James Gray MARSHALL [1899-1958]

Submitted by geoff on Sat, 05/18/2013 - 12:54
Names
Given
James Gray
Family
Marshall
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Birthplace (country)
Hong Kong
Died
Date

Husband of Alice, father of Wilbur, Donald, Gerald, Desmond, James, and Geoff.

Connections: This person is ...

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Comments

A search for Marshall in the government reports shows he started out in the Hong Kong Defence Reserve, moved to their Essential Services group, and then left completely:

Notice 252, 28 Feb 1940: 
It is hereby notified that JAMES GREY MARSHALL has been re-assigned from the Combatant Group to the General group for Essential Services in the Hong Kong Defence reserve under the provisions of the Compulsory Service Ordinance, 1939.

Notice 805, 3 July 1941:
His Excellency the Governor has been pleased, pursuant to Section 11 (7) of the Compulsory Service Ordinance, 1939, to permit the following persons to quit the Hong Kong Defence reserve:-
Taylor, John Cameron, with effect from 1st July, 1941.
Marshall, James Gray, with effect from 3rd July, 1941.

I guess he was involved with one of the non-military, essential services when fighting began. As a civilian he wouldn't have been sent to a prisoner of war camp after the British surrendered.

Regards, David

Henry Ching isn't convinced by my explanation, as he notes you could be in an essential service and still be in the HKDR:

The Defence Reserve comprised three groups – the Combatant Group, the Key-posts Group (required to continue in work in which normally engaged), and the General Group (required for essential services not those in which normally engaged).

He suggests that J G Marshall may have left the HKDR because of poor health.

Regards, David

    Thanks for those two Notices, I shall now include them in the information regarding my father in ther Family Tree that I am compiling,  I must say though that this is the first time that I have heard that he was in the Hong Kong Defence Reserve.  I was always under the impression that throughout the war in Hong Kong that he was in the Auxillary Fire Service, but am not certain about this.

     However I do know that my Uncle Stanley George Poole was a WO2 in the HKDF as was my cousin Wiliam Rowland Hill (don't know what rank he held)

      Regards

       Geoff

 

Maybe that's the explanation for him leaving the HKDR. Does anyone know if other members of the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) had a similar experience?

If he told any stories of his experiences with the AFS, I'd be very interested to hear them.

With so many local relations, your family was certainly tightly connected to Hong Kong!

Regards, David

James GrayMarshall was my father. I know he was in the fire service. 
He was actually arrested by the Japanese and taken with two other Chinese men.(where I don't know.) They weretaken for interrogation and  left in a second floor room.I was told by my mother that the three men discussed their options on whether to try to escape. 
my father and one of the other two Chinese men decided that they would probably be tortured to death anyway so decided to jump out of the window to  try to escape. which was preferable to being tortured. They both made it but the third man refused to go with them. What happened to him nobody knows. 
 

I notice you have no D.O.B fo my father James Gray Marshall

.

It was 08th October 1899
May I also make a correction on Geoff who is now deceased. His correct name was Godfrey .
i assume that you would like all names of his children which consisted of a further 3 

David ,Brenda and. Bernice. 
kind regards

Brenda Roadnight née Marshall

 

Son of James Gray Marshall of theh Highland Regiment ( 1862 - 1919) and Josepha Maria Pereira (19 March 1866 Hong Kong - 12 July 1938 Wongneichong

Born 8 October 1899 Baptised 15 October  St Fracis Xavier RC Church Hong Kong

Married Alice Ricarda Barretto 14 November 1925 in Hong Kong

Died 28 May 1958 in Hong Kong Buried  29 May 1958 St Michael's RC Cemetery