24 Broadwood Road [????-????]

David, I don't think there was a 24 Broadwood Road - well, certainly during my parents' time there.



We were at 22 Broadwood Road and there was a 23 Broadwood Road and past our houses were the garages for both houses and then it was a hop, skip and a jump to Tai Hang Road. The only other "building" between our house and Tai Hang Road was a supermarket "shack" just before Tai Hang Road.  Perhaps that was given the address of 24 Broadwood Road??

Cheers

Maybe the number 24 was cast aside in favour of using numbering from the Tai Hang Road following redevelopment as 24 was considered an unlucky number from the Cantonese pronunciation. 

Copying information posted here  The location of 24 Broadwood Road is yet to be confirmed. In the 1922 map as shown above, Building B has been mentioned as a possible location. A remote possibility could be Building C.

1. Building B (I. L. No. 2838)

The current Jardine's Lookout Garden Mansions at 148-150 Tai Hang Road comprises two blocks and were completed in 1961. 

I. L. No. 2838 at the junction of Broadwood Road and a New Road (later Tai Hang Road) was sold at public auction on 17 September 1928. with the stipulation that two European houses be built in two years.  The sale also mentioned that I. L. No. 2838 adjoined I. L. No. 2478.

(Update 27.12.24: Revisited the various local newspapers on 18 September 1928. The lot comprising 20,000 sq. ft. was sold at the upset price of $6,590. Messrs. Palmer & Turner bought the lot on behalf of a client. Revisited the conditions of sale. The stipulations were for not more than two European houses be erected on the lot and that no less than $20,000 be spent within two years of the purchase of the property.)

2. Building C (I. L. No. 2478) 

The current site includes The Colonnade, Marlborough House and Lincoln Court at 152, 154 and 156 Tai Hang Road respectively. The Colonnade was completed in 2001 whilst Marlborough House and Lincoln Court were completed in 1960 and 1959 respectively. 

On 30 June 1924, a public auction for I. L. No. 2478 was held. The site was described as being “near Broadwood Road”. Tai Hang Road only came into use in 1931. Unable to glean information on the land sale or the building's construction.

(Update 19 October 2023 - In the 1938 Street Index for Broadwood Road on Page 163 or Image 269 and Tai Hang Road on Page 175 or Image 305, Buildings B on I. L. Nos 2838 and Building C on I. L. No. 2478 "May Villa" are listed as  being on 82 and 84 Tai Hang Road respectively.

No. 24 Broadwood Road is not mentioned in the Street Index. Not sure if there was access from Building B [with street address 82 Tai Hang Road] to Broadwood Road at some point in time to make it also listed as being on 24 Broadwood Road. I think access to Building B via Broadwood Road would have been more convenient and quicker than from Tai Hang Road if one was travelling by sedan chair from Happy Valley in pre-1940s Hong Kong.)

Matching the "The Towers" map above with the 1938 Street Index (See here )

a) I. L. No. 2124 (north of "The Towers") was known as "The Cottage" on 19 Broadwood Road;

b) I. L. No. 1947 R. P. (in pink) was "The Towers" on 20 Broadwood Road;

c) I. L. No. 1947  Section A (curved segment west of "The Towers") was known as 21 Broadwood Road and

d) I. L. No. 2259 (east of "The Towers") was known as 22 and 23 Broadwood Road

22 and 23 Broadwood Road is marked as "Building A" on David's map. As David suggested "Building B" on I. L. No. 2838 further up Broadwood Road at the junction with Tai Hang Road may have been at 24 Broadwood Road. It may have been at this address in the 1920s before Tai Hang Road was constructed.

The  number "24" is not auspicious in Chinese. The house number/street address for I. L. No. 2838 appeared as 82 Tai Hang Road in 1938. Unfortunately, a street index from the 1920s of this section of Broadwood Road is not available at this juncture to confirm the 24 Broadwood Road address.

American engineer Harvey Decker is on the HK Jury Lists from 1930-1941.  From 1935-41 his address is given as 24 Broadwood Road. 

He must have returned to the States at that point as he is not on the list of American internees.

A few observations.

a) Mrs. Ada May Decker, wife of Harry Leroy Decker passed away on 7 February 1927. The deceased lady came from McKay, Queensland and left behind a husband and four children, in addition to twins that were recently born, also a brother and sister, Mrs. Wong in Hong Kong and another sister in Australia. See Hong Kong Telegraph 8 February 1927 here

Mrs. Decker had an English mother and Chinese father. She was known as Ada May Ching Decker and brother of Harry Ching. Mrs. Decker's obituary appears at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/161671291/ada_may_decker

b) Reviewing the comments made here regarding the Foundling Home at 24 Broadwood Road.

(i) Boarding one of these (rickshaws), Miss Dibden proceeded upwards “on the steep approach road.  The road seemed long and dusty.  Several attractive Colonial-style bungalows and white-painted houses were to be seen.  Suddenly the sedan chair turned into a driveway and she was lowered before the steps leading to a spacious verandah…‘ (The Foundling Home)

(ii) It was a big house with big windows and the reason the BCMS could afford it as a Foundling Home was because the owner’s wife had died while he was building it.  He believed this was a bad omen and that it must be haunted, so he wouldn’t use it himself or sell/rent it to any other Chinese.  Hence the windfall in the Foundling Home’s favour!

c) From above, it appears that the owner of the mansion at some point in time was Harvey Decker and the demise of the owner's wife was Mrs. Decker. The Decker ownership needs to be verified.

d) Mention was made that the property was under construction during the death of the owner's wife. If this statement is correct, then "Building B" may not have been a likely candidate for "24 Broadwood Road" as Inland Lot 2838 was put up for auction in September 1928. The statement need to be verified.

e) Inland Lot 2478 ("Building C") had been put up for auction on 30 June 1924. The new owner was not Decker but the Dominican Mission in the Far East. Hong Kong Telegraph 1 July 1924 refers.

f) Normally the erection of a building is associated with the construction of drains, sewers etc. The construction of a sewer along the New Road to "Building C" was completed in 1929. No mention about "Building B". 1929 P. W. D. Report refers.

g) If Decker was indeed the owner, there would have been an ownership change from the Dominican Mission to himself. Verification needed. 

h) Photo of Mildred Dibden below. I think the New Road i.e. Tai Hang Road is behind the gate. A similar scene of the background road cutting on Google Street View which is near to the location of "Building C".

i) It does seem odd though that "Building "B" or C" as "24 Broadwood Road" does not appear in the 1927/28 Rate Book nor on the 1938 Street Index.

Thank you moddsey for all that info.   

All I would say is in answer to your points -

(c)  Might Harvey Decker have rented the building, not purchased it?

(i) that the numbering of buildings B and C seems to always have been a bit fluid between Tai Hang / Broadwood Road.

I've managed to find this 1934 map on HK Maps website, reproduced with their kind permission.

I have followed David's lettering on the 1922 map for buildings A to C, and would suggest the following:

A - 22 and 23 Broadwood Road.

B - Building B on the 1922 map.

C - Building C on the 1922 map, possibly 24 Broadwood Road.

D - 19 Broadwood Road

E - 20, the Towers

F - 21 Broadwood Road

X - the triangular cutting on the Tai Hang road, as found by moddsey on Google Street View (see above).

I had a look at the 1934 Aerial Map previously and your annotations of the buildings and findings are similar to mine.

Yes, Harvey Decker could have been the tenant who took over the lease of the property. Let's see if further information can be unearthed.

I found this exchange from 2011 on Gwulo.  Jabberjabber is the nephew of May Decker, wife of Harvey Decker.  It's a long shot but I have asked David if he has an email contact for Jabberjabber. If so we can ask if the family have any photos from the Deckers' time in HK.

Edit:  Alas David says contact has been lost with Jabberjabber.

I have an email address for Jabberjabber but I haven't heard from him since 2019 when he already wasn't well. I have a physical address in Sydney where you might be able to reach one of his daughters.

I can upload an aerial view of Broadwood Road in 1949 if you think it would be any use.

All info gratefully received Jill, thank you.  Perhaps you could contact me via David?

Aldi, I've now lost track of the reason for your personal interest in 24 Broadwood Road. Does it continue after the move of the BCMS Foundling Home dated by Carl Smith to 1933? Forgive me if you have already stated your interest in the building elsewhere.

My interest was just in the phase that the BCMS Foundling Home was there, Jill, from 1930-33.

Two years ago when I joined Gwulo, I had the photos from the home (plus Taipo and Fanling years) but little idea where the home was in Hong Kong except that it was in Happy Valley and accessed from Ventris Road going steeply uphill to a western style mansion.  That much from the Yip Family account. 

I also had the faded pic of the Happy Valley racecourse, which I thought might have been taken from the home.  

With a lot of help from Team Gwulo we have found the locations of my pics, and that plus the info from the book has enabled me to put dates to the pictures.  It's been a real journey of discovery and I'm very grateful.

That’s excellent news, Aldi. I too have been enormously helped with my family research by Gwulo contributors. Without their help I would not have been able to piece together as much of my family story as I have.

I've managed to find a Hedda Morrison shot of Happy Valley and Broadwood Road.  Normally her shots give excellent detail but this crop has had to magnify so much, even Hedda couldn't manage it.  I'm pleased because it gives us a first glimpse of house B and an impression of house C /24 but disappointed at the lack of detail. The Harvard University picture is here.  Thanks to Harvard University, Harvard College Library Harvard-Yenching Library, W351239_1 

 With thanks for the photo to Harvard University, Harvard College Library Harvard-Yenching Library, W351254_1.

I think I may have found the object of my quest these past two years with Gwulo.  The first breakthrough was to find the location and address of the BCMS Foundling Home in Happy Valley.  That took Team Gwulo three days after this picture was posted.  Answer: 24 Broadwood Road.

The next breakthrough was three weeks later when the field was narrowed down to these two properties (B & C)

This Christmas using this photo, moddsey put us outside of what is now The Colonnade on 152 Tai Hang Road, and therefore property C.

This photo above I think is the confirmation I have been looking for that property C is the #24 Broadwood Road mansion. We're looking at the corner of a large building and a grassed terrace.  Linking back to my first Foundling Home picture, I think the west-facing grassed terrace with balustrade (with 520-522 The Peak in the distance) that Mildred Dibden is standing on may be the one in this picture.

The boxy appearance of the building ties in with the best front view I could find on Gwulo of 'building C', from which I took this crop below of Klaus' image from the Commando Veterans website.  'A day at the races 1946'.  Building far right.

Now it's over to the experts for their considered views.

Edit:  Oh dear I've just realised - it's a different balustrade.  Oh well, hopefully it's building C if nothing else....

In 1940, both Harvey Leroy Decker and Charles Simon Rosselet resided at 24 Broadwood Road. Decker was married to Rosselet's sister, Emelia Rose. The Deckers do not appear to have been in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation.  

In 1946, Harvey Leroy Decker and Charles Simon Rosselet continued to reside in Hong Kong but in Kowloon. Mention is not made of 24 Broadwood Road in the 1946 Jurors List.

Reviewing my previous observations.

In 1929, May Villa (i.e. Building C ) was the residence of Mrs. Leong as mentioned in an obituary in the Hong Kong Telegraph dated 27 June 1929:

"LEONG - At noon today, at May Villa, Broadwood Road, Mrs. Louise Mabel Leong, wife of Mr. Augustine Leong Hing-kee, aged 41 years. Funeral will pass the Monument at 5.30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday). "

Although the full Broadwood Road address is not given, it leads me to suspect at this juncture that May Villa may have been the BCMS Foundling Home after the passing of Mrs. Leong. The timeline appears to fit.

Augustine Leong was a successful hotel owner before the war. He was the proprietor of the Savoy Hotel, Metropole Hotel and a hotel in Macau. He passed away in 1961. Government Records Service Carl Smith Card No. 24751 refers. See here

The captioned references can be viewed at: https://archive.org/search?query=24+Broadwood+Road&sin=TXT&sort=-publicdate 

For what it's worth, Augustine Leung and Leung Kan are recorded as the purchasers of 21 Broadwood Road in 1924-25. I previously uploaded the 1927-28 record to this thread, where Augustine Leung is still given as joint owner of 21 Broadwood Road. Apologies if I have misread "Leong" for "Leung".

Yes, the Leong/Leung would have been the same people and owners. I note in 1927 and 1928 that the bungalow at 21 Broadwood Road was available for rental. I have posted the newspaper references of this address under the 21 Broadwood Road thread.

(Update:  Lee So-fei, alias Sophie Lee, alias Leung Lee-shi, alias Louise M. L. Leong late of May Villa, Broadwood Road left local estate sworn under $2,800. Probate of the will had been granted to her husband, Leung Kam-lun, of 75 Robinson Road. Hong Kong Telegraph 19 May 1933 refers. See: https://archive.org/details/NPTG19330519/page/n21/mode/2up?q=villa . In the 1938 Street Index, May Villa on I. L. No. 2478 (Building C) was listed as being on 84 Tai Hang Road. Currently I. L. No. 2478 with three buildings, is designated as being on 152-156 Tai Hang Road. Likely 152 Tai Hang Road was the former site of May Villa.)

I'm sorry to keep banging on about this but I've just realised I have a piece of evidence for Building C that's been staring me in the face for months.  It's this shot taken by Mildred Dibden which I've dated 1931-32 and always assumed she took from #24 Broadwood Road.

It's very similar to this shot of Jill's, also dated 1930s, but taken from #19 or #20 lower down and closer to the racecourse.

My realisation comes from this 1922 HKMS pic of Admin's.  Building B is set back and can neither BE SEEN from the racecourse nor SEE the racecourse.

Whereas Building C with quote 'large windows' and completely clear of any trees obstructing the views (as in Jill's pic) has a perfect view.  And here.

I rest my case (for the moment!).

The 1938 Street Index indicated Inland Lot 2478 (i.e. Building C) was known as May Villa. In 1929, May Villa was the residence of Mrs. Leong as mentioned in an obituary in the Hong Kong Telegraph dated 27 June 1929. Not sure if the Deckers preceded the Leongs at the address as Decker's first wife, Ada May Ching Decker's gravestone simply gives her name as "May" Decker. Perhaps "May" as in "May Villa" in remembrance of her. 

The current "The Colonnade, Marlborough House and Lincoln Court" are located on Inland Lot 2478.

Building B was put up for auction in September 1928. It does not seem likely the building would have been fully completed in 1929.

At this juncture, the evidence unearthed and comments made suggests that Building C is 24 Broadwood Road. It may have been given this temporary address prior to the establishment of Tai Hang Road and referred to as such even after the completion of the road. 

In 1931, Tai Hang Road was described as follows: "Road commencing at northeast corner of Inland Lot 1900 (St. Mary's Church), near the French Hospital, passing Inland Lot 2461, the south end of Broadwood Road and Inland Lot 2478 and Tytam Tunnel Outlet, terminating at its junction with Stubbs Road and Bowen Road."

If one could connect May Villa to 24 Broadwood Road, that would really settle the issue about the address. Perhaps letters from the BCMS or Dibden to Home would have mentioned the name of the Villa.

Some good thoughts and info, moddsey, particularly the May name connection with the villa.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any correspondence to or from No 24.

You say 'Building B was put up for auction in Sept 1928.... unlikely completed in 1929'  Could you clarify pls - Was the building auctioned in 1928 or the plot?

My error. The plot, Inland Lot 2838 was auctioned on 17 September 1928. Details of the land sale appeared in the Hong Kong Daily Press the following day. See here and scroll to Page 6. Today, the same lot number is attached to Jardine's Lookout Garden Mansion. 

In the 1938 Street Index for Broadwood Road on Page 163 or Image 269 and Tai Hang Road on Page 175 or Image 305, Building B on I. L. Nos 2838 and Building C on I. L. No. 2478 "May Villa" were listed as  being on 82 and 84 Tai Hang Road respectively. House No. 24 Broadwood Road was not listed.

For reference.

Noticed that Harvey Leroy Decker commenced appearing in the Juror Lists from 1927. However, his surname was misspelt in the original lists as Decher. He worked in the Motoring Department of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels and resided "on premises" in the Happy Valley Garage on Stubbs Road. Yet to determine, if Decker had another residence.