Henry Richard Joseph WOULFE-FLANAGAN [1903-1969]

Submitted by David on Fri, 03/27/2015 - 13:50
Names
Given
Henry Richard Joseph
Family
Woulfe-Flanagan
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Died
Date

Details from John Black's list, which gives Flanagan's occupation in 1941 as "Chinese Customs". Updated with additional information from comments below.

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Comments

Henry Woulfe Flanagan (b. 1903) was based in Tientsin up until a few weeks before the outbreak of war.  "On or about 20 Nov 1941  I received instruction to go to Shanghai and to take up the post of Acting Deputy Commissioner - CMC - Shanghai.  I embarked with my wife and child. However en route the Captain received instructions to sail direct to HK and not stop at Shanghai in anticpation of war. ("Fau sang"). We arrived at Hong Kong at about 6am on Sunday 7th December 1941. On the following day I saw Japanese aircraft bombing Kai Tak. One bomb dropped within 50 yards of the "Fau Sang". Subsequently at 2pm a larger raid was made  and our ship became a direct target  bombs falling all around us with many near misses. The decks were machine gunned. In the course of the day women and children were put ashore and later the men".  On Wednesday 12th Dec  he moved wih wife and child to RB Hotel and was caught up in siege of the Hotel and gave evidence at war crimes trials after the war. He was in Stanley Camp until transferred with family to Shanghai.   Philip Cracknell

Thanks Philip, 

Using your notes to search, I found an online family tree with a "Henry Richard Joseph Woulfe-Flanagan (b.24 Mar 1903)", see http://mctiernan.com/Woulf-F.rtf

I think it's the same person and have updated his details above.

I've also added a new tag, WW2: 1941 At Repulse Bay Hotel, to identify people who were at the hotel in December 1941.

Regards, David

Henry Ching writes:

There is an interesting entry in the staff lists on the Bristol University’s Chinese Maritime Customs Project website.  H.R.J.W.Flanagan is shown as having joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in July, 1923.  But his name appears twice.  The first entry says that his name was removed in December, 1941 when he was apparently Acting Deputy Commissioner in Tientsin. The second entry says he was compulsorily retired in December, 1945.

Thanks to Henry for this extra information. The list can be found at:

https://www.bris.ac.uk/history/customs/resources/servicelists/britishe_…

It is part of their larger Chinese Maritime Customs Project website:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/history/customs/

Marriage 1933 Marylebone London

Henry Richard Joseph Woulfe Flanagan married Dorothea Mary Eyre

Passenger List 1954 Southampton to Hong Kong

Henry Richard Joseph Woulfe Flanagan age 51 c/o Lloyds Bank Berkeley Square London

Dorothea Mary Woulfe-Flanagan age 43

Death Henry Richard Joseph Woulfe Flanagan retired of of 51 Route Orange St.Brelade Jersey died 25 February 1969 (The London Gazette)

Marriage 1971 Sacred Heart Jersey Channel Islands

Dorothea Mary Woulfe-Flanagan to Edgar Bathurst (1901 - 1972)

Ancestry Public Tree

Dorothea Mary Eyre/Woulfe Flanagan/Bathurst  born 28 April 1911 Hampstead London - died 14 September 14 Sep 2001 Beaminster, Dorset, England