Routes between HK and UK in the 1920s

Submitted by David on Thu, 09/05/2013 - 18:05

Jill asks about this topic over on page: http://gwulo.com/node/17132#comment-25647, and notes:

I wonder if the combined knowledge of Gwulo subscribers could help me with alternative routes that Arthur might have used to sail to England when seeking medical treatment for TB and how to search for them. My various searches through Ancestry.com haven’t thrown up his name, although I have found other Warren relatives recorded as travelling via Montreal or Vancouver to London and also via Kobe and Shanghai to Liverpool. I notice that Arthur’s sister, Evelyn, when transiting Canada on her way back to Hong Kong in 1920 had to sign a passengers' declaration stating that she did not have TB. 

I can’t find several records of voyages that were made by my Warren family members to and from England and to and from Canada – for instance, that of Arthur and my father, Charles Reginald Warren who went to school in Canada in 1917. Did children under a certain age not have to be recorded? They were 11 and 8 respectively and accompanied by a governess.

Sorry I'm not sure how to search for them, but I found a few other routes mentioned in HJ Lethbridge's introduction to the reprint of Handbook for China, the travel guide by Carl Crow:

... The French Yunnan line, terminating at Haiphong in French Indochina, provided the foreign traveller with an entry into southern China. Haiphong was connected with Europe by the Messageries Maritimes shipping line, whose boats plied between Marseille and China and Japan. ... ((Marseille was on one of the HK-UK routes: boat from HK via Suez Canal to Marseille, train across France to the English Channel, then ferry over to England. Brian gives an example of that journey in 1938: https://jonmarkgreville2.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/auden-isherwood-grayb…))

... Others simply enjoyed the excitements or pleasures of a sea voyage, for most came to China by ship. There were many lines to choose from: the celebrated P&O (London to China), the Canadian Pacific Railway (Vancouver to Hong Kong), the Pacific Mail Steamship Company (San Francisco to Japan and China), and the Nord Deutscher Lloyd (Bremen to China and Japan) ...

... Needless to say, China could also be reached from the North, by the trans-Siberian Railway, who southern branch ran down to Mukden (Shenyang), and from that city to Peking and Tianjin. ...

... The cruise ships and liners that called at either Hong Kong or Shanghai – American vessels mostly went to the latter – did not stay long in port (wharfage or anchorage fees were very high) and passengers could, therefore, not stray too far afield; shopping sprees, a measure of sightseeing, and the sampling of nightlife (more exotic and louche in Shanghai – 'the Paris of the East '– than in decorous, colonial Hong Kong) were favoured pastimes. ...

... Prewar, Hong Kong was not the tourist centre it has since become; but many ships entered the sheltered waters of its harbour and docked or anchored there. The colony thus received a constant stream of visitors and sightseers, on whom many Chinese shopkeepers came to depend. P&O liners always visited the colony en route to Shanghai and Yokohama; so too did the Messageries Maritimes and other lines, whose ships sailed from the British Isles or the continent. One should mention that Hong Kong was popular as a rest station with China missionaries. Protestant missions had built numerous bungalows and homes on Cheung Chau island for their pastors. Catholics had a hospice for their priests at Bethanie, opposite University Hall in Pokfulam Road. To this somewhat stark edifice came many priests from China to rest or recuperate. The little cemetery attached the Bethanie testifies that it was the final resting place for some, worn out with toil among the Chinese. ...

Regards, David

David

Thank you for copying this long passage from Brian Edgar's book. It's clear that there were lots of variations of route to and from Hong Kong depending how fast one wanted to get to one's destination. I'm missing quite a number of records of the voyages that my family made. Sometimes embarkations and disembarkations are mentioned in the press if you know the date to look for them. Any other tips on search engines to trace elusive passengers would certainly be more than welcome.

Jill

My family made the trip often in the early 20th century.

Preferred method was Liverpool - Toronto - Vancouver by train then ship to HK on one of the Empresses owned by the Canadian Pacific.

Took about 40 days depending how quickly you wanted to cross Canada. Stops at Banff and Lake Louise were popular.

Suez (opened 1869) offered a quick route. London - Paris- Brindisi by train was quickest. Ship then across Med, through Suez, Columbo,Singapore, then to HK if you were in a hurry.

The NYK Japanese line was popoular and had a fortnightly sailing from HK to London and in reverse as well. Called at a lot of ports before getting to Tilbury. Slow but unforgettable a late uncle told me. P and O also had fortnightly sailings starting back in mid 19th Century.

Often people went from London, had a few days in Paris then took the sleeper to Marseilles and onwards through Suez. Nice trip.

All easy to check out and you can even buy used tickets on eBay if you want to!

These were the main routes but of course depending on how you wanted to travel you could go around the Cape of Good Hope, onward to Singapore and thence to HK.

Sean

 

Thank you, Sean.

I see that a similar question to mine about passenger lists was asked on gwulo.com/node/7528 in 2010 and answered by Liz Chater, who suggested the Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com sites. I've found that these sites come up with a certain number of voyages known to have been taken by my family, but by no means all. Findmypast.com only registers departures from England, but even so, I would have expected a larger percentage of hits.  Perhaps I'm missing a trick or simply ignorant of other search methods. The speedy Brindisi > Colombo route is interesting. The  Southampton to Colombo voyage used to take us 6 weeks when I was a child, even through Suez.

Jill

My experience of using "professional" sites down the years for various things has been frankly appalling. Many seem to simply want to make money from researchers and promise far more than they can give.

Apart from family info and newspaper cuttings most of my information has come after cutting through much of the promised info and looking for other sources. Have found many bits and pieces in university archives and - particularly in Sweden - at local authorities.

Ellis Island has a good site. Otherwise you are often in the hands the websites who charge quite a lot and often deliver nothing.

It is also well to remember that both in UK and Europe records were destroyed during the two wars just as so much was destroyed in HK during the Japanese occupation.

Sean 

Good to know that university archives have been helpful. The Ellis Island site looks as if it would be rewarding, particularly when looking for people transiting New York. I fully agree about the dangers of websites that lock you into a subscription.

Jill