553 and 559 The Peak

Submitted by ssuni86 on Sun, 02/02/2025 - 23:42

During WW2, American consular officials were interned at two homes at 553 and 559 The Peak on Mount Cameron.  Does anyone know what the present-day address would be for these two homes?

Assuming No.'s 553 and 559 The Peak were at the positions marked on the 1950's map at https://gwulo.com/media/15669,  their addresses today would be No.'s 24 and 17 Mount Cameron Road respectively I think. 17 Mount Cameron Road is named Cameron Garden. I haven't found a name for No.24.

Walter Hoffmann was an American diplomat and served as Vice Consul in Hong Kong at the time of the Japanese invasion in December 1941. 

After the fall of Hong Kong, Hoffmann and the American delegation comprising 20 persons were divided equally and occupied two houses, which were near to one another on Mount Cameron. They stayed on Mount Cameron for two months before being transferred to Stanley Camp. Release from confinement came on 29 June 1942 for repatriation to the United States.

Hoffmann's article:  "Internment by the Japanese at Hong Kong" (https://afsa.org/sites/default/files/fsj-1945-05-may_0.pdf )

Thanks, Moddsey!  This is the first time I've seen the account by Walter Hoffman.  Though he claims he might be a bit fuzzy about the details of his experience because he was writing several years after the fact in 1945, his account actually tracks quite closely with the account written by Consul General Southard (now in the National Archives) on the Gripsholm in 1942, when events were still fresh in his mind. 

Thanks to GW as well for helping to pin down the present-day location of the two homes where the American consular staff were interned before being sent to Stanley.