Hi all, I've just discovered (via my family tree research on ancestry) that a relative of mine came to Hong Kong between 1952 and 1954. I can see the boat she arrived and departed on, but nothing else.
Seems her husband was a Sergeant here but I can find no record of him on my usual sources - force war records etc. Is there another research source available, more specific to Hong Kong?
Thanks in advance.
Carl Smith cards?
Have you tried the Carl Smith cards? The link is in Gwulo’s list “How to research Hong Kong’s history”. Just enter the surname in the Search box to see if anything comes up. Worth a try.
Thanks
Thank you for the suggestion - no luck so far, but I'll keep looking.
The relative in question travelled on Troop Transport - the SS Dunera. No husbands are listed, just wives and families, so I cannot even be sure of what he did, besides her being 'Wife of Army Sergeant'. She didn't stay in HK too long either - she left UK in June 1952 and arrived back in the UK in January 1954.
A mystery, but I'll keep digging! Thanks again.
Korean War?
Quite an interesting (and entirely plausible) theory from a family tree contact of mine - the thought is that my relative's husband was fighting in Korea with the Gloucester Regiment and would have come to Hong Kong for regular R&R. Hence why my relative travelled to and from Hong Kong on her own and there are no records of him or her in Hong Kong. Also why she didn't stay too long here.
Would anyone know if this was a common practice - R&R in Hong Kong? I understand it was common for the US forces when they were in Vietnam, and I guess it makes sense that the UK forces did the same while in Korea.
Dunera
There are a few other mentions of Dunera that may be of interest: https://gwulo.com/search?query=dunera
In particular these memories from Celia Hicks: https://gwulo.com/node/55570 as she describes how her father had travelled to Hong Kong first, and the family only got to join him a year later, which might be similar to your relative's experience.