1950s Happy Valley Racecourse

Hi there,

I believe I saw a Soccer Field there in the middle with a small cluster of player near the goal net.   I have read somewhere else that the grassy playground was surrendered to the Urban Council for their management and was open to the public.  I could not exactly remember when, but I guess some digging into the Jockey Club's history and/or the LCSD should find something useful.  That could help to date the photo as well.

Best Regards,

T

The southern block of government quarters on Leighton Hill was completed in 1956.

From Legco archives dated 21 November 1956.

"New blocks at Chater Hall and Leighton Hill have recently been completed."

Hi there,

Now that we know what to look for I believe there was another shaft on the Broadwood Road side, just slightly above and behind Saint Margaret's Church.

Best Regards,

T

Thanks to John Bechtel for the following, received by email:

My father, John Bechtel, founded the Kowloon Tong Church on the corner of Waterloo Rd and Lancaster Ave. He lived on Belfran Road in KLT when the conflict began. He was the air raid warden for Kowloon Tong during the conflict and was stationed at the Kowloon Tong Club on Waterloo Road during the shelling start of the battle.

When the Japanese advanced over Lion Rock, the police picked him up and during the shelling they went to the Kowloon Pier and crossed the harbour in a police launch. He was dispatched to Happy Valley to the corner the farthest from the waterfront where the road rounds that end of the racecourse.

He was put in command of a rice distribution store there where rice was given to the local population who had not been able to shop as all the stores had boarded up due to the shelling. He often took me there as a young boy to tell me the story of another young boy who had been hit by shrapnel and had lost his hand and the little boy died in my fathers arms. He shed tears each time he took me there and always told me how bad war is and how precious life is.

He was then given the task of taking rice and supplies to the troops in the area. It was a great risk and the drivers had abandoned their posts due to the shelling of that area. He was in that area when he saw the vehicle go by with the white flag flying and he realized the HK garrison had surrendered.  He walked to the foot of the Peak Tram and he and his friend George Padgett of the HK Electric, walked up the peak tram tracks and hid up there until they were captured and sent to Stanley Prison. He was repatriated sometime later which is another story.

BUT he had very vivid memories of the area depicted in your picture of the week..  He received a medal and each year he went to the Cenotaph to commemorate the war and remember those who made the supreme sacrifice.

Hi David,

Yes, that's the one I was talking about.  It looked very similar to the other one.  Don't know if the ARPs along Blue Pool Road would extend that far.  

I checked the HK Maps service search and no portal is listed on the other side of the ridge along Caroline Hill Road.  There's one inside the Po Leung Kuk premises though.  

Also in the HK Map Service search results and in the on-line map, there are some rectangle markers on different areas on Leighton Hill.  I wonder what are those.

Best Regards,

T

Could not find any reference to the use of the Happy Valley totalisator in the local papers for 1950.

3 Feb 1951

After the trial use in February 1951, the totalisator was not used until the last race meeting on 2 June. After the resumption of racing on 22 September. the tote was in operation for every race meeting.

here is some good footage of the famous totalisator in action, plus other good shots of Central and Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, sometime in 1950s. Looks like wintertime judging by the light and how dry the hills are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crgH7Jhx_U4

Notes from Barbara Anslow by email:

I knew G. Padget by sight in camp and Hong Kong, if he was the person who later married Nurse Rose Hobbs and they had a son postwar.
Americans, British, Belgian, Dutch internees were allocated different blocks of accommodation in Stanley, but all very close together so there was no problem in seeing and meeting up with other nationalities.

Barbara - Was "Nurse Rose Hobbs" Sister R.E.Hobbs of the HKVDC Nursing Detachment?

Did the marriage take place in Stanley Camp? I ask because it is not recorded in the appendix to Emerson's excellent book on Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945.  I lived in Happy Valley and was a neighbour of Padget pre-war. I recall he had two daughters then, so this must have been his second marriage.

My interest stems from an attempt to identify the VADs who were mobilised and subsequently interned in Stanley.  Regards - Jaberu

Simply fascinating

Rose Hobbs did not get married in Stanley Camp, but after internment.

Rose Hobbs was a nursing sister (Colonial) who worked at Tweed Bay Hospital in the camp.  According to Greg Leck's Stanley list, there was another nursing sister in camp called Mrs. R.E. Hobbs, who is listed as wife of a member of the HKVDC who was killed during the fighting.

As you are researching the VADs in Hong Kong, I wonder if you are in touch of Jason Wordie who was writing a book about them?

Barbara

Thank you very much, Barbara, for clarifying this. I confused the two because VAD Mrs R.E.Hobbs is said to have been named Rosemary. Yes, her husband was B.C.Hobbs of the HKVDC who was killed in action on 22nd December, 1941.

This explains why the names of four other VADs who married in Stanley are listed in the appendix to Emerson's book, but not the name Hobbs.

I know that Jason Wordie has been working on a book about the VADs but have not been in touch with him. I rather suspect he may have run into some difficulty over this very confused subject for which there appear to be few reliable records.

I am most grateful to you for putting me right. Regards - Henry.

As a matter of interet, The list of camp marriages shown in Geoff's book  does not include those of Roman Catholics - I attended several of them.

Most interesting! Do you know where I can find a list of RC marriages? In particular was any of them a VAD?

The 1946 photo shows the first generation Leighton Hill Government Quarters had been razed to the ground. The old quarters at Ventris and Wong Nei Chong Roads can also be seen.

the photo also shows well the original layout of the colonial cemetary including its simple gated entrance

A few photos of the installation of the multi-speed totalisator at the Happy Valley Racecourse appear in the China Mail dated 1 June 1949.

Update - Work on the totalisator was completed in September 1949. First trial meeting on 21 September 1949. Hong Kong Telegraph 11 September 1949 refers.