGRGXmBvUi8G8UMQ=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS2ZKuC0ljTm2_RAwaLuRrAbKBuhC5Ub9yI8oSqNDRbNEYIIMzvdWUKqPIyCK8iaf5EdNss_pFnbOpUq7uWvkH9P9iSZcORzwxlnCiSAj0rf2NrXkqI7Si2S8cIab6q6XKRscN2NXnCzEgrsrOLDZImQZSLBrjKxkcI1Q-5XHGRGXmBvUi8G8UMQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wartime map showing 'A' Coy 1/Mx PBs 1 to 11</div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">'A' Coy 1/Mx shared their Coy HQ with 'B' Coy Winnipeg Grenadiers at Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. 'A' Coy had three </span>platoons (4, 5 and 6)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">No 4 Platoon (PBs 1, 3, 4 and 5) Initial Platoon Cdr </span><span style="text-align: left;">2/Lt Wynter -Blyth</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">No 5 Platoon (PBs 6, 7, 8 and 9) Initial Platoon Cdr 2/Lt K.D. Cole (later 2/Lt Newton)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">No 6 Platoon (PBs 10 and 11) Initial Platoon Cdr 2/Lt P. A Newton.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Extracts from 1/Mx War Diary:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Tuesday 16 December: Heavy air raids on Aberdeen. PB9 had a severe time but no casualties.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;">Wednesday 17 December: A stick of bombs was dropped in Kellett Bay which narrowly missed PB 7.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Saturday 20 December: The party under 2/Lt Newton occupied Shelter E1-1 during night 20/21 replacing 'B' Coy WG.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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 </span>hit and destroyed. At 1600 hours the order was received to cease fire, cease hostilities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">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 <i>Lisbon Maru</i>. 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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">...................</span></p><div><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Acknowledgements & Sources:</b></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;">Russell Timmins (Information relating to Sgt Castle).</span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;">Gwulo.com (Photo).</span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;">UK National Archives (1/Mx War D</span>iary - WO 172/1689).</div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-9920069354731850412022-02-21T00:02:00.018-08:002022-02-21T04:25:37.551-08:00The landings on HK Island and subsequent movements by 230th Infantry Regiment (the Shoji Butai)<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5Wn2KE7XlQ/YPjhEAlOKPI/AAAAAAAAXXU/KaAbDZu17Q8s2WuaxtU_j7kc2FkvSyEtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_1971.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5Wn2KE7XlQ/YPjhEAlOKPI/AAAAAAAAXXU/KaAbDZu17Q8s2WuaxtU_j7kc2FkvSyEtgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_1971.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Broad direction of Japanese advance following landings on the north shore</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Defenders:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Three companies of Rajputs and Bn HQ (estimate 450)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hughes Group at North Point Power Station (estimate 40)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pak Sha Wan coastal Defence Battery (estimate 40) </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'C' Coy Royal Rifles of Canada at Lye Mun Gap (estimate 120)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sai Wan AA Fort (estimate 40)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sai Wan 6-inch Howitzer Section (40)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lye Mun Barracks 3.75-inch Howitzer Section (10)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Middlesex</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Flying Platoon survivors at HKE power station (10)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Estimate: <b> 750</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Defence of the hills inland from the landing area </b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b>(1) A</b></span><b>t Wong Nei Chung Gap and Stanley Gap:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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) </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stanley Gap 3.7-inch AA battery. Two AA guns. (estimate 60)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stanley Gap 3.7-inch howitzer battery. Three guns. (estimate 70)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'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)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Estimate: <b>400</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>(2) Reinforcements sent up into the hills on the night of the Japanese landings</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lt French's platoon (from HQ Coy) (estimate 30)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Major Gresham's 'A' Coy (estimate 120)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Estimate: <b>180</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Taking all the estimates, for the north shore, Stanley Gap, WNC Gap, Quarry Gap and the JLO ridge-line we have a total of <b>1,280</b> in the area facing c. <b>8,000</b>. 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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b>The 230th Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Shoji - the </b></span><span><b>landings and the initial movements</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>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. </span><span>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.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>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. </span><span>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:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A. "The pillbox defences on Jardine's Lookout ('JLO') were mainly manned by Indian troops. Their strength unknown". </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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". </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>(1)</span><span> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">C. The planned advance route proved to be narrow and poor and the unit could only advance in two files</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Colonel Shoji then gave the following orders:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(a) Third Battalion (3/230) would proceed along Sir Cecil's Ride and head towards WNC Gap.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(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). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shoji noted </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"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. "</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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]". </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgECyN23eCJhyLc_G-789xoLC9yIb4DDzxaT_YGv9vxLPbItkFn0V9i-KpK8edTsHicfWyOFx4P74cnW2BuUxvgbUfXGVWBGnHLJ761e_F6GMkzimEyJM_G327onAbm4D6M8xBVB9K0hNAT7eDEI9LH2VZo_GtlLofzUFNgW4pUGC7r0ln-iD5J-g=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgECyN23eCJhyLc_G-789xoLC9yIb4DDzxaT_YGv9vxLPbItkFn0V9i-KpK8edTsHicfWyOFx4P74cnW2BuUxvgbUfXGVWBGnHLJ761e_F6GMkzimEyJM_G327onAbm4D6M8xBVB9K0hNAT7eDEI9LH2VZo_GtlLofzUFNgW4pUGC7r0ln-iD5J-g=w640-h514" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The approximate route taken by 2/230 and 3/230 Shoji Butai from the landing ground at North Point </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Sources</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(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) </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(2) Statement by Sgt Tom Marsh (HKVCA)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(3) Japanese battle maps (Japan Centre for Historical Records). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-34207961767293375872022-02-15T17:24:00.010-08:002022-02-20T04:47:06.065-08:00Pillbox 14 <p><b>Site Visit: </b>1 February 2022 </p><p><b>Manning: </b> 'C' Coy 1/Mx </p><p> </p><p>PB 14 is situated on the shoreline below Brick Hill and quite close to the Country Club. To get to it - you have to leave the raised concrete pathway known as Mills & Chung Path and go down to the rocky foreshore. Walk past the back of the Hong Kong Country Club clambering over the rocks and you will get to the PB which is reasonably accessible. The PB and Lyon Light structure both remain. The story is a sad one in that the crew in the two structures were surrounded and eventually all killed - possibly put to death after surrender. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT7cyTSNknmoGDBoS27TTec1SaVzjZZu1UKlxNaaTvAO6x9eH93LToCMdjkPDhSoYs8EzE2rSmwy0wN5Br6odWR8HMZ9WM7ZUOewmB1HDr_T9UkiM4oUw4QDLpH-aor68Zp9lP04q7KTiVbRQ3Fj-Pg2MI9dIMLA_YCZHwjMR7jeKGQp7u5uaO4g=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT7cyTSNknmoGDBoS27TTec1SaVzjZZu1UKlxNaaTvAO6x9eH93LToCMdjkPDhSoYs8EzE2rSmwy0wN5Br6odWR8HMZ9WM7ZUOewmB1HDr_T9UkiM4oUw4QDLpH-aor68Zp9lP04q7KTiVbRQ3Fj-Pg2MI9dIMLA_YCZHwjMR7jeKGQp7u5uaO4g=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB 14 - two loophole PB with stone cladding and rocky rampart providing camouflage</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_Azda-0iv8NQ6bP3QXfqcY1uur4HLHfoXeymao4cPu5z7_cV00LHkMrTXD1AuqAv_dNwyXPLQ5583GiiJ2iYnNGOTuZl60MPkmhN9a5CglZ0raud9JKe8dh5JtfGHpcEEfN183o9FmyGvh9NaMNE24AupsTTn8SDYnxkT7SY7dBfBaC44zisg1A=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_Azda-0iv8NQ6bP3QXfqcY1uur4HLHfoXeymao4cPu5z7_cV00LHkMrTXD1AuqAv_dNwyXPLQ5583GiiJ2iYnNGOTuZl60MPkmhN9a5CglZ0raud9JKe8dh5JtfGHpcEEfN183o9FmyGvh9NaMNE24AupsTTn8SDYnxkT7SY7dBfBaC44zisg1A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The remains of LL 14 (top left) and PB 14 (centre right)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoikdKJnAQzbX4BiYVJ7igl9GiSI651ErdYzaIvQs0kHoiksfYMxYz51xcE9hSsjs-smNvC4HH5cBIdE_iSluSQRXHC6TKhplIpxqT28iutq_vggYEJmUsY3_4sXhT_2M1Ouoqw-rjl2nCQ3V_v1n8sypC-qgH6XXE_ofJYIPVEknDb9tE1GP0kQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoikdKJnAQzbX4BiYVJ7igl9GiSI651ErdYzaIvQs0kHoiksfYMxYz51xcE9hSsjs-smNvC4HH5cBIdE_iSluSQRXHC6TKhplIpxqT28iutq_vggYEJmUsY3_4sXhT_2M1Ouoqw-rjl2nCQ3V_v1n8sypC-qgH6XXE_ofJYIPVEknDb9tE1GP0kQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The entrance to the Lyon Light structure - usually manned by two men </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5nGZdJkzS3EUF_0mhNYS8pOKJjp_WIUEZywWjr63iz3S5nELtJgJ7yaqvRzgxVYQvS1notySdlvH7wND6Q9rkhIVpjtNrPCK0zhyBQgr0jtXuMUZhLaykHtNlEND0GMFr8C8Qrm0WHLWkRq9mKH5tYYy8Irh9q5hh2no39brzC77cUrNWwxlI9Q=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5nGZdJkzS3EUF_0mhNYS8pOKJjp_WIUEZywWjr63iz3S5nELtJgJ7yaqvRzgxVYQvS1notySdlvH7wND6Q9rkhIVpjtNrPCK0zhyBQgr0jtXuMUZhLaykHtNlEND0GMFr8C8Qrm0WHLWkRq9mKH5tYYy8Irh9q5hh2no39brzC77cUrNWwxlI9Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The front aperture has been partly sealed up with cement and rocks by squatters</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzGRrdvZWn6tiIubMZUrYgRsK5CdYOT74zEGDWrPsHEscmQkc0nluPLogSmhaMS2cF8Sj0c5RAKeU3zy9_HOI4vO65oJFy0GGXFRbwEQGjP7FbIJf348Mpje-criQhtYg2VwKmTuqgqnbwowQuANPuQjgiClkm5m5fKeGe5OvQKDK6eWNkjZyCCQ=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="640" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzGRrdvZWn6tiIubMZUrYgRsK5CdYOT74zEGDWrPsHEscmQkc0nluPLogSmhaMS2cF8Sj0c5RAKeU3zy9_HOI4vO65oJFy0GGXFRbwEQGjP7FbIJf348Mpje-criQhtYg2VwKmTuqgqnbwowQuANPuQjgiClkm5m5fKeGe5OvQKDK6eWNkjZyCCQ=w640-h474" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photograph of what is thought to be PB 14 and LL 14 under construction.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixR3cn453AfW5NX_7DsOFs7KN0SsqEDE3z9CKh-b404hd-H3RopbA8Uf0yes-z5Wypr3Ddk3o5QvsOggN3PoV5iwjroAsf_rJLVBUsyRmqDO0iC7qyAbp3GdL6iKX6xzgPOkWt6uPSXPKNNJrKHwQec66XLxR1R7vXxs8fcjt6jRVfZBpb3_ioSg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixR3cn453AfW5NX_7DsOFs7KN0SsqEDE3z9CKh-b404hd-H3RopbA8Uf0yes-z5Wypr3Ddk3o5QvsOggN3PoV5iwjroAsf_rJLVBUsyRmqDO0iC7qyAbp3GdL6iKX6xzgPOkWt6uPSXPKNNJrKHwQec66XLxR1R7vXxs8fcjt6jRVfZBpb3_ioSg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Entrance to PB 14 with stone cladding intact</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTf7xDbiD97INqxzF5tES0k5wcwI7NMHnEaOi4JcP-9kyFPCk4-nRJMTkWLWHD8KBaTsSZfxNZIEiG8WBoYdPD_WitT_t88COqBkiaUj-9te3ALlSRYNaOJIBOvusXiDhc12MyvJgholiYJlUwYLs085jn_lZrwb4lTduyiKH29PsnJSLJB4nrvw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTf7xDbiD97INqxzF5tES0k5wcwI7NMHnEaOi4JcP-9kyFPCk4-nRJMTkWLWHD8KBaTsSZfxNZIEiG8WBoYdPD_WitT_t88COqBkiaUj-9te3ALlSRYNaOJIBOvusXiDhc12MyvJgholiYJlUwYLs085jn_lZrwb4lTduyiKH29PsnJSLJB4nrvw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The view across the bay from PB 14</div><p>On Saturday 20 December, there was fighting around the government food store, hutments and paddy fields in Wong Chuk Hang, near where the country club is today. One casualty (Pte Bridge) from the fighting was taken to the pillbox (PB 14). On Sunday 21 December, PB 14 reported that they were surrounded and running short of food and water. On Monday 14 December, an ambulance managed to get through to PB 14 without being shot-up. The one casualty, Private Bridge, was taken away and food water was passed to the PB crew. On Tuesday 23 December, PB 14 was attacked by grenades. Major Marsh, commanding 'C' Coy described the plight of the gallant crew.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">During the day on Tuesday 23 December, several appeals for help came from PB 14 by telephone to which I was powerless to respond. It appears that during the previous night ... some of the PB crew had manned the Lyon Light shelter with a Bren gun to cover the PB and prevent the enemy getting on to it. However, the Japanese had thrown grenades through the shutters, and the occupants were all wounded. I finally tried to get an ambulance through to them again, after all efforts by Royal Navy MTBs and the gunboat [HMS Cicala] had failed to relieve them. I had hoped to obtain an armoured car to relieve them, but none available . ... Early in the morning of 24 December PB 14 again rang up and after a few whispered words about the enemy being on top of their PB the telephone went dead, and I heard no more. (1)</p><p></p></blockquote><p>All the crew were killed - some, it is thought, after surrendering the position. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We don't know exactly what happened because there were no survivors. It seems that two or three men were killed in the Lyon Light structure. It is likely that at some stage on 24 December, the crew in the PB surrendered after some had been wounded or killed by grenades inserted through a loophole.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">An extract from war crimes testimony, provided by Lt-Col Ride and Major Crawford, describes how they found the bodies of six Middlesex Regiment soldiers. The men had been tied-up and then killed, some by sword and others by bayonet. They were found on the steps to LL 15 (close to where the Victorian Recreation Club is located today). LL 15 is some 400 to 500 metres from PB 14. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The testimony:</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);">On the steps leading to Lyon Light No. LL 15 by the roadside, west of Deep Water Bay, were the bodies of six Middlesex other ranks. Their hands and feet were still tied. There were large blood stains on the cutting and on the roadside on the opposite side of the road, and streaks of blood stretching from this, across the road to the steps where the bodies lay in a heap. Their heads had been almost completely severed by sword cuts.</span></span></p></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "times new roman", "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">It is unlikely that these men belonged to PB 15 because PB 12, 13 and 15 had been evacuated and their crews with their Vickers guns had been deployed to Bennet's Hill on 19 December. (Source: Mx War Diary)<br clear="none" /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "times new roman", "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br clear="none" /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "times new roman", "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">It is likely that these men may have been the remaining crew of PB 14. They may have been marched along to Deep Water Bay and executed opposite LL 15. What a gruesome end for these soldiers.</div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "times new roman", "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>RIP</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Sgt Jack Rich</p><p style="text-align: center;">Cpl William Wood</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Reginald Bosley</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Walter Ball</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Don Burke</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Francis Corrigan</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Edward Edwards</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Douglas Emery</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte John Jones</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte James Murphy</p><p style="text-align: center;">Pte Harry Newbury</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>PB 14 Crew</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Pte James Michael Murphy</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">He was born in Glamorgan, Wales in November 1913. In 1929, aged sixteen, he joined the Middlesex Regiment as a musician. He married while stationed in Colchester, in 1935, to Rose Mary Vail (1916-1975). They had three children. He left the army in 1936. Following the start Second World War started in September 1939 - he rejoined the Middlesex in April 1940. In March 1941, he was sent out to Hong Kong to serve with the 1st Battalion. His family remained in the UK. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaks9PFcri4Gr6yxmGy9ScUaxCX37iHXP97Hfet_BJb3iCVPmdzLrWjimUny31hu8PgQVg1-hmBttqGbCORGyEPTMoegze6adH-Zpw8v0a8dkhtnn2aLclWgTLlC39xGtgmm3SzbCPGTnMHXdjaRNLKuX5sFeY-dnsJLOb3gwumtpNADISYKJiIQ=s1080" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaks9PFcri4Gr6yxmGy9ScUaxCX37iHXP97Hfet_BJb3iCVPmdzLrWjimUny31hu8PgQVg1-hmBttqGbCORGyEPTMoegze6adH-Zpw8v0a8dkhtnn2aLclWgTLlC39xGtgmm3SzbCPGTnMHXdjaRNLKuX5sFeY-dnsJLOb3gwumtpNADISYKJiIQ=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pte James Murphy with his family in 1941 (Courtesy David Murphy)</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.....................</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Sources:</b><br /><p>(1)<span> Appendix to Hong Kong Despatches (UKNA CAB 106/168)</span></p><p><span>(2) List of those killed at PB 14 under RIP (Tony Banham)</span></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Acknowledgements:</b></p><p>David Murphy for the photo and information relating to his grandfather Pte James Murphy.</p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-60051113136887099462022-02-13T22:29:00.001-08:002022-02-13T22:34:12.942-08:00Stone Hill Shelters and Stone Hill Pillboxes<p><b>Site visit: 11 February 2022</b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The photo below shows part of Stone Hill Shelters. On the outbreak of of the battle, these shelters were utilised as Company (Coy) HQ for both 'B' Coy 1/Mx (Middlesex) and 'B' Coy RRC (Royal Rifles of Canada). After the redeployment of troops, following the Japanese landing, the shelters were occupied by East Infantry Brigade for a few days before Brigade HQ relocated to the Prison Officers Club. The shelters are much more extensive than I had realised. On my most recent visit (11 February 2022) I found another five demolished shelters along the ravine (water course) beyond these remaining shelters.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkh2vjTWPf9xYZZGvOWO8XV8CMac0rElQ9j-IWqtyFV4p2eNPZouuOkCllaYSjFGYnnJGEzznjrXkQU-K4QtiKXQyjImN7XS_o1OLULYZxpZo3GP-gI4wZbZpg1fpIpYmfSzHT0TOjTT28MNYNWUFvLLkSadUFlm00Z5ntMD4YTlKyRAMzFg5Rtw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkh2vjTWPf9xYZZGvOWO8XV8CMac0rElQ9j-IWqtyFV4p2eNPZouuOkCllaYSjFGYnnJGEzznjrXkQU-K4QtiKXQyjImN7XS_o1OLULYZxpZo3GP-gI4wZbZpg1fpIpYmfSzHT0TOjTT28MNYNWUFvLLkSadUFlm00Z5ntMD4YTlKyRAMzFg5Rtw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a>One-time location of East Brigade HQ</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmmvpsJue40ag3V3ey6xteOzn1m_rd0k6yZgVErrycT2Xn-krnh-Jd10pwplFCAfZrEdDo3nQlRVwNCX-XKIaE56Ly5BLOJwel0dH5osfgsOMAjYYCvNVTv757MbJDoWPiPvTwQ5b-CJyJLZg5Wu8no3YgJO8KhDm1AM5vk0kD3NVvo2avlCOhVA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmmvpsJue40ag3V3ey6xteOzn1m_rd0k6yZgVErrycT2Xn-krnh-Jd10pwplFCAfZrEdDo3nQlRVwNCX-XKIaE56Ly5BLOJwel0dH5osfgsOMAjYYCvNVTv757MbJDoWPiPvTwQ5b-CJyJLZg5Wu8no3YgJO8KhDm1AM5vk0kD3NVvo2avlCOhVA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The photo above shows two of the five demolished shelters.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The water course runs through a culvert below the road, and near where it emerges, are the remains of another military grade concrete </span>structure. The demolished structure is shown in the photo below. This could have been a splinter proof shelter or perhaps another PB in addition to the two PBS located nearby (Stone Hill PB 1 and 2)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJkBE_Tfv5aWzsjCbNBieZ-aaUHXIdPgkmvsPmBPZ94nRM3svHv5-YgwVvm6zY4MKuG9VbzrCf60bhSceH-soljuawYOK9cWTVnW2grBeZUf3joaNdf0harIfPCLcJmQGF8tq6DSJEDUddIKWApcYe9egZ2NWWoY2_MF4GubT6t57VAZIfeymfaA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJkBE_Tfv5aWzsjCbNBieZ-aaUHXIdPgkmvsPmBPZ94nRM3svHv5-YgwVvm6zY4MKuG9VbzrCf60bhSceH-soljuawYOK9cWTVnW2grBeZUf3joaNdf0harIfPCLcJmQGF8tq6DSJEDUddIKWApcYe9egZ2NWWoY2_MF4GubT6t57VAZIfeymfaA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The ruined structure across the road near the culvert</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The map extract below shows the location of the shelters below Stone Hill in a ravine. It also shows the two pillboxes known as Stone Hill PB1 and PB 2. They are actually only 10 to 20 metres apart .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhML8Agrs9XoLFcIBwou7Hp2gPa7QBtV5-CZpDaZt9ZZaWITY_OSvutSbCofl_O5gV4unXvRjSXyt0Sng72nGnIvh2yp0631jKfCf6cgTDZwsL68kgHQo_lsKJms5ugnjFbfJpxyW8z_f94_dWwtV93C3K_DeHLBIALpIlewXDf_1IyqG0xVJHj7Q=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhML8Agrs9XoLFcIBwou7Hp2gPa7QBtV5-CZpDaZt9ZZaWITY_OSvutSbCofl_O5gV4unXvRjSXyt0Sng72nGnIvh2yp0631jKfCf6cgTDZwsL68kgHQo_lsKJms5ugnjFbfJpxyW8z_f94_dWwtV93C3K_DeHLBIALpIlewXDf_1IyqG0xVJHj7Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8FqQUi4yeRpbmx7hzZpYr9A2boVlJRlHmFYC1CIAaNwpqYEa5KKLzC7Zrr-Zfmx_IEWJYfcx5yjj7M6hg7gzDOq2tofK97wliVopVLUOAL2vE4lmqOMN092ebof3ILT4Tk-IzPqAgk_j2qTqWMPJzPRCtlNmHxfCB_hnbOJzpN_VlqUlh64262A=s3269" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1988" data-original-width="3269" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8FqQUi4yeRpbmx7hzZpYr9A2boVlJRlHmFYC1CIAaNwpqYEa5KKLzC7Zrr-Zfmx_IEWJYfcx5yjj7M6hg7gzDOq2tofK97wliVopVLUOAL2vE4lmqOMN092ebof3ILT4Tk-IzPqAgk_j2qTqWMPJzPRCtlNmHxfCB_hnbOJzpN_VlqUlh64262A=w640-h390" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sketch map showing the PBs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The two PBs are quite close together (10-20 metres). They are between Stanley Gap Road (originally known as Island Road) and the water catchment path on the hillside above. PB 2 is buried and inaccessible. PB 1 shows evidence of squatters having occupied the pillbox and some of their furniture and possessions remain in the PB including a hurricane lamp that looks much like those used in 1941. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbteCp7v6QCvM3QE6vbJHCwRBWql7b5ZwzDryyfVZrFvc--bOd4LV3e1o5VjXVJ_fTVIu1-x7053l0NLOhMS0Io1Zyjwtqq7pnWEeMlsVGz9hekct3d7qepi0SF1ZiN_WVc5YkbeT2cp4-lKSj-7PbtluHl2jMnv--YckrogkiO7YFSEtNlPyp0Q=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbteCp7v6QCvM3QE6vbJHCwRBWql7b5ZwzDryyfVZrFvc--bOd4LV3e1o5VjXVJ_fTVIu1-x7053l0NLOhMS0Io1Zyjwtqq7pnWEeMlsVGz9hekct3d7qepi0SF1ZiN_WVc5YkbeT2cp4-lKSj-7PbtluHl2jMnv--YckrogkiO7YFSEtNlPyp0Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB 1 at Stone Hill with squatters belongings left in the PB.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIINgEUSQH0jsM2RcPgkhrC0mnAQ0cK8FUReoDaN_wYckkN998TA1M3T9nN2eQ34QDDLaQ4MHMcyIwJaTENLYhXR6BgYjXlfOKhdMOAaGXNifGmRVMCx8kK9hbhBCc2BGeattPZ7A2VQ1Abd2MwUyybsdFhp9yGsVc0APyTwQXjFqogYGNMHX2qA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIINgEUSQH0jsM2RcPgkhrC0mnAQ0cK8FUReoDaN_wYckkN998TA1M3T9nN2eQ34QDDLaQ4MHMcyIwJaTENLYhXR6BgYjXlfOKhdMOAaGXNifGmRVMCx8kK9hbhBCc2BGeattPZ7A2VQ1Abd2MwUyybsdFhp9yGsVc0APyTwQXjFqogYGNMHX2qA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">loophole at PB 1 with shutters intact.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGWYu4UZLVBpR62LMYGg3ruiGMmGnTjNYHinko-mOKsiGn1xO5FasnOyabrLOBliI99n3B80O5sfhS-xASpuukkaIswsZF7gkhbVcXCUgprIzy-1qTeJR5jBBE1DSLN3NM8qsXXcKCMbNs5FygoYXv7KkwGjjUyRgFqH1K139HkffHGeMulb8cng=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGWYu4UZLVBpR62LMYGg3ruiGMmGnTjNYHinko-mOKsiGn1xO5FasnOyabrLOBliI99n3B80O5sfhS-xASpuukkaIswsZF7gkhbVcXCUgprIzy-1qTeJR5jBBE1DSLN3NM8qsXXcKCMbNs5FygoYXv7KkwGjjUyRgFqH1K139HkffHGeMulb8cng=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB 1 Stone Hill</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ2Xlb9jOcFwEI71ZCaY2Qd4qfpufbbhl2fSX2avo3DO7Hg4DH8OCm0pi4s1dha5okYHbaHbxN1Bew5d95ecNyiPesrWM-iEWBDnpkvVfBvzyPRusAc_JCaW5Vh22Rwl5AqmbOKNHm7VTXhO4pj4fuDTky270qPF69qp5dbahQfO07Y-YNhTee_A=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ2Xlb9jOcFwEI71ZCaY2Qd4qfpufbbhl2fSX2avo3DO7Hg4DH8OCm0pi4s1dha5okYHbaHbxN1Bew5d95ecNyiPesrWM-iEWBDnpkvVfBvzyPRusAc_JCaW5Vh22Rwl5AqmbOKNHm7VTXhO4pj4fuDTky270qPF69qp5dbahQfO07Y-YNhTee_A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stone Hill PB 2 - The PB is buried but in the above photo you can see one of the loopholes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">...........................................</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></div>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-61634608771146870292022-02-11T05:13:00.001-08:002022-02-11T05:31:36.922-08:00Beach Defence Unit : PB 30 and LL30 at Turtle Cove<p><b> Site Visit</b>: 11 February 2022</p><p><b>Manned by</b>: 'B' Coy 1/Mx</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both the pillbox (PB30) and the Lyon light structure (LL30) remain in reasonable condition. They are located at Turtle Cove one of the most scenic beaches on Hong Kong Island. A passageway protected by a stone wall links the PB and LL about 10metres apart. I was able to get inside the PB. In the PB I found the voice pipe and likewise the other end of the voice pipe was still in situ at the LL. The voice pipe allowed communication between the LL and the PB. A primitive system of communication but it worked and was of course used in warships. The PB has two-loopholes. Its pebble cladding (camouflage) is missing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGOH5aQRqDL7KoePc4uBbSBer8PloLIxVQExp9iS_B92OQPUOxGTacuakHoFUGXFvo-TTqZ-I1OvGe6ZAul3b0VtxzSzTWBZzRWilRXZ8TA6RADs2OnRgzhNXY1_WaCSplz05YuFLlUUtrl9yv96qp-CUOQdEVWnh01NW9YD2ZSvkj1uGqPnhm8Q=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGOH5aQRqDL7KoePc4uBbSBer8PloLIxVQExp9iS_B92OQPUOxGTacuakHoFUGXFvo-TTqZ-I1OvGe6ZAul3b0VtxzSzTWBZzRWilRXZ8TA6RADs2OnRgzhNXY1_WaCSplz05YuFLlUUtrl9yv96qp-CUOQdEVWnh01NW9YD2ZSvkj1uGqPnhm8Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Turtle Cove</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiykA2QGxlu6Ck04scQX4bzsmeMUIxMd3xSzABKCfNwOQRYfu4KR09UKiN50sEHPL9YjWiFh3qgbfO5gnchiD3W5PSQGtYCNg70K1hKWYxNTZk_zgXRGoz4mVDN0e9moPPPFsNOTyWMZAuiVPRugeHw4VHSr9lTjg3aM5zJBBPBd2SrIwrDmTAcgg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiykA2QGxlu6Ck04scQX4bzsmeMUIxMd3xSzABKCfNwOQRYfu4KR09UKiN50sEHPL9YjWiFh3qgbfO5gnchiD3W5PSQGtYCNg70K1hKWYxNTZk_zgXRGoz4mVDN0e9moPPPFsNOTyWMZAuiVPRugeHw4VHSr9lTjg3aM5zJBBPBd2SrIwrDmTAcgg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB 30 a two-loophole pillbox with shutters intact but stone cladding entirely missing</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8CUUFmTZ_X55g_4mbIIB_HecUHQAdyeO0vsvvo73409laQJ649FhO-DUUhRj3Lhxdumn4lAsDDlSfRxujJ4IDi3WB-6mWVioxg-XNw6cggrJfhIwpo5XBsXhoF45jZGhsuAaety-sx-T7EuHYko8MmYWCUG60m01nzQjoD-aRN3kntOh9UFBgYQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8CUUFmTZ_X55g_4mbIIB_HecUHQAdyeO0vsvvo73409laQJ649FhO-DUUhRj3Lhxdumn4lAsDDlSfRxujJ4IDi3WB-6mWVioxg-XNw6cggrJfhIwpo5XBsXhoF45jZGhsuAaety-sx-T7EuHYko8MmYWCUG60m01nzQjoD-aRN3kntOh9UFBgYQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Vickers MG firing positions</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuoc4QaTr6H_al_IZpTl5txeln4TFPsi1KNtUxtvrG9JTjntg4792XELrJYAFnkxLrDhtKB3gzn-8euOnxAbxSeqHwd6HN7i8DRb_ehJbQYKdyHY86_k6uq4jbpvW3iYDX2wuWWkSOib-HOD3FRj0D8oUZB0Yrcmk0nuQFXwcu4XmGOuPvGbsWng=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuoc4QaTr6H_al_IZpTl5txeln4TFPsi1KNtUxtvrG9JTjntg4792XELrJYAFnkxLrDhtKB3gzn-8euOnxAbxSeqHwd6HN7i8DRb_ehJbQYKdyHY86_k6uq4jbpvW3iYDX2wuWWkSOib-HOD3FRj0D8oUZB0Yrcmk0nuQFXwcu4XmGOuPvGbsWng=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The rocky and stone cladded wall protecting the path to the Lyon Light structure</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLiETP737_hOLvwFJ7LMvbIEN3kM8gbMVgpIxQXP4OMcx2QAzGqN9AklDv1VA5sE5DRTzy3vxITArbgi6X5nu-g2ATPF1v2F0N6CKbeIBU66SU1y4T-_iTsSA2I8iiz-1T5M4kI7VwaLONzzlBLWEraRt6hTv4BSlV8mIKcQoEVPpcMYpsILTSgA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLiETP737_hOLvwFJ7LMvbIEN3kM8gbMVgpIxQXP4OMcx2QAzGqN9AklDv1VA5sE5DRTzy3vxITArbgi6X5nu-g2ATPF1v2F0N6CKbeIBU66SU1y4T-_iTsSA2I8iiz-1T5M4kI7VwaLONzzlBLWEraRt6hTv4BSlV8mIKcQoEVPpcMYpsILTSgA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Inside the Lyon Light structure showing concrete fixture for the search-light</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWf5v07y3m_WxtZns_r6ZM9747EO9LB-alVTCO0pBHFCSmRIYyxRZw1FRqCw9H6gb_frpa79v21nfJ6AOG5EzcG751nSId1LZD7r02Mih4p5qMomoe8Y3p30-7TUTTp76rfnQMTn8cCutEm_zQxn91a-BhJyniG-Bii6AtnLkXHzTT500R3Mwj_w=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWf5v07y3m_WxtZns_r6ZM9747EO9LB-alVTCO0pBHFCSmRIYyxRZw1FRqCw9H6gb_frpa79v21nfJ6AOG5EzcG751nSId1LZD7r02Mih4p5qMomoe8Y3p30-7TUTTp76rfnQMTn8cCutEm_zQxn91a-BhJyniG-Bii6AtnLkXHzTT500R3Mwj_w=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">There were two retractable bunks on this wall by the steel entrance door.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3fFnoZp2J8MrO67jK99erZ_gfu5RtY8zo_MOvrZbLVln2xOR1zgkkIDzZvLK1YpyGTo8RFG2NDvzBSTPqR7TVNfkTDa1o-b7T-nOtx6KrmI7HK62psVFVBR2749QvZKZuBgb6_i-nH3P3j4V034c2_f_ulqBHMeC5qZ7mlSz-0W6_PwdwtUiChg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3fFnoZp2J8MrO67jK99erZ_gfu5RtY8zo_MOvrZbLVln2xOR1zgkkIDzZvLK1YpyGTo8RFG2NDvzBSTPqR7TVNfkTDa1o-b7T-nOtx6KrmI7HK62psVFVBR2749QvZKZuBgb6_i-nH3P3j4V034c2_f_ulqBHMeC5qZ7mlSz-0W6_PwdwtUiChg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bench/shelf for generator to power the searchlight</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUwKiAwQWqSRTTuLypXp-pO593PjEzgZ69u5URQOIMQlKHItRjq1xDVJyLgjE_mYQA0xT4yRsHQP5DfXAuF0dWCnq11rpxZmnNdAuoPEONcLkuyWUsRV1hWvfdaMgD0ZnpNXNlr5EcrqwPafLOD2lX7SurKQmwwgQBfbLn665FwffC4I9m51TICA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUwKiAwQWqSRTTuLypXp-pO593PjEzgZ69u5URQOIMQlKHItRjq1xDVJyLgjE_mYQA0xT4yRsHQP5DfXAuF0dWCnq11rpxZmnNdAuoPEONcLkuyWUsRV1hWvfdaMgD0ZnpNXNlr5EcrqwPafLOD2lX7SurKQmwwgQBfbLn665FwffC4I9m51TICA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Voice pipe in Lyon Light structure (missing the brass speaking cup)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD2bQ3NJINOpnp9w_qhTJNdTkO5x1-fxzgJ0rHDxke188UwleK625K2xOM3mBopOVEUd6GG5ksInfK_33BGxHPG9VopLXIiNe5TU1zTc9EZJRPVP4ShE1PTyA2DhguED4-Bvaomu9osyo0SV5Tpqwjb66TmsGXjWxKNvPxGYKP5tUCwrQKPeQqyA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD2bQ3NJINOpnp9w_qhTJNdTkO5x1-fxzgJ0rHDxke188UwleK625K2xOM3mBopOVEUd6GG5ksInfK_33BGxHPG9VopLXIiNe5TU1zTc9EZJRPVP4ShE1PTyA2DhguED4-Bvaomu9osyo0SV5Tpqwjb66TmsGXjWxKNvPxGYKP5tUCwrQKPeQqyA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Voice pipe exiting the Lyon Light structure and heading toward the PB</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvTZ9Sk6KDbbRAex5s0zH8Wt59jMnrT7BnC4hMoLsW8Sv0A0c26EIWkCBI6Hh5YWB_2icHykYAZGLZ_NAdRQA1N_tRglilQmpILQYFtdEkmdjZuqkT1tG4p_eVttprmJl-fdzL-YNLHGDe-5F6cuJTHJOZmiWaS8qCZUOIfoXjCaNGdYkFQ7yVKA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvTZ9Sk6KDbbRAex5s0zH8Wt59jMnrT7BnC4hMoLsW8Sv0A0c26EIWkCBI6Hh5YWB_2icHykYAZGLZ_NAdRQA1N_tRglilQmpILQYFtdEkmdjZuqkT1tG4p_eVttprmJl-fdzL-YNLHGDe-5F6cuJTHJOZmiWaS8qCZUOIfoXjCaNGdYkFQ7yVKA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The voice pipe attached to the ceiling of the PB near the commander's observation tower</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVJCVn3tpAvAQwe97lq6f1WI15ql5zbvOasbr7TGSJi_zln192bYkbkgAaNN6qaV9YrpB8v-OR9UXTTIf9R-zVqHO9-elToAb44XsF5gKM2wubwzXlZIWQ7q4tnF-1inPd46TdK2XKA79IvgDv-K5NLbQiSLVdEDavaCg4je--0SshaOMKwhjjXg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVJCVn3tpAvAQwe97lq6f1WI15ql5zbvOasbr7TGSJi_zln192bYkbkgAaNN6qaV9YrpB8v-OR9UXTTIf9R-zVqHO9-elToAb44XsF5gKM2wubwzXlZIWQ7q4tnF-1inPd46TdK2XKA79IvgDv-K5NLbQiSLVdEDavaCg4je--0SshaOMKwhjjXg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Voice pipe in the PB</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIzv7vU_ZDfNn8C4i02UV5zh8voJLU-f8TFgscLS7pVGyesgbRd_JIvdihNFTsvN_u9xK5kGjD3SR1uMxUOwJRUrjzQlhYhgCUTmf3a3PJYqlg4mmcK66hCVpllUhSoETgsELm4GdMwvrt2DNr-DwB9jIfaarYa6D_Fdn1HF-SANSvU9-76ciVYQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIzv7vU_ZDfNn8C4i02UV5zh8voJLU-f8TFgscLS7pVGyesgbRd_JIvdihNFTsvN_u9xK5kGjD3SR1uMxUOwJRUrjzQlhYhgCUTmf3a3PJYqlg4mmcK66hCVpllUhSoETgsELm4GdMwvrt2DNr-DwB9jIfaarYa6D_Fdn1HF-SANSvU9-76ciVYQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The voice pipe enters the PB from the back wall</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">..........................................</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-33169573884601860502022-02-10T18:28:00.002-08:002022-02-10T18:56:27.919-08:00Aberdeen Reservoir Military Structures<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi18ICTsLPcKOkb8xPf5JRbj-5ipCGAN7Um-DUKxj4mgWzDRPoqGzsSeOeornL4HqsgYjx-45VM_TplU4sTNHoMSL20jmN5zShFK-PHFK269w572b7H1Fkwxxm-wXeTfEQEqvquIklcRt_W5h_zdLr9WMVv_MNRqLh4VStbX0Tj4SdM9MsgdwcpJA=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi18ICTsLPcKOkb8xPf5JRbj-5ipCGAN7Um-DUKxj4mgWzDRPoqGzsSeOeornL4HqsgYjx-45VM_TplU4sTNHoMSL20jmN5zShFK-PHFK269w572b7H1Fkwxxm-wXeTfEQEqvquIklcRt_W5h_zdLr9WMVv_MNRqLh4VStbX0Tj4SdM9MsgdwcpJA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB at the dam at Aberdeen Upper Reservoir</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the Battle for Hong Kong 'C' Coy Winnipeg Grenadiers had their Company HQ situated near the Upper Reservoir. There are still a number of war ruins to be seen around the area of the reservoir. A metal road (closed to vehicles), Aberdeen Reservoir Road, leads from Wan Chai Gap to the Aberdeen Upper Reservoir. The Winnipeg Grenadiers (WG) Battalion HQ was located at Wan Chai Gap. As you approach the Upper Reservoir from Wan Chai Gap a road on the right-hand side leads off to the Lower Reservoir and from there to Aberdeen. The naval dockyard was operated from Aberdeen and the main naval base had relocated from Victoria and occupied the former Aberdeen Industrial School (AIS). To the south and overlooking the Upper Reservoir was the hill feature known as Bennet's Hill. Aberdeen and the vital naval facilities were immediately south of this hill feature. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmH-4crIRI3WfyINm-HEkcx3KVbhQXubNbFtaBNdJB818cZyCehuizmdPZfip3_dq19_oin4xDb-XZy2wSWM-RUofWZXadmEDcykO8w0FaDHD-lTIXcuu2B6fiRNF_CkZhijbEBZ7GzNsNP1dbPR-eNm2xo3MoUIj5C7ZSRR6ZJ5Uyh2FYoR013A=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmH-4crIRI3WfyINm-HEkcx3KVbhQXubNbFtaBNdJB818cZyCehuizmdPZfip3_dq19_oin4xDb-XZy2wSWM-RUofWZXadmEDcykO8w0FaDHD-lTIXcuu2B6fiRNF_CkZhijbEBZ7GzNsNP1dbPR-eNm2xo3MoUIj5C7ZSRR6ZJ5Uyh2FYoR013A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Aberdeen Upper and Lower Reservoirs</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The inverted sketch map (south-up) shows the positions of the remains war rains in 'C' Coy WG area around the Upper Reservoir and Bennet's Hill.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7ubkhg9bAJFns5EK2_LxZK_Byn20FEmBAU-5j45AEYeuZp-Ge2B2f-IHgN6w2hU7NiML6b53MTkXQI86R4jsBx46_nb0FJ4lc2AvqlWdUFqRA5K09GTFGnf3O1aVA5oC8XcLJTQUB2J2ZuO6E17TokKGHgYe6g8hApa3Y_MgWjfPPyvwcBEaTSg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7ubkhg9bAJFns5EK2_LxZK_Byn20FEmBAU-5j45AEYeuZp-Ge2B2f-IHgN6w2hU7NiML6b53MTkXQI86R4jsBx46_nb0FJ4lc2AvqlWdUFqRA5K09GTFGnf3O1aVA5oC8XcLJTQUB2J2ZuO6E17TokKGHgYe6g8hApa3Y_MgWjfPPyvwcBEaTSg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Inverted sketch map showing the dam and the position of war structures</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'C' Coy was commanded by thirty-four year old Major John Albert Bailie. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The officers and senior ranks comprised:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Major John Bailie</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Captain Edward Walker</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lt Railton Campbell</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lt William Nugent</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2/Lt John Parks</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">CSM Frank Logan</div><div style="text-align: justify;">CQMS William Pigott</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">C Coy's area was important because of the reservoirs supplying drinking water to the Island and because of the proximity to the Aberdeen naval facilities. 'B' Coy WG were positioned around Po Fu Lam Reservoir for the same reason. 'A' Coy was at Shouson hill before being destroyed at Jardines Lookout and Stanley Gap on 19 December. 'D' Coy were positioned at Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap and were pinned down at their company HQ opposite West Brigade HQ from 19 to 22 December.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Leo Berard, No. 12 Platoon Sgt from 'C' Coy recalled seeing one of the privates put his rifle muzzle under his chin, press the trigger and take his own life. Berard does not state the date but presumably it was after the Japanese landings on the Island. Berard commented that "the stress and anxiety caused by our position and the fear of capture by the Japanese were more than some of the men could tolerate". (See Note 1) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi03KQcRv9vje24IQdI30Q0XiKrgrCwPwZ9PYvDXmjgamS39i7eL3X0_jYQZRwLyVAxgKvZ48rzzeo-BI1gA6DEe6e_L05bJV1zam6YNmTyWSghB6pwutOL8fVn-nxZL6Eaioks7_GgzQsaYT4uoQf2kN8Ofuxa8kVcZwzjU0EJPPZcVBdswc0K6w=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi03KQcRv9vje24IQdI30Q0XiKrgrCwPwZ9PYvDXmjgamS39i7eL3X0_jYQZRwLyVAxgKvZ48rzzeo-BI1gA6DEe6e_L05bJV1zam6YNmTyWSghB6pwutOL8fVn-nxZL6Eaioks7_GgzQsaYT4uoQf2kN8Ofuxa8kVcZwzjU0EJPPZcVBdswc0K6w=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Line of Gaps PB between Wan Chai Gap and Aberdeen Upper Reservoir</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzujhm8G347fD4hai9nsPByXDGz3pA9unQEde_glNP_QU78RRK1HBhUHJrvqJiOd0AlnWdxhxKNbHTWjfPgxrckUnSCMFPWCrJpfwrNgvw_yhZneVvHsuDWiczTpXzoRpKe2DzfRqTveNi2-sWXY-_JLgGQjOIlhk2PlpEJDL5o2Wq5Qu36xREBQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzujhm8G347fD4hai9nsPByXDGz3pA9unQEde_glNP_QU78RRK1HBhUHJrvqJiOd0AlnWdxhxKNbHTWjfPgxrckUnSCMFPWCrJpfwrNgvw_yhZneVvHsuDWiczTpXzoRpKe2DzfRqTveNi2-sWXY-_JLgGQjOIlhk2PlpEJDL5o2Wq5Qu36xREBQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Water tank near 'C' Coy HQ</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I assume the structure shown above is a water tank. There is a similar one at Stanley Gap. After passing the water tower there is a set of two (now bricked up) Type 'A' splinter proof shelters with cement globule cladding for camouflage. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwG-PnchBcOyb7sKjPaA7U_EvjfIDYvr7kxSgtPT3vFYqsWj1THxZqx0cF2xWMPkyicaw39rpkRAn7bwaciCuNb7_urB1B1gy6dBb_UdgGdy4-mF2wQFginN-TfLcFKofSjAklkLP-plvqCFn64WfiEgyRvMMqArw2fMd5lKk7p5L9dhxbQWTCug=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwG-PnchBcOyb7sKjPaA7U_EvjfIDYvr7kxSgtPT3vFYqsWj1THxZqx0cF2xWMPkyicaw39rpkRAn7bwaciCuNb7_urB1B1gy6dBb_UdgGdy4-mF2wQFginN-TfLcFKofSjAklkLP-plvqCFn64WfiEgyRvMMqArw2fMd5lKk7p5L9dhxbQWTCug=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Set of two splinter-proof shelters on Aberdeen Reservoir Road</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj79PGbQKEWfwsVJ8TR5Ryj9yzVX4lotewpc7FVwUKVa6CYlViawtfVcvaURB4yMTz4054K7ut8DhNGeiXKEtHzmYjt6R1O_bFm5RMpU7lAQbsJY-mepoY1X_4hgotMPzcfl699owXUmtRGIR_Q4YXMpsjQWvnEekIK0C1XuC0z1gCEHSQox1SxLw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj79PGbQKEWfwsVJ8TR5Ryj9yzVX4lotewpc7FVwUKVa6CYlViawtfVcvaURB4yMTz4054K7ut8DhNGeiXKEtHzmYjt6R1O_bFm5RMpU7lAQbsJY-mepoY1X_4hgotMPzcfl699owXUmtRGIR_Q4YXMpsjQWvnEekIK0C1XuC0z1gCEHSQox1SxLw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This collection of five adjoining splinter-proofs were most likely used as 'C' Coy HQ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP21podEhHuHaetkeT114_1NJB4uDa-4WHYEn2E7kHOxlLH7E4-_aUUWsJ9UELiEKeWXEL2_MaSa03Kc26IKcIG0jK1UQa9_BNn39y3ZTq6YmRXWMu7R6IfyXb4MY4daTF6ViSFqLc5pD7PXEUU4y_HR2ixm0SI51rt-sD7iQzJHTSJw8DHOoI8g=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP21podEhHuHaetkeT114_1NJB4uDa-4WHYEn2E7kHOxlLH7E4-_aUUWsJ9UELiEKeWXEL2_MaSa03Kc26IKcIG0jK1UQa9_BNn39y3ZTq6YmRXWMu7R6IfyXb4MY4daTF6ViSFqLc5pD7PXEUU4y_HR2ixm0SI51rt-sD7iQzJHTSJw8DHOoI8g=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A set of two splinter-proof shelters at the road junction (Upper Reservoir and Lower Reservoir Roads) </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh43NEiCPqUzmYMdFWgeK0zVZAMmJib69VycAXDBy8-_lbwSPJEHwxhnNjV7wnk6NuhVGq5-Pj3MxRfx9v2Rk-gstDfxSqMj3jbEUrAuyPcoxq9M0zGdFF4mDZLKd1OZZaqVEjKoAnbm_yEywn0M3JdNPlYK-HHVfPDHgLVOlz_mMr7aMPFYXEnAw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh43NEiCPqUzmYMdFWgeK0zVZAMmJib69VycAXDBy8-_lbwSPJEHwxhnNjV7wnk6NuhVGq5-Pj3MxRfx9v2Rk-gstDfxSqMj3jbEUrAuyPcoxq9M0zGdFF4mDZLKd1OZZaqVEjKoAnbm_yEywn0M3JdNPlYK-HHVfPDHgLVOlz_mMr7aMPFYXEnAw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The same set of two shelters at the road junction (just after Coy HQ)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiaG96uJ_a_u_fxWSiUywGfBO0S_MdM7LeNrLlaGOGkXcCA950OxYjZ0dSU7ILdRwTfGdSJlcmGKo_YxHVJt5MYiuVWIaNo5JL4h32ZQwjgeXfrszMK3xXZyJ7kaPGE3jFr2Ni9ldELYPbAhxT-7hwI_SbzbrzOGnqtnW4YFKe7X99XZWxp4Cy8A=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiaG96uJ_a_u_fxWSiUywGfBO0S_MdM7LeNrLlaGOGkXcCA950OxYjZ0dSU7ILdRwTfGdSJlcmGKo_YxHVJt5MYiuVWIaNo5JL4h32ZQwjgeXfrszMK3xXZyJ7kaPGE3jFr2Ni9ldELYPbAhxT-7hwI_SbzbrzOGnqtnW4YFKe7X99XZWxp4Cy8A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The roof of the PB at the Northern end of the dam</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgok47Eitj9m28sI0uKqdEEW6YpImgxbkee4JbN6lIDxGynskWTWMaLEg7k1-TlMY8EWTZpPH0400GYwL-Y2enxIBbfxsvqde8XaBFWmuOteG_tdZYBwY0y729IfpmyQvlckTHxA_5rqJUkPE17c0KToIbV1NfO-wajGMUs4EvfL0qqqdfqbZVaBw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgok47Eitj9m28sI0uKqdEEW6YpImgxbkee4JbN6lIDxGynskWTWMaLEg7k1-TlMY8EWTZpPH0400GYwL-Y2enxIBbfxsvqde8XaBFWmuOteG_tdZYBwY0y729IfpmyQvlckTHxA_5rqJUkPE17c0KToIbV1NfO-wajGMUs4EvfL0qqqdfqbZVaBw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The dam (sometimes referred to as the bridge) from north to south with Bennet's Hill in the background</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Flt Lt Donald Hill was in charge of a party of RAF personnel based at the Aberdeen Industrial School (AIS) which had been commandeered by the Royal Navy. On 13 December, he was ordered to set up anti-aircraft light machine-guns (AALMG) on Bennet's Hill and on a nearby hill referred to as Reservoir Hill. From 15 December. Donald Hill and the RAF personnel were ordered to report to Major Bailie commanding 'C' Coy WG. After the Japanese landings naval parties (mainly HKRNVR) also joined 'C' Coy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'C' Coy had three platoons, 10, 11 and 12. Each Platoon HQ was linked by telephone to C Coy HQ. After the inclusion of the airmen and naval personnel and other assorted personnel, Sgt Leo Berard described how his platoon (No. 12 Platoon) which he commanded in the absence of a subaltern (Lt Parks had bee reallocated) totalled sixty-eight men. This was twice the normal size of a platoon. A lot of weapons training, including use of grenades and mortars had to be carried out after the battle had begun. On one occasion, Pte Ralph Forsberg, while on sentry duty, noticed a small boulder that had not been there before. Berard ordered him to take a shot at it. It turned out to be a Japanese sniper under a groundsheet resting on his heels and silently observing the company positions disguised as a rock. (2) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Donald Hill write in his diary for 19 December that Lt Campbell was ordered to take a platoon from 'C' Coy to join a counter attack on WNC Gap. The Upper Reservoir, Bennet's Hill and AIS were heavily shelled, mortared and bombed but the main attack came on 24/25 December. On 24 December Hill and other members of 'C' Coy WG are positioned to guard the dam over the Upper Reservoir (shown above). Hill wrote in his diary for 24 December: "My party consists of twelve Canadians and ten RAF. Up to midnight (24 Dec) all is quiet. Soon after midnight heavy firing starts just across the bridge. The Japs' (sic) weird war-cry is plainly heard, and soon a small party of Canadians retire over the bridge [from the north side]. They report a heavy attack by Japs who crept up on them and broke through. We open up with everything we have across the bridge. ........ The Japs start shelling us and confusion sets in, and the men start leaving their posts. (3)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hill describes how Major Bailie came down the road to their position waving his revolver and shouting at the men who had left their posts to return to their positions. Hill described how some of the troops obeyed but others did not. Bailie tried to rally and cajole the men and called for volunteers to cross the dam with him. He set out across the bridge on his own, at first nobody, other than Hill, followed. The Japanese had moved away from the dam, and the two men reached the northern end of the dam without injury. They must have then withdrawn to the southern end of the dam. Hill describes how a mortar was set up but the first bomb fired hit the branches of an overhanging tree and exploded causing severe injuries to some of the crew. The operator lost an arm and another soldier had serious leg injuries. An ambulance eventually arrived from Aberdeen to take the injured to AIS. Hill described the chaotic situation at the Upper Reservoir. Discipline had broken down. At one stage Lt Campbell and 2/Lt Parks threatened to arrest Major Bailie who in turn threatened to arrest his men. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day, Christmas Day, there was a truce during the morning and the surrender took place in the afternoon. The battle was over - these war structures remain around the reservoir. These days, when I cross that dam I think of Major Bailie charging across - trying to lead by example - and Flt Lt Hill close behind. I can imagine the war cries of the Japanese and the night sky lit up by tracer rounds and explosives ..............and the fear. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Notes</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Page 75 of <i>17 Days until Christmas </i>(1997) Leo Berard</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Page 82 of <i>17 Days until Christmas </i>(1997) Leo Berard</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Pages 267-268 <i>The Code of Love </i>(2000) Andro Linklater</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p></div>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-17195165907273793562022-02-08T18:18:00.004-08:002022-02-09T02:04:59.130-08:00Mount Nicholson AOP<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Visit Date: 9 February 2022</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Site: The artillery observation post (AOP) on the southern slopes of Mount Nicholson</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The AOP is in quite good condition. The photo below shows some of the original pebble-like cladding (cement globules) used as camouflage on what was then stony ground with low vegetation. Only one of the two steel shutters (for the observation aperture) is intact. The shutters were opened by being lowered outwards. The structure showed signs of having been occupied by squatters and the inside walls had been painted blue. A tough life for who ever occupied it as a squat - without running water, toilet facilities and quite a climb to get to it, but at least solid, dry and well ventilated. I suppose the same applied to the gunners who occupied it but only briefly during the battle. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP9Hh5hfxdzbE_ONiqUfxxT2h2Vw65ZadP__mdQ6HjYerVC_TiksN6HGIn2DQQ7V5UK6Mtl81LzFPKrJkaLcIsc2hVSiKoZ7xipn0v-2PdIImi_yl8sMyfQ2zu1WZ8wE-fKtF7MG1tAjq2iAqUzvS5HIOU-O81IMQa7dq9UTFbOK2HRM_28FtEWA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP9Hh5hfxdzbE_ONiqUfxxT2h2Vw65ZadP__mdQ6HjYerVC_TiksN6HGIn2DQQ7V5UK6Mtl81LzFPKrJkaLcIsc2hVSiKoZ7xipn0v-2PdIImi_yl8sMyfQ2zu1WZ8wE-fKtF7MG1tAjq2iAqUzvS5HIOU-O81IMQa7dq9UTFbOK2HRM_28FtEWA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Mount Nicholson AOP</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I had not been to this artillery observation post (AOP) for some years. I was walking from Pottinger Street in Central to Stanley by way of Black's Link. At Middle Gap I took a path on my left (northwards) marked by ribbons which led steeply down to the area at the back of Rosaryhill School. This was the wartime site of St Albert's Hospital. Nearby there is a prewar covered reservoir and more recent water work structures. A path led up to the spur on which the AOP stands and another path nearby led to West Brigade HQ hugging the slopes of Mt Nicholson above WNC Gap Road. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2wLdc2dUB0I9ij3KG4pu3SO7MqeziXliat6p_biYTFlcOvHXL6tCvEku-TcMg5i9daVVe-Jjk1hlfUxNEWthRDl_6zTtrsVBQ4KyJXUj2iJ-r5mej9CDsTuDrpkwDkQXG3eF2BuLY25zl2qRHfGz5rIEX7Ju1m1wFcLQMgfd-p_JNibcAMQCcZQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2wLdc2dUB0I9ij3KG4pu3SO7MqeziXliat6p_biYTFlcOvHXL6tCvEku-TcMg5i9daVVe-Jjk1hlfUxNEWthRDl_6zTtrsVBQ4KyJXUj2iJ-r5mej9CDsTuDrpkwDkQXG3eF2BuLY25zl2qRHfGz5rIEX7Ju1m1wFcLQMgfd-p_JNibcAMQCcZQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">The roof and capped ventilation shaft with Mount Cameron in the background</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDwFdQoDtxs-weOLgHQd-8hpAitFW_5U9Q6gVFEjsU7AP88fH6v-_c83h9CJKnP97BK5VP-bANFI4lhZMw-f2w5oSHF7WqgMUSX-h9Bh89EUSPL5LN-UpcRRvSJ30SGcUsEEw5uL_MCo_oV4sJa5Y_cBMvh5ZitpfDDgPaAFfmMrxoM-W06bPCRQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDwFdQoDtxs-weOLgHQd-8hpAitFW_5U9Q6gVFEjsU7AP88fH6v-_c83h9CJKnP97BK5VP-bANFI4lhZMw-f2w5oSHF7WqgMUSX-h9Bh89EUSPL5LN-UpcRRvSJ30SGcUsEEw5uL_MCo_oV4sJa5Y_cBMvh5ZitpfDDgPaAFfmMrxoM-W06bPCRQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">The rear of the AOP and entrance door</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-M_2-nVRpNNVbp9dvNq434wSH5ECBK3i8YURlflikLYl2cFV3-aOiTXw3KGHYMhxgT09tkakLykfSdTj5qpVDAH_PXpeIEgvWuO3cPuF5xK8x-qLY2mn1ryWxmSZrMOTcV-tf_1cYv6ZV0KSyi3N9gvDxO1MnUubXu-eGKURc4RoH1aAOvjpSlg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-M_2-nVRpNNVbp9dvNq434wSH5ECBK3i8YURlflikLYl2cFV3-aOiTXw3KGHYMhxgT09tkakLykfSdTj5qpVDAH_PXpeIEgvWuO3cPuF5xK8x-qLY2mn1ryWxmSZrMOTcV-tf_1cYv6ZV0KSyi3N9gvDxO1MnUubXu-eGKURc4RoH1aAOvjpSlg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">The one remaining steel shutter and cement globules (more often stones were used as cladding).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7kCvo4RWv9shra4qNQQ0Pwlyeh4MktIa5BdZy0Oc60KReL9A7bjvwS1mNRnI4TqmkaUjE_JQWXVfEFRC7Lc5MbyiIzkebgInUBsPo8KtHV5erTFZH6wHAFI9zy9Iwa2XbvcMsgWuICZd9z1Aeza-GLPDL37os12pw8-ojfkdlqhmfGsnUrPSPvw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7kCvo4RWv9shra4qNQQ0Pwlyeh4MktIa5BdZy0Oc60KReL9A7bjvwS1mNRnI4TqmkaUjE_JQWXVfEFRC7Lc5MbyiIzkebgInUBsPo8KtHV5erTFZH6wHAFI9zy9Iwa2XbvcMsgWuICZd9z1Aeza-GLPDL37os12pw8-ojfkdlqhmfGsnUrPSPvw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Close up of steel shutter</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFW84EPtUgEdKJ-cfpL-R2gtqoOOMMKHTetwHZfKvdR2dEHkd48zKEkJpfIxVuvXEiOmoGInIdAFSeqw9FXzLb0zfo9WgCgHGXJ1G5fNWkjPnmkFJLDT2-NOn1hvF_Btvde7elhleVnBMDAoPDBOwofPDOZlSx8E4BohQP-7nDZ3AeDOkWZHYHQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFW84EPtUgEdKJ-cfpL-R2gtqoOOMMKHTetwHZfKvdR2dEHkd48zKEkJpfIxVuvXEiOmoGInIdAFSeqw9FXzLb0zfo9WgCgHGXJ1G5fNWkjPnmkFJLDT2-NOn1hvF_Btvde7elhleVnBMDAoPDBOwofPDOZlSx8E4BohQP-7nDZ3AeDOkWZHYHQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The inside of the OP (painted blue by squatters)</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVF0hzlMYQjBk2Nfeabf63fzBSIw9clX3fyCCGqY0JtVaHTczz4cEchsKrbCocvEoxxM9qOaxVIIrm0muDhYUrBzY_o7n-BRrSMCsQwUetaksgWY5_KbN9z0hk1SaSb2sSCt3GMtPTnCeVgtMxU1Ezvna1ekf9MKqxla0AerCSfdoFX2UOYAdd7A=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVF0hzlMYQjBk2Nfeabf63fzBSIw9clX3fyCCGqY0JtVaHTczz4cEchsKrbCocvEoxxM9qOaxVIIrm0muDhYUrBzY_o7n-BRrSMCsQwUetaksgWY5_KbN9z0hk1SaSb2sSCt3GMtPTnCeVgtMxU1Ezvna1ekf9MKqxla0AerCSfdoFX2UOYAdd7A=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the steel door showing three bolts, two hinges and the covered spy-hole</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDyJQgcRPsH2m1ebx0uUFw212q4vjZkDWRAKs7s9B8-_qChHaf4MzPLSNIz3f5JJTuwhqOfL_ynO8erzG0stO4L2OISV3r3EZLakZiE1rklwd0pScmVZsQDJNQDhIMb4u-1CX8YZiMajw_JAevnvQaflC653rhc0t1588HD9FbYlkDgY2ijyERew=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDyJQgcRPsH2m1ebx0uUFw212q4vjZkDWRAKs7s9B8-_qChHaf4MzPLSNIz3f5JJTuwhqOfL_ynO8erzG0stO4L2OISV3r3EZLakZiE1rklwd0pScmVZsQDJNQDhIMb4u-1CX8YZiMajw_JAevnvQaflC653rhc0t1588HD9FbYlkDgY2ijyERew=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is taken from the front of the OP - it looks out in a north-east direction</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBj1QnugNphoO6bs4cSWNJvimX-aCQkaxB-6ccb0KMRQs7g5q5fpm7brTOoW0mnJn_Zy3X4EY-sA5Ebav46T_-NtzBiMuPur8fTsH5-a3hhpg1raRN1e99IAQbdkBNqsWqMP6LJWRNSWI2svcSJ0APjiF5lG1ANVx_oy5YZZfQi2JWHGes-ElUXQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBj1QnugNphoO6bs4cSWNJvimX-aCQkaxB-6ccb0KMRQs7g5q5fpm7brTOoW0mnJn_Zy3X4EY-sA5Ebav46T_-NtzBiMuPur8fTsH5-a3hhpg1raRN1e99IAQbdkBNqsWqMP6LJWRNSWI2svcSJ0APjiF5lG1ANVx_oy5YZZfQi2JWHGes-ElUXQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Front of the OP showing the good job done of clearing up the site and making it more accessible</div><p><br /></p><p><b>Sketch Map - How to get there:</b></p><br />Assuming you start by walking from Wan Chai Gap. Continue along Black's Link towards Middle Gap. As you approach Middle Gap look for a path on the left leading sharply downhill with ribbons. There is a deep ditch on your right. Go down about 100 metres and you will reach a concrete hut (waterworks). Look to your right and you will see a bed of concrete (roof of a water tank?) Go to the back of this concrete structure and look for a path snaking top the hillside. You will spot it by the ropes. As you go up the path you will see the remains of steps. This path will bring you out at the AOP. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdH9HaXH27OjuNmokgNIwdQfFyB-7XdM8RBIdtQOd3kTy5OgDPcbYQde8VO_W4FofV_SIZvQO1IzaQiq7d-EaKHmkWH4zKJfcs0CULIC0aMlqXqrQyjz6AH4pUxkJeOt5UdLqBIZW6GIs2CkJqhnpXXRJ0rpyOjynJTuzyXMnwg-1JwTe37WP56Q=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdH9HaXH27OjuNmokgNIwdQfFyB-7XdM8RBIdtQOd3kTy5OgDPcbYQde8VO_W4FofV_SIZvQO1IzaQiq7d-EaKHmkWH4zKJfcs0CULIC0aMlqXqrQyjz6AH4pUxkJeOt5UdLqBIZW6GIs2CkJqhnpXXRJ0rpyOjynJTuzyXMnwg-1JwTe37WP56Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">....................................</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-39409700627799380612022-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:002022-01-24T16:07:05.741-08:00PB 19 at Middle Bay<p style="text-align: justify;">I am in search for any traces of PB 19 at the northern end of Middle Bay. I go down some old steps beside No. 20 South Bay Road leading to a rocky beach some 30 metres north of the shark nets at Middle Bay. On the way down I go past a number of WW2 type concrete stanchions for anchoring down the barbed wire. PBs normally had a barbed wire perimeter around them and this indicated that I was on the right track.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4pwHUOna0TrUeVfaWrkGH9qgG5E3YpfGBM_-qpMgUQVlzP7IMX25x_otuIAUvZk4WC-0TQ5o8n18GEzZEKHLyD2G8CSrntJaI0-GHI9rwu3SUj37PXE4Gix9zOetYjS3JieJRu7mpdpi8hLBFlBZxZOHBh0Bmt0SpcL1_QvbnG-KlMtQZHwOpQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4pwHUOna0TrUeVfaWrkGH9qgG5E3YpfGBM_-qpMgUQVlzP7IMX25x_otuIAUvZk4WC-0TQ5o8n18GEzZEKHLyD2G8CSrntJaI0-GHI9rwu3SUj37PXE4Gix9zOetYjS3JieJRu7mpdpi8hLBFlBZxZOHBh0Bmt0SpcL1_QvbnG-KlMtQZHwOpQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a>Concrete stanchion for barbed wire fencing</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4xSuoVUW4Jg059aKMizq5n9JuickS-G2S4xN8kT3HTsZBn1wfEYeGmuPXEXF8Wg8rL0wxtIRTT-HM65RL-Kp0WB03QTmyrJGeux06NeNHydDeaQpoTel11mJH4G-G1odta7EL87Jgi56T5gGdnZjrRLifLelRnPjnTVhYhdNVjaD6_FrHSWQgHA=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4xSuoVUW4Jg059aKMizq5n9JuickS-G2S4xN8kT3HTsZBn1wfEYeGmuPXEXF8Wg8rL0wxtIRTT-HM65RL-Kp0WB03QTmyrJGeux06NeNHydDeaQpoTel11mJH4G-G1odta7EL87Jgi56T5gGdnZjrRLifLelRnPjnTVhYhdNVjaD6_FrHSWQgHA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Concrete stanchion and gate post</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No. 20 is a new-build and even the previous building had engulfed the PB into the seaward-wall. The marked photo below shows No. 20 and the approximate position of the PB which is probably still intact but swallowed by the wall. Rob Weir's records suggested that the LL structure was to to the right (south-east) and slightly up the hillside. Here I found what looked like military grade reinforced concrete that might have been the base of the LL. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEies5KQfjYvtBiGD_qK-SJtpwWu2lvrvZzGrMimbV3UH6Rb-GTX2xr6HKCyhplEj_cAkAqzQCdV-M_QQRFLGvGEww9geIq4Ven1UhA2e4iVRKshJ8tAlhuE3sBbUfULDr8gg_pHmZLYmjH2wjj0yokBXL8KCprn4kzGZFMWwPCMucR_qldCmrAy2A=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEies5KQfjYvtBiGD_qK-SJtpwWu2lvrvZzGrMimbV3UH6Rb-GTX2xr6HKCyhplEj_cAkAqzQCdV-M_QQRFLGvGEww9geIq4Ven1UhA2e4iVRKshJ8tAlhuE3sBbUfULDr8gg_pHmZLYmjH2wjj0yokBXL8KCprn4kzGZFMWwPCMucR_qldCmrAy2A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Position of PB 19 at Middle Bay</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcQwiuXDqiLCYdzbaImFqBXT70S4LXs4AdsQ3sQFMvFkwfhPPU2RcSpwKNeS4P6tVYm-vRYLBcocD4uUdp5nBunxxDkNn3ip3waN0YD40h0_4Y_xBlVWlpgFpLCdPdANf55V9rW495r8MrcHOCI1PR71rdDFzQb3AplwlFKS7c76XPHohuN4a5dw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcQwiuXDqiLCYdzbaImFqBXT70S4LXs4AdsQ3sQFMvFkwfhPPU2RcSpwKNeS4P6tVYm-vRYLBcocD4uUdp5nBunxxDkNn3ip3waN0YD40h0_4Y_xBlVWlpgFpLCdPdANf55V9rW495r8MrcHOCI1PR71rdDFzQb3AplwlFKS7c76XPHohuN4a5dw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Reinforced concrete could this have been the base of the LL structure</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This PB was part of 'C' Coy 1/Mx under Major Marsh whose Coy HQ was at Shouson Hill. The PB commander was Sgt Manning. PB 19 had engaged Japanese troops on Middle Spur and Violet Hill on 21 December. On the night of 22 December PBS, 16,17, 18, 19, 20 were ordered to evacuate their PBs and withdraw through Japanese patrols to Stanley. by way of Stanley View. At one stage, prior to the evacuation PB 19 fired on PB 17 at Repulse Bay to clear Japanese troops from the roof of the PB.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.....................</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-81864036827259603512022-01-23T19:40:00.008-08:002022-01-24T15:57:25.536-08:00Beach Defence Unit (PB 24 and LL 24)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PB 24 at St Stephen's Beach was demolished in the late 1990s. Only the Lyon Light structure (LL 24) remains. It is located on the hillside just above the right-hand building in the photograph. The photo shows the Sea Cadet compound surrounded by a wire fence. Rob Weir recalls the PB was located below and to the left of the LL structure and closer to the shoreline. To get to the LL you have to work your way around the perimeter fence and then go up the hill behind the right-most building looking out for a modern water tank erected beside the LL structure.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNhkcS6ro920vBXfWifMGenb9RqnPW6jbkE1ua2jcr8UiwBxkV76QYRkluLOsrjZV5qY49MmfbOcjvHVTPRKA3o-JPUTiHUJCf4hL4rVD5vtAjP6b8eF-dagLOqTi7yAgDW0BYSvh-sq88ya87hWCR-uLblb6IFpdb5qpXEcTrHfd7_kXhMUSAXA=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNhkcS6ro920vBXfWifMGenb9RqnPW6jbkE1ua2jcr8UiwBxkV76QYRkluLOsrjZV5qY49MmfbOcjvHVTPRKA3o-JPUTiHUJCf4hL4rVD5vtAjP6b8eF-dagLOqTi7yAgDW0BYSvh-sq88ya87hWCR-uLblb6IFpdb5qpXEcTrHfd7_kXhMUSAXA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Sea Cadet compound at St Stephen's Beach (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiOEiMdvz8U7_JM2_nPA1Hp2WlNhO0rpX2-kTUV3l7pHWVzCLIFt-G5ln4x4EA67G5RGYFa4ZY3oYepbHKsQzEASCHdNkq61JtqcsF1rAFWGCx4hgGD3GOCNORy5LkkeZ8dliPqJ_9seD2yT5rvRoA99edqEwpmpwrYfLAVVaTrojq2xsTeqQKgg=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiOEiMdvz8U7_JM2_nPA1Hp2WlNhO0rpX2-kTUV3l7pHWVzCLIFt-G5ln4x4EA67G5RGYFa4ZY3oYepbHKsQzEASCHdNkq61JtqcsF1rAFWGCx4hgGD3GOCNORy5LkkeZ8dliPqJ_9seD2yT5rvRoA99edqEwpmpwrYfLAVVaTrojq2xsTeqQKgg=w640-h478" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The roof of the LL structure showing some of the stone cladding used as camouflage </div><div style="text-align: center;"> (Writer's collection)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the LL structure there is quite a lot of junk and signs that it may have been used in the past as a dwelling. As I made my way along the perimeter of the Sea Cadet compound I saw a man fishing from the rocks. He asked where I was going and I explained what I was looking for. On my return he asked to see the photos I had taken of the military structure. He thought it might have been the one he lived in more than fifteen years ago. He now lives in the Ma Hang public housing estate. There were signs of squatters huts near the LL structure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The searchlight aperture has been bricked up in the middle leaving two windows on either side as seen below. The photo also shows a pipe in the wall on middle right. At first I thought it may have been the exhaust pipe for the engine that powered the searchlight. However, Rob Weir advised that the engine was on a shelf at the rear of the structure and the exhaust outlet was built into the back wall. This protruding pipe may have been the voice pipe for communicating with the PB. Some other LL structures show a similar feature. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The front of the structure was semi-circular in construction. When the searchlight was not in use the aperture would be closed by steel shutters. The steel entry door and steel shutters are missing and no doubt illegally sold to scrap merchants after the war. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJFFx8r3MSvXpj-wd44XrT3qPuEt7LwLvLWzKjY44i64Fy4pPFqf6UUSWRllPUyD36jsl3XEoMMBCNLe8JfNsEE1iSsuEmFoZgwLybnpFiFAkJX40JNr0NhZYTeq11NfVj7OtIfkMPVF4FE7ky13wvqIQP1Y1qI-TxaMj_2DZ8WwqjE-XJbMaQdw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJFFx8r3MSvXpj-wd44XrT3qPuEt7LwLvLWzKjY44i64Fy4pPFqf6UUSWRllPUyD36jsl3XEoMMBCNLe8JfNsEE1iSsuEmFoZgwLybnpFiFAkJX40JNr0NhZYTeq11NfVj7OtIfkMPVF4FE7ky13wvqIQP1Y1qI-TxaMj_2DZ8WwqjE-XJbMaQdw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Inside the LL structure - the aperture has been partly bricked up. (Writer's Collection)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beside the entrance doorway was this metal pole shown in the photo below. It looks like a water pipe but it is in fact part of the frame of the retractable bunk. These bunk frames can be seen at Jardines Lookout PB 3 ......but are best seen at PB 21 on Chung Hom Kok Beach.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Lyon Light had a crew of two men. The LL was normally above the PB sometimes situated on a tower (like PB 32) or on the roof like PB 33 (A) or on the hillside above like this one. The LL if not on the roof was normally 10 to 40 metres away from the PB.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdmQlJwHPp-nKQHo3tYX-8aV9E_gA_lGxv04wy6b_K3sKGOTzKVUj67-r947z9BjSUK6rNwmFbCs_3lbMo99MaBX38ALoF5cF50igisBluQxDNaRzt6lfNSliyb0cRsvnYvIZg1Zwj21G-sFs44bMl-V-PUJTHkvwLTTJth6OGN3bRr8A2V9Irzw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdmQlJwHPp-nKQHo3tYX-8aV9E_gA_lGxv04wy6b_K3sKGOTzKVUj67-r947z9BjSUK6rNwmFbCs_3lbMo99MaBX38ALoF5cF50igisBluQxDNaRzt6lfNSliyb0cRsvnYvIZg1Zwj21G-sFs44bMl-V-PUJTHkvwLTTJth6OGN3bRr8A2V9Irzw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Part of the frame of a retractable bunk. (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The photo below shows retractable bunk frames in situ at Chung Hom Kok (PB 21). The canvas between the frame has long since disintegrated. Most of the PBs could sleep nine men with two more bunks for the crew in the LL structure. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuYe2XfUGPrAo2XYwooakQnmpsQETOjKDgV3Z0hP9TM6bpoCIbfb-oPPlE7zT5G4YujLUelQG1s88GrXyi-dMX3mnifKwIAhLDsrgokO400nh80nRQ0vrIQlkjkZoao11CK7AAN-A0gu4rNt9zzG3zcW7l7n18jQJSEVl3HMy7eWy1r7BWxnemew=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuYe2XfUGPrAo2XYwooakQnmpsQETOjKDgV3Z0hP9TM6bpoCIbfb-oPPlE7zT5G4YujLUelQG1s88GrXyi-dMX3mnifKwIAhLDsrgokO400nh80nRQ0vrIQlkjkZoao11CK7AAN-A0gu4rNt9zzG3zcW7l7n18jQJSEVl3HMy7eWy1r7BWxnemew=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The frames for a retractable bunks in PB 21. (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><div>The LL contained the 2ft diameter searchlight and the petrol generator for powering the searchlight. The generator may have looked like the one in the photo below.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEsnvxH812bIPIkigJOXuhiX7j86ShJfv1u5Jfa545T6jpi8tFNlaBmcRu9CMt3Ljx1wIrp3kfBNEaZ1_E96alrtYeBvoScr6jQKaRKTRLedsHipTAUv495REEkWKjqEmwqRPlx2I_I1Zz9KGX_K26OwozW6vmcfgHD-VyXFQBOV4Tvg9gWmgj2Q=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEsnvxH812bIPIkigJOXuhiX7j86ShJfv1u5Jfa545T6jpi8tFNlaBmcRu9CMt3Ljx1wIrp3kfBNEaZ1_E96alrtYeBvoScr6jQKaRKTRLedsHipTAUv495REEkWKjqEmwqRPlx2I_I1Zz9KGX_K26OwozW6vmcfgHD-VyXFQBOV4Tvg9gWmgj2Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">1940's Briggs & Stratton generator (Source: WorthPoint.com)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXffN70nsIDGLKylgeO7_PP7nuxHFqPTKBaUd-bDO_zY8X7oXJZ5ZNbkaDnNoJkIOZyZhRh9E0J5RR52XSPQ8SCf6ArmMCNAlpWGdvRKr1_12tXgDklxKCO1JNENc0O4wdAnqZ0XZ_nYYjrIZkaN0Htp6K1XxMkPyDkRZ-fNIBvvJCJSfPa4gKaw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXffN70nsIDGLKylgeO7_PP7nuxHFqPTKBaUd-bDO_zY8X7oXJZ5ZNbkaDnNoJkIOZyZhRh9E0J5RR52XSPQ8SCf6ArmMCNAlpWGdvRKr1_12tXgDklxKCO1JNENc0O4wdAnqZ0XZ_nYYjrIZkaN0Htp6K1XxMkPyDkRZ-fNIBvvJCJSfPa4gKaw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Entrance with steel door removed - the tiles suggest use as a dwelling (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The PB was commanded by Sgt William Stone, 1/Mx 'B' Coy. He was wounded during evacuation of the PB and the nearby Prep School on 25 December. 'B' Coy included PBs 21 (Chung Hom Kok Beach) to PB 30 (Turtle Cove). The company was commanded by Captain Martin Weedon whose Coy HQ was originally at Stone Hill Shelters. The Coy HQ which is still extant was later moved to St Stephen's College Prep School. Stone Hill Shelters was then used briefly as East Brigade HQ after the troops in the eastern sector of the Island had withdrawn to the Stanley Perimeter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The PB was in action on the morning of 25 December when Japanese troops infiltrated, in the early hours, along the coastline to St Stephen's Beach and occupied the copse at the back of the beach. They were driven off by members of the Middlesex Detachment ('B' and 'D' Coy), based at the Prep School, and by PB 24 which opened fire on Japanese troops on the beach all of whom were killed or driven back. This was a PB that saw action - thankfully, although in poor condition, the LL structure still survives the ravages of time and neglect.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.............</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Acknowledgments</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>1/Mx War Diary WO 172/1689 </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Rob Weir for information on Lyon Lights and fixed defences</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Gallery</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfVe4xPqVJ8sjPQpNtLP7Ei2Tz9ltopEuk-AWIp_ZhlnkrAu36oavDmhElWINJEzrhb5MkPeXpOdsU7zzrB9og5MG18mi8fAOQgCXXcW8mObzvxImKc7CKeORgNLOvLow7TVjZJE1C_sDPJvZIIme6wSFtZtbBytdyXes2b0zrUz-HoTq6AA_aUQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfVe4xPqVJ8sjPQpNtLP7Ei2Tz9ltopEuk-AWIp_ZhlnkrAu36oavDmhElWINJEzrhb5MkPeXpOdsU7zzrB9og5MG18mi8fAOQgCXXcW8mObzvxImKc7CKeORgNLOvLow7TVjZJE1C_sDPJvZIIme6wSFtZtbBytdyXes2b0zrUz-HoTq6AA_aUQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View from the roof of the LL structure</div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-31605162717550921172022-01-22T00:58:00.000-08:002022-01-22T00:58:52.722-08:00Pte Donald MacDonald - 'A' Coy 2nd Battalion Royal Scots - Battle for Hong Kong<p style="text-align: justify;">Donald Walker MacDonald was born 6 July 1922 in Glasgow. He joined the Army as a boy soldier aged fifteen. In 1938, at the age of sixteen, he was sent out to Hong Kong where he served with the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots. The battalion had arrived in Hong Kong in January 1938 from India. I do not have a record of which company (Coy) he served in, but in 1975, he recalled in a press interview that he was based at the Shing Mun Redoubt. So we can assume he was with 'A' Coy commanded by Captain Cyril Jones.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">'A' Coy consisted of three platoons, one of which was located in the redoubt, and the other two platoons were close to the redoubt. The Coy HQ was situated in an Artillery Observation Post (AOP) at the back of the redoubt. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJsrAvUuGeM/YWln9fd6-bI/AAAAAAAAY9o/3WEVJ51f09UjHUuS6-t42xKtGwZYtdz2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/thumbnail%2B2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJsrAvUuGeM/YWln9fd6-bI/AAAAAAAAY9o/3WEVJ51f09UjHUuS6-t42xKtGwZYtdz2gCLcBGAsYHQ/w477-h640/thumbnail%2B2.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pte Donald MacDonald wearing the Royal Scots Glengarry - </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the Battle for Hong Kong began in December 1941, the Royal Scots were positioned on the left flank of the Gin Drinkers Line (GDL). The GDL was a ten-mile defensive line that ran across the Kowloon Peninsula from east to west. The line consisted of some ninety pillboxes, minefields, slit trenches and concertina barbed wire anchored by steel pickets known as Dannert wire. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-oFi0ZGn9g/YYCZcaVCimI/AAAAAAAAdZY/roVOYdYoDaQ9WJs_Bcyrv5RYeo2KE2xHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/IMG_6423.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-oFi0ZGn9g/YYCZcaVCimI/AAAAAAAAdZY/roVOYdYoDaQ9WJs_Bcyrv5RYeo2KE2xHQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_6423.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Gin Drinkers Line</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Royal Scots positions on the GDL extended from Gin Drinkers Bay along a low line of hills referred to as Pineapple Ridge. 'C' Coy were on the left flank, on a headland known as the Texaco Peninsula because of a Texaco port and oil storage facility. 'B' Coy was in the centre of the Royal Scots sector of the line. 'A' Coy were on the right flank of the line including Shing Mun Road, Pineapple Dam and the Shing Mun Redoubt. The redoubt was a strongpoint consisting of a series of concrete tunnels linking five pillboxes and several open-air concrete firing bays. The AOP where Captain Jones had established his HQ was co-occupied by Lt Wilcox, Royal Artillery, and four gunners. It was their job to observe and direct artillery fire from the howitzers positioned behind the line. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H2fTMKHqnVU/YYCf6S6siFI/AAAAAAAAdZg/A0C1rHfneI4gotKJWdNhpuBni5CntS05QCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/IMG_5028.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="522" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H2fTMKHqnVU/YYCf6S6siFI/AAAAAAAAdZg/A0C1rHfneI4gotKJWdNhpuBni5CntS05QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h522/IMG_5028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Map showing C, B, A and D Coy initial positions and subsequent positions C2, B2, A2 and D2</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We can be sure that MacDonald was a member of 'A' Coy because he stated that he was at the Shing Mun Redoubt. This I take to mean, as at or near the Shing Mun Redoubt. However, we don't know which of three platoons in 'A' Coy (No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9) he was serving with. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No. 7 and No. 9 Platoons were located around Shing Mun Road leading to Pineapple Dam and the Shing Mun Redoubt. No. 8 Platoon (the Shing Mun Platoon) commanded by 2/Lt Thomson was based at the redoubt and was responsible for the defence of the strongpoint. The Shing Mun Platoon (No. 8 Platoon) consisting of 26 other ranks was insufficient a force to man a complex of this size and at the same time carry out moving and static patrols. However, inadequate manning was a feature throughout the GDL and throughout the Battle for Hong Kong. Hong Kong had become an isolated outpost, a strategic liability. Churchill recognised this when he wrote to his military adviser, regarding a request for reinforcements, and commented that there was not the slightest chance of holding or relieving Hong Kong if it were attacked. The priority for men and equipment in the Far East was Malaya and Singapore. Singapore was the impregnable fortress and Hong Kong would be sacrificed but not without a fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBfJIqbJm9A/YZNNRs7TSfI/AAAAAAAAdhs/nzk3s18c4DolzdpVHFQRoOwtIh5yLTE3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_1258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1571" data-original-width="2048" height="490" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBfJIqbJm9A/YZNNRs7TSfI/AAAAAAAAdhs/nzk3s18c4DolzdpVHFQRoOwtIh5yLTE3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h490/IMG_1258.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A Royal Scots officer on the Gin Drinkers Line</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The redoubt was captured during the night of Tuesday 9 December. It was the second night of the battle. It was captured by Colonel Doi's 228th Infantry Regiment consisting of three battalions each consisting of approximately 1,000 men. The AOP was blown open, two Indian other ranks serving with the Royal Artillery were killed. The surviving gunners and 'A' Coy HQ personnel were taken prisoner. One of the pillboxes was hit by British artillery fire and the four Royal Scots holding the PB were dug out by the Japanese and became Prisoners of War. Sgt Robb, the Shing Mun Platoon Sergeant, conducted a firefight in which five of the platoon were wounded and left behind. Of the five, one made it back to British lines and one was killed. The remaining three were taken prisoner. We know that MacDonald was not captured at the Redoubt as he stated in correspondence that he was taken prisoner when the crown colony capitulated on Christmas Day 1941 at which time he was injured and in hospital. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Robb found himself both outnumbered and under fire from different directions. He estimated there were two hundred Japanese (roughly two companies) attacking the redoubt. Robb then extricated with around a dozen men, leaving the five wounded men behind. He withdrew along Smugglers Ridge to link up with 'D' Coy Rajputs commanded by Captain Newton. The names of the men in Sgt Robb's party that reached the Rajput positions are recorded in the battalion war diary. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Robb</div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Sgt Corbett</div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Cpl Gray</div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Cpl Ralph</div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Cpl Wallace</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Gullane</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte O'Rawe</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Stevenson</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Archibald</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Scott</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Still</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Wood</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Assuming this is a complete list, and since Pte Donald MacDonald is not on the list then we can assume that he was most likely a member of either No. 7 or No. 9 Platoon. After the loss of the redoubt, 'D' Coy moved up to Golden Hill and 'B' and 'C' Coy were moved back to a new line extending south east from Golden Hill towards Lai Chi Kok. 'C' Coy were to the rear of 'D' Coy (see position C2 on the above map). 'B' Coy was to the rear of 'C' with their left flank astride Castle Peak Road and their right flank extending to the ridge line (see B2). No. 9 Platoon of 'A' Coy were deployed to support the left flank of Captain Newton's company. The rest of 'A' Coy (No. 7 Platoon and the survivors of No. 8 Platoon were taken by truck to new positions on the Castle Peak Road (See A2 on map). I think it is likely that Pte MacDonald was part of this group and more specifically a member of No. 7 Platoon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The evacuation of the Mainland began on the night of 11 December. The Royal Scots were evacuated from Kowloon City to HK Island. No. 9 Platoon under Sgt Richards, which had been deployed with Captain Newton's 'D' Coy Rajputs were evacuated from Devil's Peak Peninsula. Sgt Richards and Pte Chorley, after coming under fire, got separated from both the main body 'D' Coy Rajputs and the rest of their platoon. They were helped by Chinese villagers who supplied them with Chinese clothes. They took a small boat but the current took them away from Hong Kong Island and they ended up getting washed up on an uninhabited island next to Waglan Island. The lighthouse on Waglan Island had already been evacuated. After several days without food and water they were picked up by Chinese fishermen and eventually landed on Hong Kong Island (the Island). They rejoined the battalion on 20 December. Part of the remainder of No. 9 Platoon who scattered during the ambush also took a boat and rowed towards the Island. They were picked up by a British patrol boat who brought them back to HK Island. This party of five members of 'A' Coy and two members of 'HQ' Coy were identified in the battalion war diary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Cpl Phillips, HQ Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bd Cooper, HQ Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Brown, 'A' Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Pennman, 'A' Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">L/Cpl McVean, 'A' Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Ritchie, 'A' Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pte Robertson, 'A' Coy</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The brunt of the fighting on the Mainland was in the Royal Scot's sector and they incurred a large number of casualties including the company commanders of 'B' and 'C' Coy who were both killed in action. After the evacuation of British troops from the Mainland, the Island came under siege with heavy artillery bombardment and aerial bombing as a prelude to the Japanese landings. The Japanese landed at three locations on the north east shore of the Island during the night of Thursday 18 December. It is estimated that some 8,000 troops were landed between North Point, Tai Koo and Aldrich Bay. The defenders on this stretch of the shoreline consisted of three Rajput companies, a Canadian infantry company at Lai Mun Gap, a special guard unit of Volunteers at the North Point power station and assorted artillery personnel from coastal defence, howitzer and anti-aircraft batteries. They amounted to less than 800 men. The defenders were outnumbered ten to one. The Rajput battalion was decimated and the Japanese army moved inland and converged on Wong Nai Chung (WNC) Gap from different directions. The following morning the Japanese seized WNC Gap and Brigadier Lawson, commanding West Infantry Brigade, was surrounded at his Brigade HQ at Wong Nai Chung Gap.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday 19 December at 0710, Captain Kenneth Campbell, the newly appointed commander of 'A' Coy, (Captain Jones having been captured) received orders from Battalion HQ at Wan Chai Gap to relieve West Brigade HQ, and extricate Brigadier Lawson and his staff. He had earlier reported that his HQ had been surrounded by Japanese troops and was coming under fire. Major-General Maltby, the military commander, called Lt-Col Simon White, 2/RS, the battalion commander, to stress the importance of 'A' Coy's mission. Lt-Col Simon White told Major-General Maltby that 'A' Coy would go like the 'hammers of hell'. Pte Donald MacDonald, as a member of 'A' Coy, may well have been involved in this operation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4iAjx_mHPLNdc3yczMcrxvTuMW3OtyrxrT8Ng8ZC3i73Gybq7s9gKE3FWcCN-kBoBz2Q2eLwulcc13s4YEYMkvnlsVW_bZ72DvXtaDRrAqJRUgpdV2YfhwoEGCOTfFSLtGZgC6Hoc7L8K7s2DzRd4jcU38p71j_BqeD0aG13egQ8qedUVHKfALw=s1265" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="1084" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4iAjx_mHPLNdc3yczMcrxvTuMW3OtyrxrT8Ng8ZC3i73Gybq7s9gKE3FWcCN-kBoBz2Q2eLwulcc13s4YEYMkvnlsVW_bZ72DvXtaDRrAqJRUgpdV2YfhwoEGCOTfFSLtGZgC6Hoc7L8K7s2DzRd4jcU38p71j_BqeD0aG13egQ8qedUVHKfALw=w548-h640" width="548" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lt-Col Simon White (Courtesy: Royal Scots Regimental Museum)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'A' Coy were deployed by truck to the petrol station at the there-way junction of Tai Hang Road, Stubbs Road and WNC Gap Road. 'A' Coy came under heavy fire from the western slopes of Jardines Lookout as they tried to make their way up WNC Gap Road (No. 8 Platoon) and Blue Pool Road (No. 7 Platoon) towards West Brigade HQ. At 0815, the Royal Scots Battalion HQ, were advised by Lt-Col Sutcliffe, the commanding officer of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, that Brigadier Lawson had reported that there was no sign of 'A' Coy. 2/Lt Swettenhan, a newly commissioned officer in the Royal Scots promoted from the Volunteers, offered to take out a small patrol to link up with 'A' Coy and report back to Bn HQ. Swettenham and three other ranks departed Wan Chai Gap by car at 0900 hours. They got close to Brigade shelters and noticed that vehicles in the Brigade HQ car park were on fire. In the afternoon a runner from 'A' Coy reported back to Bn HQ that they had got to within 200 metres of West Brigade HQ shelters, but they had been pinned down by heavy fire. They had sustained heavy casualties which included both platoon commanders. 2/Lt Fenwick had been killed and 2/Lt Hart had been wounded. The Coy commander, Captain Campbell, later became a casualty. Sgt Whippey took over as company commander of the depleted 'A' Coy who had fought so gallantly all day. When it became clear that no further advance could be made - Sgt Whippey ordered a withdrawal back to Bn HQ which had now moved to the junction of Tai Hang Road and Stubbs Road near the petrol station. As it happened the Brigadier had left his HQ at around 1000 hours and had been shot in the leg and had bled to death in the road outside his HQ. Some of the Royal Scots from 'A' Coy had managed to fight their way to Brigade HQ but they were all wounded and became trapped in the brigade shelters. These included the four NCOs listed below: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Arnott</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sgt Corbett</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Campbell</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cpl Glover</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those Royal Scots that reached West Brigade HQ were not seen alive again. Canadian Thomas Barton, a staff seargent in the Corps of Military Staff Clerks, recalled two Royal Scots getting through to Brigade shelters each with an arm almost severed. 'A' Coy had been reduced from seventy-six other ranks to an effective strength of just fifteen men. When the colony surrendered on Christmas Day the Royal Scots had an effective strength of only four officers and 109 other ranks. The rest were dead or wounded. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Donald MacDonald was taken ill with appendicitis and when the surrender came he was in hospital recovering from an appendectomy. The operation was carried out by Surgeon-Lt Commander John Page, RN, most likely at the Royal Naval Hospital in Wan Chai. After release from hospital MacDonald was incarcerated at Sham Shui Po POW Camp. At Sham Shui Po he took part in work parties sent to Kai Tak airfield to extend the airport and construct two new concrete runways to replace what had previously been a grass airfield.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In September 1942, aged twenty, he was included in a draft of POWs sent to Japan to work as slave labourers. He boarded the <i>Lisbon Maru</i>, an armed Japanese freighter, which was carrying some 1,800 British POWs. The freighter was sunk by an American submarine not realising the vessel was carrying POWs. The ship sunk slowly. The Japanese soldiers onboard were disembarked and transferred to other vessels leaving a skeleton crew and a handful of guards. The prisoners had been confined to the holds which had been battened down. The Japanese were planning to let the POWs go down with the ship. However, one of the prisoners had somehow smuggled a butcher's knife aboard the vessel. The prisoners were able to cut their way out, they overcame the guards and freed the POWs in the other holds. The ship was listing heavily and in danger of sinking. It was only after Chinese fishermen started picking up POWS that the Japanese stopped machine-gunning survivors and started to pick them up. MacDonald recalled swimming to one of the Japanese launches and trying to scramble aboard. He was kicked away. He then swam round the other side of the vessel and a British officer helped pull him aboard. The survivors were collected and put ashore in Shanghai. There had been 1, 816 POWS aboard the vessel but on that cold Shanghai dock only 970 answered the roll-call, one of whom was Donald MacDonald. The survivors were put aboard another ship, the <i>Shinsei Maru. </i>The conditions were appalling. The ship was filthy and the POWs were once again placed in tiered bunks in the overcrowded holds. The POWs had lost what little possessions the had. They had virtually no cloths other than what they were wearing when they were plucked from the sea. MacDonald was interned at a prisoner of war camp in Kobe, Japan. where he remained until he was liberated aged twenty-three in August 1945.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1975, Donald MacDonald, returned to Hong Kong with his wife Elizabeth. He described his return to Hong Kong as a sort of pilgrimage. As a young man, he had fought in a battle, he had witnessed the horrors of war, the huge loss of life on the <i>Lisbon Maru</i> and the brutality of the prison camps in Hong Kong and Japan. After liberation in August 1945, MacDonald, aged twenty-three, returned home to Glasgow. He had come through it all, everything that fate had thrown his way, and he had survived. This post is a tribute to a brave soldier</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">....................</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br clear="none" /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">John C.G. MacDonald for information and photographs in respect of his grandfather (Donald MacDonald).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Royal Scots Regimental Museum for photograph of Lt-Col Simon White</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-37682599702766934822022-01-18T22:37:00.001-08:002022-01-18T22:37:35.570-08:00Line of Gap Pillbox No. 16 (LPB 16)<p>Also known as Kennedy Town Gap PB. A three-loophole PB situated on the hillside above Pofulam Road near Queen Mary Hospital. It has been occupied as a dwelling. The building is well cared for and the area around the PB has been gardened. The steel loophole shutters look in very good condition. I could not see the commanders observation tower and ventilation shaft (presumably demolished). I was unable to go inside or stay too long as I felt I was intruding on somebody's home. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB-_TiCdz_lM2QJbVlT1A8pvCt8yboVdIRIFZj_mdMUxx-_K-ihMsaSMj3IviQDWf8zrCRDtdvXVgX3CLUKYSnHN86vv49KfazqXbi30kAbqfNFxo_BOqOl00FWi7Xc7_0RpUT14gDk4eNuuzHwrRwIy8Er-Sx1id_4VCaEu_ygbYf92vsdgil9Q=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB-_TiCdz_lM2QJbVlT1A8pvCt8yboVdIRIFZj_mdMUxx-_K-ihMsaSMj3IviQDWf8zrCRDtdvXVgX3CLUKYSnHN86vv49KfazqXbi30kAbqfNFxo_BOqOl00FWi7Xc7_0RpUT14gDk4eNuuzHwrRwIy8Er-Sx1id_4VCaEu_ygbYf92vsdgil9Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">PB 16 - now used as a dwelling (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1EnngBNhQKbWICb1avLUAiFmBmDYJjqn04n1VdyUB___-4V9LghvBfZKXhmhKvIhLYFQCUdJ5vTAhyfOVsDTi0hziAw18LQcHYtSt26eSk9thRCOWd0l5MfSCwnpzfWZGlFYCbPnO_hN-HLwZ48Fa5NQ2sB_zFemM3oj8k0ePzE5jGjN9V3j0sA=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1EnngBNhQKbWICb1avLUAiFmBmDYJjqn04n1VdyUB___-4V9LghvBfZKXhmhKvIhLYFQCUdJ5vTAhyfOVsDTi0hziAw18LQcHYtSt26eSk9thRCOWd0l5MfSCwnpzfWZGlFYCbPnO_hN-HLwZ48Fa5NQ2sB_zFemM3oj8k0ePzE5jGjN9V3j0sA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Steel shutters and latch in good condition. Some pebble cladding extant. (Writer's collection)</div><p><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-73655688226200833162022-01-18T22:14:00.003-08:002022-01-21T23:50:23.842-08:00Line of Gap Pillbox No. 18 (LPB 18)<p> </p><p>LPB 18 is also referred to as Kennedy Town Gap PB 1. It was one of three line of gap pillboxes (LPB 16, 17, 18) situated in and around the gap between Mount Davis and High West. Pok Fu Lam Road runs through the gap. The PB is situated on the north eastern slopes of Mount Davis at the rear of the Chiu Yuen Cemetery. PB 17 has been demolished. PB 16 is used as a dwelling house.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiph_TiWKneCf0-nTVdGjB-g4xcYzUelIzoCvijtXTCQRSEahkJNOkwl0_xHhLALNPV8m-ClRXvZtYvS35UYjNjrLwOOCYrrQhYJIGbSRUmeQWVhi-0nzenkoYmDtKHLuaKEhx73G25v6wzzYiLQ0AMPt_2B-2zXIZnSGGJs4RaRRlXum1zqS8VrQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiph_TiWKneCf0-nTVdGjB-g4xcYzUelIzoCvijtXTCQRSEahkJNOkwl0_xHhLALNPV8m-ClRXvZtYvS35UYjNjrLwOOCYrrQhYJIGbSRUmeQWVhi-0nzenkoYmDtKHLuaKEhx73G25v6wzzYiLQ0AMPt_2B-2zXIZnSGGJs4RaRRlXum1zqS8VrQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A four loophole PB (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC0ZTCx_p7trS6OL3ucQHZsn2KLktlXN1Z9eQIcB1olldawtI2WpzKqyTu4rDn36DYP06EFhzv_hSqH7w-Gg8ab_QUYZ2Kl3I5OJ1pUlhNp22IiuCP9zbWUXl2TpApfhghUaPZF4FNZBKKuFlUT2p1iQAbxZWSGxSAaA5FY7sx6UoZ8xzYmZoRFw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC0ZTCx_p7trS6OL3ucQHZsn2KLktlXN1Z9eQIcB1olldawtI2WpzKqyTu4rDn36DYP06EFhzv_hSqH7w-Gg8ab_QUYZ2Kl3I5OJ1pUlhNp22IiuCP9zbWUXl2TpApfhghUaPZF4FNZBKKuFlUT2p1iQAbxZWSGxSAaA5FY7sx6UoZ8xzYmZoRFw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Entrance door (Writer's collection) </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU8dYYawcTuqHMSfQlf-nn8HAFeBbdGmH-hyTGHbHNSsYi5kpn9FfMQVzTOER5tYjonU94CjHG0ya5DYGssmmCJr7X4CnTr84vz6RRMfvlRgYPh10Jnso82tB2LBnAjK7IOpJts5Ub96RSt21VdOsLsCO-tSi-QtjxCZt4ftCh-5hcmm1_WUGcPQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU8dYYawcTuqHMSfQlf-nn8HAFeBbdGmH-hyTGHbHNSsYi5kpn9FfMQVzTOER5tYjonU94CjHG0ya5DYGssmmCJr7X4CnTr84vz6RRMfvlRgYPh10Jnso82tB2LBnAjK7IOpJts5Ub96RSt21VdOsLsCO-tSi-QtjxCZt4ftCh-5hcmm1_WUGcPQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div>MG support platforms installed by Japanese (larger than those for Vickers MG) (Writer's collection)</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUBUXbQ8nokHguqk7_EYKDnr1oFA069wp57TnDg8Hpd5B6KaA6O4eU-CCeQV3puWdVy-bMd7euW_6hdUJCSdick4xZ7uDjiqaMtfjU7sR96OaDXUZqw1e89D9C6kivLMLheBWO_ymqjh3y2FDnE19hXwXNnzT2qZaolAaN0-8Cbm4WsociSCqnJQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUBUXbQ8nokHguqk7_EYKDnr1oFA069wp57TnDg8Hpd5B6KaA6O4eU-CCeQV3puWdVy-bMd7euW_6hdUJCSdick4xZ7uDjiqaMtfjU7sR96OaDXUZqw1e89D9C6kivLMLheBWO_ymqjh3y2FDnE19hXwXNnzT2qZaolAaN0-8Cbm4WsociSCqnJQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Possibly the blocked entrance to a Japanese tunnel (Writer's collection)</div><p><b>Condition: </b>The stone/pebble cladding remains over parts of the outside of the PB. The rock rampart is partly intact. It has a large gun chamber accommodating four loopholes. The Japanese extended the MG mountings. There is what may be a Japanese tunnel. The Japanese must have put this PBB to use. the loophole shutters look in good condition. The commanders observation tower is cracked on the outside. There are also cracks in the concrete roof and air-ducts. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiciaqlJsHmHromUF49voyfvswXihinGD4RdoDmEMjOXJzc5DZZtMZfLqRrWG1vS1YZj3QZQuErW3WgHH_ekeKxS2IDhQiXYkAB67bCqCOCGrmCLRJXHBcQ56wYkifiYxfVeF3dhGsqzS9QcaUK9cikSJDgc8HhyD-gZnCo5H8htG3fxMm7X8QgaA=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiciaqlJsHmHromUF49voyfvswXihinGD4RdoDmEMjOXJzc5DZZtMZfLqRrWG1vS1YZj3QZQuErW3WgHH_ekeKxS2IDhQiXYkAB67bCqCOCGrmCLRJXHBcQ56wYkifiYxfVeF3dhGsqzS9QcaUK9cikSJDgc8HhyD-gZnCo5H8htG3fxMm7X8QgaA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Location on wartime map (Writer's Collection)</div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">.................</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-28940277938170583922022-01-18T19:38:00.007-08:002022-01-18T19:52:25.018-08:00Pillbox 16<p><span style="text-align: justify;">This was a Beach Defence Unit consisting of PB and Lyon Light situated on the shoreline between Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay, opposite Middle Island. Only the Lyon Light structure on a concrete tower has survived. The steel shutters still remain in the searchlight aperture. The entrance can be seen at the bottom of the tower structure in the photo below. There is an upper steel door into the searchlight , engine and accommodation compartment. The two-man crew of the Lyon Light were in contact with the PB by voice pipe.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiE0UQnZLhM7kJ8OmoCInhj6jkaM383BA8DCAcvzHaY32htRZ7jBpcY7183gu6smuI_mkxla57FhGCnlB008zngCBuNa5MrmEvODluyafUN3h9yZFeioiLgVVZ4XdpB1A5t5zgaZf716giRADr6sKA0C-RT6sAUdbX2_pDGF8_eIQfYXnD7RyGSKw=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiE0UQnZLhM7kJ8OmoCInhj6jkaM383BA8DCAcvzHaY32htRZ7jBpcY7183gu6smuI_mkxla57FhGCnlB008zngCBuNa5MrmEvODluyafUN3h9yZFeioiLgVVZ4XdpB1A5t5zgaZf716giRADr6sKA0C-RT6sAUdbX2_pDGF8_eIQfYXnD7RyGSKw=w640-h464" width="640" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lyon Light (Searchlight) LL 16 (Writer's Collection)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqT8210x-bm2YOo6jlyPNZvMZmOQwMLv5kWgFy1fut8RJ8YlxLZAkZARwa_Q075ZIftn349tsq9DV383_j4LiV6mNXbXt76UB9pSCMkECw-2mCCKNHKmzMoehsH10y2ccyfefr2CqpsRkcoKMffswpdHwb8Y0XTASjsiHQhzAxDPEYvjMBWaOULQ=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqT8210x-bm2YOo6jlyPNZvMZmOQwMLv5kWgFy1fut8RJ8YlxLZAkZARwa_Q075ZIftn349tsq9DV383_j4LiV6mNXbXt76UB9pSCMkECw-2mCCKNHKmzMoehsH10y2ccyfefr2CqpsRkcoKMffswpdHwb8Y0XTASjsiHQhzAxDPEYvjMBWaOULQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">LL 16 showing the steel shutters in the aperture (Writer's Collection)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The PB was immediately below the LL tower. It can be seen in the photograph below showing a boat crew carrying their skiff ashore at Middle Island. The photo was taken from the book "Eastern Waters Eastern Winds. There is no sign of the PB anymore other than part of a concrete platform that could have formed its base. It was presumably demolished when the concrete pathway and dyke composed of large boulders/rocks was built (Seaview Promenade). The Lyon light is normally overgrown by thick vegetation. The undergrowth had been cut back when these photos were taken in January 2022. The date of the black and white photo showing the LL and PB is not known.</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtU2yAa_4RFsALhaBxSfR6pG68txKaJcVDi1ZjIuU3fCqo4KA8pwDm0Hkp3kOchJmQB2t6TBn0vfdN1Xm9wIlCgf1vxYBn2iosKZfRv7jt2GY3pVTOxpO2Lb_MBAfOkeMyZuq7x-YWp8mhWA5ouellrA9Q61x0MCnVAeD92Fnw_0jSFDwxPAh1VQ=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtU2yAa_4RFsALhaBxSfR6pG68txKaJcVDi1ZjIuU3fCqo4KA8pwDm0Hkp3kOchJmQB2t6TBn0vfdN1Xm9wIlCgf1vxYBn2iosKZfRv7jt2GY3pVTOxpO2Lb_MBAfOkeMyZuq7x-YWp8mhWA5ouellrA9Q61x0MCnVAeD92Fnw_0jSFDwxPAh1VQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">RHYC Crew coming ashore at Middle Island showing PB (Sourced: Eastern Waters Eastern Winds)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Notes from Mx War diary UKNA File: WO 172/1689:</b><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">PB Commander was Sgt George Tattam, 1/Mx 'C' Coy</p><p style="text-align: justify;">'C' Coy were responsible for Beach Defence PBs from PB 12 (Brick Hill) to PB 20 (South Bay). C Coy Commander was Major Henry Marsh. Coy HQ was located at war shelters on Shouson Hill. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Originally 2/Lt Cheeeswright was in command of PBs 15, 16 and 17. He spent a night in each PB in turn and when the Japanese reached Repulse Bay (20 Dec) he was in PB 17. After 2/Lt Grounds was killed at RBH - Cheesewright commanded PB 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. PBs 12, 13 and 15 were evacuated on 19 Dec (MX war Diary) (Leaving PB 14 isolated and PBs 16 to 20).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On 23 Dec According to 2/Lt Cheeswright: PB 17, 18, 19 and 20 were evacuated to Stanley. (What about PB 16?) It may have been evacuated earlier to avoid being cut off. Major Marsh writes that "16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 were successfully withdrawn to Stanley" (Mx War Diary) but PB 16 is not mentioned in the description of the withdrawal to Stanley by 2/Lt Cheesewright. Tattam (PB 16 Commander) was involved in the fighting at Stanley....... but what is not clear is whether his crew were evacuated on 23 Dec with 17,18,19 & 20 or separately on or or before this date. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">PB 16 is believed to be 3-loophole PB (?) probably built between 1939 and 1941.</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;">...................</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379962256741902605.post-51050008712775880732022-01-14T02:54:00.002-08:002022-01-14T02:54:22.068-08:00Anti-Aircraft Searchlights (AASL)<p style="text-align: justify;">The Royal Engineers War Diary (UKNA File: CAB 106/37) states that 22 Fortress Coy Royal Engineers was formed in 1937/38 to man the twenty-four anticipated AA Searchlight (AASL) stations located in Kowloon, the New Territories and on HK Island. Later following a revised defence plan that envisaged an evacuation of the Mainland and a defence of HK Island (the Island) the number was reduced. There would be thirteen AASLs located on Hong Kong Island and some of the nearby islands including Aberdeen Island, Green Island and Stonecutters Island. The thirteen AASLs included the following:</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Aberdeen Island</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Austin (Mt)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Braemar </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Collinson</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Green Island </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pottinger Gap</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Repulse Bay</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sai Wan</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shek-O</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stonecutters Island</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stanley Fort</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tai Tam</div><div style="text-align: justify;">WNC Gap </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The war diary states that the AASL detachments did not perform in the role anticipated. This was largely because there were no night raids. The Japanese Air Force restricted their combat missions to daylight hours. Three or four detachments were used to man the Defence Electric Lights (DELs) these were search lights used by the coastal defence batteries. The AASLs were manned at the outset of the battle but some were redeployed to DEL or other duties as it became clear that the Japanese were not carrying out night operations. </p><p>A report issued by Lt-Col Lamb, RE, (UKNA File: WO 172/11400) stated that the AASL and DEL on Sonecutters Island was evacuated on 12 December 1941 confirming that the RE had already taken over the manning of some DELs and were manning the AASLs. Lt-Col Lamb makes reference to the Collinson AASL being hit by shellfire on 13 December and the Sai Wan AASL station being attacked by Fifth Columnists. On 14 December he writes that the Green Island AASL was evacuated. Lamb describes how on 15 December the Braemar AASL was relocated and redeployed to perform a DEL role at North Point i.e. the searchlight was to be used for the harbour rather than aerial usage. Lamb also mentions a second attack by Fifth Columnists on the Sai Wan AASL. On the same day the Aberdeen AASL (on Aberdeen Island) was damaged by aerial bombing. The RE also operated a searchlight referred to as a 'sentry beam' located near Pak Sha Wan Battery. After the Japanese landings there is no further reference to the AASL stations - presumably at that point there crews were all redeployed. Within a few days of the Japanese landings there were only three or four AASLs that could be utilised and still no night raids so they had become redundant. </p><p>The AASL sites were usually fixed positions with reinforced concrete structures for the engine house and the store house. The engine house contained the diesel powered generator. The store house was used for storing the equipment and for the crew accommodation. The AASL crew consisted of ten to twelve men. There may have been a flat platform or shallow depression for the searchlight. A sound locator would have been located close to the searchlight. The lights were 90 cm and 120cm in diameter. The AA searchlight could be manhandled on its caterpillar tracks. </p><p><b>Gallery:</b></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-L2Wl_drLcj6s_9KqJwoyqyDOxpjeVtbIVF2LrrorsVOSpvzkWf6CUbfGs4eGO0BDWJYNq2xhBXo3jM1IWl47_rQQ44KBchGRx1YE8N1R68-1KhUPJJyP61Kl2fQ5AbYcDjgriSwb7ekrrxu4nuz3YAYts_0Z8vWgoMTdliWm9kco-ucXNK4nog=s1350" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1350" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-L2Wl_drLcj6s_9KqJwoyqyDOxpjeVtbIVF2LrrorsVOSpvzkWf6CUbfGs4eGO0BDWJYNq2xhBXo3jM1IWl47_rQQ44KBchGRx1YE8N1R68-1KhUPJJyP61Kl2fQ5AbYcDjgriSwb7ekrrxu4nuz3YAYts_0Z8vWgoMTdliWm9kco-ucXNK4nog=w640-h470" width="640" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;">90cm AASL (Source: RAF Museum)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVwMO72KVcKhbY3ka_mZn4UlCqcZOd3Oh2f3gVCog4oZNTZG8PACr3EwuOwb7FTHXHXEWU8hFae8OnDvw90AMw8Kliuswm7vX4rAdh7x5kfyLSjgsjbZLIXMPkFc7TKY5frUvg92imvp4BXaJJW_3aiJOf4Q_GjJXKfsX3UFA_0Z0p5o8gdUdZcQ=s2388" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2388" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVwMO72KVcKhbY3ka_mZn4UlCqcZOd3Oh2f3gVCog4oZNTZG8PACr3EwuOwb7FTHXHXEWU8hFae8OnDvw90AMw8Kliuswm7vX4rAdh7x5kfyLSjgsjbZLIXMPkFc7TKY5frUvg92imvp4BXaJJW_3aiJOf4Q_GjJXKfsX3UFA_0Z0p5o8gdUdZcQ=w640-h468" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikiwand</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_Wpqbt-DJmUh16FxKFhpZCZhcYu-7XM8IfZxXZ3c2FvPZXXq2aWBbqlv5-iaNjSRGX9uDmdSQoLJW4lwASvgjbaSmDnfCAPN3KDsiMn-ZIz5rENIb2hNswOFKpUNwk0Su3amFnPV6XR0BlYh80gGz0HqRuyTk1x8Foxx0AvvipAQIMZVIKeRteg=s1838" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1772" data-original-width="1838" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_Wpqbt-DJmUh16FxKFhpZCZhcYu-7XM8IfZxXZ3c2FvPZXXq2aWBbqlv5-iaNjSRGX9uDmdSQoLJW4lwASvgjbaSmDnfCAPN3KDsiMn-ZIz5rENIb2hNswOFKpUNwk0Su3amFnPV6XR0BlYh80gGz0HqRuyTk1x8Foxx0AvvipAQIMZVIKeRteg=w640-h618" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Philip Cracknellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742419743648086989noreply@blogger.com0