On an early morning visit to the war cemetry two years ago I also took a similar photo & on closer inspection I noted that three "Free French" members on the list of names died at the hands of the Kempai Tai.
Are you aware of the circumpstances of their arrest & subsequent deaths?
I assumed at the time it may have been a result of the 1943 round ups of the BAAG operatives
Could you shed some light on the circumstances of their demise
Sorry, Gary, I have no details at all of the Kempai Tai victims. Perhaps David, if or when he sees this can shed some light or at least point in the right direction.
Btw - are you any relation to Eric Liddell - the KBGC bowler -who represented HK in the Commonwealth Games all those years ago ?
He passed away 25 years ago on the Gold Coast in Australia
My mother(Joyce) who represented Hong Kong in the first womens world championships passed away this year..May I say what a pleasure it was to have you remember him
Eric represented Hong Kong in every Commenwealth games & world championships from the 1950s to the 1980s & was Hong Kong champion of champions on several occasions
Its a tad inconvenient for me to pop out to the Stanley war cemetary at the moment to check out the names(considering I am in Australia)
One of the names that stood out was Jacosta but only because of his involvement in tha defence of the power station with the Hughes group
As the text on the memorial is in French it clearly states the names of the deceased & date of death & in most cases where(ie Shum Shui Po & in 3 instances "Mort Kempai Tai)
Once again we have another HK WW2 enigma
Surprisingly there are about 30 to 40 names on the memorial
Have scrutinised the original photo with a magnifier but can't make out the names any better than on here even when 'zoomed'. Perhaps a fellow 'gwulo' can take a better close-up of the plaque when in the area and post it, as like you, Stanley isn't just round the corner from me at present ...and although I would be quite proud to be related to Henry Ching, I'm afraid not.
I am glad to see such an interest for those men. I spent a lot of time since 2008 looking for information about them. There is few pages about them in the book I edited last year: "Hong Kong, French connections" (in English). You can order it in any Hong Kong bookshop! In the SCMP archives, you can read an interesting article about Armand Delcourt and his daguhter Monique Westmore. "Daughter of HK's war", 8 Dec. 2011. The journalist came to one of our ceremony in the Stanley cemetery. The "Souvenir Français", that I represent in Hong Kong, is organizing a Remembrance ceremony every year (the nearest Friday afternoon of the 8th of December). All are welcome by the way... I have been too lazy to translate yet all my researches about the Free French Forces. One sure thing is that they had more casualities than what is written on the monument but French archives just opened on the period and there is still a lot to do... I will try to keep you posted if I have some fresh news... Enclosed, a picture of Paul de Roux's tomb in Happy Valley. His name is mentionned at the bottom of the Stanley cemetery monument.
In the personal account by the Hon Major J J Paterson commanding officer Hughes Group he mentions there were 2 Free French Officers (Captain Jacosta and Captain Egal and 6 Other Ranks) at the Power Station as part of Hughes Group. Captain Jacosta being killed at the Hong Kong Electric Power Station at North Point on the night the Japanese landed (18th/19th Dec). I have seen his surname spelt Jacosta and Jacoste - not sure which one is correct ?
Comments
Fracais Libre memorial
Hello Henry
On an early morning visit to the war cemetry two years ago I also took a similar photo & on closer inspection I noted that three "Free French" members on the list of names died at the hands of the Kempai Tai.
Are you aware of the circumpstances of their arrest & subsequent deaths?
I assumed at the time it may have been a result of the 1943 round ups of the BAAG operatives
Could you shed some light on the circumstances of their demise
Thank you
Gary Liddell
Francais Libre Memorial
Sorry, Gary, I have no details at all of the Kempai Tai victims. Perhaps David, if or when he sees this can shed some light or at least point in the right direction.
Btw - are you any relation to Eric Liddell - the KBGC bowler -who represented HK in the Commonwealth Games all those years ago ?
Harry.
Francais Libre memorial
Good Morning Henry
Eric Liddell was my father
He passed away 25 years ago on the Gold Coast in Australia
My mother(Joyce) who represented Hong Kong in the first womens world championships passed away this year..May I say what a pleasure it was to have you remember him
Eric represented Hong Kong in every Commenwealth games & world championships from the 1950s to the 1980s & was Hong Kong champion of champions on several occasions
Once again thank you for remembering him
Kind regards
Gary Liddell(garyliddell8@mail.com)
francais libre memorial
Good afternoon HARRY
I appologise for addressing you as Henry
I allways relate the name Ching to Henry of SCMP fame& may I say it one of the unsung heroes of the Japanese occupation.
Would I be correct in assuming he was your Fathef?
King regards
Gary Liddell
Free French killed by Kempeitai
Sorry to say, I don't know anything about them. If you can let us know their names, I wonder if Brian Edgar or Tony Banham would know their stories?
Regards, David
Francais Libre Free French killed by the Kempai Tai
Good evening David/Harry
Its a tad inconvenient for me to pop out to the Stanley war cemetary at the moment to check out the names(considering I am in Australia)
One of the names that stood out was Jacosta but only because of his involvement in tha defence of the power station with the Hughes group
As the text on the memorial is in French it clearly states the names of the deceased & date of death & in most cases where(ie Shum Shui Po & in 3 instances "Mort Kempai Tai)
Once again we have another HK WW2 enigma
Surprisingly there are about 30 to 40 names on the memorial
All the best
Gary Liddell
Francais Libre Memorial
Hi Gary -
Have scrutinised the original photo with a magnifier but can't make out the names any better than on here even when 'zoomed'. Perhaps a fellow 'gwulo' can take a better close-up of the plaque when in the area and post it, as like you, Stanley isn't just round the corner from me at present ...and although I would be quite proud to be related to Henry Ching, I'm afraid not.
Best wishes.
Harry.
Re: Francais Libre Memorial
Further info here and here (in French) and translated version and from this blog
Libre Francais
Thanks Modsey
excelent material
regards
Gary Liddell
Libre Francais
By email from Henry Ching:
I believe the original inscription had only six names. These were:
Free French monument - Stanley cemetery
Dear All,
I am glad to see such an interest for those men. I spent a lot of time since 2008 looking for information about them. There is few pages about them in the book I edited last year: "Hong Kong, French connections" (in English). You can order it in any Hong Kong bookshop!
In the SCMP archives, you can read an interesting article about Armand Delcourt and his daguhter Monique Westmore. "Daughter of HK's war", 8 Dec. 2011. The journalist came to one of our ceremony in the Stanley cemetery. The "Souvenir Français", that I represent in Hong Kong, is organizing a Remembrance ceremony every year (the nearest Friday afternoon of the 8th of December). All are welcome by the way...
I have been too lazy to translate yet all my researches about the Free French Forces. One sure thing is that they had more casualities than what is written on the monument but French archives just opened on the period and there is still a lot to do...
I will try to keep you posted if I have some fresh news... Enclosed, a picture of Paul de Roux's tomb in Happy Valley. His name is mentionned at the bottom of the Stanley cemetery monument.
Best regards,
François.
Free French
In the personal account by the Hon Major J J Paterson commanding officer Hughes Group he mentions there were 2 Free French Officers (Captain Jacosta and Captain Egal and 6 Other Ranks) at the Power Station as part of Hughes Group. Captain Jacosta being killed at the Hong Kong Electric Power Station at North Point on the night the Japanese landed (18th/19th Dec). I have seen his surname spelt Jacosta and Jacoste - not sure which one is correct ?
Best regards, Philip Cracknell