Bill had a lot of stuff on his tablet that he had collected over the years. Now that he has passed away I suspect we won't see it again. That said, "The Junk" was a HK Garrison publication, so perhaps there is an online copy somewhere for Feb 1992?
Extracted by Google Gemini - may not be 100% accurate but looks close:
FEBRUARY 1992 THE JUNK
Osborn statue rededicated in Hong Kong Park
The statue of a First World War soldier, which stood near the guardroom at Osborn Barracks for ten years, is now on public display outside Flagstaff House, the Urban Council's Museum of Tea Ware.
At a special ceremony, General Sir John Chapple, Chief of the General Staff, rededicated the statue to the memory of Company Sergeant Major John Osborn, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, and to all the other men and women, both Service and civilian, of every race and creed, who took part in the defence of Hong Kong half a century earlier.
CSM Osborn was a native of Norfolk and a veteran of the Battle of Jutland and the Western Front, where he served as a Royal Marine, in the First World War. Later he emigrated to Canada and joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers on the outbreak of World War II.
He came to Hong Kong with the rest of his battalion a month before the Japanese invasion in December 1941. Five days before the surrender his company was virtually wiped out defending Mt Butler against a series of ferocious enemy assaults. For over night hours CSM Osborn rallied his hard pressed men, hurling back Japanese handgrenades in the final stages. When one grenade landed out of his reach he smothered it with his own body, giving his life to save the remains of the company.
This heroic action didn't become known officially until the survivors' testimony after the war. Coupled with the qualities of outstanding leadership he had displayed in extremely arduous circumstances, it earned him the only Victoria Cross to be awarded during the battle.
In a short address at the ceremony, General Chapple said he took considerable pride in rededicating the statue. It now stood in what used to be Victoria Barracks, a military area which went right back to the earliest days of British rule in Hong Kong. It was moreover a place in which the sounds of battle would have been quite clearly heard during the time of CSM Osborn's death.
Listening to the General's remarks was an audience which included the Chief Secretary, Sir David Ford, the Chairman of the Urban Council, Dr Ronald Leung Ding-bong, representatives of the Canadian Commission, and senior officers of the Garrison, headed by the Commander British Forces, Major General Peter Duffell.
The Revd Peter Howson, Senior Co-ordinating Chaplain, pronounced a blessing, the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas played the National Anthems of both Canada and Britain, and the Hong Kong Military Service Corps provided a Guard of Honour.
Men of the Queen's Gurkha Engineers supervised the removal of the statue from Osborn Barracks and built the new plinth for its installation outside Flagstaff House. Before its erection at Osborn Barracks the statue was located at Eucliffe, a now demolished castle-like residence in Repulse Bay. It was donated to the Garrison by the Eu family when the house was sold.
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Osborn Statue- Image Resolution
Are you able to provide a higher resolution scan of this article? I am unable to read the text.
Thanks
report
Bill had a lot of stuff on his tablet that he had collected over the years. Now that he has passed away I suspect we won't see it again. That said, "The Junk" was a HK Garrison publication, so perhaps there is an online copy somewhere for Feb 1992?
Osborn Statue - HK Park
https://gwulo.com/media/40838
Text
Extracted by Google Gemini - may not be 100% accurate but looks close:
FEBRUARY 1992
THE JUNK
Osborn statue rededicated in Hong Kong Park
The statue of a First World War soldier, which stood near the guardroom at Osborn Barracks for ten years, is now on public display outside Flagstaff House, the Urban Council's Museum of Tea Ware.
At a special ceremony, General Sir John Chapple, Chief of the General Staff, rededicated the statue to the memory of Company Sergeant Major John Osborn, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, and to all the other men and women, both Service and civilian, of every race and creed, who took part in the defence of Hong Kong half a century earlier.
CSM Osborn was a native of Norfolk and a veteran of the Battle of Jutland and the Western Front, where he served as a Royal Marine, in the First World War. Later he emigrated to Canada and joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers on the outbreak of World War II.
He came to Hong Kong with the rest of his battalion a month before the Japanese invasion in December 1941. Five days before the surrender his company was virtually wiped out defending Mt Butler against a series of ferocious enemy assaults. For over night hours CSM Osborn rallied his hard pressed men, hurling back Japanese handgrenades in the final stages. When one grenade landed out of his reach he smothered it with his own body, giving his life to save the remains of the company.
This heroic action didn't become known officially until the survivors' testimony after the war. Coupled with the qualities of outstanding leadership he had displayed in extremely arduous circumstances, it earned him the only Victoria Cross to be awarded during the battle.
In a short address at the ceremony, General Chapple said he took considerable pride in rededicating the statue. It now stood in what used to be Victoria Barracks, a military area which went right back to the earliest days of British rule in Hong Kong. It was moreover a place in which the sounds of battle would have been quite clearly heard during the time of CSM Osborn's death.
Listening to the General's remarks was an audience which included the Chief Secretary, Sir David Ford, the Chairman of the Urban Council, Dr Ronald Leung Ding-bong, representatives of the Canadian Commission, and senior officers of the Garrison, headed by the Commander British Forces, Major General Peter Duffell.
The Revd Peter Howson, Senior Co-ordinating Chaplain, pronounced a blessing, the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas played the National Anthems of both Canada and Britain, and the Hong Kong Military Service Corps provided a Guard of Honour.
Men of the Queen's Gurkha Engineers supervised the removal of the statue from Osborn Barracks and built the new plinth for its installation outside Flagstaff House. Before its erection at Osborn Barracks the statue was located at Eucliffe, a now demolished castle-like residence in Repulse Bay. It was donated to the Garrison by the Eu family when the house was sold.