New on Gwulo: 2021, week 51

Our Christmas began with Gwulo hitting the airwaves, courtesy of an invitation from Annemarie Evans to take part in the extended edition of her Hong Kong Heritage show that was broadcast on Christmas morning. If you listen to the recording, you'll hear Annemarie talking with her guests about ...
 

• 01:08 - Ralph Goodwin's escape from Shamshuip POW camp in 1944. (Further reading: Ralph Goodwin's account of his escape, with commentary by Gordon Andreassend.)
   
• 19:00 - A look at 100 years of Christmas photos on the Gwulo website. (See all the photos.)
  

  

   

• 29:00 - Colin McEwan's escape from Hong Kong by Motor Torpedo Boat on Christmas Day, 1941. (Read this, and other diary pages from Hong Kong, written on 25 December 1941.)
   
• 41:27 - Maps of Asia and Hong Kong, dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries. These are currently on show but the exhibition ends on 8 Jan, so the holidays are a good chance to catch them. (Details of The 33rd annual Mapping of Asia Exhibition, held at Wattis Fine Art on Hollywood Road.)

After breakfast we turned to our own Christmas tree - time to open a present or two!

For the last few weeks I'd received regular orders to STAY OUT OF MY ROOM while my younger daughter worked on my present. I had no idea what to expect, and got a happy surprise when I unwrapped these:

The cloth bags I use when I deliver books to the Post Office and local bookstores are falling apart, so I am now the proud owner of two new sturdy and personalised canvas bags.

We're still on holiday today - with Boxing Day landing on a Sunday we get Monday off too. I hope you've had a peaceful time over the holidays, and enjoyed some good company.

Now, back to what's new on the Gwulo website...

General
 

• The Nutcracker ballet is a regular fixture for a Hong Kong Christmas. Annelise has found that the ballet has been customised to include lots of Hong Kong historical references.
   
• A peak at the progress on the website upgrade, showing the photo zoom and the new 'add tags' feature:
  

   

Places
 

• Kowloon
   
  • Kwun Yum Temple, Hung Hom [1873- ]

    

     

  • Wuhu Market [c.1900-c.1956]
     
• Hong Kong
   
  • BBQ meat shop 大三元 in Wanchai
     
  • Coronation Annex of the China Fleet Club [1954-1982]
     
  • Harcourt House (2nd Generation) [1987- ]
     
  • Hong Kong Arts Centre [1977- ]
     
  • Windsor House, Causeway Bay [1979- ]
    

    

     

  • Does this photo show the house named 'The Blarney Stone'?
    

    

   

• New Territories
   
  • Japanese Tunnel at Golden Hill [c.1944- ]

    

     

  • Old Tea Farm on the hilltop of Tai Mo Shan [????- ]
     
  • Were milestones erected every quarter mile along the road near Ting Kok?
    

    

     

People
 

• Stanley Camp internees
   
  • James William GRANT [c.1899-????], prison officer
     
• Members of the Christmas Day escape group
   
  • Ron ASHBY [1911-1998], HKRNVR
     
  • Gerard Horace GANDY [1896-1987], HKRNVR
     
  • Heng HSU (aka Henry) [1912-2009]
     
• Other
   
  • Larry R ANDREWS [????-????], HK & Singapore Royal Artillery
     
  • Charles CHING [????-????], father of the SCMP editor Harry CHING
     
  • Arthur John DEWAR [????-????], RASC
     
  • Ulick Aubrey FARRELL (aka Hugh) [????-????], Electrical Engineer, worked for the PWD in the early 20th century
     
  • Geoffrey Ernest PROES [1902-1941], HK & Singapore Royal Artillery
     

   

Photos
 

Click to see all recently added photos.