What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:
General
- Last week's newsletter, Who were the family in these photos?, had some great responses: Gwulo's readers identified the family and the buildings in the photos, then to round it off we heard from a descendant of the family who has added extra information. You can read them all in the comments to the newsletter.
- The RAS is now taking bookings for my talk on Thursday 14 March, where I'll show photos of Hong Kong's people taken in the 1880s-1950s, and tell their stories.
It'll be held at the Visual Arts Centre on Kennedy Road, which is an excellent venue for viewing old photos - it has a large screen, the projector gives a sharp image, plus it has theatre-style seating so everyone can see the screen clearly. The RAS website has details of the talk and how to book.
- The jurors lists for 1870, 1871, and 1872 are now online, thanks to volunteer wingcli2015's work to type them up. If you can spare 30 minutes to type up a page and help put another year's list online, please follow these instructions.
- The next video interview from Bristol University's Hong Kong History Centre is online, Video #3: Dr Katon Lee.
- Growing up with several family members who worked in the clothing and tailoring businesses led Katon to study the history of fashion in Hong Kong, in particular the western men's suit. He discusses the reasons local people wore them, and the success of Hong Kong tailoring with international customers - especially with American soldiers who were here during the Vietnam War.
- Growing up with several family members who worked in the clothing and tailoring businesses led Katon to study the history of fashion in Hong Kong, in particular the western men's suit. He discusses the reasons local people wore them, and the success of Hong Kong tailoring with international customers - especially with American soldiers who were here during the Vietnam War.
- If you have friends who live or grew up near Ping Shan, I wonder if they can recognise this young man - though he will be in his 70s now!
mr chans son didi in garden by banana tree ping shan 1955, by Curly Watson - Readers are looking for:
- any information readers can add to the brief details Jill knows about her great-grandmother, Yau OLSON (née KUM) [????-????]
- prices of common items in Hong Kong, 1910s-1950s
- any information readers can add to the brief details Jill knows about her great-grandmother, Yau OLSON (née KUM) [????-????]
- The special offer on the five-volume set of Gwulo's books has proved popular - just over half the orders received in January and February (14 out of 25) have been for the set. As a reminder, if you order the 5-volume set you get 15% off the normal price, and free shipping worldwide.
People
- East River Column / 東江縱隊 [1940-1947]
- James William GRAHAM [????-1938], a senior member of staff at the Dock Co., and the 'Father' in last week's photos. His oldest daughter was Rachel Annie BEARD (née GRAHAM) [c.1885-????]. She married Eric John Wolston BEARD [????-????], an assistant at W. R. Loxley & Co.
- Hedley Thomas RICHARDSON [????-????], President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers & Shipbuilders in 1906
- Interned in Stanley Camp
- William George MCKIE [1903-????], clerk at Taikoo Dockyard
- William George MCKIE [1903-????], clerk at Taikoo Dockyard
Places
- Hong Kong Island
- Brick Works, Deep Water Bay [c.1889-c.1931]
- Green Island Cement Pier, Kennedy Town [c.1968-c.1998]
- Brick Works, Deep Water Bay [c.1889-c.1931]
- Kowloon
- Hung Hom Dockyard Headquarters [c.1888-c.1945]
- 51 & 53 Yen Chow Street﹐ Shamshuipo [1932- ], a couple of shophouses about to be demolished - see them while you can!
- Hung Hom Dockyard Headquarters [c.1888-c.1945]
- New Territories & Outlying Islands
- RAF Ping Shan radar facility [c.1950-c.1957]
- RAF Ping Shan radar facility [c.1950-c.1957]
Tip - customise Gwulo's maps to show more of what you're interested in
A regular contributor recently asked me: "Why do your maps default to show all those dots and circles? I love using the maps, but why do I have to turn off the markers every time?"
To which I answered, "You don't!"
I told them that the next time they opened the maps and turned off the markers, simply bookmark the page. Then whenever they use that bookmark it will show them the map just the way they like it:
- The default, maps with markers
- Or maps without markers if that's what you prefer
In fact you can make any adjustments to the map and bookmark it, then when you click the bookmark the map will be shown just as you left it. e.g. I know that same person does a lot of research related to early Central district, so they might want to bookmark the section of the 1845 map that shows Central.
It works on single Places, and maps of collections of Places too. And if you copy the URL from your web browser and send it in an e-mail or paste it into a comment on Gwulo, it's an easy way to show someone else a section of the map you are interested in.
e.g. last week I met a visitor at the Dorsett Hotel in Happy Valley and we were talking about how reclamation had pushed the coast so far away. I could send them a link to the 1845 map of the area around the Dorsett Hotel, showing how the view from the hotel used to be of Morrison Hill on the left, and a shallow tidal bay to the right.
Or if you're interested in pillboxes along the Gin Drinker's line you might start with our general map of pillboxes in Hong Kong. But I'd suggest you zoom in and use the 1952 map overlay. That shows the contours of the hills, and also shows the coastline roughly where it was during the war years, making it clearer why pillboxes were built where they were.
(If you're interested how it works, each time you make a change to the map I update the URL to record your changes. So the final link above has this text added to the URL: #12~22.3685~114.1876~Map_by_GovHK-1952_All~100
The sections highlighted in bold show the selected zoom level, map location, and overlay.)
Photos
Click to see all recently added photos.
Lost in KMT (and a little Steve Brown connection)
Greetings from Taiwan - my adopted home for the last 12 years.
Here is a little story from my days in Hong Kong.
I was a very young Second Lieutenant in the Gurkha Transport Regiment based in Gun Club. I was commander of the Saracen APC troop, and Steve Brown was the same in the RKHP PTU, so needless to say we developed a bit of a relationship. Actually there was a bit of age difference and sadly, as often happens, when I left HK in '82 I lost contact with Steve - pre-email days! I would love to know where he is now and how he's doing, if anyone can put me in contact. Hah - he might not even remember me!
Anyhow, a little tale. It was our "tradition" after a Dinner Night to go into TST in Mess Kit to continue the party - well, at least the few single officers and any of the "pads" who didn't have to rush home. This tale relates to my dining out and welcome for my successor. Sure enough, I tried to drum up support to hit the town after the Dinner Night but as it was, if I recall correctly, a Thursday night most felt they had already drunk enough. Anyhow, the two Quartermasters (names withheld for obvious reasons), one married Captain, my successor and I continued the motion. First we went to our two regular haunts - Beefys and Ned Kellys, then egged on by the QMs to take my successor somewhere "else" we stumbled into the Seven Dragons - a rather seedy joint with topless waitresses who had probably been there for the last 20 years, at least.
I swear it is true - the three of us younger officers sat at the bar and I explained the scams to my successor, and after one beer the other Captain fell out and went home. By this stage the 2 QMs were sat in back to back cubicles with two of the "girls". One of the officers (who at the time to me seemed really rather old having been in the army longer than I had been alive) was innocently having a drink, but the other was having a whale of a time, arms all around his companion and so on. I told the more sober one that we should take the newcomer to see the show at the Professional. He agreed, but the rather more drunken one had other ideas! So, the sober-ish one told us to go on ahead and they would catch us up.
Well, for brevity let's just say they didn't!
The next day I took my successor up to Fanling to meet Steve. We were sat at the Mess bar when the phone rang and the barman, to my surprise, said it was for me. Well, the Regimental 2 i/c was on the line and asked if if had been out with the said somewhat drunken officer last night. I said yes, and he asked where we had gone. I gave details and was instructed not to leave that location. We were all intrigued, and went back to the San Mig! Half an hour later the phone rang again and I was told that the RHKP had closed the Seven Dragons because I had said it was the last place said officer was seen, in uniform don't forget! He hadn't retuned to work and hadn't gone home! What about the other QM I thought? Clearly he was remaining silent. I was told to get back to Kowloon ASP because the police wanted t interview me.
Being stupid and young I thought this was all a real hoot! As I recall even Steve thought it all rather funny.
Interviews done, and then on to a troop farewell party. The whole thing seemed hilarious - I was being blamed for losing a QM that I had left with another QM, both of who were twice my age - really! Anyhow, that evening said officer miraculously reappeared, but took himself to an empty bedroom in the Mess rather than going home. I never knew how, but somehow he heard that I was in the frame, so when the world descended on him he made up some story about how I had left him all alone, etc. Hah!
I was told I would be on CO's disciplinary interview on the Monday (pretty serious for an officer), 24 hours before leaving the colony. I was literally about to be marched in by the Adjutant when the other QM insisted on seeing the CO first, and he admitted that I had left the drunken one in his more sober care. For reasons which seem crazy to me even now, I was still marched in and given a good shouting at for being in town in Mess Kit, even though I was the youngest officer in the Regt and was totally innocent of the accusations of deserting a brother officer in the hands of Seven Dragons!!
..............
Steve once told me he knew where we could source WW2 BMW (and I think Harley) motorcycles and sidecars in South Africa, and we both thought it would be a great idea to have one each. Sadly I was posted out before Steve's next long leave, and I never did know if he went ahead with that great idea. I hope he did! I wish I had one now.