This photo shows a gathering of family and friends taken in front of the family home at 8 Broadwood Road in the summer of 1936, the year that Amaro John Reed passed away on January 31. I don't know what the occasion was for this get-together that also included my maternal grandmother, Angelina (dos Remedios) D'Almada, and my mother's oldest sister Phyllis (D'Almada) dos Remedios and her son Ricardo. Also at this gathering was Maria Rita (da Silva) Reed's relatives, Alfredo and Nenita da Silva and their daughter Vilma, and family friend Harry Gubbay. Since my mother Belle is not in this group, I am assuming she was taking the photo. Belle and Willie had a long courtship (and possible long engagement) as they did not wed until August, 1939.
Top row, left to right: Margaret ("Maggie") Anne Bond, half sister to Amaro Reed and Lucretia (Reed) Murray, and aunt to the Reed brothers and the Murray siblings. Next to her is Edgar Reed, Alfredo da Silva and Reggie Reed.
Middle row, left to right: Francis Reed, Phyllis (D'Almada) dos Remedios, Bobby Reed, Maria Rita Reed, Angelina (dos Remedios) D'Almada, and Nenita da Silva.
Front row, left to right: Stephen Reed, Willie Reed, Ricardo dos Remedios, Vilma {da Silva} Sequeira, Arthur Reed and his good friend Harry Gubbay.
Comments
Reed family Hong Kong
Hi,
I have been searching for any living members of the Reed family who lived at 8, Broadwood Road during ww2. Following my initial enquiry posting on this site someone has kindly directed me to you. During the battle for Hong Kong my uncle Percy Chittenden of the Middlesex Regiment lost or discarded his diary. It was found in 1942 by a Mrs B.Reed who very kindly posted it to his family in London thinking that he was dead. After being wounded he spent time in a Hong Kong POW camp before being transported to Japan on the Lisbon Muru. He survived the sinking of the Lisbon Maru and was sent to Kobe House POW camp in japan. He returned home in 1945 to find his diary waiting for him. I would very much like to thank the Reed family for sending it. Kenny.
Reed Family, Hong Kong
Hi Kenny,
I was pleasantly surprised to see your post above and to learn the story of your uncle's lost diary. Mrs. B. Reed was my mother, Anna Joaquina, who was known as Belle all her life. She married my father, Willie Reed, in 1939. My father's mother, Maria Rita, and six of his brothers were living at the house, including Arthur's wife Marie and daughter Mary, and Francis and Vera, newlyweds in October 1941, when the war broke out in December. Six of the brothers enlisted, four died and two were POWs at Shamshuipo camp. My father remained behind to care for the women and child in the family, eventually departing for Macau sometime in 1942. I was born in Macau and we returned to Hong Kong when the war ended.
You mentioned that the diary was found in 1942, so that must have been prior to the family's departure to Macau. I am curious as to where the diary was located when my mother found it. I'm sure my mother must have enclosed a note with the diary when she posted it to the family. Your uncle must have been happy to get his diary back, especially after all he went through during the war as a POW in Hong Kong and Japan, and being on that sinking ship.
Thank you for acknowledging my mother's thoughtful gesture which is much appreciated. - Angela
P.S.
Kenny, I am sorry I missed seeing your initial post on 17 January inquiring about my family. It was interesting to read that the diary was found in the garden of the house. That answers my question, but of course also poses the question, how did it end up there...another unsolved mystery to add to my list!
Reed family/ Percy Chittenden
Dear Angela,
I am so pleased to have made contact with you and have been able to convey my thanks to your family for returning my Uncle's diary. My heart goes out to you your family for your sad and unimaginable losses at that time. My uncle never talked about his war time experiences and it was not until after his death in 2004 that his diary and other WW2 related documents were discovered. I guess that he either lost or discarded the diary during the fighting while trying to make his way down from the heights of Leighton Hill where he manned a machine gun post. The last entry in his diary on 17th December (8 days from surrender ) reads " Only one raider today. Japs ask us to surrender. They had it ". Together with the Hong Kong based author of the " The Fight for Hong Kong " and the " Sinking of the Lisbon Maru " we wrote a piece about Uncle Percy for the Honk Kong Baptist University. If you google ' Percy Chittenden Hong Kong Baptist University ' you should be able to see it. There is a photo of him along side it. I will try and post some pictures of the diary showing your mothers message she put in it. It was wonderful to see your family photos taken at 8, Broadwood Road.
Best regards,
Kenny.
Reed Family/Percy Chittenden
Kenny, thank you for your kind words of sympathy regarding my four uncles. It must have been especially hard on my grandmother to lose four sons to the war, and two interned for over three years.
I did read the article written about your uncle that you mentioned, with his photo attached. I was particularly interested to see mention of the lost diary and what my mother had written in her note: "This was found in 1942 (summer) in our garden of No. 8 Broadwood Road, Hong Kong when we went home. Everything lost. We lost four brothers. Very sad. B. Reed."
She also wrote: "Can't locate please return this to his family if possible. Mrs. B. Reed, 244 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong."
My cousin Mary informed me that my mother returned to the Broadwood Road house after the war to see what remained after it was looted and stripped of wood, including the floors. Since the article on your uncle stated that the diary was found post war, I think it seems likely that my mother inadvertently wrote 1942 instead of 1945 as to when she found the diary.