John Bernard Patrick BYRNE (aka Barney) [1913-1955]

Submitted by Niall OReilly on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 23:03
Names
Given
John Bernard Patrick
Family
Byrne
Alias / nickname
Barney
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Died
Date

I thought you would find the following very interesting. It is regarding my uncle Private John "Barney" Bernard  Patrick Byrne (HKVDC #4732) - Irish Prisoner of the Japanese in Shamshuipo and Sendai (1941-1945). As an Irish citizen he joined the Hong Kong Volunteers fought bravely and after the war, still in his 30s, founded what was to become one of the most successful accountancy practices in Hong Kong John B P Byrne & Co, certified public accountants, now known as Now JBPB & Co – (also previous known as Grant Thornton in Hong Kong - and  in the 1980's as Byrne & Co., and KMG [Klynveld Main Goedeler] Byrne).

He wrote a diary of his time as a POW in Shamshuipo and Sendai #2B and I have added my own research into my blog which is posted here: http://nialljoreilly.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/niall-and-barney/

Having lived in Hong Kong and China for many years myself I can identify with the spirit that motivated him to do what he did. 

I have so many questions and I trust we can learn a lot more about him HKVDC 2 Company, Shamshuipo POW Camp, the Naura Maru hellship, Sendai #2B POW Camp, and even about the accounting firm he founded on this forum.

Niall

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Photos that show this Person

Photo of HKVDC # 4732 Private John Bernard Patrick Byrne – aka Barney - formally identified
1945

Comments

Thanks very much for the link to his letter. It's long, but a fascinating read. He ended his imprisonment bubbling over with ideas of where to go and what to do next - he sounds like a real character.

You mentioned you had questions, what sort of things are you looking for?

Regards, David

PS I've changed this to a 'Person' page, which is a better fit for this type of information.

Thank you David. 

I have one initial question which relates to the accounting firm he founded in his own name: John B P Byrne & Co, certified public accountants, which has since gone through various takepvers and mergers and renamings. It grew to become one of the biggest accounting firms in Hong Kong, and is now JBPB & Co a subsidiarty of BDO Limited Hong Kong. 

I would be interested to know more about the firm's origins, the year it started and where its first office was, etc..

Thank you

 

Niall


 


Hi Niall,

Where have you looked so far? I have not done much company research, but a few suggestions: perhaps the company registry has details of its incorporation date, or would the current company have records of the original company you're looking for?

Here are a couple of threads by someone who might be able to help:

Can any readers suggest other sources of information?

Regards, David.