Pillbox 057, Wanchai (Hennessy Rd / Johnston Rd / Stewart Rd)

Submitted by David on Sun, 2008-09-14 13:24

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UWM's Harrison Forman collection has several photos of this area and the pillbox in 1941 (see below).

Interesting to see there was a gas station on the junction even then, and apparently under the same management. In 1941 the station sign says 'Texaco', and today's station is the ground floor of a building named Caltex House, Texaco being an ancestor of the Caltex brand.

Some points for discussion:

1. Direction.

Given that the defence of Hong Kong seemed so focused on preventing access to the area with Government House and the underground HQ, I was surprised to see loopholes facing West. It seems unlikely there would be an attack from that direction. Or did they just put a loophole facing in each direction? Unfortunately there aren't any photos from the East, so we can't see if there are any loopholes facing towards Causeway Bay.

2. Loophole design.

If you look at the loopholes on this pillbox, you'll see that the openings have a stepped appearance. As far as I remember, all the other pillboxes we've seen in Hong Kong (ie those that remain today) have a smooth wall sloping in to the opening. The problem with the sloping wall was that it acted like a funnel, helping direct ricochets into the pillbox. Not ideal! The stepped loopholes were meant to overcome this problem.

I think I remember reading that early pillboxes built in the UK had sloping loopholes, but later models were built with the stepped loopholes. So one interpretation could be that these street pillboxes were built later than the coastal pillboxes that still remain? Or was the layer of stones and concrete (meant as camouflage) applied too enthusiastically to the loopholes on coastal pillboxes, filling in the steps?

3. Was the pillbox used?

The last days of the British resistance saw fierce street fighting in Wanchai. At the time of surrender the British line had been pushed West past this pillbox, so I wonder what its involvement in the fighting was?

Here are the Harrison Forman photos that show the pillbox. (You can click any photo for more details)

Photo #113. Hennessy Rd looking SE. Trams turning on Johnston Rd in background: