Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
John Potter went to Oundle School in England and later qualified as an architect (ARIBA).
He went to Hong Kong in 1931 as Assistant Architect at Leigh and Orange Architects, becoming a partner in 1935.
He was responsible for the design and completion of many buildings in Hong Kong, both public and private. A number of his buildings still stand 80 years later.
John married Norah Huson in November 1939 and they had a son, Christopher, in 1941.
He joined the HKVDC Air Arm in 1935-6. As their planes were destroyed at the outset of the Japanese invasion, he joined No 1 Company of HKVDC as CSM.
He saw action across Hong Kong island and was killed in one of the last actions, near Maryknoll on Christmas morning, 1941.
Comments
Extra notes
Copied here from the previous page for J E Potter:
John Edward Potter 1905 - 1941, submitted by annpake
UK Foreign and Overseas Registers
Company Sergeant Major John Edward Potter HKVDC killed in action 24 (sic) December 1941 Leigh and Orange Architects
Find a Grave
Warrant Officer Class II (C.S.M.) John Edward Potter Death date 25(sic) December 1941 Sai Wan Memorial
Probate Calendar 1947
John Edward Potter of P&O Buildings DesVoeux Road Hong Kong died 24 December 1941
Passenger List Hong Kong to San Francisco 25 April 1936
John Edward Potter age 30 architect born Leicester
UK Birth Index
John Edward Potter birth registered Quarter 2 1905 Leicester
The list of casualties, submitted by David
He isn't mentioned in the Jurors lists for 1941 or 1935 (we don't have the intermediate years online yet), but he does appear in the 1934 list:
The list of casualties published in 1942 gives his date of death as 24 Dec 1941:
John Potter date of death
While the difference between 24 and 25 December may seem trivial, the fact of being killed on Christmas day and the last day of the battle for Hong Kong has been and is still significant for his family. The evidence is clear, as recorded in "My Beautiful Island". Firstly there is the letter from Captain AH Penn (pages 152-154), the commanding officer of No 1 Company, HKVDC, stating clearly that John Potter was one of a group who were killed on the morning of 25 December 1941 near Maryknoll. Penn had his information from Ben Carter, John Potter's immediate commanding officer, who later became my godfather (pages 236-238). Further confirmation can be seen on the Certificate of Service from the HKVDC stating that Potter was killed on the 25th December 1941 (page 249).