... Miss Jennings, an elderly missionary who walked twenty miles each way every month to collect the rice ration, of the Taipo Orphanage in the new Territories.
So not the M A Jennings shown in the passenger list above.
On 19 Sep 1945, the "Admirals Harcourt and Fraser, General Festing and Brigadier Hardy, make a tour of inspection of the Hong Kong New Territories, including a trip to an orphanage and the Chinese border." The tour was filmed (see IWM Catalogue number
JFU 378), and the synopsis mentions:
The officers meet a Miss Jennings, an Australian woman running an orphanage at Tai Po. Fraser meets the children. Festing, smoking a pipe, sits on the bonnet of a jeep with a smiling little Chinese girl. Close-up of a happy-looking Chinese orphan girl.
However a New Zealand government publication says:
Only an exceptional few, such as a New Zealand woman1 in charge of a rural home and orphanage near Kowloon, were allowed to continue their work and live outside the camp.
1. Mrs M. A. Jennings, Superintendent of the Taipo Rural Home and Orphanage.
See p. 164 of Prisoners of War, part of The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945.
The Fiji Times has Margaret Jennings at the CMS Victoria Home and Orphanage during the War years, which was in Kowloon I think, and not in Taipo. Is there a mistake here?
She also lived in Hong Kong for a while where she helped at the Anglican Church Missionary Society’s Victoria Home and Orphanage for 17 years.
She worked there during World War II before returning home “for a holiday after the war”.
The Victoria Home and Orphanage closed before WW2 (see https://gwulo.com/CMS-Victoria-Home-and-Orphanage), so maybe the 'there' in 'She worked there...' just refers back to the 'Hong Kong' in the previous paragraph.
Margaret Jennings was born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1884.
Educated in Naseby and Lawrence, she completed a degree at the University of Otago in 1907, followed by a Master’s thesis at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch in 1922.
In 1923 she went out with the Church Missionary Society to teach English at the CMS St Hilda’s School in Canton, China, for six years. She found it challenging, but gradually they learned her language and she learned theirs.
She then moved to Hong Kong where she worked in the CMS Victoria Home and Orphanage in Kowloon for 8 years until it closed in 1937.
In 1941 we find her heading up the work at the CMS Rural Home and Orphanage at Tai Po, assisted by Miss Kate (FK) Langford (Girls’ Superintendent) and Ngan Kwok Hung (Boys’ Superintendent).
When the Japanese invaded later that year, they permitted her to manage the Home for the duration of the war assisted by a Miss Dillon.
After the war she returned to New Zealand, and was then invited to take charge of the Fiji Chinese Primary School in Suva, because of her knowledge of English and Chinese and her broad knowledge of China and its people, culture and customs. She took over as principal in 1946 and served there for 10 years.
After that she continued to teach English privately at her home in Suva.
In 1971 she returned to China and was amazed to see the progress made and changes from her time there before the war.
In 1974 she celebrated her 90th birthday with friends from the Anglican Cathedral in Suva.
Comments
Ms Jennings was not interned…
Ms Jennings was not interned during WW2. Instead she continued looking after the orphans at the Taipo Rural Home and Orphanage.
Jennings
Is this the family?
Passenger List Hong Kong to London 1955
P H Jennings born 8.12.1903 Civil Servant UK address Penzance Cornwall
M K M Jennings born 27.09.1906
P S Jennings born 26.8.1938
M A Jennings born 24.6.1940
J M Jennings 14.9.1947
Jennings family
Brian's note for 31 Jan 1942 describes her as:
So not the M A Jennings shown in the passenger list above.
From Australia or New Zealand
On 19 Sep 1945, the "Admirals Harcourt and Fraser, General Festing and Brigadier Hardy, make a tour of inspection of the Hong Kong New Territories, including a trip to an orphanage and the Chinese border." The tour was filmed (see IWM Catalogue number
JFU 378), and the synopsis mentions:
However a New Zealand government publication says:
See p. 164 of Prisoners of War, part of The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945.
Miss or Mrs Jennings?
1 Mrs M. A. Jennings, Superintendent of the Taipo Rural Home and Orphanage.
Margaret Aileen JENNINGS …
Margaret Aileen JENNINGS [1884-1984] from New Zealand.
I found a page for her at https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112760344 which has lots of information.
The War Years
The Fiji Times has Margaret Jennings at the CMS Victoria Home and Orphanage during the War years, which was in Kowloon I think, and not in Taipo. Is there a mistake here?
re: The War Years
The Fiji Times article says:
The Victoria Home and Orphanage closed before WW2 (see https://gwulo.com/CMS-Victoria-Home-and-Orphanage), so maybe the 'there' in 'She worked there...' just refers back to the 'Hong Kong' in the previous paragraph.
Life Summary
Margaret Jennings was born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1884.
Educated in Naseby and Lawrence, she completed a degree at the University of Otago in 1907, followed by a Master’s thesis at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch in 1922.
In 1923 she went out with the Church Missionary Society to teach English at the CMS St Hilda’s School in Canton, China, for six years. She found it challenging, but gradually they learned her language and she learned theirs.
She then moved to Hong Kong where she worked in the CMS Victoria Home and Orphanage in Kowloon for 8 years until it closed in 1937.
In 1941 we find her heading up the work at the CMS Rural Home and Orphanage at Tai Po, assisted by Miss Kate (FK) Langford (Girls’ Superintendent) and Ngan Kwok Hung (Boys’ Superintendent).
When the Japanese invaded later that year, they permitted her to manage the Home for the duration of the war assisted by a Miss Dillon.
After the war she returned to New Zealand, and was then invited to take charge of the Fiji Chinese Primary School in Suva, because of her knowledge of English and Chinese and her broad knowledge of China and its people, culture and customs. She took over as principal in 1946 and served there for 10 years.
After that she continued to teach English privately at her home in Suva.
In 1971 she returned to China and was amazed to see the progress made and changes from her time there before the war.
In 1974 she celebrated her 90th birthday with friends from the Anglican Cathedral in Suva.
She died in Fiji in 1984.
Sources:
The Yip Family of Amah Rock by Jill Doggett
PressReader.com. The Fiji Times
Wikidata
Sunday Herald 23/03/1941
and Team Gwulo - thank you.