I remember Sconnie Sloan well; a very personable character, but not Alan & Derek (they would be yourger than me), although we must have come into contact at Ming Yuen club! My family were living at North Point House, HKEC flats adjacent to the Power Station; possible on corner of Power St. Everything has changed so much I have difficultu locating places on the modern maps available (1950's map anyone?), Opposite on Kings Road a block was built for RAF personnel in 1953. Remember happy times spent in Luna Park and at the Coffee Club further along towards Quarry Bay on the left.We later moved next door to The Bungalow's which were actually 2 story semis and ours has a Pill Box in the garden with a superb elevated view straight down King's Road.
Hi Harry, I assume you are Peter's older brother. He was a person my brother and I looked up to as he was a little older than us and did so many things we wanted to do. He took us on a camping trip in the valley between Quarry Bay School and the Tai Koo staff accommodation. Right beside a little stream. Ended in a bit of a disaster as I got into a fight with Peter's friend who was a bit of a idiot. I think I was also.
I was so sorry to hear about Peters death though I was lucky enough to have found him on the internet before this and had a few emails back and forth. Would loved to have met him again after we had both left HK but it was not to be.
Sorry I did not know you but I think you were that bit older than us.
We also lived at Noth Point Flats when they started to demolish Causeway Bay Hill accommodation and just before we left on leave. I think we were actually in the offices on the first floor as it was only a few weeks before our leave. We returned to Jardines Lookout which is now also demolished. The North Point Flats/Offices were at the end of Electric Road with a large entry to the HKEC compound. The Flats backed on to Kings Road as we used to drop paper water bombs on to passers-by on the pavement. Terrible Children!
Hello Alan! what a lovely suprise. Yes I was 16 months older than Peter and at that age we would have had a large age gap I guess. Terrible choildren indeed - Peter and I used to fill ballons and drop them and had a visit from the Police! - Dad was not amused at all and we kept well out of his way for a few days trying to look humble and ashamed.....
When I visited HK in 1959 they were living in the waterside office/flats block at North Point. My Mum and Dad later moved to 3 Goldsmiths Road at Jardines Lookout, which from Street Map now looks to be a very large extended Mansion!
Do you remember the road down past Causeway Bay? I remember the rock that overhung the pavment on the left always dripped with water, even in the winter. It was like a little oasis being covered in greenery.
Unlike most people I knew, most seem to have "emigrated" to Australia and out of touch but I came back to the UK where I still am.
Living in HK for the whole of 1951, 2 and 3 with a month either side was by far the best experience of my young life. My contempories over here just cannot comprehend and really don't believe me being far too far outside their experiences.
Sadly I do not have a picture of the Pill Box although I have a couple of the pile driver shaking the ground around North Point in 1953. Whwn the HK Defense Forse had their annual? exercises, we used to have a couple of them come into the garden to man the fortification.
Sadly after a divorce I found that around 1000 slides and 500+ family photos were missing, quite a few taken inHK!! Very vindictive.
What really upset me though was the fact that my dad gave my brother Peter a large crate of all of his pictures negatives and slides to throw away - wisely Peter kept them, (in Australia) only to discover after 1 year that the termites feasted on them. I asked if he still had the remains, but sadly they had been put out with the rubbish. I was dissapointed as with the digital age I fleetingly thought of being able to scan them in. They would have made an excellent record of HK from about 1949 to 1965. So sad!
Thankyou for the Maps and the accompanying text has led me to A Mountain of Light of which I was unaware, so an order is in for that. I must also obtain a copy of your re-print!!
One point, in 1953 Peter and I were taken over to Lantao for a weekend spent in a small stone hut way up on top with an entrance about 2 feet high. Have been unable to locate in on Google maps; any ideas?
That is me in the seat, this is Number 4 Causewayhill. We moved shortly afterwards to number five which was the end house of a row of five and the top block of three blocks on Causewayhill. The end houses were the best ones in the block as they had ground going all around them. We had a vegetable garden at one side and a back yard alongside the servants quarters where our Amah's lived. At the far end from our house was a large grased area with a big swing in one corner. Great place for us kids to grow up. The whole hill was sold off and now has several high rise blocks of flats and the road was extended to go round the hill and back down to rejoin Tai Hang rd. When we lived there the road only went up to a parking area which had some garages along one side. There was a pathway with stairs which went to the top of the hill where the top block was ans other paths which went to the lower and middle blocks. There would only have been fifteen houses for the expat Staff of HKEC. At that time the HKEC recreation clubhouse would have been at Ming Yuen with bowing greens tennis courts and a swimming pool on the hill beynd and above the clubhouse which was along Kings Rd past the power station at North Point. Later the four blocks of flats and the Recreation club was built at Jardines lookout called Cavendish Heights. The swimming pool was in a valley beside the flats and was one of the first in HK to be a designed shape much like the letter B and not just straight sided like all the other pools were at that time. Those flats are also now gone all that remains is the beginning of the old driveway. There are new high rise flats there now I think they re still called Cavendish Heights
I am shocked to hear about the water-filled balloons being dropped from the heavens onto unsuspecting people, Harry P!!
Why am I shocked? Because that is exactly what myself and a few delinquent friends would do, when we lived at the Cavendish Heights apartment complex in the mid-1970s!!
We would go to the roof of my 10-story apartment building with either balloons, or plastic grocery bags, use the conveniently located water spigot up there to fill either item with water, then with a little bit of a shove-away from the roof, we got good at hitting the tops of the double-decker buses as they slowly chugged-up Perkins Road below.
I've seen and done a lot of things in the almost 50 years since then, however, I still cannot fathom how loud those water balloons or water-filled plastic bags must have been as they slammed into the thin, sheet-metal roves of those double-decker buses for the poor, unsuspecting passengers riding on the second level! It's also hard to believe now, as a grown adult, that the rooftops were easily accessible to anyone. Thankfully they had 3 or 4' walls around them so there was no danger of accidentally falling off, but...
We'd also ride those double-decker busses around all over HK (another thing hard to imagine as an adult in the USA -- letting kids 10-13 years old use public transportation to go all over the island...), always sitting on the upper level, and shoot spitwads at the poor, innocent pedestrians walking on the congested sidewalks, and would laugh at seeing the big dents in the roof of some of those buses --- we know how that happened...
Thankfully, we got out of the juvenile delinquent business before every hurting anyone, or getting caught. One afternoon, perhaps an hour after we'd had our water balloon session, RHKP basically did a RAID at Cavendish Heights -- about a dozen RHKP Land Rovers pulled-in to the apartment complex suddenly, police quickly exited the vehicles and seemed to head into the couple apartment buildings that were above but alongside Perkins Road. I assume they headed to the roof... I was probably just 11 or 12, but figured they were there because of us, so that ended our 'water-sports' activity, other than enjoying the wonderful swimming pool! My mother saw them pull-up too and was worried that some bank robber must be hiding-out in the complex -- little did she know...
I had a neighbor acquaintance whose last name was Saunders -- I forget his first name, but he too would be in his mid to late 50s by now. Anyway, his father was some sort of RHKP Inspector, and I remember one day being at his flat for a few minutes & his father asking me if I knew anything about the water balloon incident(s)... Of-course I denied it, but the crusty old Brit Inspector told me he'd keep his eye on me. I didn't hang-out with Saunders much. Maybe I'm wrong, but in retrospect, I don't think the Brits who had kids there at Cavendish Heights wanted their kids hanging-out with us Yanks much, as the thought was we lacked a lot of discipline and would have been bad influences! And they were probably right, though to be honest, from my perspective (albeit as a kid...), the Brits were a little too formal & stodgy, the whole "Children should not speak unless spoken to!" culture...
Comments
Hong Kong Electric Company's staff quarters, Causeway Hill
I remember Sconnie Sloan well; a very personable character, but not Alan & Derek (they would be yourger than me), although we must have come into contact at Ming Yuen club! My family were living at North Point House, HKEC flats adjacent to the Power Station; possible on corner of Power St. Everything has changed so much I have difficultu locating places on the modern maps available (1950's map anyone?), Opposite on Kings Road a block was built for RAF personnel in 1953. Remember happy times spent in Luna Park and at the Coffee Club further along towards Quarry Bay on the left.We later moved next door to The Bungalow's which were actually 2 story semis and ours has a Pill Box in the garden with a superb elevated view straight down King's Road.
Peter Poulson
Hi Harry, I assume you are Peter's older brother. He was a person my brother and I looked up to as he was a little older than us and did so many things we wanted to do. He took us on a camping trip in the valley between Quarry Bay School and the Tai Koo staff accommodation. Right beside a little stream. Ended in a bit of a disaster as I got into a fight with Peter's friend who was a bit of a idiot. I think I was also.
I was so sorry to hear about Peters death though I was lucky enough to have found him on the internet before this and had a few emails back and forth. Would loved to have met him again after we had both left HK but it was not to be.
Sorry I did not know you but I think you were that bit older than us.
We also lived at Noth Point Flats when they started to demolish Causeway Bay Hill accommodation and just before we left on leave. I think we were actually in the offices on the first floor as it was only a few weeks before our leave. We returned to Jardines Lookout which is now also demolished. The North Point Flats/Offices were at the end of Electric Road with a large entry to the HKEC compound. The Flats backed on to Kings Road as we used to drop paper water bombs on to passers-by on the pavement. Terrible Children!
re: Hong Kong Electric Company's staff quarters, Causeway Hill
Harry, here are a couple of maps of that area in the 1950s:
https://gwulo.com/node/7207#17/22.29014/114.19372/Map_by_ESRI-1952_All-…
https://gwulo.com/node/7207#17/22.29014/114.19372/Map_by_ESRI-1957_HK-M…
I'd love to see the pillbox that used to be in your garden. Any chance you have a photo of it you can share with us?
Regards, David
Peter Poulson
Hello Alan! what a lovely suprise. Yes I was 16 months older than Peter and at that age we would have had a large age gap I guess. Terrible choildren indeed - Peter and I used to fill ballons and drop them and had a visit from the Police! - Dad was not amused at all and we kept well out of his way for a few days trying to look humble and ashamed.....
When I visited HK in 1959 they were living in the waterside office/flats block at North Point. My Mum and Dad later moved to 3 Goldsmiths Road at Jardines Lookout, which from Street Map now looks to be a very large extended Mansion!
Do you remember the road down past Causeway Bay? I remember the rock that overhung the pavment on the left always dripped with water, even in the winter. It was like a little oasis being covered in greenery.
Unlike most people I knew, most seem to have "emigrated" to Australia and out of touch but I came back to the UK where I still am.
Living in HK for the whole of 1951, 2 and 3 with a month either side was by far the best experience of my young life. My contempories over here just cannot comprehend and really don't believe me being far too far outside their experiences.
Thank you for your reply. Lovely to touch base.
North Point Pill Box
Hi David,
Sadly I do not have a picture of the Pill Box although I have a couple of the pile driver shaking the ground around North Point in 1953. Whwn the HK Defense Forse had their annual? exercises, we used to have a couple of them come into the garden to man the fortification.
Sadly after a divorce I found that around 1000 slides and 500+ family photos were missing, quite a few taken inHK!! Very vindictive
.
What really upset me though was the fact that my dad gave my brother Peter a large crate of all of his pictures negatives and slides to throw away - wisely Peter kept them, (in Australia) only to discover after 1 year that the termites feasted on them. I asked if he still had the remains, but sadly they had been put out with the rubbish. I was dissapointed as with the digital age I fleetingly thought of being able to scan them in. They would have made an excellent record of HK from about 1949 to 1965. So sad!
Thankyou for the Maps and the accompanying text has led me to A Mountain of Light of which I was unaware, so an order is in for that. I must also obtain a copy of your re-print!!
One point, in 1953 Peter and I were taken over to Lantao for a weekend spent in a small stone hut way up on top with an entrance about 2 feet high. Have been unable to locate in on Google maps; any ideas?
Take care, and thanks for Gwulo.
Harry
re: North Point Pill Box
Hi Harry,
What a shame that so many of your family's slides and photos have gone!
Here's a map of the pillboxes around North Point, in case you can spot which one was yours: https://gwulo.com/node/19582#15/22.2900/114.2013/Map_by_ESRI-1952_All/1… (if you click a red marker, it'll show you which pillbox number it was).
Here's where to order the Gwulo book reprint: https://gwulo.com/buy-volume-1
And I think this will be where you stayed on Lantau: https://gwulo.com/sunset-peak-lantau-missionary-bungalows
Best regards, David
That is me in the seat, this
That is me in the seat, this is Number 4 Causewayhill. We moved shortly afterwards to number five which was the end house of a row of five and the top block of three blocks on Causewayhill. The end houses were the best ones in the block as they had ground going all around them. We had a vegetable garden at one side and a back yard alongside the servants quarters where our Amah's lived. At the far end from our house was a large grased area with a big swing in one corner. Great place for us kids to grow up. The whole hill was sold off and now has several high rise blocks of flats and the road was extended to go round the hill and back down to rejoin Tai Hang rd. When we lived there the road only went up to a parking area which had some garages along one side. There was a pathway with stairs which went to the top of the hill where the top block was ans other paths which went to the lower and middle blocks. There would only have been fifteen houses for the expat Staff of HKEC. At that time the HKEC recreation clubhouse would have been at Ming Yuen with bowing greens tennis courts and a swimming pool on the hill beynd and above the clubhouse which was along Kings Rd past the power station at North Point. Later the four blocks of flats and the Recreation club was built at Jardines lookout called Cavendish Heights. The swimming pool was in a valley beside the flats and was one of the first in HK to be a designed shape much like the letter B and not just straight sided like all the other pools were at that time. Those flats are also now gone all that remains is the beginning of the old driveway. There are new high rise flats there now I think they re still called Cavendish Heights
Water Balloons?!!
I am shocked to hear about the water-filled balloons being dropped from the heavens onto unsuspecting people, Harry P!!
Why am I shocked? Because that is exactly what myself and a few delinquent friends would do, when we lived at the Cavendish Heights apartment complex in the mid-1970s!!
We would go to the roof of my 10-story apartment building with either balloons, or plastic grocery bags, use the conveniently located water spigot up there to fill either item with water, then with a little bit of a shove-away from the roof, we got good at hitting the tops of the double-decker buses as they slowly chugged-up Perkins Road below.
I've seen and done a lot of things in the almost 50 years since then, however, I still cannot fathom how loud those water balloons or water-filled plastic bags must have been as they slammed into the thin, sheet-metal roves of those double-decker buses for the poor, unsuspecting passengers riding on the second level! It's also hard to believe now, as a grown adult, that the rooftops were easily accessible to anyone. Thankfully they had 3 or 4' walls around them so there was no danger of accidentally falling off, but...
We'd also ride those double-decker busses around all over HK (another thing hard to imagine as an adult in the USA -- letting kids 10-13 years old use public transportation to go all over the island...), always sitting on the upper level, and shoot spitwads at the poor, innocent pedestrians walking on the congested sidewalks, and would laugh at seeing the big dents in the roof of some of those buses --- we know how that happened...
Thankfully, we got out of the juvenile delinquent business before every hurting anyone, or getting caught. One afternoon, perhaps an hour after we'd had our water balloon session, RHKP basically did a RAID at Cavendish Heights -- about a dozen RHKP Land Rovers pulled-in to the apartment complex suddenly, police quickly exited the vehicles and seemed to head into the couple apartment buildings that were above but alongside Perkins Road. I assume they headed to the roof... I was probably just 11 or 12, but figured they were there because of us, so that ended our 'water-sports' activity, other than enjoying the wonderful swimming pool! My mother saw them pull-up too and was worried that some bank robber must be hiding-out in the complex -- little did she know...
I had a neighbor acquaintance whose last name was Saunders -- I forget his first name, but he too would be in his mid to late 50s by now. Anyway, his father was some sort of RHKP Inspector, and I remember one day being at his flat for a few minutes & his father asking me if I knew anything about the water balloon incident(s)... Of-course I denied it, but the crusty old Brit Inspector told me he'd keep his eye on me. I didn't hang-out with Saunders much. Maybe I'm wrong, but in retrospect, I don't think the Brits who had kids there at Cavendish Heights wanted their kids hanging-out with us Yanks much, as the thought was we lacked a lot of discipline and would have been bad influences! And they were probably right, though to be honest, from my perspective (albeit as a kid...), the Brits were a little too formal & stodgy, the whole "Children should not speak unless spoken to!" culture...