What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

• I've added a new scanned paper map to Gwulo's maps: '1882 Map of North shore, showing locations of sewers & latrines'. (You can also view it as an overlay with markers to see the buildings in that area.)
   
• A bench has been erected on Carlton Hill in Edinburgh in memory of Douglas Ford GC, who was executed by the Japanese in 1943.
   

• Readers have been gathering photos and information about the various P&O headquarters buildings through the years:

  

  • 1st Generation [c.1845-c.1881]
  • 2nd Generation [c.1850-c.1885]
  • 3rd Generation [1887-????]
  • 4th Generation [1924-1961]
  • 5th Generation [c.1965-c.1980]
     
• Readers ask:
  • If you remember the British military building that used to stand on Homantin Hill Road, Simon911 has a couple of questions for you.
     
  • Looking for information about the attack by the Japanese army on Lyemun Barracks, and what happened to the men in the Royal Artillery there who became POWs.
     

• Can you identify any of the people in this photo? (Click 'Zoom' to see a larger copy with more detail.)

  

   

• Readers would like to contact:
  • Willy Freeman, Bermuda
     
  • Jim Terry, Blarney, County Cork

Places & Streets

What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

• Gwulo is coming to Cheltenham! I'll give a talk in Cheltenham on 18 June, kindly organised by Martin Reynolds. Full details and how to book (note there's an early-bird offer if you book by 30 April).
   
• Thank you to everyone who came along to the talk in London on 5 April, and thank you to the Friends of East Asia for hosting it. The sun shone, the dim sum lunch beforehand was delicious, and we had a full house for the talk.
   
• Continuing discussions in the comments about:
  • Hong Kong's old fire hydrants
     

  • the location of this photo:
     

    

• If you've enjoyed reading Martin Booth's book, titled either Gweilo, or Golden Boy depending on the edition, we've got a list of the main sites he mentions in each chapter. The list has links to the sites' location and photos, so you can see the places he describes as you read along.
   
• A look at the three old bridges across the Wong Nai Chung Nullah / Bowrington Canal.
   
• Online resources:
  • Cheung Chau Notes (c. 1923-1936)
     
  • Directory of Protestant Missions in China 1936
     
• The 1889 Jurors List is now online, and ...
• ... we've started typing up the 1888 Jurors List - please join in and type up a page if you can
   

• essarem introduces a collection of matchboxes he found on the streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon in 1966. Sample:
   

  

   

Places & Streets

In this video I'll show how to spot the little clues that help pin down a photo’s location, then use them to show a century of changes along Pottinger Street:

(If the video didn’t appear above, please click here to watch it on Youtube).

Gwulo website upgrade

The Gwulo website is back online again after I've finished upgrading the software that runs it. The next job is to fix the problems that inevitably occur after an upgrade like this.

• Details of the upgrade
• How to report any problems you find

London talk on 5th April

[Update: we're now fully booked for this talk. Thank you to everyone who has booked, and I look forward to seeing you on the 5th.]

If you attended the Gwulo's farewell talk I gave in Hong Kong last year, and can think of any friends in the UK who might enjoy it, please could you let them know I will give the talk again in London on 5th April? When I last checked there were only 10 seats still available for the 70-seat venue, so I'm hoping we can make it a full house.

• 5 April talk: details and how to book

Chinese translation of Gwulo's first book

Some exciting news for Gwulo's books: I've signed a contract with a Hong Kong publisher to publish a Chinese-language translation of Volume 1 of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell. That's all I can say at the moment, but I'll share more details when I can.

Missing wartime diaries

The daily Wartime Diaries emails couldn't be sent during the website upgrade. If you'd like to catch up on the missed days, please use the links below:

83 years ago

• 21 Mar 1942
• 22 Mar 1942
• 23 Mar 1942
• 24 Mar 1942

82 years ago

• 21 Mar 1943
• 22 Mar 1943
• 23 Mar 1943
• 24 Mar 1943

81 years ago

• 21 Mar 1944
• 22 Mar 1944
• 23 Mar 1944
• 24 Mar 1944

80 years ago

• 21 Mar 1945
• 22 Mar 1945
• 23 Mar 1945
• 24 Mar 1945

The software used to run the Gwulo website needs to be upgraded. It isn't as big a project as the last major upgrade in 2022, but this upgrade will still take several weeks.

I've created a new forum where I'll post updates on progress, and where you can report any problems: 2025 Gwulo upgrade

During this time I'll focus on getting the upgrade finished ASAP, so I won't be sending out any new newsletters or videos, and my responses to emails and messages on the website will be delayed. From time to time the website will be unavailable as I make updates to the software.

If you're missing the newsletters you can always visit the What's new page, to see what Gwulo's contributors have added lately.

I'll send out the next newsletter once the upgrade is complete.

Regards, David