This emotional, 1937 documentary image by William Lange shows a procession of wreath-bearing school cadets who are marching in Kowloon enroute to burying their master. The banner, being held aloft, clearly displays the name and title of one, Chan Wai Yuen, which, in a purely military context, might loosely be translated as Warrant Officer Chan – presumably the name of their recently deceased military instructor.
In the background there is a sign making reference to the King’s Theatre and the 1936 movie titled Gay Desperado. The Hong Kong press of the day indicates that this film was screened at the King’s Theatre during February 1937, and at Kowloon’s Majestic Theatre two months later.
This moving photographic image, captured by William Lange, is utilized to illustrate the patriotic feeling of the Chinese school children in the Colony. The image appears within William Lange’s article titled Hongkong in War Time, which was published, pp.218 & 219, in the Hongkong Number. The China Journal, vol XX1X, no.5, Shanghai, November 1938.
Comments
Re: Photo
Yes, the photo was taken in Kowloon.
In the background are the godowns and advertisement hoardings near Kowloon Star Ferry. The ground level of the godowns had shops with Chinese roofs that fronted the Star Ferry Bus Terminus.
As mentioned above, "The Gay Desperado" was screened at the King's Theatre between 16 and 18 February 1937.
Thank you Colleague “moddsey”
Thank you Colleague “moddsey” for your extremely informative COMMENT, and for those two Shows place(s) links. Now I can clearly identify the backdrop behind the parade of marchers. Your very useful input has brought the image to life for me, when I had previously even been unsure whether or not the scene had really been captured in Kowloon.