Civilian women and children were evacuated from Hong Kong.
Sample pages
The evacuation is mentioned on page 1 of the Hong Kong Sunday Herald, 1940-07-14:
Friday, July 5, 1940, was a day that will forever be remembered by thousands of Hong Kong people, for it marks the occasion when approximately 1,774 civilian British women and children departed into Empress liners in fulfilment of another stage in the government's scheme of general precautionary evacuation. Earlier in the week went the wives and families of servicemen, making the total evacuated some 3,…
The first of the evacuations.
Read memories of the evacuation from:
And watch the Pathe movie of the events below.
((I'm not sure the date they actually arrived. Please leave a comment if you know.))
Here's a film clip showing the evacuees from Hong Kong arriving in Australia:
http://www.t3licensing.com/license/clip/48050587_4400.do?assetId=clip_8…
A couple of the suitcases show names: "W.B.Penney", and "Whyte". Can you recognise anyone else?