Here's the photo I mentioned last week:

It's a large print, so there's lots of detail to see. For an example, look at the red square above, then look at that section enlarged below. It shows a couple of launches tied up at the end of the Commissariat pier.

The photo is showing its age, with lots of dots and blotches. Some time spent with Photoshop helped make things clearer.

It'll take a while to clean the whole photo, so I'll work on it section by section. I've started with the area around the pier.

It shows a large reclamation and construction project was underway. I chose to start on this area hoping that it will help tell us the date the photo was taken.

The construction project was called the Naval Yard Extension, and the extent of the new land is shown on this map from 1905.

It shows how limited the Royal Navy's shore facilities were at the time, just the small area north of Queens Road (today's Queensway) marked "Naval Yard". The reclamation would give the Navy much more land for workshops, stores, etc., and also give them two new water facilities, a dry dock and a tidal basin.

1. Dry Dock / Graving Dock

The dry dock, more properly known as a graving dock, could be drained of water to allow access to the parts of a ship that are normally under water. Up til this time, the Navy had to rely on the privately owned dry docks around Hong Kong if their ships needed repairs. This project would give them their own dry dock at last.

Looking down into the completed dry dock

Back to the main photo, and we can see how far along they are with the construction. They've built a temporary wall or "cofferdam" around the site, pumped out all the seawater, excavated the sea bed and started building the base of the dry dock.

2. Tidal Basin

The map shows the tidal basin was a large, sheltered area of water where ships could moor. The photo shows them building the broad barrier across the front of the basin. First they'd built the outer wall on the side facing the harbour, and that looks about complete. Next they're building the inner wall, and we can see a crane on a barge is lowering the next large granite block into place.

When both walls were finished, the middle was filled in to form the barrier. Here's a view of the finished barrier and basin.

Naval Dockyard-1949, by IDJ

3. Camber / Boat Pool

The 1905 map shows a third, smaller water facility on the eastern side of the site. Maps of the completed Dockyard Extension label it as the Camber, and show it it belonged to the Army Service Corps (ASC), not the Navy.

The Camber was the descendant of the Commissariat pier we saw earlier. The Commissariat was the organisation responsible for delivering supplies to the Army, hence the need for a pier to receive deliveries from the ships in the harbour. The reclamation put the pier out of use, so they got the Camber as the replacement. Though the Commissariat name was still used on the 1905 map, the organisation had disappeared in the 1880s, when its role was absorbed into the new ASC.

At some point the ASC moved away from here, as in the 1950s we find the RASC (The "Royal" successors to the ASC) based at Sham Shui Po. The Navy took over the Camber, renamed it to the Boat Pool, and used it as the home for their Hong Kong Flotilla. Here's one of the Flotilla's boats that was based there.

1957 Royal Naval Patrol Craft HMML 3510 on patrol at Pearl River West, by Peter Yeates

How it has changed

This 1952 map shows the Dockyard at its greatest extent. 

It didn't last much longer though, as by the end of the 1950s, the bulk of the land was returned to civilian use. The dry dock was filled in, most of the buildings were demolished, and Harcourt Road road was built across the old dockyard site. The Boat Pool lasted a little bit longer, but in the early 1960s it was filled in too.

The tidal basin was the part that lasted the longest, finally filled in shortly before the 1997 handover. The last British military presence in this area was the Army's Prince of Wales Barracks, built over the old dry dock.

Here's how the area looks today.

The Prince of Wales Barracks has been renamed as the Central Barracks, and now houses soldiers from the Peoples Liberation Army. I wonder how many of the soldiers know that their sports pitches are built over an old dry dock?

The filled-in tidal basin became the site of the new cluster of Central Government Buildings, and the old Camber is home to a couple of electric substations.

The date of the photo

Back to the original photo, and the date it was taken. The annual reports of the Public Works Department (PWD) are a good place to look for information about construction projects. As a military project, the Naval Yard Extension didn't get the detailed coverage we see for PWD projects, but the reports usually include a line or two about its progress. Here are the two whose descriptions best match the scene in the photo.

1903 Public Works Report:

"16. General Remarks.—[At the Naval Yard Extension] the sea wall and inner-wall or quay forming the pier on the north side of the Basin, a portion of the east wall of the Basin and the Murray Pier Extension and roundhead beyond it were all brought above low-water level, whilst the cofferdam enclosing the site of the graving dock was completed and the water pumped out."

1904 Public Works Report:

"16. [...] The Naval Yard Extension.

The general reclamation here is approaching completion. The walls of the tidal basin and the sea walls are, in great part, ready for the coping. The dock bottom is nearly completed and the dock walls are well advanced. The reclamation, West of the dock, and the diversion of the Albany Nullah are finished."

The work in the photo isn't as far along as the 1904 report, eg there isn't any sign of the dry dock's walls, which it reported were "well advanced". But the work is further ahead than the 1903 report, with the work on the dock bottom already well underway. I estimate the photo was taken in early 1904 - corrections welcome!

New on Gwulo this week... People: Vincent Young, member of the BAAG, has just celebrated his 100th birthday! We've got one more name for the "Children at Stanley Camp" photo Can you identify any of the policemen in these group photos from 1932 and 1935? William James Dewar CAMERON (aka Bill) [1912-1973  Other:​ ​RAF Sunderland Aircraft in Hong Kong ​Readers' questions: Do any photos exist of the flag-raising at Stanley Camp for the non-British flags? What did the old Hong Kong GPO interior look like? What is the meaning of this symbol, engraved on a Chinese bronze bowl. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: 1956 Kowloon Star Ferry Taxi Rank, by eternal1966e   RAF Short Sunderland "D" ML772, by Moddsey   Harbour bridge, by IDJ   Click to see all recently added photos.

I've looked at this photo many times over the last few months, as it's one that's going into the Gwulo book. It got me thinking about how the cloth baby carrier has gone in and out of fashion.

The photo above was taken in 1954. I also found one in my collection that looks older, I guess taken sometime where in the 1920s - 1940s.

The carrier has a very simple design: just a square of material with a strap at each corner, often with embroidery to add some colour. You can see some stitching on the carrier in the photo above.

We can get a better idea of the design of the carrier and their decorations in these next two photos. Each shows a carrier that was made in the 1940s.

Baby sling, by Geoff Emerson

Chris Potter with his baby sling from camp, by Geoff Emerson

They're unusual in that they were made to carry western children. Indeed Chris Potter, holding the blue carrier above, was carried in it when he was a young boy!

I say it's unusual, because photos we have of western children from around that time usually show the child in a pram.

1930's Kowloon Park, by Bails

But of course the early 1940s in Hong Kong were anything but usual, with Hong Kong occupied by the Japanese, and most of the western families interned in Stanley Camp. There the usefulness of the Chinese baby carrier, plus the fact it didn't need a lot of resources to make, overcame any prejudices the internees may have felt about wearing them.

Here's a sketch drawn in Stanley Camp showing Chris in his carrier, being carried by his mother.

A J Savitsky's sketch of the baby sling in use, by Geoff Emerson

After the end of the war, the internees returned to their prams, but the carriers remained as popular as ever with local mothers. Andrew Suddaby caught two travelling in convoy in the late 1950s.

New Territories. Tai Po Market Fu Shin street, by Andrew Suddaby

There's only room for one child in the carrier, so how did the mother manage if she had two babies born in close succession? If they were her first two children, that must have been quite a headache. But families were larger then, so before long there would be an older brother or sister who could take over carrying the young child. Andrew's photos have a couple of examples:

Cheung Chau, by Andrew Suddaby

Aberdeen, children on quay, by Andrew Suddaby

The carriers were still popular in the 1960s and 70s, when Harry took these photos:

Boat Children - Sok Kwu Wan, by harryhktc

Fisher-folk Children Sha Tau Kok -1960's, by harryhktc

This type of cloth carrier is much less popular today, so we don't see them as often. And I've tried to remember if I've ever seen a child wearing one to carry another child, but I don't think I have. Although that style of carrier has gone out of fashion in Hong Kong, the idea of carrying a child close to the body has become more popular in overseas markets. You'll find modern carriers, with high-tech materials and ergonomic claims, in all the baby goods shops.

When each of our daughters were young, I carried them around strapped to my chest in a modern carrier made by Baby Bjorn. A bit sweaty in the Hong Kong summer, but a lot more convenient than trying to navigate a pram or stroller through the crowded streets.

We'll finish with photos of two carriers that deserve an award. First the award for most ornately decorated:

Hakka Woman and Child - Tai Po - late 1960's, by harryhktc

And finally the award for the person most in need of a handkerchief:

If you've got any memories of carrying or being carried in one of these, or any good photos showing the carriers, please let us know in the comments below.

Regards, David

PS The Chinese name for this type of carrier is 背带, which in Cantonese sounds something like 'mair dai'. 'mair' means to carry something on your back, and 'dai' is the word for a belt.

New on Gwulo this week... Gwulo moves home I've moved the Gwulo website to a new hosting company during the week. So far it is running smoothly, and I think it feels faster too. I'll be interested to hear if it seems any quicker to you.  Typhoon news A couple of people have asked if we were affected by the strong typhoon Hato on Wednesday. Here we are on Sunday morning and it's typhoon weather again, with signal number 8 raised for Typhoon Pakhar. Luckily for us, the only trouble we've faced is a couple of hours spent with towels and buckets, mopping up water. The combination of strong wind and heavy rain forced water in around the edges of closed windows, with water streaming in at the height of each typhoon. We haven't had this problem before, so it must be time to replace the rubber seals around the windows. On Friday we took one of our usual walks, up Hatton Road then down Peel Rise. The effects of the typhoon were obvious, with the path feeling a lot brighter than usual. The normally dense tree canopy was looking a lot more open after so many leaves and branches had been blown down. At one point we had to clamber through the branches of a tree that had fallen across Peel Rise, and we heard the sounds of a chainsaw up at the Peak clearing other fallen trees. People: Ron Taylor adds a very useful resource for WW2 and family researchers, a partial list of those interned in Ma Tau-wai camp Liz Hansen's 1960s Hong Kong Arthur Ernest PEILL [1915-1955] Other:​ ​Dry dock at Naval Dockyard [????-????] The Japanese tunnel below Sai Wan Redoubt is much more extensive than first thought ​Readers' questions: Brandon has started a major project, building a replica of 1947 Robinson Road in Minecraft! He's looking for photos of the area. Answers to previous questions: Translation of the Chinese characters on this silver nib holder, and a translation of a Chinese character on a bronze bowl If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: Yik Chi Theatre, Tiu Keng Leng, by OldTimer   1959 Junction of Nathan and Austin Roads, by eternal1966e   Click to see all recently added photos.

Issue 1 of History Notes was compiled by the late Phillip Bruce, and published as a printed booklet in the late 1980s. It covers topics ranging from prostitutes to poems, pirates to policemen:

• BITS OF OLD CHINA - An American resident of Canton gives an account of living there in the 1800s.
• RAISING THE FLAG AGAIN - A report of raising the flags at Stanley Camp in August 1945, to celebrate the British return to Hong Kong.
• THE AMERICAN NAVY ON THE CHINA COAST - The activities of the United States in Chinese waters in the nineteenth century .
• THE ANGELS OF WANCHAI - A Hong Kong veteran describes the prostitutes in Wanchai immediately before the Second World War, and how those same women risked great danger to care for the young soldiers during the fighting and when the soldiers were put into prisoner-of-war camps.
• MY PASSAGE OUT TO SEA - A wartime poem written in Shamshuipo camp. The author did not survive the war.
• YOUNG DAVID DIED AN EARLY DEATH IN MACAU - The story of one of the men buried in a Protestant cemeteries at Macau.
• THE HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE BATTALION ROYAL ARTILLERY - Details of the HKSRA's early history.
• SHARK ENDS SERGEANT’S STORY - Sergeant Jackson survived the fighting and internment, but made the fatal decision to have one last swim in Hong Kong before leaving.
• INFORMATION WANTED - Several questions form the 1980s, hopefully answered long ago!
• 1941 CASUALTY FIGURES - The estimates given by Major General C.M. Maltby in November 1945.
• LIFE'S HELL IN THE EAST - Extracts from a 1932 guidebook for new arrivals in Hong Kong.
• WIPING OUT A PIRATE LAIR - The attack on the pirates at Kuhlan in 1854.

Many thanks to Mr Bruce's family for letting me re-publish the booklet here on Gwulo, to give it a second lease of life and introduce it to a new audience.

New on Gwulo this week... CORRECTION In last week's newsletter about baby carriers, I used the Cantonese term 'mair dai', with the Chinese characters 背带. Those are wrong - the correct characters are 孭帶. Thanks to Winnie Davies for writing in with the correction. Gwulo book update Last week I met the broker who will arrange the layout and printing of the book. I've placed my order, and the current estimate for delivery of the books is early December. People: Henry MARRIOTT (aka Kid / Harry) [1878-1942] Ian H F KERR [????-????] Merrill Steele ADY [1895-1982] Andrew asks if the person in the photo of the flag raising at Stanley in 1945 Mr James Hill, Sergeant, Hong Kong Police, A93? And where to get a high-resolution copy of the photo? Places:​ Tsan Yung Mansions [1963- ] Luso Apartments (Former Bank Flats) [1956- ] Sung Wong Toi Garden [1959- ] Maxwell's grave in the grounds of St John's Cathedral Eastern Model Supply on Nathan Road, dealer in Marklin models The origins of the wooden arch on display in the GPO Gated Tunnel on Governors Walk, below Victoria Peak Pagoda [????- ] ​Readers' questions: Does this photo titled "48, Ho Man Tin Hill Road" actually show numbers 4 to 8 instead? Keith Clark and his wife lived in Hong Kong in the 1950s. He asks if anyone remembers "the Chanteclair Restaurant on Nathan Road or the fantastic Ricky's Russian Restaurant a couple of streets back"? Answers to previous questions: More memories and photos of baby carriers. More information about USS Jason. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: 1960s Classic Car, by eternal1966b   Close-up of the characters on the roof, by Admin   1963 Nathan Road - Swindon Bookshop, by Moddsey   The Naval Yard HK front.jpg, by Yvonne M Foley   Morrison Hall Band, Dec 1952, by wwphoon   1964 Kowloon Tong, by Eternal1966   Click to see all recently added photos.

The newest map on Gwulo shows Hong Kong and Kowloon in 1945. (Show me) <= Click the blue 'Show me' to update the map, and show the 1945 overlay...

I noticed three curiosities on the map:

#1 Which year exactly?

Ideally, a map shows a snapshot of how an area looked on a certain date. But with this map, the date changes according to where you look:

• 1929: Morrison Hill has the text "in course of demolition 1929" (show me). The remains of the hill were still being quarried away in 1945, but it's a sign that some parts of the map were much older than 1945.
• 1945: On the other hand, the oil tanks at the junction of Canton Road and Jordan Road are labeled "Destroyed Oil Tanks" (show me). That's right up to date, as the oil tanks were destroyed during the Second World War.
• But not all 1945: Not all the wartime damage is shown. eg the key has an entry, "VIII. Queen's College, Aberdeen Street", and the corresponding label on the map (show me). But in 1945 the building was just a ruin, as it was also one of the buildings destroyed during the war.

The text at the bottom-left corner of the map explains the differences. It notes the map is the "3rd. Edition 1945" (show me), but that it was originally published by the War Office in 1930, and revised by the Survey Office of the Public Works Department in 1931.

So the bulk of the map reflects Hong Kong around 1930, but with ongoing updates to reflect how Hong Kong looked when the British administration returned in 1945.

#2 Map contours

Hong Kong's buildings are so tall and so densely packed it is difficult to get a feel for the shape of the land beneath them. This map can help, as it shows the land's contours, even in the built-up areas.

For example, there's a series of U-shaped contours across the hillside between High Street and First Street (show me), telling us this was originally a shallow valley running downhill between two ridges. If you go back a further 100 years to the 1845 map you can follow the streams all the way down to the shore (show me). By 1945, the streams in that High Street / First Street area have disappeared (show me), running in pipes underground. There's still a sign of them further uphill though. Three blue lines are shown running downhill to Park Road, which must be where they go into the pipes.

#3 Map Key

The map has a key, listing all the numbered buildings shown on the map (show me). I wonder if this was also shown on the earlier copies of the map, or if it was a 1945 addition? I'm guessing it was a 1945 addition, to help the large influx of armed forces and civil servants who had recently arrived in Hong Kong.

Most of the pre-war British administration had spent the previous 3 years and 8 months either as Prisoners or War, or interned in Stanley Camp. Those who survived til the liberation in August 1945 were in poor health, and were sent overseas to recuperate. As their replacements were new to Hong Kong, the key would have been a good addition to help them find their way around.

Here is the full key, with each building linked to its page on Gwulo. Click a building's link to see any photos / additional information we have for it.

VICTORIA

• 1. Tai Ping Theatre, Queen’s Road West.
• 2. Sai Ying Poon, Government Vernacular School, Pokfulam Road.
• 2A. Hong Kong University Hostels.
• 3. Arthur Woo Nursing Home, 23-25 Babington Path.
• 4. Ellis Kadoorie School, Hospital Road.
• 5. Tung Wah Hospital, Po Yan Street.
• 6. Alice Memorial and Affiliated Hospitals, Bonham Road.
• 7. Western Market, Morrison Street.
• 8. Central Cinema, 334 Queen’s Road Central. (possibly the same building as the one we have listed as Central Theatre / 中央戲院 [1930-1971])
• 9. Chinese Y.M.C.A., 50-71 Bridges Street.
• 10. Belilios Public School for Girls, Hollywood Road.
• 11. Italian Convent, 38 Caine Road.
• 12. Mosque, Mosque Street.
• 13. P. & O. Building, 13 Connaught Road Central.
• 14. Queen’s Theatre (cinema), Queen’s Road Central.
• 15. China Building, 31 Queen’s Road Central.
• 16. Gloucester Building, Des Voeux Road Central. / Hong Kong Hotel, Pedder Street.
• 17. St. Francis Hotel, 13A Queen’s Road Central.
• 18. Marina House, 15 Queen’s Road Central. / Exchange Building, 16 Des Voeux Road Central.
• 19. King’s Theatre (cinema), 34 Queen’s Road Central.
• 20. Shell House, 28 Queen’s Road Central.
• 21. Bank of China, 4 Queen’s Road Central.
• 22. National City Bank of New York, 2 Queen’s Road Central.
• 23. Holland House, 9 Queen’s Road Central. / Mercantile Bank of India, 7 Queen’s Road Central. / Banque de I’lndo Chine (French Bank), 5 Queen’s Road Central.
• 24. Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, 3 Queen’s Road Central. / Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 1, Queen’s Road Central.
• 25. Union Building, Pedder Street. / King’s Building, 11 Connaught Road Central. / York Building, Chater Road. / St. George’s Building, Ice House Street.
• 26. Alexandra Building, junction of Chater Road and Des Voeux Road Central.
• 27. Queen’s Building, 4-5 Connaught Road Central.
• 28. Prince’s Building, 1-3 Des Voeux Road Central.
• 29. Hong Kong Club, 4 Connaught Road Central.
• 30. Telegraph Offices, 3 Connaught Road Central.
• 31. Butterfield & Swire, 1 Connaught Road Central.
• 32. Helena May Institute, Garden Road,
• 33. St. Joseph’s College, Kennedy Road.
• 34. St. Paul’s College (Girls), Macdonnell Road.
• 35. Headquarters House, Queen’s Road (opposite Royal NavalYard).
• 36. China Fleet Club, Gloucester Road.
• 37. Waterworks Office, Lockhart Road (in Public Works Department).
• 38. Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Home, 22 Hennessy Road, Wanchai. ((The red marker on the linked page shows the correct location of the Home, at 22 Hennessy Road. The label '38' on the 1945 map is mis-located, as it shows the location of the Chinese Methodist Church building.))
• 38A. St. Francis Hospital, 18 St. Francis Street.
• 39. Luk Kwok Hotel, Gloucester Road.
• 39A. Grand Theatre (cinema), Queen’s Road East.
• 40. Oriental Theatre (cinema), Flemming Road, Wanchai.
• 41. Wanchai Market, junction of Queen’s Road East and Wanchai Road.
• 42. Wanchai Government School, Queen’s Road East.
• 43. Hong Kong Jockey Club, Exchange Building, 16 Des Voeux Road Central. ((Ignore the text "Exchange Building, 16 Des Voeux Road Central." Whoever prepared the key mistakenly duplicated this text from item 18 above.))
• 44. Hong Kong Sanitorium and Hospital.
• 45. Hong Kong Tramways, junction of Canal Road East and Russell Street, Bowrington.
• 46. French Convent, Wong Nei Chong Road.
• 47. Hong Kong Dairy Farm Ice Plant, Great George Street, Causeway Bay.
• 48. French Hospital (St. Paul’s), Eastern Hospital Road, Soo Kun Poo.
• 49. Belilios Reformatory, Eastern Hospital Road, Soo Kun Poo.
• 50. Ellis Kadoorie Indian School, Eastern Hospital Road, Soo Kun Poo.
• 51. Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, Eastern Hospital Road, Soo Kun Poo.
• 52. China Motor Bus Co. Ltd., 137-9 Electric Road, Causeway Bay.
• 53. Hong Kong Electric Co. Ltd. (works), North Point.
• I. Cattle Market, North Street, Belcher Bay.
• II. Hong Kong University, Pokfulam and Bonham Roads.
• III. Sai Ying Poon Police Station, Queen’s Road West.
• IV. King’s College, Bonham Road.
• V. Old Civil Hospital, Hospital Road.
• VI. Lunatic Asylum, Eastern Street.
• VII. Harbour Office, Connaught Road Central.
• VIII. Queen’s College, Aberdeen Street.
• IX. Central Fire Station, Connaught Road Central.
• X. Central Market, Des Voeux Road Central.
• XI. Central Police Station, 3 Hollywood Road.
• XII. General Post Office, Pedder Street.
• XIII. Government House, Albert Road.
• XIV. Supreme Court, Des Voeux Road.
• XV. Government Offices, between Queen’s Road Central and Albert Road.
• XVI. Murray Barracks, Queen’s Road and Garden Road.
• XVII. Wellington Barracks, Royal Naval Yard.
• XVIII. Victoria Barracks, Queen’s Road (near Royal Naval Yard).
• XIX. Military Hospital, Bowen Road.
• XX. Wanchai Police and Fire Station, Gloucester Road.
• XXI. Royal Naval Hospital, Queen’s Road East.

• 1-17. Not shown.
• 18. King’s Park hutments, Gascoigne Road.
• 19. Alhambra Theatre (cinema), Nathan Road.
• 20. Po Hing Theatre (cinema), junction of Nathan Road and Gascoigne Road.
• 21. Magistracy, Gascoigne Road, King’s Park.
• 22. Majestic Theatre (cinema), and Palace Hotel, Nathan Road.
• 23. Diocesan Girls’ School, junction of Gascoigne Road and Jordan Road.
• 24. Railway repair shops, Chatham Road.
• 25. ZBW Broadcasting Station, junction of Chatham Road and Gascoigne Road.
• 26. Wallace Harper Garage, 223 Nathan Road.
• 27. Gun Club Hill Barracks, Chatham Road (between Austin and Gascoigne Roads).
• 28. Whitfield Barracks, Nathan Road (between Austin and Haiphong Roads).
• 30. Maryknoll Convent School, junction of Austin Road and Kimberley Road. / St. Mary’s School, 162 Austin Road.
• 31. Star Theatre (cinema), 17 Hankow Road.
• 32. Kowloon Hotel, Hankow Road.
• 33. Far East Motors Garage, 26 Nathan Road.
• 34. Water Police Station, Salisbury Road.
• 35. Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road.
• 36. European Y.M.C.A., Salisbury Road.
• 37. Fire Station, Salisbury Road.
• 38. Post Office, Salisbury Road.
• 39. Railway Station, Kowloon Point.

Getting the most out of the map

There's lots you can do with this map: eg zoom in to see more detail, hide the markers, make it transparent to see the modern map underneath it, and more. To learn how, please watch the short video tutorial.

Source of this map

The original copy of this map is held at the National Library of Australia (NLA). They provide details of the map (their ID: 3033521), an online viewer, the ability to download medium-resolution JPG or high-resolution TIFF copies, and confirmation that the map is out of copyright. It would be great to see Hong Kong government's map collections offer the same facilities.

Thanks to Howard Wilson for reminding me of the NLA's collection, and pointing me towards this map.

New on Gwulo this week... Gwulo book update I've paid my deposit, and handed over a USB memory stick with copies of all the text and images. The next step is to see what page layout & cover design the designer can conjure up. I'm not looking for anything very fancy, just something that is clear to read and attractive to look at. People: Remembering Mr Seed, teacher at DBS Can you identify anyone in this c.1949 SCMP staff photo? Gordon would like to hear any news of Cedric Salter, K. Bretling, Sandy Wigram,​ ​​Lew ​H.L. Mose,​ and Ian Robertson. They were all pilots in the HKAAF with Gordon in the 1950s. Dorothy WILSON (née PERKINS) [c.1913-????] was interned at Stanley Camp in WW2. Did she work at the Observatory pre-war? Places:​ Rikki's Restaurant [????-????], a Russian restaurant in TST Aberdeen Lower Reservoir [1890- ] built to supply water to a paper mill Do you remember the toy shops along Nathan Road between Kordan & Austin Roads: Eastern Model Airplane Co., National Toy Co., Union Toys Co., etc. Remembering Dills Corner Camp ​Readers' questions: There are ruins of housing on hillsides by WanChai Gap Rd./Green Trail. Who lived there and when were they cleared? Answers to previous questions: Remember the old rusty iron water tank at HKU? Moddsey has found a photo of a tank with the same design at the Peak in the late 1800s. Views inside the old GPO building on Connaught Road. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: 1910s General Post Office Building (2nd Generation), by Moddsey   1953 Liberty theater, by Eternal1966   1970 Lai Yuen amusement park, by Eternal1966   1935 wedding at Union Chapel, by Robert   Click to see all recently added photos.

With typhoons and hurricanes in the news recently, here's a photo of one that made the news just over 90 years ago.

When: The title gives us the date, 1926. We can do better than that, as the photo must have been taken shortly after the great rainstorm hit Hong Kong on the 19th of July, 1926. The heavy rain started around midnight, and carried on til midday. Even today it holds the records for Hong Kong's highest 6-hour and 12-hour rainfalls, at 430.6mm and 526.7mm respectively. [1]

When I looked up that day's newspapers, I wondered if I'd made a mistake with the date. The 19th July issue of the Hong Kong Daily Press [2] hardly mentions the weather at all - just a half column on page 3, saying how lucky Hong Kong was to escape the typhoon when it veered east towards Shantou.

Of course, though Hong Kong missed the typhoon's strongest winds, it was the rain that would do the damage. Though it was missing from the first newspaper, the Hong Kong Telegraph [3] for the same date did catch the story. Its front page headlines read:

These two very different reports are likely caused by two different editions of the papers ending up in the archive - the early, pre-rainstorm edition of the Daily Press, but the late edition of the Telegraph written after the flood's effects had become clear.

What: The title of the photo refers to a nullah that has been swept away. The word nullah comes from India originally, where it means a "watercourse, riverbed, or ravine" [4]. In Hong Kong we use it to describe the man-made channels built to tame Hong Kong's old streams, and hopefully contain them when they're swollen by the summer storms.

In the competition between stream and nullah, it's clear to see that in 1926 the stream won! The remains of the nullah run down the left side of the photo, but its top and bottom sections had been swept away.

As the nullah on the left was overwhelmed, the water found its own path down the valley. As it carried away rocks and soil it cut away the bank on the right, demolishing a hut and a pipeline so that just the back wall and a stub of pipe remain.

Where: The Telegraph article mentions the nullah and its location:

"Water fully six feet deep flooded Queen's Road nearer to Wanchai, as the big nullah which passes down by the side of Murray Barracks burst its sides."

You can see the nullah shown as a pale blue line running in a 2 o'clock direction below the Murray Barracks on the 1945 map we looked at last week [5]. The newspaper just calls it the 'big nullah', but its proper name was the Albany nullah.

As to which section of the nullah we're looking at, I'm not 100% sure. The slope doesn't look very steep though, so I guess it was one of the lower sections. If you have any other photos of the Albany Nullah that show this section and its surroundings, please could you upload them for us to see?

Who: I can see three different reasons the people were at the nullah when this photo was taken.

First, to collect water. The young man on the right is filling up a couple of tins with water, then he'll carry them away on the shoulder pole that is propped up against the slope.

The second, and largest, group of people are at the nullah to do their laundry.

Third, over on the left are two men who stand out for being the proud owners of hats. Here's the one on the left,

... and here's what he's holding.

At first glance it's hard to imagine what use that little hammer will be, given the scale of the project that will be needed to repair the damage to the nullah. But maybe he's got a smaller job in mind. Following his line of sight, he's looking down at a pipe that emerges from a low wall that's been built along the ridge of the weir. In the 1920s, water from streams and nullahs was still used by Hong Kong's households for tasks such as flushing lavatories. He may well have been sent along to get that flow of water working again.

Trivia: Where's the nullah today? When a rainstorm hits modern Hong Kong, all that water still has to flow somewhere. The nullah still exists, but it has been covered over so it is hidden from view. If you look at the route of the nullah on the map again [5], you can probably spot where it's gone to.

When Albany Nullah was covered over, Cotton Tree Road was laid on top of it. So next time you drive up there on a rainy day, spare a thought for the torrent of water running along beneath you, and cross your fingers the nullah wins.

Gwulo photo reference: A448

Related pages on Gwulo:

• Other pages about the 1926 Typhoon: The landslide near Hongkong University that killed several workmen, and flooding in Stone Nullah Lane.
• A timeline of Hong Kong's typhoons

References:

1. "The Phenomenal Rainstorm in 1926" article on the Observatory's Blog
2. Hong Kong Daily Press, 1926-07-19
3. The Hong Kong Telegraph, 1926-07-19 
4. Dictionary entry for nullah in the Oxford Dictionary
5. The Albany nullah running alongside the Murray Barracks, shown on the 1945 map

CORRECTION:

17 Sep 2017 - Thanks to Martin for pointing out I'd written the wrong units in the rainfall records: "Your record rainfall measurements sound rather harmless - about a pint of rain in 12 hours?  Could've been lapped up by a small dog. You surely mean "rainfalls, at 430.6mm and 526.7mm" - millimetres, not millilitres.  That is indeed a lot of water." I've corrected the units to mm.

New on Gwulo this week... People: Stanley Camp internee Walter Henry NOLLOTH [????-1968] Places:​ Gospel Hall, Pedder Street [????-????] Aberdeen Paper Mill [1892-c.1930], stood where the Aberdeen Technical School stands today. 22 Barker Road [1949- ] under renovation today, or demolition? 1890s Central Reclamation [1903- ] West Kowloon Reclamation [2003- ], and photos following the progress of the reclamation. ​Readers' questions: Where as this photo of a junk taken? The sails don't look like a Hong Kong junk. Public Works Department's Annual Reports Contributor Herostratus has uploaded the text for the Public Works Department's Annual Reports for 1898, 1899, 1900, and 1901. They're full of useful infrmation if you're interested in the development of Hong Kong's buildings and infrastructure. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: Collecting chicks at Kai Tak for Dairy Farm, by 1035rmpeill   IMAG0057.jpg, by alhill   Ma Wan in about 1995, by Malcolm Cowan   Click to see all recently added photos.

Yvonne Foley introduces a little-known piece of UK-Chinese history, in the hope of hearing from the families who were involved.

At the beginning of the Second World War there were 20,000 Chinese mariners in the port of Liverpool, England. Many were there to replace the British merchant seamen who had gone to join the Royal Navy. A significant proportion of these men were from Hong Kong, Singapore, Ningbo and Shanghai and became trapped in the UK when in late 1941 and early 1942 the Japanese took each of these places.

Paid around a third of British seamen’s pay and not getting the danger money given to the British, the Chinese withdrew their labour. The strike lasted from February 1942 to May of the same year. By the end of it they had almost achieved equality of pay but had established a reputation as troublemakers with the ship owners and the Government – especially the men from Shanghai.

At the end of hostilities the Government and the ship owners determined to get rid of the Chinese. By the middle of 1946 nearly all had gone. This despite the fact that many had married or were in relationships with British women and now had families living in Liverpool.

A mixed marriage in Liverpool in WW2

It was difficult to remove the Hong Kong men, as they were nominally British. But the Shanghai ‘troublemakers’ were different: they had no right to remain and, if married to a British woman were not to be told that they did have such a right. Their pay was cut to near pre-War levels, they were not allowed to take a shore job and were told that they must sail back to China.

Men left thinking that they could sign on a ship bringing them back. They were wrong. They had been blacklisted and could not get on a ship to take them back to the UK. Twenty two Anglo-Chinese couples said that they would go back to China together and make their lives there. They seem to have disappeared without trace.

On the voyage back to China some men jumped ship in Singapore, some in Hong Kong. When Shanghai fell to the Communists, numbers of Chinese seamen managed to get to Taiwan with the escaping Nationalists. Others had joined Shanghai shipping lines and came to Hong Kong to live in North Point and Kowloon Tong. But many were now trapped in Mainland China.

A few of the men who had escaped China did get back to Liverpool but only to find that too much time had passed. Their wives and partners had remarried. 

So most of the children from these relationships grew up without any memories of their fathers. Some would hear stories from their mothers, but for others it was never talked about. A lucky few might have a photo like the creased copy below, to see what their father looked like.

One of the fathers, a union official who had to leave the UK

Research into this little known aspect of Anglo-Chinese history has revealed some of the story of what happened. But there must be those in Hong Kong, descendants of those Chinese mariners, who can add to the story. Is there anyone out there?

Yvonne & Charles Foley
03.09.2017

Yvonne’s father, Nan Young, was one of the Shanghai sailors described above. He never got to see his daughter, as he had to leave Britain in 1946, shortly before Yvonne was born.

Yvonne visiting Shanghai in 2012

Yvonne would love to hear from anyone who has any information about these sailors, their British wives and girlfriends, or their children. Her email address is: yvonne[at]halfandhalf[dot]org[dot]uk

For more information about Yvonne’s research into these families and their stories, please visit her website, Liverpool and its Chinese Seamen.

Finally, if anyone is in contact with any Shanghai families or associations in Hong Kong who might have information to share, please could you let them know about this article.

CORRECTIONS: Thanks to the readers who pointed out two mistakes in last week's newsletter. First I got the units wrong - the 12-hour rainfall was 526.7mm, not 526.7ml! Second I got the nullah wrong too - the photo actually shows the nullah above Hill Road in Shek Tong Tsui. New on Gwulo this week... People: Harmston and 1314 have added police IDs to Stanley Camp internees Tom ROSS [????-????], Harry TYLER [c.1917-????] and Leslie Coleman PENNELL [1902-1968] Jose CHU (aka Ruiz) [c.1922-c.1944] Places:​ Photos of Shatin Police Station / Shatin Babies Home / High Rock Centre [1924- ] Memories of the Carlton Hotel in the 1980s 40 High Street [????-c.1920] Other Steven continues documenting WW2 air raids over Hong Kong and southern China. Ron has uploaded a copy of the index from his book "The Arthur May Story, Hong Kong 1941 - 1945" We've found more information about the cast iron water tanks at the Peak, confirming they were moved there from other locations. Memories of Hong Kong in the early 60s in the RAF If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: "Stalling Stanley" at The Stanley Empire, by Admin   Hong Kong engineers, by Susamartin51   1926 July 18th -19th Rainstorm 05, by The National Archives UK   High Rock, by Philk   Click to see all recently added photos.

We first looked at this photo a few weeks ago (see the newsletter for 20th August).

That time I concentrated on the area around the Naval Yard Extension project, which helped us date the photo to early 1904.

Today we'll take a closer look at the right of the photo, running from eastern mid-levels, through Wanchai, and ending at Causeway Bay.

Here are those two houses in the foreground.

I'm not sure what the lower building was. Looking at the 1909 map, it may have been "The Grove". Can anyone confirm?

The higher building is a match for the building in the photo below, previously identified as Braeside on the hillside above Macdonnell Road.

Braeside - residence of a Chinese Gentleman, by annelisec

Look up from those two houses, to see a large construction project underway.

While the Navy were building their dockyard the Army were busy too, building the new British Military Hospital. By 1904 the left wing is furthest advanced, at about one storey high. There was still a lot of work to do though, so the hospital wasn't opened until 1907. Here's how it looked when it was all finished.

Looking at the older photo again, there are a couple of roads at the bottom of the view. Bowen Road runs across the photo, while Borrett Road leads down and away to the left. Just above the junction of the two roads is the entrance to the Hospital's grounds, marked by two large gateposts.

I walked past there on Friday, and took the photos below. You'll see that one and a half of the gateposts are still standing, and that they've acquired a small gatehouse building at some point.

Looking beyond the hospital site, the next spur has three, square-shaped areas.

We can see reflections, showing that they held water. They were the Bowen Road Filter Beds, part of Hong Kong's drinking water supply. Their job was to take water from the aqueduct that ran along Bowen Road, and filter impurities from that water before it carried on downhill to the buildings below.

Before heading further into the distance, look left from the hospital to see the Wanchai seafront.

I've added the street numbers of the buildings, eg the four white buildings at the left were numbers 1-4, Praya East, more commonly known as the Blue Buildings. For more information about them and the other buildings along the Praya, I recommend an article from earlier in the year that looks at them in detail: Wanchai's seafront in 1902

Here's the next section of the seafront.

The road running along the seafront is still Praya East. You can see it runs up from the bottom of the photo, then turns off to the left at a junction. There are a few interesting items around that junction.

Looking towards 7 o'clock from the junction, there are a couple of buildings on the sea side of the road. I believe they belong to Ah King's shipyard.

In the 10 o'clock direction, the Praya turns off to the left, then a bit further along it turns back to the right. Today this is the section of Johnston Road that runs from the junction with Wanchai road to the junction with Hennessy Road.

At 11 o'clock from the junction is a low building behind some trees. That was the Number 2 Police Station, Wanchai's police station for many years.

Finally at 1 o'clock we see Wanchai Road continue into the distance, skirting around the base of a large hill.

Heres a better view of that hill, Morrison Hill.

Down in the right foreground is another military hospital, the Royal Naval Hospital. Did Hong Kong really need two military hospitals?

There were large numbers of British troops and sailors in Hong Kong at this time. And Hong Kong was an unhealthy place to be, which kept the hospitals busy. But aside from any rational arguments, this was the time when the Navy and Army were still very proud and separate, so it would have been very unlikely to see them sharing a hospital.

Just behind the hospital I can see a couple of high roofs that look like the matshed roofs that were erected over building sites. Perhaps the sight of the new Army hospital under construction encouraged the Navy to make some upgrades to their own hospital buildings.

Above the hospital, about half-way up the slope, is a building that I think must have been built not long before this photo was taken. Looking through the maps at the Hong Kong Historic Maps website, there's no sign of it on a detailed map of the area from 1901, but it is shown on a 1913 map, marked "European House".

The 1901 map does show the buildings at the top of the hill though. They're shown as a terrace of four buildings, with address 1-4, Morrison Hill. The Morrison Education Society had built a school on the hill in the 1840s, but I'm not sure if the building seen in this photo kept any part of the old school building.

On the right of the hlll is the flat land of the recreation ground, with a terrace of houses in the background at the base of Leighton Hill.

We can see over Leighton Hill to get a glimpse of the buildings on the other side.

The chimney in the centre foreground marks the site of the old cotton mills, where St Paul's school and hospital stand today. Above and left of the chimney are a group of buildings built to a standad design. They look to be built on that grid of streets in Tai Hang, behind Tung Lo Wan Road.

Above and left of the chimney is a hillside being quarried away. Has that hill been completely removed or does some of it remain today? 

For the last zoom, here's the top-left corner showing the area around Causeway Bay.

The Navy make their last appearance with one of their hulks at bottom left. And is that another, smaller hulk slightly to its right?

The centre of the photo shows East Point, then an industrial area with several chimneys belching smoke. Beyond that is the old Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, today's Victoria Park.

New on Gwulo this week... New feature: You can now use Google to search Gwulo. People: Frederick Percy FRANKLIN, General Manager of the SCMP, and a POW in Shamshuipo Camp during WW2. David Wylie MCDONALD [1927-2007], an architect who designed several buildings for the Hong Kong government. Bernard is looking for classmates from Royden House School in the 1960s. Places:​ Remembering Gun Club Hill Barracks in the 1970s Liz is documenting the original buildings on the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate [c.1922- ]. Can you add any photos or memories of the original buildings? What did Ship Street used to look like? Other David James, former headmaster of Island School, shares some tips for teaching Hong Kong History. The Kernel Seed Company in the 1930s As a follow-up to last week's article about Shanghai seamen with mixed families in Liverpool in WW2, here's a BBC programme that looked at the topic. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received. Some of the new photos added this week: A glimpse of the Bowrington Canal, by Admin   Victoria Park Swimming Pool, by Mairi McDonald   Lei Yue Mun Barracks Bay View 1960, by McAllister RMP   Click to see all recently added photos.

This week's guest post from Rob Weir introduces a collection of military sites around the Hong Kong coastline from the 1930s. They're small enough to be easily overlooked, but they have an interesting history.

The Machine Gun Posts are first found in the 1935 Hong Kong Defence Plan, where they are listed at various beaches assessed as potential landing sites for an invader, both on HK Island and the Mainland. Here are their locations shown on a map. (e-mail subscribers, please click here to view the web version of this page and see the map.)

Whether they were built before then is unknown, however within a couple of years their usefulness was in question, firstly on the Mainland with the construction of Pillboxes on the Inner Line, and then on the Island when the New Policy determined that, effectively, only the Island was to be defended. All beaches were then considered as landing places, and were to be defended with Pillboxes. These were subsequently built, often within a few metres of the Machine Gun Post position.

What remains today?

The markers on the map are colour-coded to show if any remains of a site still exist (yellow), or if the site has been cleared (red). With the exception of a few built in still-isolated areas, most have succumbed to development, their original positions now hundreds of metres from the nearest water amid buildings and streets.

This photo shows one of the sites that has escaped re-development, on the east side of Tai Tam Bay. This is the typical layout for a gun position, consisting of a small concrete platform with a low wall in front.

Across on the west side of Tai Tam Bay, the site near the old pumping station has positions for two guns:

While at Chung Hom Kok, the platform has disappeared under the sand and only the low wall at the front is still visible.

How effective would they have been?

Their effectiveness against landing troops and bombardment must be questioned. Unquestioned must be the bravery of those sent to man the positions, on open beaches with the minimum of protection. An extract from a document in the National Archives at Kew (WO 106/2380 dated Nov 1937) makes the point:

“As you know, our beach defences at the moment consist only of Volunteer Machine Guns holding scattered points along the coastline with no cover at all bar small segments of cement about a foot high”.

This photo shows a Machine Gun Post in use. It is captioned "The No. 2 Scottish Company Vickers machine-gunners on Stanley Beach".

Thanks to Rob for sharing his research with us. He notes this is a work in progress, so any corrections or additional photos and information will be gratefully received. Rob isn't sure of the status of the sites marked by blue markers above, so please let us know if you find any signs of those machine gun posts.

Further reading:

• Information about the pillboxes that replaced these machine gun posts around Hong Kong island.
• More military sites in Hong Kong.

Gwulo lunch this Tuesday, 10th Oct (click for details). We're currently four people for lunch, so please join us if you're free. New on Gwulo this week... People: How did Wallace Lawrence KINLOCH / KINLOCK [c.1917-1997] escape retribution by the Japanese in WW2? Places:​ A timeline of the Carlton Hotel on Ice House Street Remembering attending school at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kowloon in the 1950s. The rusty iron water tank above HKU has a brother - a similar tank at Barker Road Other Details of the Domei News Agency in Hong Kong in the run-up to WW2 Looking for information about the early efforts to plant and cultivate the Peak. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added this week: Can anyone confirm if this photo was taken at  Watson's factory on Mok Chong St., Hung Hom? Family photo, by Raymond Tse   1961 RAF Sek Kong, by Eternal1966   Dairy Farm, by Wallydog   Click to see all recently added photos.

We'll start with some photos and postcards I bought last month. Then as I've been arguing with the book designer about what makes a good photo, we'll take a look at that too.

The seven photos are all the small type that were typically sold to tourists to go in to their photo album. In this case I don't see any sign that the photos were mounted, so the original owner probably just kept them loose. (As always, you can click on any photo to see a larger copy you can zoom in to.)

Chinese junk

Chinese junks

Hongkong from the harbour

Public Garden

Peak Tramway

The Peak

Repulse Bay Hotel

The group also includes two postcards.

Peak Tramway

Al fresco Restaurant

So, which of these are any good?

The designer who is currently working on the layout of the Gwulo book complains that several of the images I've given her are 'too fuzzy', and aren't suitable for printing. These unsuitable images are blown-up areas of a larger photo that show some detail I want to write about.

How well would this set of photos blow up? Compare the postcard with the small photo showing the view from the harbour.

Not blown up

Blow up x 2

Blow up x 4

Blow up x 8

I guess the designer would find the view from the harbour getting fuzzy around the 2x blow up, but would be ok with the larger Al fresco postcard up to around a 4x blow up.

It's not surprising that the postcard blows up better, as it's around twice the size of the small photo. So when looking for an old photo to blow up, bigger is usually better. Except...

Apart from the size of a print, we also need to consider how it was printed. The black & white pictures in this set were all printed using a photographic process, but the colour postcard was printed on a printing press. It is an attractive view, but we can't blow it up very much before we see the coloured dots that were used during printing.

Not blown up, and blown up x 8

We can even see significant differences in blow-upability within a single photo. The photo of the public gardens is a good example.

Public Garden, by Admin

I've blown up a building from the centre, and three people from the bottom of the photo. Camera lenses give their best results in the centre of the photo so the building is quite sharp. But as you can see the edges capture less detail and don't blow up as well. The three people at the bottom of the photo are just a blur.

Blown up x8, from centre and bottom of photo

Learning to live with fuzzy photos

If we want to print a typical coffee-table photo book, we'll certainly need to stick to large photos that will blow up well, and look sharp when printed. But that isn't the book I have in mind.

I want to show readers the clues I've found in a photo, even if that means accepting a bit of fuzziness. Often I'm grateful to see the clue at all, and don't mind that the blown-up detail isn't super-sharp. So I've replied to the designer that she's absolutely right, some of the blown up photos aren't very clear. But that it doesn't matter. 

I haven't convinced the designer yet, and I'm not sure I will. But I'm hoping readers will understand.

An example of a fuzzy clue

Where was the Al fresco postcard taken?

When I first saw this postcard for sale, I was struck by the how similar the subject and style are to another card I bought a few years ago:

c.1935 Drinking Tea at Happy Valley

We worked out the location for that postcard was Happy Valley, from the fuzzy tower at top-right. 

St Margaret's Church

The same tower is shown in the Al fresco postcard, so it was also taken at Happy Valley.

Trivia: These photos and postcards all came from a seller in Finland. I wonder how they ended up there?

New on Gwulo this week... People:  MJT is looking for Jackie Godkin who used to live in the Peak Tower Flats in the 1970s Adverts from the 1910s and 1930s showing Aileen Woods Obituary of Pat Sephton, founding manager of Bottoms Up John SLOAN (aka Sconnie) [1913-????], HKVDC and POW Places:​ Richard Phillips is hoping to get a commemorative plaque erected on the site of the former North Point Prisoner of War Camp Photos of the old searchlight on Green Island Update on the old Mo Tat Wan school on Lamma Information about early forestation of the Peak When did the Sai Kung Theatre stop showing films? Was Murray House haunted or not? Public Works Department Store off Praya East [1900-????] Where did this doorway on Breezy Path lead to? Was St Joseph's Building used by Wah Yan or Joan of Arc School? St. Barbara's Garrison Church - Stanley Fort [????- ] Other We were six at lunch for the Gwulo meetup on Tuesday. Thanks again to Annelise for arranging. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added this week: Japanese Pillbox hid under the MacIntosh Fort 麥景陶碉堡, by FreddieWalker   19390713 HKT Sloan-Whyte wedding, by Admin   Click to see all recently added photos.

About 20-30 years ago, when postcards were still widely used, I had a deal with a friend that we'd send each other the least attractive postcards we could find: 1960s concrete shopping centres were a popular choice! This view from 1900s Hong Kong would have been a fine contender:

It's not obvious why a tourist would want this card, but Jubilee Road was actually a popular destination. Despite the unattractive card, in real life it was famed for its beauty. Here's a description from a 1924 guide book:

PERHAPS after the Peak, the Colony’s most famous sight, is the drive round the island. Leaving the city in a motor car, the visitor has three choices before him—he can go via Shaukiwan, via Pokfulam, or via Jubilee Road.

Although slightly longer, the last is usually acclaimed the prettiest. The way first lies through the western Chinese district. After the city has been left behind, the coast is followed. Added to the usual Hongkong beauty, is the sylvan setting, which often recalls an English country lane. The Jubilee Road converges with the higher Pokfulam Road some distance before Aberdeen is reached.

If the tourist followed the second route, via Pokfulam, the guide continues:

[...[ the visitor leaves the city via Garden Road which branches off Queen’s Road opposite the cricket ground. From Garden Road he turns into Caine Road; and after passing Government House, with its Indian sentries standing guard, he goes through the upper residential district and below the University situated some distance above. Leaving the city, the Road follows the contour of the Hog’s Back until Pokfulam is reached. Here the visitor will note the Dairy Farm Company’s green pastures; also the French Mission a castellated building with the publishing branch for issuing books, including dictionaries, in every Oriental language.

Our second postcard shows the French Mission's building, mentioned above:

I guess this may be the only postcard of Hong Kong that shows the building where it was printed?

The guide book's third route took the tourist east from Central, heading towards Shau Kei Wan. On a warm day they might have stopped off at the "Beach of North Point" for a swim.

There's a note on the back - if you can read French, please can you help translate it for us?

It's hard to imagine now, but at this time North Point was considered a recreation area. There aren't many landmarks visible in the postcard, but I can see a curved gateway above the "w" of the watermark. It looks very similar to the gateway at the entrance of the Ming Yuen Gardens which were in this area:

These three postcards were part of last month's purchases. Unlike the set we looked at last week, these were all bought individually, so it's just luck that they share a link to the tourist's trip around the island. The other three were also bought one by one, starting with this view of "Part of Queen's Road".

You've probably noted the tram lines, and of course the tram didn't run along Queen's Road so this shows Des Voeux Road instead. The postcard was published in the UK by Tuck, so given the distance it's not surprising a mistake crept in to the title.

Tuck was a giant in the postcard world, so it would be wonderful to look into their archives and see the original photos used for their Hong Kong postcards. Unfortunately, as this history of Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd explains:

[...] on the night of December 29th, 1940, the Nazis poured tons of bombs on London. By morning, Raphael House was shell and rubbish. Records of seventy-four years and 40,000 or more original pictures and photographs by the best artists were in ashes.

The last two postcards I bought both show views of the harbour.

The first one looks out over Wanchai and the Royal Naval Hospital. The card is a bit beaten up around the corners, where it looks like it has been pinned up then pulled down. Fortunately none of the main view is damaged, so a visit to Photoshop will help tidy that up.

The last one also looks over Wanchai, but from further west along the hillside:

I bought it to take a closer look at the big ship above the "u" of the watermark, which I believe is the early aircraft carrier, HMS Argus.

It's always a bit of a gamble when buying these old postcards, as unless the seller posts detailed scans I don't know what their quality will be. The postcards printed as photos are usually sharper, but not always. Luckily in the case of the Harbour view above, the photo is very sharp. Apart from the view of Argus, there are also good views of the Praya East reclamation, and the aerial ropeway, so we'll come back and look at that postcard in more detail another day.

Gwulo's photos and reference books are rapidly disappearing, as we pack up to move to a different flat next weekend. Gwulo's newsletter will take a one week break, then return the following week once the boxes are unpacked!

Regards, David

New on Gwulo this week... Deb Coxon shows a tablecloth embroidered with 300 signatures of Stanley Camp internees. She knows of the Day Joyce sheet, but asks if there are any other embroidered sheets like this in existence. People: Does anyone remember Jim and Jean Brooke? They were in HK with the HK auxiliary airforce 1957-1960 and may have received an award related to typhoon work. Duncan William MACINTOSH [????-????] Thomas Kirkman DEALY [1861-1924] Places:​ History of St Barbara's Garrison Church at Stanley Fort Lots of photos of the huts on Sunset Peak, Lantau in 1948 (scroll to the bottom of that page). Can you help identify anyone? KC Kong has clarified the history of St Joseph's Building Some rare views of 17-19 Kennedy Road Other Read replies to the Murray House haunting thread The HKVDC's Mobile Column used BSA motorcycle combinations with Vickers Medium Machine Guns Another octagonal cast iron water tank has been identified, also up at the Peak Scott is looking for old Hong Kong Street Signs If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added this week: 1945 Japanese POWs Marching, by Eternal1966   1967 Chatham Road Camp and Hung Hom Reclamation, by eternal1966e   Kowloon-Rifle Ranges.jpg, by IDJ   Who are the children in this Quarry Bay School photo from 1977-78? 77-78, by Anepc   Click to see all recently added photos.

Greetings from sunny San Po Kong!

We moved flats last weekend, so after 25 years living in and around Kennedy Town on Hong Kong island, it's time to get to know Kowloon better. The new flat looks out over the old Kai Tak Airport site, so let me show you the view, and a few points of interest.

Looking northeast

That photo looks northeast along Prince Edward Road East, with old Kai Tak on its right. Despite all the construction underway on the airport site, traces of its history remain. The road I've marked (A) above is an example - it's named Concorde Road.

Concorde's first visit to Hong Kong-harbour low level fly-by-1976, by IDJ

Looking south

This view looking south towards Hong Kong island gives the best idea of the size of the site. It's mostly just an expanse of flat ground, but the old runway (B) is still clear to see. There is a better selection of landmarks if we turn further to the right.

Looking southwest

(C) is the first in this view, a small cluster of buildings that includes a curved Nissen-type hut, and what looks a small aircraft hangar. The modern map marks them as "HK Aviation Club". You can see them more clearly at the bottom-right of this 1996 view:

(D) isn't a specific building, but marks the height limit that applied when the airport was in use. The taller buildings date from after the airport closed in 1998, showing how much development there has been over the last 20 years.

(E) is the old airport hotel. It has been renamed the Regal Oriental Hotel, but it's still the same building. There used to be a footbridge connecting it to the airport's terminal building on the left of the highway, so it was a handy place to pass the time if you got to the airport early. The footbridge has been removed, but a couple of road ramps that connected the right carriageway of the highway to the airport still remain.

(F) marks where the Kai Tak Nullah disappears underground, before reappearing in a channel that ran across the apron and emptied out into the strip of water between the runway and the mainland. That water used to stink - when you flew into Kai Tak the smell of the nullah was a sure sign you'd landed. So it's been a pleasant surprise to find how much the nullah has changed.

When we first came to look at flats here, I got a glimpse of the middle section of the nullah from the top deck of the bus we were on, and noticed some white birds there.

I assumed the birds were fake, installed to make the area look a bit prettier. But when we walked over for a closer look, one of the "fake" birds got up and flew away!

The water still has a bit of a whiff about it, but is much better than before. It is certainly clean enough to have shoals of large fish in it, which explain the presence of the birds.

The project to improve the old nullah includes some re-branding (modern maps call it the Kai Tak River instead of Nullah), and a website. The Kai Tak River website's history page is worth a visit to see how the watercourse has changed its route over the years, and to learn how they keep it flowing during the dry season - spoiler: it involves sewage from Shatin!

(G) is the oldest item to note, and pre-dates the airport. The original shoreline ran near to the left carriageway of the modern highway, and overlooked a shallow bay. Kowloon City was on the right of the carriageway, so there was a steady traffic of boats visiting this area to transport goods and people. To make it easier to load and unload the boats, a long pier was built out into the bay, first from wood and then later from stone. It was known as the Lung Tsun Pier, or the Kowloon City Public Pier.

Kowloon City Pier, by hfsiu

The pier was buried when the bay was reclaimed, but its remains were re-discovered after the airport was closed. The site of those remains is shown by the green rectangle of vegetation marked (G).

Those are some of the things I've noticed in the first week living here. What else should I look out for around this area?

Further reading:

• The Lung Tsun Pier
• Lots of photos of old Kai Tak

Gwulo book update: I saw the proofs from the printer on Thursday. They look very good, but we decided to make final tweaks to three of the photos. I'll receive the updated proofs to sign off on Tuesday, then the printer can start work. I'm hoping to receive the printed books in early December. New on Gwulo... People: Dawn is hoping to contact Elizabeth Wright-Brown, who'd be aged around 77. Elizabeth was in Stanley Camp as a child, known as Betty Denton. She is half-sister to Dawn's mother. Kelly welcomes information on his grandmother, Joyce Wilkinson and her family in Hong Kong. Looking for information about Ebrahim el Arculli and family. Policeman Edward Albert VINCENT [c.1889-????]. Reports on Frank Roberts's imprisonment in Canton by the Japanese, and Walter Thompson's escape from Stanley Camp. Places:​ A soldier's memories of Tai Shek Mo / Crest Hill in the 1950s, and details of the 1920s stone crest there. Remembering the former Résidence de France on the Peak. Japanese wartime tunnels around Tates Ridge to One Rise More. Photos of Dragon's Lodge in the 1920s 1920s photos of Bicton Klaus has taken photos comparing the same views from his visits in 1980 and 2017:  Glenealy, Hanoi Road, and Kowloon Park Other Thanks to everyone who replied to the last newsletter with a translation of the French writing on the postcard, and to Moddsey for confirming the location of the postcards of Des Voeux Road and North Point. Leslie explains what the wartime diaries mean to families who had relatives in wartime Hong Kong. Does anyone know the background to Cohen Optical in TST? If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added: Contributor schultie is uploading a very interesting set of family photos from the 1920s. Here are a few - click on one and use the "Navigate gallery" to see the others. Unknown tower ca. 1925, by Jan Schultheiss   Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong 1920s, by Jan Schultheiss   Dragon Lodge, by Jan Schultheiss   Friston Cottage, by Jan Schultheiss   Other new photos: RN HMS TAMAR 1952/3, by Jerry Maycock   Ferry Point Estate, by m20wc51   1910s North Point Beach, by Moddsey   1920s Tregunter Mansions Letter Boxes, by Moddsey   Po Hing Theatre, by uwm   Click to see all recently added photos.

Thanks to Jan Schultheiss, who has been uploading photos that his grandfather, P. Marks, took in the 1920s. Mr Marks worked in the Hong Kong branch of a Dutch bank, the Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank, but in his free time he was a keen amateur photographer.

Many of his photos show views that are new to me. So, although I've often seen this old gun near the upper entrance to the HKU campus:

... his is the first photo I've seen of the gun in its original condition, when it was installed in the Victoria Battery:

As another example, we already have photo with a distant view of this building, but this is the first close-up I've seen of Friston Cottage. It looks as though it belongs in the English countryside, but instead it stood at the western end of May Road.

He also captured a couple of the major events of the 1920s. This photo shows the fire that destroyed the North wing of the Hongkong Hotel:

And another shows the paper from the Dutch Club's barometer, where the dramatic drop in air pressure on the 18th of August records the great typhoon of 1923:

Please scroll down to see the full set of photos. You can click any photo to see a larger copy, and to read any notes and comments that have been added.

The Gwulo book shop is open for business! The first book for sale is Patricia O'Sullivan's investigation into the histories of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Irish community in Hong Kong, and the life of working-class westerners. If you're interested in these topics, and especially in how they are interconnected, you'll enjoy this book: Click here for more information, and to order your copy of Policing Hong Kong, An Irish History. We ship worldwide.

The Marks family's photos from the 1920s

Entrance to Tregunter Mansions

View from 2 Tregunter Mansions, November 1925

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong 1920s

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong 1920s

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong in the 1920s

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong in the 1920s

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong 1920s

Interior of probably Dragon Lodge, Lugard Road

Interior Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank (Dutch East Indies Trading Bank) 1920s

Unknown tower ca. 1925

Staff Dutch East-Indies Commercial Bank 1925/6

Staff Dutch East-Indies Commercial Bank 1919/20

Dutch East Indies Commercial Bank Dinner Party (back of photo)

Dutch East Indies Commercial Bank Dinner Party

Tai Tam Reservoir 1925

SS Tenyo Maru in Hong Kong harbour

Old wall in Kowloon 1925

Old wall in Kowloon, 1925

Old wall in Kowloon, 1925

Old gun, November 1925

View to Kowloon from the funicular railway bridge on May Road

View from 2 Tregunter Mansions living room

Bowen Road, December 1925

51C & D, Conduit Road, IL 2260 [????-1962]

Farewell dinner Mr. Hamel (Dutch) 17 March 1921

Dutch East-Indies Commercial Bank Staff

Dutch Club Hong Kong

Official Arrival at Blake Pier in the 1920s

Bank of Canton

Chairs waiting at Pedder Street

Corner in the living room of 2 Tregunter Mansions

Tregunter Mansions 2, interior

Probably 2 Tregunter Mansions, Bedroom

Interior of Netherlands India Commercial Bank office

Tregunter Mansions 2 interior

Group of Dutch expats in 1923

Barometer Card from the Dutch Club showing typhoon Nr. 5 in 1923

Marriage of CJ Endert and JGA Schabeck / Schabeek (Dutch), 8 September 1923

Marriage of CJ Endert and JGA Schabeck (Dutch), 8 September 1923

My grandfather P. Marks

My grandparents P. Marks and M.G. Marks-Groot

View from Dragon Lodge

The Peak

Houses near to Dragon Lodge

Houses near to Dragon Lodge

Entrance to Dragon Lodge

Dragon Lodge

Dragon Lodge

Dragon Lodge

Dutch Club - 1924 Birthday Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Picnic Bay 1924

Dragon Lodge

Luginsland

Hallway of Tregunter Mansions

Peak Tram station at May Road

Tregunter Mansions 2 interior

View from Tregunter Mansions

Entrance to Tregunter Mansions

Interior of Tregunter Mansions

Peak Tram at May Road

Peak Tram station at May Road

Friston Cottage

Hong Kong Hotel on fire

Chinese Wall Kowloon 1926

View from Tregunter Mansions

Netherlands Tennis Club Hong Kong in the 1920s

Group of (banking?) gentleman, January 1927

Thanks again to Jan for showing us these fascinating photos. If you can add information to any of these photos, please click the photo and leave a comment on its page. 

Do you have any photos of old Hong Kong you'd like to share? Please click here for details of how to upload them to Gwulo.com: http://gwulo.com/node/2076

Gwulo book update: I signed off the last changes to the proofs on Tuesday, so now the printing and binding is out of my hands. I'll cross my fingers, clutch my lucky rabbit's foot, and light an extra stick of incense to hope that all goes well at the printer. New on Gwulo... People: Looking for information about: HSBC Foreign Staff who joined the Bank between 1960 - 1975 Kathleen MOIR [c.1908-????] Alexander Butterworth who was born in 1966 Thomas NEAVE [c.1870-c.1920] Gurkhas in Hong Kong Memories of: Eric MACNIDER [c.1911-1969] Letter from Walter Thompson written after his escape from Stanley Places:​ The Rose Garden Hotel in Yuen Long Seeking old neighbours of Magazine Heights, 17 Magazine Gap Rd Other Thanks to everyone who replied to last week's Kai Tak newsletter. Interesting comments about the birds in the Kai Tak River (also new arrivals!), Kai Tak, and the new neighbourhood. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added:   CNAC & CAT airliners impounded at Kai Tak.jpg, by IDJ   Victoria Harbour and the Macau Ferry Pier, Sheung Wan , by Juja1arim   Tuen Mun, by richardb   1912 Abergeldie - Fung Shui.jpg, by Grousehunter   1920s Kowloon Walled City, by Moddsey   Click to see all recently added photos.

Engravings in the illustrated newspapers were the first view most British people had of Hong Kong in the 1800s. Here is a small set I bought last year, starting with one from the weekly "Illustrated London News" (ILN).

Dec 27, 1856 - The Illustrated London News

THE HARBOUR OF HONG KONG - FROM AN ORIGINAL SKETCH

It's quite random whether or not we get to see the text that originally accompanied the illustration. In many cases the engraving was cut out of the newspaper without any of the text, but sometimes you get the whole page, text and all. In this case we're lucky as although the text was on a separate page, whoever cut out the engraving also cut out the text and kept them together:

HONG-KONG.

We have to thank a Correspondent for the clever sketch of this new Colony, engraved in Supplement, page 662. The view shows the officers’ quarters, the harbour and town of Victoria, and the mainland; which is only a mile distant from the island.

Hong-Kong is governed by a Governor and Council. The Governor is also superintendent of trade, and the Council make laws for the island, subject to revision by the Colonial Secretary and the Queen in Council. In their time the Council have made some curious laws: such as those for punishing members of the Triad Society, who violated the laws of China; and those for registering all the people. Hong-Kong is the seat of all her Majesty’s Courts in the Chinese Sea, and all her military power and authority. On the south side of the island is the chief town, Victoria; and on the north side is the town of Stanley, named after the present Earl of Derby when he was Lord Stanley, and held the seals of the Colonial Office. There is a good road connecting them. Though. Hong-Kong is chiefly to be regarded as a military or governing station, it is a free port, and carries on a considerable transfer trade. The export from it to England is nothing, at least it is not distinguished from the general exports from China — the ships which stop there homeward-bound having obtained their cargoes in Canton, Amoy, or Shanghae. The imports of British produce and manufacture consist of slops, copper, cottons, cotton-yarn, linens, woollens, &c., to the value, in 1851, of £632,399 ; and, in 1855, of £389,265 : the decline in the trade being the consequence of the disturbed state of China. Hong-Kong costs the nation a handsome sum :—in 1851-52, £113,782; in 1853-51—the last return we have seen—£72,166; or not much less, one year with another, than £100,000 annually. Moreover, a yearly revenue is levied on the people by taxation of about £23,000.

In Hong-Kong a Government gazette is published, and there is at least one newspaper, the China Mail, which serves to diffuse valuable information concerning China in Europe, and probably, also, helps to diffuse information concerning Europe, in a very limited degree, amongst the Chinese. Hong-Kong has sometimes been a place of refuge for the persecuted on the mainland, and, with its toleration and justice, is always, before the eyes of the Chinese, presenting an example of the newest European civilisation. From us they have learned something of steam, and, probably, have seen a telegraph. Hong-Kong is in constant communication with England, and the mails are now transmitted backwards and forwards in about forty days.

As mentioned, the image started life as a sketch of Murray House and the harbour beyond. An engraver working for the ILN took the sketch and reproduced it on a wooden block, which was used to print the image shown above. A possible clue to the original artist's identity is a signature in the bottom left corner, though I'm not 100% clear if it is the signature of the artist or the engraver.

Next are a pair of engravings, separated by notes about the scenes. These were also copied from sketches.

Jan 16, 1858 - The Illustrated London News

CHINESE HARVEST, HONG KONG

SKETCHES IN CHINA.

(From our Special Artist and Correspondent)

On the 1st of November I took a walk with a friend into the interior of Hong-Kong, and saw the process of rice-harvesting, beneath a bright, hot sun, the entire village population hard at work getting in the second crop of paddy. The principal part of the labourers are women, owing probably to the fact of the men being generally engaged in fishing. The paddy rice grows to a height of about two feet six inches. The fields are little patches of about fifty paces, on account of the unevenness of the ground. The rice is thrashed out of doors: first, in a tub with a screen, by a man, who takes a bunch in his two hands to strike the ears against the edge of a tub, and then gives the rice again to be threshed on a floor made hard with chunam, the Chinese asphalt. Ploughing is here done with a very primitive plough and a wonderfully small bullock, as the ground is soft and does not contain a single pebble. This is very well. After being harrowed it may receive a crop of sweet potatoes, or ground nuts. The women work with children on their backs. No one appears too young to take a part in the work. In the next fields are sugar-canes.

I send you also a sketch of the interior of a Chinese house. Everything in a native house is the perfection of neatness; everything is in its proper place, and beautifully clean. I do not know a nation equal to the Chinese for their tidiness. The ornaments of the room are quaint, but very pleasing. The native merchant is sitting down smoking his cigar. Directly we entered the house he sent us up beer, cigars, water, and biscuits; and soon after joined us. The walls are covered with writings and paintings. There is abundance of lamps as you see.

We have occasionally "a Liberty Day ashore,” when the tars drink and dance incessantly. Many of them had not been ashore for a year, so that their joy may be excused, for the grog-shops here are very numerous. The walls are generally decorated with pictures of European life. There are plenty of visitors of both sexes; and outside the door generally stand a crowd of gaping Chinamen. One day I went into a shop and sat down to make a sketch, but was so completely surrounded by Chinamen that it was a case of drawing under difficulties. They are so fond of anything in the shape of a picture that you run the risk of being suffocated if you attempt outdoor sketching.

INTERIOR OF A CHINESE HOUSE AT HONG-KONG

September 27, 1873 - The Illustrated London News

NEW ROYAL NAVAL HOSPITAL, HONG-KONG

The best early engravings are copied from good original sketches. But sometimes the engraver was given a rough sketch or even just a written description of a scene to work from, and allowed to conjure up the scene from his imagination. The accuracy of those engravings varied considerably, as you'd imagine.

In later years, the engraver was given a photograph of the scene instead of a sketch, and told to reproduce that. I suspect the next four engravings were copies of photos. They all appeared in "The Graphic", another weekly illustrated newspaper from Britain. It was first published in December 1869, and became a strong rival to the ILN.

June 2, 1888 - The Graphic

"LEAP YEAR," WINNER OF THE HONG KONG DERBY,
AND A STRING OF WINNERS FROM MR. JOHN PEEL'S STABLES

GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURSE IN THE HAPPY VALLEY
THE HONG KONG DERBY
NOTES AT THE ANNUAL RACE-MEETING OF THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB

December 1, 1888 - The Graphic

NEW HIGH LEVEL TRAMWAY AT HONG KONG

GENERAL VIEW OF THE LINE TAKEN FROM
A LITTLE BELOW THE BRIDGE OVER THE KENNEDY ROAD

VICTORIA GAP, THE UPPER TERMINUS OF THE TRAMWAY,
SHOWING THE ENGINE-HOUSE

Back to the ILN for our last illustration.

July 18, 1896 - The Illustrated London News

JUBILEE STATUE OF THE QUEEN UNVEILED AT HONG-KONG
From a Photograph supplied by the Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart,
Hon. Secretary to the Hong-Kong Jubilee Committee.

STATUE OF THE QUEEN IN HONG-KONG.

Amid much brilliant ceremonial, and in the presence of some fifteen thousand spectators, the Jubilee statue of her Majesty the Queen was unveiled in Hong-Kong on May 28 by the Governor, Sir William Robinson. The erection of this fine memorial of the Jubilee year of her Majesty’s reign is not as belated as it sounds, the history of the statue being, briefly, as follows. When the Jubilee of her Majesty was being celebrated throughout the Empire, her loyal subjects in Hong-Kong were not behind their fellows in their desire to commemorate so historic an occasion. After some discussion the statue now erected was chosen as the most fitting memorial, and the necessary funds were speedily raised by public subscription. A commission for the work was given to Signor Raggi, the well-known sculptor of the Earl of Beaconsfield’s statue at Westminster. The work was first executed in marble, but more mature consideration decided that this material would be ill suited to the climate of Hong-Kong, and the statue was accordingly bought for the town of Sheffield, another, in bronze, being commissioned for Hong-Kong. When the second statue was completed it was exhibited in London, and eventually transferred to Hong-Kong.

But even after these initial delays its erection seemed doomed to be postponed, for no suitable public site was available, and the Jubilee Committee therefore decided to keep the memorial safely stored until the completion of the New Praya Reclamation. On this most commanding spot the pedestal has been some time in course of erection, the work being interrupted by the weather, but at last the statue has been established on its destined resting-place under a handsome domed pavilion of Portland stone designed to protect it from the weather’s ravages.

This last illustration shows an unusual combination of techniques. As the subtitle states, it was first supplied to the ILN as a photograph. Zooming in to the page, we can see that a painting was made of the photograph, and it is the painting they reproduced.

Zooming in still further shows that this image is an impostor, and doesn't belong in this collection of engravings at all.

The illustrations from 1888 and earlier were printed using wooden blocks that had the image engraved onto them - that's why we call them engravings. But the dots in this last picture from 1896 picture show it was printed using a metal plate that had a halftone representation of the painting. So a new photograph was taken of the painting, and the new negative was used to copy the image to a metal plate covered with a light-sensitive coating. The plate went through an etching process, which left the metal plate ready for printing. This modern "halftone" process uses dots of varying sizes to give different levels of dark and light. It took off in the 1890s, eventually replacing engravings altogether.

If you've seen the original sketches or photos that were the sources of any of these illustrations, please could you let us know in the comments below? It will be interesting to compare them with the versions in the newspapers.

Gwulo book update: We've reached a major milestone - the printing is finished! Here's one of the printer's sheets I was given on Saturday.  These show that the printing is complete, so now I just need the printer to do the binding, and then deliver the finished books to me in Hong Kong. On Saturday I'll post details of how to order copies of the new book.   New on Gwulo... People: Looking for information about: Albert BILLINGHAM [1905-????], policeman, interned at Stanley Memories of: William Alfred STEWART [1900-????],  Managing Director of Davie, Boag & Co., Ld., interned at Stanley, lived on the Peak Merrill Steele ADY [1895-1982], initially interned at Stanley, repatriated to America in 1942, returned to China and worked for the OSS Kingsley Frank WOODWARD [1897-1929], killed by pirates on the Haiching Places:​ Looking for photos of The Falls (1st generation) [1878-1927] on The Peak Other UK readers - Patricia O'Sullivan is giving a talk about her book Policing Hong Kong this weekend. Details & booking. The 1924 Juror's list is online. If you can spare 30 minutes, please help us type up a page of the 1925 list. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added: Ferry pier at Ma Wan Chung in Tung Chung, Lantau Island 1976, by shuibien_chen   USS Asheville, by Asheville and Buncombe County   St George's Building, by uwm   Click to see all recently added photos.

Pre-order offers as we get close to the launch: special price, free shipping, and a free sample.

Special price

The book's list price will be HK$168, but regular readers can pre-order copies before the 4th December at HK$150. (Printing has finished ahead of schedule, so I'm now expecting to receive the books on Monday, 4th December.)

Please click a "Pre-order ..." link below to pre-order your book(s). Payment can be made online using a Paypal account or a credit card. Readers with a Hong Kong bank account also have the option to pay by bank transfer, or HK$ cheque.

• Pre-order 1 book (HK$150. Free shipping in HK, add airmail for rest of world)
   
• Pre-order 2 books (HK$300. Free shipping worldwide)
   
• Pre-order 3 books (HK$450. Free shipping worldwide)
   
• Pre-order 4 books  (HK$600. Free shipping worldwide)

Free shipping

All deliveries to Hong Kong addresses are shipped free of charge.

Overseas orders are very welcome. If you live overseas, you can also get free shipping if you order two or more copies of the book. So if you can combine an order with a friend, or buy an extra copy to give as a gift, shipping is free.

Overseas orders for a single book pay the airmail postage. The cost of airmail varies by country, and will be shown to you before you confirm payment for your order.

Signed copy?

If you'd like your copy to be signed, that's easy to arrange. When you've placed your order you'll receive an order confirmation email. Please reply to that with a message "Request signed copy", and I'll take care of it.

The standard signature is "With best wishes, David", but if you'd like to add a message please also include that in your reply.

Free sample

You'e seen the cover, but if you'd like a look inside please click here to download a PDF sample of pages from the book.

Delivery

As soon as the books arrive, I'll start licking stamps, sticking labels, and sending them on their way! 

If anything isn't clear, or if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.

Regards,

David

In this week’s guest post, Liz Brandon takes us on a walk through Kowloon Tong to show us what remains of Hong Kong’s original Garden Estate.

If you start at the Kowloon Tong MTR station and begin climbing the gentle rise of Kent Road, you will glimpse 4 Kent Road above a high wall on your right.  Note the pitched roof, symmetrical façade and curved footing of an upper balcony, all of which reflect the old style of Kowloon Tong homes. This one, like many others in the area, been significantly altered, but retains the same basic ‘footprint’ and structural outline as the original house.

4 Kent Road Kowloon Tong 2016, by LizB

Continuing up the hill to the top of Kent Road, your efforts will be rewarded with a view of one of the few remaining gems of the old estate – 27 Kent Road.

27 Kent Road, Kowloon Tong - Front view (2016), by LizB

27 Kent Road, Kowloon Tong - front gate (2016), by LizB

It still seems to be a private residence, with original stone front wall and gate posts, a large garden and lovely façade (although the veranda has been closed in at some point).  Seeing this house and garden, it is easier to imagine what the rest of the estate might have originally looked like, and still could if it had been preserved intact. 

If you turn right onto Cornwall Street and right again onto Devon Road, you will see No. 9, which may have parts of the original building buried beneath its lavish modern exterior (e.g. the roofline, veranda and positions of the windows), but it is difficult to tell.

9 Devon Road 2009 streetview, by Google Streetview

Continue down the hill to 2 Devon Road, where you will glimpse a building that probably also has some original features, including the pitched roof. The wall, trees and security cameras make it hard to see much from the road.

2 Devon Road, Kowloon Tong (2016), by LizB

At the end of Devon Road, turn right onto Somerset Road.

The photo below, taken in the 1930s, is thought to be of Somerset Road, looking from the Waterloo Road end down towards the junction with Kent Road at the far end (the turn-off into Devon Road is just visible halfway along):

1930s Kowloon Tong, by moddsey

Continue along Somerset Road, turn left onto Kent Road and head south past the MTR station. On your left you will pass a large area (bordered by Suffolk Road, To Fuk Road, Norfolk Road and Waterloo Road) in which no houses were actually built in the original Estate; it was instead used for military purposes and more recently redeveloped for schools and offices.

Walking on southwards, make a short detour into Norfolk Road to the left. At No. 7 you will see a house in mostly original condition (although again, the front veranda has been closed in), well maintained and clearly visible from the road. This one is Grade 3 listed, because it provides a ‘rare surviving example’ of the original Kowloon Tong houses (Building Appraisal for 7 Norfolk Road by the Antiquities Advisory Board).

7 Norfolk Road, by Philk

7 Norfolk Road, by Philk

Returning to To Fuk Road and following it south, you will reach York Road. On the corner stands No. 13, a large art deco home that is Grade 3 listed, and bears little resemblance to most of the other old Kowloon Tong houses.

13 York Rd Kowloon Tong front view 2016, by LizB

13 York Rd Kowloon Tong side view 2016 , by LizB

Next to it is 11 York Road, which has retained the traditional roofline, symmetrical façade and small rectangular ‘footprint’ of the original houses. However, clearly it has undergone some modernisation.

11 York Road Kowloon Tong 2016 front view, by LizB

Further along York Road on the opposite side is No. 2, an unusually large house that has also been listed as Grade 3. 

2 York Road front view, by Gwulo

2 York Road side view, by Gwulo

Follow the road back to the junction with Rutland Quadrant and you will see 14 York Road on the corner, an old house that is being used as part of a kindergarten. The high wall prevents a good view, but the roofline and upper exterior are typical of the old Kowloon Tong houses.

14 York Road Kowloon Tong 2016 side view, by LizB

A little further south, where Rutland Quadrant meets Cumberland Road, stands ‘Croftlands’ (4 Rutland Quadrant). This is how the junction looked in the 1930s (‘Croftlands’ is directly behind the bus):

1930s Kowloon Tong, by moddsey

(Junction of Rutland Quadrant and Cumberland Road)

Although it has changed over time, the house appears to retain some old features. The rear of the property can be viewed from the Rutland Quadrant Children’s Playground behind, which also makes a good spot to rest for a while.

4 Rutland 2016 front view.jpg, by LizB

4 Rutland 2016 rear wall.jpg, by LizB

Turning south down Cumberland Road, you will soon reach a cluster of old-looking houses on the left: Number 16 (a kindergarten), 12 & 14 (yet another kindergarten, garishly painted), and 4 (largely hidden behind a big wall).

16 Cumberland Road, by Philk

12 Cumberland Road, by Philk

4 Cumberland Road, Kowloon Tong (Streetview), by Google Streetview

Apart from their dubious colour schemes, the buildings in Cumberland Road currently used as kindergartens seem to have been left relatively unscathed by modernisation, at least externally. The main structural change to their façades is the conversion of the open verandas to closed-in rooms to make more usable living space.

A little further on, you will see 35 Cumberland Road, with its curved upper balcony but art deco-style makeover. 

35 Cumberland Road streetview (2011), by Google Streetview

(35 Cumberland Road is the cream-coloured building on the right in the photo)

At the junction of Cumberland Road and Essex Crescent you can make short detour left to the southern end of Stafford Road.  Both Number 1 (on the corner) and 5 Stafford Road are built in the old style, with a pitched roof and symmetrical design, but it is difficult to know how much of the original houses remain. No. 5, in particular, seems to have had a 1970s-style makeover of its façade.

1 Stafford Road, Kowloon Tong (2011), by Google Streetview

5 Stafford Road, Kowloon Tong (2011), by Google Streetview

Returning to Essex Crescent, you can see another old-style building, in a quite dilapidated state, at No. 16.  Although the stone wall in front appears to be original, the house itself has either been heavily modified or replaced. Despite this, it has kept the curved upper balcony and triple arches typical of the original house.

16 Essex Crescent Kowloon Tong 2016, by LizB

Roughly opposite 16 Essex Crescent, on the corner of Surrey Lane and Cumberland Road, is a house with unusually shaped windows and mostly original features.  These include its pitched roof, curved balcony and arched veranda, although the upper level has been closed in.

29 Cumberland Road 2016a.jpg, by LizB

29 Cumberland Road, by Philk

A little further on down Cumberland Road, look out for a tiny park across the road (the Essex Crescent Rest Garden), on the corner of which is a small stone plaque:

1990s Kowloon Tong Estate Stone, by moddsey

Nearby, at 5 Essex Crescent, is an extensive stone wall that probably dates back to that time. 

Stone wall at 5 Essex Crescent, Kowloon Tong (2016), by LizB

Walking on down Cumberland Road, you will soon see Lincoln Road on your left. On the corner here is 7 Lincoln Road, which if viewed from the side, appears to comprise a modern façade glued onto the front of an old house. The roof is the traditional pitched kind, and the cream-coloured part of the house seems to be largely unaltered.

7 Lincoln Road Kowloon Tong 2016 front view, by LizB

7 Lincoln Rd side view 2016, by LizB

Last, but not least, it is worth returning to Cumberland Road to see another of the less ‘modernised’ old houses, at No. 3 (not far from the junction with Boundary Street). This one looks a bit neglected, but retains some original features. These are mainly apparent from the side view of the house, which also reveals that an extension has been added to the rear.

3 Cumberland 2016a.jpg, by LizB

3 Cumberland Road, Kowloon Tong (2009) (side view), by Google Streetview

I took these photos in mid 2016 (the Google Streetview photos are older), but Hong Kong is always being redeveloped, so let me know if you see any changes.  Likewise, if anyone has any memories of the original houses, or any photos that they are willing to share (including of the modern interior of a house), you are very welcome to comment below.  A full list of the old-style houses identified so far is included below, as well as a list of old stone walls.  I have also compiled a working list of other houses flagged for further investigation because aerial views suggest some original features may have been retained, although these houses have most likely been heavily modernised. 

Tips for visiting

Starting from the Kowloon Tong MTR station, you can follow the route described above and take a roughly clockwise walk around the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate to see the remaining structures – and those with old-style features - from the original development.  Here's a map of the route:

Map of Kowloon Tong walking route, by Admin

You can click the image to see a larger copy that you can zoom into. You can also download a copy of the map to print out and take with you.

To some extent the comments here overlap with PhilK’s earlier work, which you can read on his website (see his posts Down in "The Tong" and Some pictures of No.2 Devon Road in 1961).  While most of these buildings are easily visible from the road as you walk by, some can only be seen by peeking through the gate or over the wall (if you can be unobtrusive and brave the security cameras or guards).  When visiting Kowloon Tong, it is best to avoid very busy times such as the school/kindergarten/office ‘rush hours’, as the roads and footpaths get extremely congested.  Early on a Sunday morning is perhaps the quietest time to wander around!

History of the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate

The origins of the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate date back to the early 1920s, when entrepreneur Montague Ede proposed the idea of a healthy, leafy, low-density residential development for the emerging middle class (C. Chu, 2013, Kowloon Tong Garden City Estate).  The design was broadly based on the ‘Garden City’ movement, which originated in England in the late 1890s. Ede’s company, the Kowloon Tong and New Territories Development Co., commenced work on the project with architects Adams, Little and Woods and E.D. Shanks (Chu, 2013).  However, Ede’s bankruptcy at the height of the construction phase forced the Hong Kong Government to take over the project (L. Fong, 1986, “Neighbourhood Change & Planning: A Case Study of the Kowloon Tong Estate”).

The Kowloon Tong Garden Estate development was completed in 1932 and provided 250 detached two-storey houses spread over a 100-acre site. Although four different house plans were available, two types of layout were favoured. In layman’s terms, the ‘Type 1’ house had a triple-arched front veranda on the ground floor with a small, curved balcony above (examples being 27 Kent Road, 7 Norfolk Road, 4 Rutland Quadrant and 16 and 29 Cumberland Road), whereas the ‘Type 2’ house had a more angular appearance from the front (with 3 Cumberland Road being a possible example).  The building designs and further information on the Estate’s development can be found on the website of the HKU Faculty of Architecture, which is currently undertaking a research project partly on this topic (due to be completed in late 2017): Speculative Urbanism: Modernist Planning And Housing Practices in Colonial Hong Kong, 1912-1939.

From the Jurors Lists for 1925 onwards – which provide the name and profession of house occupants - it is evident that residents of the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate came from many different cultural and professional backgrounds, and were employed by some of the key companies operating in Hong Kong at the time. Although some houses were owned by companies for use by their senior staff, others were owned by families, and in a few instances remained in the hands of the same family for decades.  

Thanks to the building height restrictions that applied whilst the nearby Kai Tak airport was still in use, most of the original Kowloon Tong Garden Estate area has remained low-level.  This is despite changes of use for some buildings over the past few decades, from residential to educational or “hospitality” purposes.  Unfortunately, most of the original homes have disappeared, and few traces remain of them. Remarkably, however, a handful of buildings (probably around 10%) and other remnants of the original development can still be found if you look carefully for them.  Other features that are characteristic of the original Estate, such as the well- established trees, the pocket-sized public gardens (one or two quite well hidden), and the narrow pedestrian laneways that criss-cross the whole development, can also still be found. 

How I compiled the main list of old-style buildings (List A, below)

In mid 2016, I made a list of all of the houses in the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate area that I could identify, by walking past, as being either original or renovated in such a way as to retain some hallmarks of the ‘old style’. Although these houses have been externally - and probably internally - modified over time, they may still display traditional features such as the traditional pitched roof, basic shape and positioning of the windows and verandas, and a relatively small rectangular ‘footprint’ on their plot.  They are scattered throughout the development, with Cumberland Road retaining the most.  It should be noted that, without a visual inspection of their interiors, it is not possible to verify the age or condition of many of these buildings.

Information on some of the old Kowloon Tong houses can be found on Gwulo, PhilK’s blog, other sources mentioned above, and websites such as the Antiquities Advisory Board (for listed buildings).
 

List A: Old-style buildings identified so far by walk-past

Centadata, a HK property website, states many of the build dates for the houses below as “01/1945”, which generally means they were originally built before then. If no date is given below, it means Centadata does not currently provide it.

4 Kent Road
27 Kent Road (built “1945”)
2 Devon Road (1945)
9 Devon Road (1945)
7 Norfolk Road (“constructed between 1923 and 1930”, according to AAB)
2 York Road (“constructed between 1927 and 1930”, according to AAB)
11 York Road (1945)
13 York Road (“believed to have been constructed between 1932 and 1935”, according to AAB)
14 York Road
4 Rutland Quadrant (1945, but note old photo of this house dating from 1930s above)
3 Cumberland Road (1945)
4 Cumberland Road (1945)
12 Cumberland Road
14 Cumberland Road
16 Cumberland Road (1945)
29 Cumberland Road (1945)
35 Cumberland Road (1945)
1 Stafford Road
5 Stafford Road (1945)
16 Essex Crescent (1945)
7 Lincoln Road (1945)

List B: Buildings for further investigation, based on aerial views

After looking at aerial views of the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate on Google (dated December 2016), I was also able to flag many other properties as possibly retaining some original features, but needing further investigation. These may have been incorporated into much larger extensions, heavily modified or indeed perhaps completely replaced – but with a ‘modern’ symmetrical design on the same rectangular footprint.

8 Kent Road (rear part of property – traditional pitched roof & rectangular outline?)
14 Kent Road (symmetrical façade, built “1945” according to Centadata)
29 Kent Road (curved upper balcony and small rectangular outline behind modern front?)
1a Devon Road (Type 2 house? Large curved porch on ground floor, built “1945”)
10 Somerset Road (asymmetrical façade & flat roof, but original rectangular footprint)
12 Somerset Road (1945; façade not visible from road; flat roof)
20 Somerset Road (curved balcony, modern flat roof)
22 Somerset Road (triple upper windows, modern flat roof)
10 York Road (traditional roofline, symmetrical façade, rectangular outline)
1 Rutland Quadrant (traditional roofline & footprint; modified & stylised façade)
3 Rutland Quadrant (1945; traditional pitched roof & façade, but modified & extended)
5 Rutland Quadrant (heavily modified façade but retains curved balcony & symmetrical design; flat roof)
7 & 8 Rutland Quadrant (heavily modified but original rooflines & rectangular footprints retained)
15 Stafford Road (traditional roofline & symmetrical façade just visible behind modern front screen)
17 Stafford Road (1945; heavily modified but symmetrical façade & original outline; flat roof)
19 Stafford Road (1945; heavily modified but possibly symmetrical façade; extended with flat roof)
25 Stafford Road (1945; façade not visible from road; flat roof, major extensions)
27 Stafford Road (façade modified but columns possibly original; flat roof; modern extensions)
29 Stafford Road (1945; heavily modified but symmetrical façade & original outline; flat roof)
4 Essex Crescent (1945; symmetrical but modified triple window façade; flat roof)
5 Essex Crescent (1945; symmetrical but modified triple window façade; flat roof; original stone wall)
2 Cumberland Road (traditional roofline partly cut away at front; façade heavily modified)
4 Cumberland Road (1945; arches on ground floor, flat roof with extensions above)
6 Cumberland Road (1945) (at rear of 6a Cumberland Rd)
6a Cumberland Road (symmetrical triple-window façade, rectangular footprint, but flat roof)
8 Cumberland Road (1945, traditional pitched roofline and basic outline)
15 Cumberland Road (1945, symmetrical façade, long rectangular outline)
17 Cumberland Road (original two small outbuildings and rectangular house remain?)
20 Cumberland Road (1945; heavily modified windowless façade but rectangular footprint)
21 Cumberland Road (heavily modified façade but traditional roofline)
22 Cumberland Road (1945; modified & extended but symmetrical façade)
30 & 32 Cumberland Road (both facades heavily modified but traditional rooflines, outlines and original plot positions kept)
37 Cumberland Road (side view & footprint seem original  but façade heavily modified & roof is flat)
43 Cumberland Road (modified, curved balcony & symmetrical façade, flat roof)
45 Cumberland Road (modified, curved balcony, lower arches)
61 Cumberland Road (traditional roof, triple window façade, rectangular outline)
115 Boundary Street (traditional roof, modified but symmetrical façade, rectangular outline)
101 Waterloo Road (1945; symmetrical but heavily modified façade; flat roof))
103 Waterloo Road (symmetrical triple-window façade; traditional roofline? Extended to rear)
115 Waterloo Road (if original still exists, has been incorporated into large school extensions – Kowloon True Light Middle School has been located here for many years)

List C: Old stone walls

While walking around the old Estate, I also noticed that quite a few old stone walls were still standing.  For example, they can be found at the following:

27 Kent Road
4 Dorset Crescent
4 Norfolk Road (painted over)
3 Rutland Quadrant
20 Stafford Road (corner block)
5 Essex Crescent (corner block)
16 Essex Crescent
18-20 Essex Crescent (on left side of front gate only)
29 Cumberland Road (painted over)


NB: I am no expert on stone walls (or indeed, architecture), but the oldest stone walls in the estate seem to be those with either many thin layers (i.e. between 11-17 layers) or several (5-6) much thicker layers, of quite roughly hewn stone.  These are distinct from the more recent walls (possibly 1950s onwards?), which tend to have a ‘hatched’ or ‘patchwork’ pattern of stones, or are simply made of brick or concrete.  A meander along the back lanes of the estate reveals many more old stone walls that no one has bothered to replace with new ones as they are not on public display.

Many thanks to Liz for sharing her research with us.  Originally from Australia, Liz has spent several years living in HK over the past decade, most recently in the Kowloon Tong area.  Liz has taught and written on the subject of environmental law, and so is particularly interested in the protection of Hong Kong's heritage and environment.

December, 1941.

76 years ago tensions were high as war with Japan seemed inevitable. On December 8th, those fears were confirmed when Japanese planes attacked Kai Tak, and Japanese soldiers crossed the border into the New Territories. The fighting continued until the British surrendered on Christmas Day.

The end of the fighting marked the beginning of the Japanese occupation, a time of great hardship for Hong Kong's residents. They would have to endure for three years and eight months, until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, and Hong Kong was liberated shortly afterwards.

What was it like?

Let the people who lived through these times tell you themselves.

We've collected several wartime diaries, and split them into their day-by-day accounts. Each day we send out an email message containing all the diary entries written on that day, 76 years ago.

How to sign up to receive the daily messages?

Please click here to subscribe.

You'll see another screen that asks for your email address. Enter your details, hit the "Subscribe" button, then each day you'll receive an email message with today's diary entries.

It's free of charge, your details stay private, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

What do the daily messages look like?

Here are sample extracts from the messages you'll receive:

• 30 Nov 1941: "Topper says we are as near war now as we have ever been, that Japan with her militarist Govt. can't very well back down now."
   
• 1 Dec 1941: "Government advising further evacuation.  Only hope seems to be that Japs now say they will keep on talks with USA in hope that USA will change viewpoint - that isn't thought likely."
   
• 7 Dec 1941: "There must be something in the wind, G.H.Q. staff are preparing to move into Battle HQ, a huge underground structure just behind the Garrison Sgts. Mess."

Extract from Barbara Anslow's Diary: "war had been declared"

• 8 Dec 1941: "I started my birthday with a war. Kowloon bombed about 8AM."
   
• 10 Dec 1941: "Sid has been wounded.  Bullet through shoulder.  He told Hospital to phone Mum at the Jockey Club and she went to see him."
   
• 13 Dec 1941: "We hear rumours that the Mainland is being evacuated and that the Royal Scots, Middlesex Regt. and the Indian Regts. are fighting a rearguard action back to Kowloon."
   
• 14 - 15 Dec 1941: "Raids most of daylight hours, and shelling day and night.
  Central Police Station bombed badly in afternoon, several killed.  Felt the concussion even in the tunnel."
   
• 16 Dec 1941: "The 9.2 guns at Stanley and Mount Davis have been firing salvoes all day and all through the night, the noise is deafening. It keeps me awake most of the night so I was up at 4.30a.m. and got quite a bit of paperwork completed working behind a blacked out screen."
   
• 17 Dec 1941: "What a contrast from a week ago. Plenty of signs of bombing and shelling. Damaged buildings, wrecked cars and lorries everywhere. The tramline wires are strewn across the road. Some dead bodies lie about on the roadways and not a living soul in sight."
   
• 19 Dec 1941: "Hammond and Tuck stand guard outside while Kingsford and I and the Naval man enter the house. We find about 15 people wounded, mostly Naval men, some civilians, and two women, one a Chinese shot through the chest, the other a European was dead."
   
• 21 Dec 1941: "The Canadians are fighting a losing battle against the Japs on Stanley Mound, and the neighbouring peaks. The Japs have superiority in numbers."
   
• 23 Dec 1941: "We returned to the Exchange Building where Hammond, Edgar and I were joined by a Russian musician. He decided to take over the driving of the big Bedford van. We set off and ran into a series of shell explosions on the way. It was now obvious that the musician could not drive a wheelbarrow not to mind the Bedford, besides he was also shivering with fright. I tried to take over the wheel but he would not move over, and it was too dangerous to stop. However, we reached the Bakery which was up a very narrow passageway. He jammed the van in it so in the end I had to use the butt of my rifle to make him let go."
   
• 24 Dec 1941: "8.50PM heard the rattle of tanks on Island Rd as they approached the village (Jap). 2 knocked out by anti-tank gun & hell broke loose. Everything opened up on them & the Jap troops with them who were urged on by peculiar cries from their Commander."
   
• 25 Dec 1941: "While I was sitting on floor beside Sid, Mrs Johnson a friend who was helping the wounded, came over to us and said 'I have bad news for you - we've surrendered.' She was half-crying, and wouldn't look at us."
   

Notice from SCMP, 26 December 1941

• 26 Dec 1941: "Although capitulation is not so good it feels nice to know that the likelihood of being shot or blown apart is gone."
   
• 8 Jan 1942: "Brushwood on hillsides [south] of Prison set alight today. Heard ammunition exploding."
   
• 9 Jan 1942: Captain Tanaka, at the time Japanese head of communications, gives permission to Thomas Edgar and other bakers to start making bread for the hospitals. They open the Chinese-owned Green Dragon (Ching Loong) Bakery in Wanchai. They are also allowed to bake for the Allied civilians in the hotels and later at Stanley. Barbara Anslow's diary establishes that the bread - one slice for each internee - began to arrive on January 12.
   
• 19 Jan 1942: "Fire opposite us in the night - very near thing.  There were just sooty sparks at first, but later the fire really got going.  All the gongs in the neighbourhood were beating as alarms, several huge tongues of fire blew over in our direction."
   
• 21 Jan 1942: "In morning, we were given a quarter of an hour to pack and get out of the hotel, then marched down Des Voeux Road. Then boarded top-heavy Macau steamer and set out for Stanley.  It could have been lovely - such a beautiful day. Our boat too big to go right up to the jetty at Stanley, so we had to clamber over the side of the ferry on to the side of the junk - then jump into the body of the junk.  Poor Mrs Grant who weighed over 15 stone, cried from the side of the ferry that she just couldn't make the transfer, but somehow she did."

Please click here to subscribe, and start receiving daily diary entries by email.

What do current subscribers to the Wartime Diaries say?

This is the seventh year we'll run this project. Here are comments from some of the readers who subscribed last year. They are located all around the world, and have many different reasons for subscribing:

• My father and uncle were interned in Sham Shui Po and Argyle Street camps. My grandfather, aunt and cousin were interned in Stanley camp. I have a keen interest in the history of that time.
  Once you know HK it’s fascinating to understand the flow of the battle for Hong Kong and the aftermath that extended into 3 years and 8 months of incarceration for foreign nationals of the allied cause and a very tough life for others that had to exist in perilous times with dwindling food and an oppressive occupying force.
  Glenn Smith

• I read the emails practically daily. The suspense of what would happen and what would be shown tomorrow keeps my interest in reading the "once a day reports" everyday.
  Tai Hang Wong, Mississauga, Canada.

• I rarely miss a day and the reason is I think is partly the scale of the information and partly the serial format. Because the description are, by definition, excerpts, they are quick to read. By reading them regularly, I have become invested in the characters.
  What has fascinated me most I think is the information that the internees are getting in camp. Some seems speculative, but they seem to be getting some reasonably accurate information on the Solomon and Libyan Campaigns. Their Eastern Front info seems a little more vague.  I like the varying sources and perspectives in the short format.
  Neil Williams

• What keeps me interested in reading the daily diary entries is that they give me what feels like an authentic connection with the everyday lives of the people even though it feels like reading a series of telegrams. Both of my parents grew up in Hong Kong and Macau in the 20s and 30s and had already arrived in Australia while many of their school friends (Zimmern, Broadbridge, Hunt) remained in Hong Kong. These entries give me some insight into their lives during the occupation.
  The entries have acted as prompts to research diverse aspects of the history of the occupation. For example mention of hidden wireless receivers had me researching stories and more background about the people, the radios, the programs and the punishments if discovered. I am fascinated by how much information managed to flow into and around the community, especially about the progress of the war.
  Stephen Rapley, Sydney

• My father was in Hong Kong with the RN in 1945. Myself and my dad walked around Hong Kong swapping tales for years before he died, so your reports (especially of after liberation) are of significant importance and interest to me. I relate to them in many ways. It helps me retain the link to that era. One that is personally important to me.
  Les Bird

• I read most days, mainly from an interest in the life of Barbara and her family and the background extracts from other sources. It is different from reading a book on the subject - the emails are interesting personal experiences which may be unique to the authors.
  Jeff

• I read the daily messages because I was born during the war in Macau where my British parents had taken refuge.  The rest of the relatives were interned in Stanley.
  Antoinette Gordon, Los Angeles

• I read the emails every day & daily if I am at home or as soon as possible. I love military history, especially WW2, & even more so about Hong Kong having lived there twice & my father, my wife & I having all served there in the Army.
  The once a day format is clever because it takes the pace & rhythm of what it was like for those who went through it. It makes it easier to imagine what it must have been like for the captives living with the day to day of not knowing what will happen. You also can’t cheat & find out what happened out of sequence.
  It is a wonderful confirmation of the endurance & determination of people to never give up. 
  GHW

• I read every single one. I’m interested because I was stationed in Hong Kong in 1958/60 during Regular Army Service. The best experience of my life, bar none. What a place !
  I enjoy the “once a day” format, and the messages open your eyes to things that were happening on the other side of the world during Japanese occupation and how human behaviour can “seesaw”.
  Colin Cobb.

• I read them most days, and I look out for any mentions of Hong Kong Police. Reading these emails helps the reader to obtain a greater sense of vicarious experience.
  Andrew Hill

• I think the daily email format is a great idea, at least I could keep reading. This part of history is something we shouldnt forget.
  Jason Ng from Hong Kong, now at Birmingham 

• I’m reading them almost daily because I find it interesting to read diary entries from times long ago. Sometime when I’m short in time I spare them for the weekend and read all of them in a row. I personally like more to spend a minute a day in the past than to read a book that would take hours.
  Klaus Liphard

• I read them most days, as I like to be reminded of what my family went through there. The daily email is not as daunting or time consuming as reading a book - it is so interesting and well worth the few moments to read it daily.
  Marjorie Elston, Canada

I've missed the last few weeks'"What's new", while I've been working on the book launch. The last set of book orders went off to the Post Office for mailing this afternoon, so let's get back to the usual routine and see what's new on the site.

A quick invitation first: Please join us for Gwulo Christmas drinks tomorrow evening, Tuesday 12th.

Now on to what's new:

People: Looking for information about: Carl Emil Peter HERBST [c.1878-1925] Policeman and Stanley Internee William MAIR [????-????] Stanley Prison warder James Albert Wilkinson Stanley internee Mabel Beatrice MACKINTOSH (née OSBORNE) [c.1882-1958] and her husband and fellow internee Frederick Alexander MACKINTOSH [c.1881-1956] There was some doubt about where Raoul Bigazzi spent the war years. Happy Valley notes Bigazzi was in Stanley Camp all along! Memories of: William Alfred Stewart, Managing Director of Davie Boag & Co. Places:​ John is looking for photos of The Falls from 1900 to 1920. Klaus has been adding photos & information to the pages about Hong Kong's Gas Works Those bizarre statues along stage 3 of the WIlson Trail have vanished! Fortunately Phil has photos of how they used to look. Still to see are an old NKIL lot marker, and a little aqueduct. Another Dairy Farm manure pit Remembering the house Arrowhead at Deep Water Bay Does anyone know if the concrete tablet marking the start of the Robin's Nest Jeep Track still exists? When did the North Point beach disappear under reclamation? Forest Lodge and Buxey Lodge Another cinema at Sek Kong: The Phoenix Where was the location of the house in this 1920s photo? Dragon Lodge in the 1940s-50s Other: Nicola identified the R P Leitch who signed one of the engravings in the recent newsletter. Moddsey added an 1880s photo of the Happy Valley racecourse & pavilion, for comparison with the engraving from around the same time. Jill describes how to view the original cards (not scans or copies) in the Carl Smith collection. Good photos and memories of Kowloon Tong in the comments to Liz's recent article. Remembering traveling by sea on the Blue Funnel and Lloyd Triestino lines in the 1950s. A visit to Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Ping Shan House is arranged for 30 December. Jill gives the dates of operation for C.E. Warren & Co. and of C.E. Warren & Co. Ltd. If one building in a row of shop houses was demolished and a new building erected, was any membrane used to separate the walls of the old and new buildings? If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Gwulo book update: At the latest count, 554 copies of the book have been ordered, which is a fantastic start. Thanks to everyone who helped promote the pre-launch offer, and of course special thanks to everyone who has ordered a copy. (If you ordered a book, you should have received a message confirming that your order has been shipped - if you haven't, please contact me.)   Some of the new photos added: Lock Road, by halbwertzeit   Good Luck, by m20wc51   1910s Bowrington Canal, by Moddsey   1957 Wader Studio, by Eternal1966   1970 Over North Kowloon, by Eternal1966   1946 Lena Lodge, by Eternal1966   Hong Kong Electric Tramway Car (3rd class), by The National Archives UK   5 Kent Rd , by Chris HK   Click to see all recently added photos.

When: At first glance this looks very similar to photo #4 in the Gwulo book:

We identified that was taken in May 1935, showing part the celebrations for King George V's silver jubilee. However the photo of the dragon was sold with the title"Celebrating The Coronation", which means it was taken two years later, in May 1937.

Who: The two photos bracket a tumultuous time for Britain's royalty, with three different British kings in that two-year period. It started with King George V, and his silver jubilee. He was aged 69, but already in poor health. His health declined further in January 1936, and he died that month.

His elder son Edward was next in line to the throne, and became King Edward VIII. Edward's coronation was announced for the following year, May 1937, but never actually happened. When he made clear his plan to marry Wallis Simpson, he ran into strong opposition from the British church and government, who were against him marrying a divorced woman. The opposition was so strong that he had to choose between the marriage and the crown. He chose marriage and abdicated in December 1936. He was king for less than a year.

Next in line to the throne was George V's second son, Prince Albert. He never expected to become king, and struggled with public appearances due to a severe stammer (the subject of the movie, The King's Speech). But despite his reluctance he accepted the crown and a new name, becoming King George VI.

So there was still a coronation in May 1937, but it was King George VI that was crowned, not King Edward VIII as originally planned.

Where: There are tram lines glinting in the main photo. Does anyone recognise the location? Here are some of the business names on the buildings in the background, in case they can help.

What: The next day's newspaper, (Hong Kong Daily Press, 1937-05-13) has a good writeup of the procession. I've reproduced it below, adding in photos where available.

CHINESE PROCESSION

Thousands Throng Streets
To See Spectacle

THREE MILES IN LENGTH

Tremendous crowds of visitors thronged the streets to watch the Chinese Procession, which has been organized under the energetic and tireless supervision of the members of the Chinese Coronation Sub-committee, in celebration of the Coronation of His Majesty King George VI.

The Procession started from Belchers Street, Kennedy Town yesterday at 11 a.m., and ended by returning to Catchick Street at about 5.15 p.m.

The verandahs and balconies on both sides of roads and streets, along the route were crammed to capacity, and the streets were thronged with sightseers, all eager to secure good positions to view the interesting sights of the Procession.

Even before the Procession arrived, all vantage points along the route were filled with eager waiting crowds, standing and sitting on benches, and anything that enabled them to obtain a sight of the passing events. Many cameramen were observed along the route taking, photographs of the Procession.

The Procession, which was about three miles in length, was led by twenty members of the Chinese Coronation Sub-Committee, and headed by the smart brass band of the Aberdeen Industrial School (Salesian Institute), members of the Police motor section, who opened the way and controlled the traffic, so as to prevent “jams.”

Both sides of the roads were patrolled by the members of the Chinese Police Reserve, and the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and an army of Boy Scouts, whereby perfect discipline and order were maintained along the whole route.

The members of the Chinese Coronation Sub-Committee are to be congratulated for their splendid efforts in presenting such a brilliant show, which will long be remembered and go down in the annals of the history of the Colony as a wonderfully gracious tribute to Their Majesties The King and Queen from the Chinese community of the Colony.

MONSTER DRAGONS

With so much to see and write about in connection with the biggest and grandest Procession that has ever taken place in the Colony, surpassing in beauty and gorgeousness, everything that has been seen in Hong Kong and the Far East, it is extremely difficult where to begin, but, pride of place must certainly be given to the monster dragons.

 

 

The dragons were five in number a golden one, a silver one, an enamelled one,and two gauze, which are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity to the Colony. Each was about three hundred feet in length, with "crews” of about two hundred men who were all dressed in coloured silks and satins or gala attire.

On account of the great length and weight of these monster dragons, the men had to work in shifts, and heralded by rolling drums and the blowing of horns, as the dragons twisted and turned along the streets, now raising their monster heads, now lowering them as they followed the movements of their "pearl” leaders, they were a most marvellous sight to behold!

 

At times the dragons were so manipulated by the “crews,” that they resembled huge glittering serpents, as they heaved and glided, along in their undulating passage through the streets of the City.

Dragon Dancers-celebration for Coronation ofKing George 6th 1937, by IDJ

 

GAMBOLING LIONS

Following the monster dragons came the gamboling militant lions with their snappy movements and fierce-looking faces, and some with white whiskers, emblematic, of good luck and prosperity.

There were five in all, and as they pranced through the streets tossing their proud heads up and down, and from side to side, snapping their big whiskered Jaws in a most docile manner, they attracted quite a deal of attention from the spectators, and with the stirring drums loudly beating and, gongs clashing they presented a most, exciting and impressive display, which young and old appeared to thoroughly enjoy.

FIGHTING TIGERS

The two tigers manipulated by their Hainan “fighting crews" created much interest, as they were quite new to the Colony. They were over ten feet in length, and manipulated by a "crew” of fifty men each, dressed in their quaint Hainan costumes.

Each tiger was shown in action against a band of "boxers.” armed with tridents, spears, and other war-like weapons, who were represented as being successful in rescuing a boy from the tiger’s jaws!

A GIANT CENTIPEDE

The two hundred feet fearsome-looking flesh coloured centipede, consisting of thirty-two sections, with green feet and red tail, will be manipulated by a "crew” of about three [sic. I guess it should be three hundred] men in to-night’s Lantern Procession. It is the special contribution of the Chiuchow (Swatow) Merchants Guild, who wish to add something new to the usual display of dragons and lions. This is the first time that a giant centipede has been introduced into a Chinese Procession in Hong Kong.

This giant centipede will, no doubt, attract considerable interest, owing to its novelty, and the spectators will be delighted with its strange awesome movements.

WONDERFUL TABLEAUX

The tableaux were rich in variety, as well as female pulchritude, and were contributed by the different trade commercial associations and market guilds, the floats and tableaux being results of special work by the leading factories in Kowloon.

In the Procession yesterday there were also gorgeous spectacular tableaux and floats, and gaily caparisoned ponies, on which rode beautiful little girls dressed in silks and satins, representing popular events in China's history and social customs.

STILT WALKERS

Many stilt walkers were seen in the Procession, being made up to represent famous personalities in ancient Chinese history and mythology wearing the curious and gorgeous costumes of the time.

There were also those in masks, representing characters of modern times, and also humorous groups of clown and actors dressed up in grotesque costumes to attract and amuse the sightseers by their absurd attire and antics.

Many beautiful decorated and embroidered coloured silk standards were also displayed in the Procession, which represented each business association and market guild.

BANDS OF MUSICIANS

At intervals in the Procession were bands of Chinese musicians, imported purposely from Canton and other places for the Coronation celebrations. The band of musicians from Chiuchow (Swatow) is considered to be the best of all, and consisted of a large number of men. It is believed to be the largest band of its kind ever assembled in any one show.

Other interesting items included in the Procession were the displays of wonderful plastic imitation of fruits, flowers, curios etc. carried on stands, representing Chinese expertness in arts and craft,

This colossal Chinese Procession, which took at least two hours to pass at any one point, will continue for two more days, to-day and to-morrow.

A MAGNIFICENT SHOW

On the whole, the Chinese Procession was a magnificent show, and the best of its kind ever seen in the colony, and we extend our heartiest congratulations to the Chinese community for having provided Hong Kong with such a magnificent and gorgeous spectacle.

It is understood that the three days and two nights processions and celebrations have cost the Chinese community over $200,000, and since all classes, high and low have contributed their share through the general increase, of ten to twenty percent in food and market prices, it proves the splendid feelings of friendship and loyalty of the Chinese of the whole Colony.

THE PARTICIPANTS

The following were the eleven groups of the business associations and market guilds, which took part in yesterday's Chinese Day Procession:

Group 1: Meat Guild; Group 2: Fruit and Vegetable Guild; Group 3: Fukien Commercial and Industrial Association; Group 5: Castle and Sheep Guild; Group 5: Chiu-chow (Swatow) Commercial and Industrial Association; Group 6: Piece Goods Guild; Group 7: Pawn Brokers Guild; Group 8: Knitting and Weaving Association: Group 9: Poon Yue Commercial and Industrial Association, Messrs. Kwong Sang Hong and Co,. Ltd., and the Kam Yuk Lau "Joss Store;" Group 10: Hainan Commercial and Industrial Association and Group 11: Fish Monger Guild.

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AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE

The procession made its way into Government House and gave a display in the grounds for the benefit of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, Mr. N. L. Smith, C.M.G., and party.

The Golden Dragon was the first to enter the grounds and it twisted and twirled its way up and down the ground, the head now, high up, now low, to the accompaniment of Chinese music provided by a very enthusiastic band.

Dragon Dancers-celebration for Coronation of King George 6th 1937, by IDJ

 

The tableaux aroused the greatest admiration while the humorous side of the procession, those people who strut about it on stilts in their picturesque and grotesque dresses, caused a good deal of amusement.

As each section of the procession completed its own particular part of the display, it "marched past" the terrace of Government House where His Excellency bowed acknowledgment to their salutations.

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ILLUMINATIONS DESCRIBED

The transformation of the Colony into a fairyland of multicoloured lights from the sea to the summit of the Peak commanding a glorious view of a dreamlike harbour with all Naval and merchant ships outlined in a myriad of lights, while bouquets of red, white and blue rockets soaring high into the air, accompanied by searchlight and nightflying displays by illuminated aircraft together with set fireworks pieces turning the sea into rainbow colours, was a pageant of historical splendour, surpassing in beauty and magnificence anything that has been seen in Hong Kong and the Far East.

The praya was adorned with gorgeous and glittering lights which outlined all the buildings from V.R.C. to the P. and O. Building.

Coronation illuminations, by Admin

 

The centre of attraction lay in Statue Square which was among the most effective displays. Besides being lighted itself, it was surrounded on three sides by floodlit buildings. The most, attractive was the gigantic edifice of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, surmounted on the roof of which were two magnificent crowns, brilliantly illuminated with coloured electric bulbs which looked like sparkling gems.

1937 KGVI Coronation Illuminations, by Eternal1966

 

The boundary lines of the Naval Yard was attractively illuminated, while a replica of the Admiralty House facade was built at the corner of Murray and Queen’s Roads.

An imposing sign, with a crown, and the words, “Cuidich’n Righ,” on an impressive background, Just outside the Officers’ Mess of the Seaforth Highlanders, Murray Barracks, at the corner of Garden Road, facing the cricket ground, was gaily illuminated with coloured lamps.

A colossal “God save The King” on May Road was radiantly illuminated. This was visible from Kowloon.

The triumphal arches or Chinese ”pai laus," symbolical of the glories of an ancient civilisation, which were erected in all the important centres of the city, gave a most imposing effect when floodlit.

The streets were gay with gorgeous settings, enhanced by lights.

Crowds thronged the main centres of attraction.

The main thoroughfares were but an endless trail of humanity, while buses, tram-cars and ferries were packed to capacity.

1937 Illuminated Tram, by moddsey

 

Kowloon was also gaily illuminated. Signal Hill, the Peninsula Hotel, Railway Station, Star Ferry and Police piers, Holt's Wharf, the new Magistracy, Kowloon Motor Bus Company and many clubs contributed to the brilliance.

1937 Coronation Night, Peninsula Hotel, by moddsey

 

At 11 p.m. bouquets of red, white and blue rockets from H.M. ships Eagle, Dainty, Diana, Diomede and Westcott, were fired into the air. Like shooting stars, they made the sky glow with gay colours, presenting scenes or dazzling wonder.

Dragons, lions and tigers all sound suitably regal, but the centipede? I suppose cockroaches would have been worse, but a centipede still seems an odd choice. Has anyone seen any photos of it?

Hopefully this reaches you in time to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Bill Griffiths also asked to be remembered to friends he's met here, and sends out an extra "Merry Christmas" to us all.

Best regards,

David

Related: See more photos of Hong Kong's royal celebrations:

• King George VI's coronation in 1937
• Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953

Book Update: My Christmas present is that we've passed the 600 mark - the number of copies sold now stands at 602. If you're in Hong Kong, there's also a new way to get your hands on a copy, as the Gwulo book is now available to buy at Bookazine's stores around town.   If you've read the book and you're a member of Goodreads, please could you help me by adding a rating / review on the book's Goodreads page?   New on Gwulo: People: Looking for information about: Edwin George William Sait Newman [1867-1949], son of Mary Ann Warner Sait Newman and Edwin Sait. J. Sparrow KNIGHT [c.1841-????], worked in the China Maritime Customs Maria Antonia RAMSEY (née LYSAUGHT, aka Marian/Marion/Marianne) [1870-????] Memories of: Harold Clitherow MARGRETT [1899-1996], Stanley internee and manager of General Electric in HK. Places:​ Our first photos of Tai Lam Camp, a British military camp that was near today's Gold Coast. It looks like we've found the early location of Nagasaki Joe's. Other: What are those big metal doors at some MTR entrances for? Elizabeth Ride is adding extra material to the wartime diaries. Joseph has added several interesting pieces of tram memorabilia, eg 1954 route map, the changing layout of the tram lines around Canal Road / Tin Lok Lane, and an old tram ticket showing Tsat Tsz Mui (the North Point swimming beaches) as a destination. A map of Hong Kong's gas works, past & present. Copies of old Hong Kong aerial photos from 1920s/30s/60s now online. Ping Shan House: 30 December visit cancelled. New open day 13 Jan 2018. More about the remains of shophouses and other old buildings we can see on Hong Kong's walls. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added: First Pay Phone (1954) Wyndham St, by OldTimer   Hill Road 1965.jpeg, by Eric Chen   1971 Over Central Kowloon - Landing Kai Tak 2, by Eternal1966   1957 North Point Reservoir, by Eternal1966   1900s Hong Kong Flour Mills, by Moddsey   1968 Lane Crawford bldg, by Eternal1966 Click to see all recently added photos.

In the last newsletter for 2017 we'll wrap up a photo we've looked at a couple of times before, then flip it over to see if you can help identify an unknown school.

Here's the photo again, a view looking east from the Peak, taken around 1904:

Today I'll start off in the distance.

Kellett Island in the centre is an easy landmark to spot.

Looking up at 12 o'clock from the island, we see the shoreline of the area around today's Fortress Hill. Reclamation means the modern shoreline is much further out, but back in 1904 you still saw the original shoreline, which ran roughly along the line of today's Electric Road.

The exception was the reclaimed land at the start of the long pier. Both the pier and the new land belonged to the Dutch Oil Company, a predecessor of today's Shell company.

At 2 o'clock from Kellett island, the hockey stick shape is the wall at the front of the old typhoon shelter, then at 4 o'clock from the island are two hulks - de-masted sailing ships that were moored in harbour. Hulks were typically used for accommodation or storage. Can anyone identify these two?

Over at the left edge of the photo, another easy-to-recognise landmark is the tower of St John's Cathedral.

At 2 o'clock from the cathedral we see the edge of the army's Murray Barracks. At 4 o'clock it's the army again, as the light-coloured roof belonged to the Volunteer's headquarters building. At 5 o'clock, the two buildings in the foreground belonged to HSBC, and housed their manager and sub-manager.

Continuing uphill, we see the lower terminus of the Peak Tram, with a tram at the station.

Follow the tram line from the parked tram, and you'll see a darker section. That marks a bridge, where the tram crosses a bridge over the big nullah that runs past here. My first thought was that the white stripe on this crop showed water rushing down the nullah, but the close-up below shows it was a footpath:

Continuing up the hill again, the grand building in the foreground is Kingsclere.

It is a lighter colour than its neighbours, which makes it stand out. The light colour is often a sign of a new building, as the humid climate means walls quickly get grubby-looking. That, plus the bamboo scaffolding, suggests the building was just being finished off when this photo was taken.

The mystery school

The photo above was bought in an auction. It was originally part of an album, but as is often the case the album had been broken up at some point and the pages sold individually. There's a photo stuck on the other side of the page too:

Here's the title, written in ink at the bottom of the page:

The last word is clearly "School.", but there are several possible interpretations of the other spelling and punctuation:

• Gong Bau School.
• Gorig. Ban School.
• ?

We can see three western women, and a group of Chinese girls & young women. I guess the photo shows the teachers and students at one of the many schools that missionary groups set up in Hong Kong and China.

Here are the teachers from left to right. The middle and right teachers have initials written in the margin above their heads.

The students look well dressed, and many have their ears pierced and wear earrings. Would that mean this was a paying school, rather than an orphanage school? Here are the three on the left of the centre teacher as we look at the photo:

This photo was likely taken around the same time as the view from the Peak, ie c.1904. (Though they wouldn't have to be exactly the same year, as the Peak photo could have been a stock photo from the photographer's collection.)

Not a lot of clues, but if you have any ideas which school this could be, please let us know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy 2018.

Regards,

David

Gwulo references: BE002A (school) and BE002B (view east from the Peak)

For more information about the view from the Peak, we've previously looked at the section showing the Navy's land, which suggested the photo was taken in early 1904.

And we also looked at the area around Wanchai and Causeway Bay.

Gwulo Book Update: It's been very satisfying to see that people from all around the world are interested in old Hong Kong. Over 40% of orders for the Gwulo book have come from outside Hong Kong, and so far I've mailed copies to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the USA! New on Gwulo: People: Looking for information about: Russian baker, Peter Michalovich PIANKOFF [????-1944] Tony's son is looking for information about his father, Anthony Henry GRIFFITHS [1939-1995], and help identifying people and places in his photo album. Tony was in Hong Kong with the REME around 1959/60, doing his National Service. Memories of: The boss at Davie Boag, William Alfred STEWART [1900-????] Places:​ New Kowloon Cinema Theatre / 新九龍映戲院 [1926-1941] St. Stephen's Hall, 13 & 15 Babington Path [????-c.1963] Other: Why is this small plot of land in front of Luso Apartments fenced off? The book Victoria Barracks 1842-1979 is now available to view online. If you can leave a comment with any more information about these, it will be gratefully received.   Some of the new photos added: St. John's Hall - 1912 Block.png, by jonchucj   Officers' Mess, by k worthington   1935 JUBILEE PROCESSION.,,,,,.jpg, by cbxian   Tai Po Market Railway Station - In Its brick and mortor days, by OldTimer   Click to see all recently added photos.

Time for the annual round-up of the last year, and a look at the plans for the year ahead.

2017 in numbers

Vroom! 

The number of people reading Gwulo grew significantly over the last year.

Here are the website figures first, with the number of people visiting the website rising 29% from 148,000 to 191,000:

The growth in website traffic to new highs means at last we've moved on from my "shoot self in foot" mistake of 2014. (I accidentally blocked the Gwulo website from appearing in Google's search results, and it has taken several years to recover from that.)

The number of subscribers has also jumped, from 3,400 to 4,500:

Notes:
[1]. Since switching from Feedburner to MailChimp, we have no way to monitor the number of RSS subscriptions.
[2]. These diary cycles had already finished, so I don't count their subscribers this year.
[3]. The Total is less than the sum of the rows because many subscribers are subscribed to more than one year's Wartime Diaries, but I only count them once in the Total.

If you've joined us over the last year, welcome to Gwulo!

People visit Gwulo for the interesting content, and that has grown too, passing 30,000 pages:

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site.

2017 Review - progress against plans

Last years plans were split into four groups:

1. Ask for help with running costs

The number of patrons supporting Gwulo, and the monthly contribution towards running costs stayed steady:

Thank you to all Gwulo's patrons for your continued support.

2. Talks and a book

I presented talk #4 for the first time in May, and it was well received. Through the year I gave a total of 9 talks and guided walks.

The Gwulo book was published on 4th December, so just over a month ago. Readers have ordered over 600 copies so far, and the feedback has been positive, so I'm really pleased with how that has turned out.

3. Keep the site running smoothly

We haven't had any major disasters this year, and spam stays out of sight. The site ended 2017 running faster than in 2016, helped by a move to a new hosting company, and an upgrade to the underlying PHP it runs on. All is well for now (crosses fingers, touches wood, and clutches lucky rabbit's foot!)

​

4. Add new features

I planned to add two features this year: area-outlines on Places, and a new "Street" page type. Only the first was added.

I also added a few minor features that weren't in the original plan: move "zoom" to a different screen, add Google search, a new "Places (list)" feature, and SSL / HTTPS security.

2018 Plans

1. Ask for help with running costs

If you'd like to become a patron and support Gwulo, please visit Gwulo's Patreon page to sign up.

2. Talks and a book

I have the first talk booked for March - more details on that later. If you hear of anyone organising an event that might need a speaker or a guided walk, please ask them to contact me: david@gwulo.com

I will publish a second volume of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell towards the end of the year, and in the meantime I'll work to promote the first volume. If you have business visitors that you'd like to hand a small gift as a reminder of their time in Hong Kong, a copy of the Gwulo book or a print of one of Gwulo's old photos could be just the thing!

3. Keep the site running smoothly

I don't have any plans to change anything in this area, but no doubt there will be something that needs attention during the year.

If you're aware of any bugs or performance issues, please let me know.

​

4. Add new features

I've got three ideas for 2018:

4.1 Add a new "Street" page type. This is still a good idea. Here's what I wrote about it last year: This will be the seventh type of page, in addition to the Place, Person, etc., that we currently have. I'm cautious about adding a new type of page, as it makes the site more complicated to use and run. But I think a Street page type will be a good addition, that fits in well with the rest of the site. Some of the ways I imagine it working include:

• We can connect Places to the Street they are on, and then for a Street we can show a list of all the buildings (Places) along it.
• Following on from that we can automatically generate a list of all the photos that show a Street - similar to how the "Photos along the tram line" pages work.
• Gather information about the re-numbering of a street over the years, following Herostratus's lead.
• Record the origin of the Street's name, its date of creation, and its development over the years.
• Record the Street's route, and show that route on modern maps and scanned copies of old paper maps.

4.2 Authors' tools. I hope these can make the site more 'useful and/or easier to use for the people who add photos and content to Gwulo:

• Private messaging.
  his will allow one user to send a message to another user in the background. It's good for direct questions that don't need to be made public.
• Author profile.
  Optional, but where a user can post details about themselves, eg what parts of Hong Kong's history they are interested in.
• Author summary.
  Show all the content that has been added by a given author. This will be helpful for authors, as I'm often asked for help in finding something an author has posted but cannot find. Readers can also use it when they see an author they like, and want to find more pages by them.

4.3 Tags. Tags are an important but often overlooked part of the site, gathering related pages together. Some ways we can make them better:

• Combine duplicate tags. 
  I started this clean-up work last year, and will carry on with it this year.
• Improve the display and editing of tags.
• Show photos on the Everything tagged "tag name" pages.
• Display a tag cloud to highlight the most popular tags.

Please leave a comment below if you have any feedback or questions about these plans, or ideas for other improvements. (Including anything you've mentioned before but hasn't been acted on yet!)

Thanks again to everyone who supported Gwulo in 2017. I look forward to seeing where the site takes us in 2018.

Best regards,

David