The Friends of East Asia are delighted to welcome back David Bellis, B.E.M., of Gwulo, on Saturday 5th April 2025 who will talk to us on more of his fascinating photos of old Hong Kong. David has recently been awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to Heritage Preservation in Hong Kong in this New Year’s Honours List.
- Date : Saturday 5th April 2025
- Speaker : David Bellis, B.E.M., of Gwulo
- Title : Gwulo’s farewell – favourite photos and stories of old Hong Kong
- Venue : The Community Hall, G/F, St. Anne’s Church, 55 Dean Street, London W1D 6AF [Map]
- Time : 2:30 pm
- Lunch : Optional lunch at 12 noon at the New Loon Fung, 42-43 Gerrard Street, London W1D 5QG [Map]
- Booking is required : Email to Florence at Florence.lkcan@gmail.com
- Lecture cost : £10 for members of Friends of East Asia, £12 for guests, to include refreshments after the talk. Free of charge to full time students with a Student I.D. Guests are welcome.
- Cost of optional lunch : £25 per head including Chinese tea and service.
Gwulo’s farewell – favourite photos and stories of old Hong Kong
David Bellis will show us his favourite photos of old Hong Kong and tell us their stories. The photos come from David’s collection and date from the 1880s through to the 1950s, showing a Hong Kong that has long since vanished. They have all been scanned at high resolution, so when they are projected on to the big screen David can zoom in to show us their hidden details and reveal their secret stories. David will also share some of the interesting characters and touching stories he has encountered while running the Gwulo website. This was David’s last talk in Hong Kong before returning to the UK last summer. Over 500 people attended the talk, given over three sold-out evenings.
The speaker: David first visited Hong Kong in 1989 and lived there continuously from 1992 to 2024. Since 2009 he has run the Gwulo.com website, providing an online meeting place where people from around the world meet to ask questions, and share their knowledge, about Hong Kong’s history. The site has grown to over 50,000 pages, including over 30,000 photos of old Hong Kong. In 2014 David received the SCMP’s Spirit of Hong Kong award for Heritage Preservation for his work on Gwulo. Then in the 2025 New Year’s Honours List he was awarded the British Empire Medal, For services to Heritage Preservation in Hong Kong. David is a regular speaker, using photos from his collection to introduce Hong Kong’s history in a way that is easy for audiences to enjoy. He has also published a series of five illustrated books, Volumes 1 – 5 of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell.
Booking is required for this lecture. Please email Florence at Florence.lkcan@gmail.com. When booking please state if you wish to join the lunch. Guests are welcome.
Please reserve places now if you wish to join us. Payment should be made (see below) at the latest by Monday 31st March. If you then need to cancel nearer the time, notice should be given to Florence up to 48 hours before the meeting. Otherwise, the cost will be non-refundable.
When you have booked, please pay the amount due for the lecture to our account, as follows:-
- Bank: HSBC
- Account name: Friends of Hong Kong Royal Asiatic Society
- Account number: 21222074 Sort Code: 40-43-23
- Reference: your surname
If you are making an international transfer, the BIC is HBUKGB4157T and the IBAN is GB46HBUK40432321222074.
Please email Florence to let her know when you have transferred the money to the account.
We look forward to seeing you.
Kind regards
Mary Painter
Secretary