Tyndareus Stone [????-1993]

Submitted by David on Thu, 02/01/2018 - 12:27
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date closed / demolished
(Day is approximate.)

Notes from moddsey:

The stone that formerly stood near the junction of Harlech and Hatton Roads on the Peak can be viewed here and its current location here

It reads:

'This stone memorial was erected by Lieutenant Colonel John Ward, Commanding Officer, in memory of those men of the 25th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment who died when the troopship TYNDAREUS struck a German mine off Cape Agulhas, South Africa on 6th February 1917.

The Battalion had embarked in England and were en route for Hong Kong to carry out garrison duties.

There is no doubt the exemplary conduct of all ranks after the accident contributed in considerable measure to the Master's ability to prevent his ship from sinking with further loss of life.'

Intrestingly enough, no lives were lost. The story of the Stone is told by Dan Waters here

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Comments

The Stone has not been “demolished.” It was removed at the dead of night ahead of the 1997 Handover as part of a dreadful, deceitful act of subterfuge. It was “spirited away” by Queen’s Gurkha Engineers and shipped back to the U.K. 

Those involved in this act claimed that the Middlesex Regiment Association had requested its return ahead of the reversion of HK to Chinese sovereignty, which was a blatant lie and I have incontrovertible proof of that contention.

The Stone was sent to the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London, who did not even know it was being sent to them. Although it was initially put on display, I am given to understand it has now been “relegated” to being placed in storage.

Some of us are trying to have the Stone returned to HK, but not surprisingly this is viewed as a political “hot potato” by the HK Government and nobody in Government is too keen to push the matter.

Think the 25th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment was billeted at Mount Austin in 1917, thus the former location of the Stone on the Peak. Just to add, two companies ("A" and "D") of the Battalion remained in Singapore while the rest proceeded to Hong Kong for garrison duty. The troops from Singapore arrived in Hong Kong on 26 July 1918 to meet up with the rest of the Battalion. They set sail the following day and arrived in Vladivostok on 3 August 1918. A good read is from the The Diary of Private AA Bridges.