Pillbox 062, Central (Connaught Road near GPO) [1939-????]

I received an interesting email about this. First there is another photo of the area, but this one taken in 1945:

You can see the same low concrete structure in the background, but this photo gives a better view of where it was in relation to the sea and the GPO building.

Second, the writer wonders if it was a pillbox at all:

Situated on the praya, it does not appear to have openings facing the sea. Furthermore, it appears too close to the GPO for it to be a pillbox. As the news clipping you provided says - it simply could be a pen shelter constructed on a wide road.

I don't think it was a pen shelter. The couple of photos we've seen of them show they are clearly made from bricks, but this structure looks more like the solid grey concrete we've seen on other pillboxes.

Also, in photo 22 you can see an opening, whereas the pen shelter walls are solid. That opening looks like a pillbox loophole, but unfortunately neither photo gives a clear enough view to be sure.

I still lean towards it being a pillbox, but we'll have to mark it a 'maybe' until we can find a better photo, or other evidence.

MrB

There's a slightly larger copy of the photo with the cannons here. The larger photo shows it more clearly, and confirms it was a pillbox.

MrB

Another note from Rob Weir, clearing up the mystery of which pillbox this was:

I disagree in relation to PB 60 on the posts. [They should be:]

PB 60 - VRC steps
PB 61 - No 8 des Voeux Road
PB 62 - PO Building Connaught Road Central.
PB 63 - Vehicular Ferry Wharf.

He goes on to explain why our initial guess was wrong:

I have a copy of the [Middlesex] map, which I suspect is the one you used, and I can see where the errors crept in. Considering it was done in secret in a POW Camp, I cannot really criticise. As happens with a lot of those documents, they often contradict themselves, or are contradicted by what was written by another unit.
 
The positions I have [given above] are from the Hong Kong Interim Defence Plan 1939. This was, to my knowledge, the first and only plan made subsequent to the decision to hold only the Island. It is the planning document for the defence of HK and NT, done by senior military staff officers in conjunction with civilian authorities and government officers. As such, I think it is about as accurate as we are going to get. [Those positions] also have 6 digit map references for each.

Thanks to Rob for clearing this up. We'll have to keep an eye out for photos of 60 & 61.

MrB