1962 - Maj.Gen. M.A. "Two Gun" Cohen (r.) with his friend, China trader and decorated veteran of the 1944 Normandy landings, Paul D. Alderton D.S.C., at the latter's home, Stanley, H.K., Feb. 1962.jpg
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that the late February 1962 photograph, which appears above, was taken in the garden at Beach Mansions, 11A & 11B Stanley Beach Road. The garden wall, a substantial grey-granite, faux parapet, can be seen in the background. I should imagine that it still stands to this day (2022).
The above image was captured by Jim Robinson, U.S. newsman and resident, at the time, in one of the six apartments that make up Beach Mansions.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that, commencing in September 1960, General Cohen became involved in negotiations that took place between the P.R.C.’s Commercial Attache in London and Rolls-Royce executives in the U.K. concerning the purchase of six Vickers Viscount airliners powered by Rolls-Royce Dart 525F turbo-prop engines. By early October 1961, negotiations had reached a point where General Cohen and the negotiating team were ready to travel to Beijing to complete the deal. The following selection of extracts from the Hong Kong press, commencing with the report of General Cohen’s Sunday 8 October arrival in the Colony, have been taken from: 2020 - Maj.Gen. M.A. 'Two-Gun' Cohen - a 496 page life chronology..jpg | Gwulo:
10 Oct 1961. Hong Kong. Personalities. General Maurice Cohen, former bodyguard of the late Dr Sun Yat-sen, has gone to Peking to attend the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the Ching Dynasty. General Cohen arrived by BOAC on Sunday and immediately left by train for Canton.
15 Oct 1961. Hong Kong. General Maurice ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen, passed through Hongkong on his way to Peking to attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of the revolution that overthrew the Ching Dynasty.
16 Dec 1961. Hong Kong. ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen Behind Chinese Plane Deal? The Far East American reported yesterday that General Maurice (Two-gun) Cohen was the head of a Rolls-Royce delegation to Peking in connection with the recent sale of Vickers Viscount turbo-prop airliners to China. The Far East American said it was presumed that General Cohen was also involved in the initial discussions. General Cohen served in the late Dr Sun Yat-sen’s bodyguard for many years and later as a general in the Chinese Army. He is persona grata in both Peking and Taiwan because of his close association with the late Dr Sun. The Far East American added that the agreement was for the sale of six aircraft at U.S.$2,000,000 each, and was reached after 18 weeks of negotiations. Actual negotiations were handled by Mr Alec McCallum of Jardine Matheson under the direction of Mr John Keswick.
17 Feb 1962. Hong Kong. General Maurice (‘Two-gun’) Cohen, back from Peking after a four-month visit, declined yesterday to comment on reports that he had been connected with negotiations relative to the purchase of six Vickers Viscounts by the Chinese Government. Asked about China’s ability to pay for what she buys, the General said, ‘They have never defaulted in payment. Believe me, they are able and willing to fulfil any contract they enter into. China is a very big market and the Peking Government is interested in businesslike trade.’ The General said he had visited China for the 50th anniversary of the Chinese revolution led by Dr Sun in October 1911. Concerning conditions on the Mainland, Gen. Cohen said that ‘much is still not yet paradise – much has still to be done and the Government is fully aware of the fact.’ General Cohen has visited the Mainland every year since 1955, (except in 1960 when ill-health prevented him from making the trip), and he said that he had thus been able to compare developments. General Cohen will be leaving for London next week and said he hopes to return later in the year to see his friends in Peking for the October 1 celebrations.
20 Feb 1962. Hong Kong. An Experienced Traveler to China - Morris Abraham Cohen. On his trip to China, General Cohen said he was allowed to go where he wished, without benefit of ‘a third person.’ From his observations he found that the ‘People's Communes’ criticized in the West and by the Soviets have had success in improving distribution. ‘Two Gun’ Cohen is still a muscular man with the bearing of a retired pugilist, and his eyes twinkle brightly as he reminisces. Born in London, he emigrated to Canada where Chinese friends introduced him to Sun Yat Sen, who was then touring North America. Cohen went to China to become Sun's aide, and years afterwards, when the Chinese were fighting the Japanese, he profitably engaged in buying for China. He would not say whether he had any hand in the recent sale of British aircraft to the Chinese. Cohen is deeply attached to the Chinese people. He likes to avoid political talk. He does not think his visit to Communist China will prevent his visiting his many Chinese friends among Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists on Formosa.
20 Feb 1962. Letters to the Editor. Regarding Conditions in China, by H.F.O. Noether. I was amazed that the South China Morning Post of February 17 gave front page coverage to an interview with General Maurice ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen who, to those who know of him, is, to put it mildly, a very controversial figure. One can hardly expect of Gen. Cohen that he will make unfavourable comments regarding the Peking regime, whose hospitality he has just enjoyed for several months. You make yourself a mouthpiece of Communism by giving such prominence to the diatribes of Gen. Cohen.
24 Feb 1962. Letters to the Editor. Regarding Conditions in China. Some of the views expressed in Letters to the Editor of your paper by a few aggressive anti-Communist propagandists covering General Cohen’s observations can be answered. My view is that the anti-Communists get more than a fair share of publicity of their warped and endlessly repeated propaganda, and that views of the other side should be published so as to give your readers both sides and thereby make their own individual assessments.
25 Feb1962. Letters to the Editor. Vox Populi. That veteran of the China scene, ‘General’ Morris ‘Two-gun’ Cohen, arouses the ire of H.F.O. Noether, who says the South China Morning Post made itself ‘a mouthpiece of Communism’ by publishing an interview with him in which ‘General’ Cohen drew a cheery picture of conditions in China.
Before leaving Hong Kong in late February to return to his suite in London’s prestigious Park Lane Hotel, General Cohen visited his friend Paul D. Alderton’s beach-side apartment situated in Stanley’s Beach Mansions, where the two friends entertained a Jardine Matheson executive associated with the recent Rolls Royce plane deal.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that Paul D. Alderton, was a cotton broker in Hong Kong during the early 1950’s through to the early 1960’s, trading in the Colony as manager of the Far East branch of the international commodities broker, Bunge and Company Ltd. On 16th December 1955 he boarded a train at the Kowloon railway terminus on his way to attend the annual trade fair at Canton. On reaching the end of the line at Lo Wu station, he and his fellow Hong Kong businessmen alighted from the New Territories train and walked over the bridge border into the People’s Republic of China where a second train was waiting to take them on the remainder of their journey to Canton. Along the way, Paul Alderton got talking with Major General Morris Abraham "Two-Gun" Cohen who invited the decorated former Royal Naval officer to join him in his private compartment. During the course of their conversations, General Cohen insisted that his affable travelling companion should bypass Canton and instead accompany him onto Beijing where Paul Alderton was feted as the friend of the famous General Mah Kun (馬坤), and subsequently introduced to the ‘fountainheads’ in the Chinese government department that was responsible for the purchase of raw cotton. When Paul Alderton belatedly returned to Hong Kong he had a record-breaking cotton deal with Communist China in the bag, which made him something of an instant celebrity in local business and journalistic circles. During the course of the next few years, Paul Alderton met up with General Cohen on a number of occasions when the latter was passing through Hong Kong on his way in and out of Mainland China, and he regarded his friend, the Chinese general, as an impressive military figure, an inspiring China trader and as a fellow Londoner. The two friends would do each other favours and, as shown in the above late February 1962 image, Paul Alderton provided his family home in Stanley as the venue where General Cohen could entertain the Jardine Matheson executive, Mr Alec McCallum, who had been closely associated with the General in successfully promoting a Rolls-Royce plane deal that had recently been concluded in Beijing.
Paul D. Alderton gives his views on Hong Kong’s role in the raw cotton trade of the mid-1950’s in: Braga, Jose Maria (compiler) José Maria BRAGA (aka Jack) [1897-1988] | Gwulo, Hong Kong Business Symposium: A Compilation of Authoritative Views on the Administration, Commerce, and Resources of Britain's Far Eastern Outpost, South China Morning Post Limited, Hong Kong 1957. p.409 Cotton: Raw Cotton, by Paul D. Alderton
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Maj.Gen. M.A.”Two-Gun” Cohen & Paul D. Alderton D.S.C.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that the late February 1962 photograph, which appears above, was taken in the garden at Beach Mansions, 11A & 11B Stanley Beach Road. The garden wall, a substantial grey-granite, faux parapet, can be seen in the background. I should imagine that it still stands to this day (2022).
The above image was captured by Jim Robinson, U.S. newsman and resident, at the time, in one of the six apartments that make up Beach Mansions.
Maj.Gen. M.A.”Two-Gun” Cohen's visit to H.K. & the P.R.C.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that, commencing in September 1960, General Cohen became involved in negotiations that took place between the P.R.C.’s Commercial Attache in London and Rolls-Royce executives in the U.K. concerning the purchase of six Vickers Viscount airliners powered by Rolls-Royce Dart 525F turbo-prop engines. By early October 1961, negotiations had reached a point where General Cohen and the negotiating team were ready to travel to Beijing to complete the deal. The following selection of extracts from the Hong Kong press, commencing with the report of General Cohen’s Sunday 8 October arrival in the Colony, have been taken from: 2020 - Maj.Gen. M.A. 'Two-Gun' Cohen - a 496 page life chronology..jpg | Gwulo:
10 Oct 1961. Hong Kong. Personalities. General Maurice Cohen, former bodyguard of the late Dr Sun Yat-sen, has gone to Peking to attend the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the Ching Dynasty. General Cohen arrived by BOAC on Sunday and immediately left by train for Canton.
15 Oct 1961. Hong Kong. General Maurice ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen, passed through Hongkong on his way to Peking to attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of the revolution that overthrew the Ching Dynasty.
16 Dec 1961. Hong Kong. ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen Behind Chinese Plane Deal? The Far East American reported yesterday that General Maurice (Two-gun) Cohen was the head of a Rolls-Royce delegation to Peking in connection with the recent sale of Vickers Viscount turbo-prop airliners to China. The Far East American said it was presumed that General Cohen was also involved in the initial discussions. General Cohen served in the late Dr Sun Yat-sen’s bodyguard for many years and later as a general in the Chinese Army. He is persona grata in both Peking and Taiwan because of his close association with the late Dr Sun. The Far East American added that the agreement was for the sale of six aircraft at U.S.$2,000,000 each, and was reached after 18 weeks of negotiations. Actual negotiations were handled by Mr Alec McCallum of Jardine Matheson under the direction of Mr John Keswick.
17 Feb 1962. Hong Kong. General Maurice (‘Two-gun’) Cohen, back from Peking after a four-month visit, declined yesterday to comment on reports that he had been connected with negotiations relative to the purchase of six Vickers Viscounts by the Chinese Government. Asked about China’s ability to pay for what she buys, the General said, ‘They have never defaulted in payment. Believe me, they are able and willing to fulfil any contract they enter into. China is a very big market and the Peking Government is interested in businesslike trade.’ The General said he had visited China for the 50th anniversary of the Chinese revolution led by Dr Sun in October 1911. Concerning conditions on the Mainland, Gen. Cohen said that ‘much is still not yet paradise – much has still to be done and the Government is fully aware of the fact.’ General Cohen has visited the Mainland every year since 1955, (except in 1960 when ill-health prevented him from making the trip), and he said that he had thus been able to compare developments. General Cohen will be leaving for London next week and said he hopes to return later in the year to see his friends in Peking for the October 1 celebrations.
20 Feb 1962. Hong Kong. An Experienced Traveler to China - Morris Abraham Cohen. On his trip to China, General Cohen said he was allowed to go where he wished, without benefit of ‘a third person.’ From his observations he found that the ‘People's Communes’ criticized in the West and by the Soviets have had success in improving distribution. ‘Two Gun’ Cohen is still a muscular man with the bearing of a retired pugilist, and his eyes twinkle brightly as he reminisces. Born in London, he emigrated to Canada where Chinese friends introduced him to Sun Yat Sen, who was then touring North America. Cohen went to China to become Sun's aide, and years afterwards, when the Chinese were fighting the Japanese, he profitably engaged in buying for China. He would not say whether he had any hand in the recent sale of British aircraft to the Chinese. Cohen is deeply attached to the Chinese people. He likes to avoid political talk. He does not think his visit to Communist China will prevent his visiting his many Chinese friends among Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists on Formosa.
20 Feb 1962. Letters to the Editor. Regarding Conditions in China, by H.F.O. Noether. I was amazed that the South China Morning Post of February 17 gave front page coverage to an interview with General Maurice ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen who, to those who know of him, is, to put it mildly, a very controversial figure. One can hardly expect of Gen. Cohen that he will make unfavourable comments regarding the Peking regime, whose hospitality he has just enjoyed for several months. You make yourself a mouthpiece of Communism by giving such prominence to the diatribes of Gen. Cohen.
24 Feb 1962. Letters to the Editor. Regarding Conditions in China. Some of the views expressed in Letters to the Editor of your paper by a few aggressive anti-Communist propagandists covering General Cohen’s observations can be answered. My view is that the anti-Communists get more than a fair share of publicity of their warped and endlessly repeated propaganda, and that views of the other side should be published so as to give your readers both sides and thereby make their own individual assessments.
25 Feb1962. Letters to the Editor. Vox Populi. That veteran of the China scene, ‘General’ Morris ‘Two-gun’ Cohen, arouses the ire of H.F.O. Noether, who says the South China Morning Post made itself ‘a mouthpiece of Communism’ by publishing an interview with him in which ‘General’ Cohen drew a cheery picture of conditions in China.
Before leaving Hong Kong in late February to return to his suite in London’s prestigious Park Lane Hotel, General Cohen visited his friend Paul D. Alderton’s beach-side apartment situated in Stanley’s Beach Mansions, where the two friends entertained a Jardine Matheson executive associated with the recent Rolls Royce plane deal.
Maj.Gen. M.A."Two-Gun" Cohen & Paul D. Alderton D.S.C.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes that Paul D. Alderton, was a cotton broker in Hong Kong during the early 1950’s through to the early 1960’s, trading in the Colony as manager of the Far East branch of the international commodities broker, Bunge and Company Ltd. On 16th December 1955 he boarded a train at the Kowloon railway terminus on his way to attend the annual trade fair at Canton. On reaching the end of the line at Lo Wu station, he and his fellow Hong Kong businessmen alighted from the New Territories train and walked over the bridge border into the People’s Republic of China where a second train was waiting to take them on the remainder of their journey to Canton. Along the way, Paul Alderton got talking with Major General Morris Abraham "Two-Gun" Cohen who invited the decorated former Royal Naval officer to join him in his private compartment. During the course of their conversations, General Cohen insisted that his affable travelling companion should bypass Canton and instead accompany him onto Beijing where Paul Alderton was feted as the friend of the famous General Mah Kun (馬坤), and subsequently introduced to the ‘fountainheads’ in the Chinese government department that was responsible for the purchase of raw cotton. When Paul Alderton belatedly returned to Hong Kong he had a record-breaking cotton deal with Communist China in the bag, which made him something of an instant celebrity in local business and journalistic circles. During the course of the next few years, Paul Alderton met up with General Cohen on a number of occasions when the latter was passing through Hong Kong on his way in and out of Mainland China, and he regarded his friend, the Chinese general, as an impressive military figure, an inspiring China trader and as a fellow Londoner. The two friends would do each other favours and, as shown in the above late February 1962 image, Paul Alderton provided his family home in Stanley as the venue where General Cohen could entertain the Jardine Matheson executive, Mr Alec McCallum, who had been closely associated with the General in successfully promoting a Rolls-Royce plane deal that had recently been concluded in Beijing.
Paul D. Alderton gives his views on Hong Kong’s role in the raw cotton trade of the mid-1950’s in: Braga, Jose Maria (compiler) José Maria BRAGA (aka Jack) [1897-1988] | Gwulo, Hong Kong Business Symposium: A Compilation of Authoritative Views on the Administration, Commerce, and Resources of Britain's Far Eastern Outpost, South China Morning Post Limited, Hong Kong 1957. p.409 Cotton: Raw Cotton, by Paul D. Alderton