Assudamal Hashmatrai VASWANI [1899-1949]

Submitted by chandru@1937 on Thu, 02/06/2025 - 17:10
Names
Given
Assudamal Hashmatrai
Family
Vaswani
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Died
Date
(Day is approximate.)

This page is for my my late father, Assudamal H Vaswani.

I was born on the night of  5th Aug 1937 and  was informed that it was a typhoon night, me and my parents stayed in  a house at 7 Garden Road , verified by Jurors list of 1941.

We moved from the house sometime during the war, most likely the house was requisitioned by the Japanese being a coveted house in Garden road, have memories of taking a bag of rice to the school, most likely Sacred high as it was in Caine road, my late  father  Assudamal H Vaswani, his manager MR Dinga and accountant Mr Jaggia were interned by the Japanese as my father's company Utoomal & Assudamal Co lent USD 300000 to HSBC for their war needs, to be repaid to us to our Mumbai office, I have HSBC letters to this effect, apparently the Japanese Kemptai got to know about this transaction and all 3  were imprisoned as i have vague memories of accompanying my mother in a bus to see my father carrying food for him , I remember seeing him walking lame when he was released. During the entire war period we were staying in Wyndham street, I heard from my late mother my father was water boarded.

I just want somebody to help me find out if there is any record of their internment and where and grounds  of internment and where, it is just for mine and my siblings knowledge and satisfaction.

Photos that show this Person

Comments

Thank you for your response,  I lost my fathers passport copy and have no record of his birth date, what you have found out must be correct viz, 12th Jan 1899, yes Dorothy Vaswani is my first cousin wife and she passed away a year or so ago in Los Angeles, she was the wife of Indru Vaswani son of late Pritodas H Vaswani my fathers brother , both of them started Utoomal & Assudamal company together with a third  partner Mr Utoomal Thadani  in the second part of 1920s, he was in charge of the retail operation called Modern silk store at 56 Queens road, central,  can you find out some more information as to who else was managing the silk store would be highly appreciated,  can you also assist me to obtain a copy of my late Fathers will which he made on the 28th march 1942, I was not able the to see the will but have the copy of the probate, a famous lawyer of that period Silva Remedios helped him prepared th will when he was interned , i think, anything that can be found out about his life during that period would be appreciated , I was not even 12 when he passed away from a heart attack , Thanking you in advance for anything you can find out, Chandru Vaswani

Thanks for sharing further information – the more you give, the more I can triangulate the data. I am sorry to hear the loss of your father so early in your formative years.  I note the spelling you gave for your uncle but the records – I guess, depending on transliteration – may differ somewhat.

One useful resource is the Carl Smith Collection if you are looking for associated names:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/searchcarladv.xhtml?rpp=10

These following names I presume you will know very well:

Your uncle made out a Will in 1952. At that point he was the sole proprietor of Utoomal and Assudamal Co. based then at 3 and 5 Duddell Street, Hong Kong. He was styled as Pritamdas Vasvani alias Pritamdas Hashma Trai Vaswani, merchant of 3rd Floor, 71 Kimberely Road, Kowloon. He appointed the following people as executors:-

Brother-in-law Bhopat Udharam Mansukhan of Bombay

Brother-in-law Chandu Rupchard Jagtiani – he was later running Utoomal and Assudamal Co. and died 5th May 1961 in Hong Kong, leaving a wife and 2 children in Bombay.

Friend Dhamo L. Laliwani

…the latter two were residing with Pritamdas at the Kimberley Road address at the time of writing of the Will.

The beneficiaries were his wife Dru and his two sons Indru and Guloo (or Gulu) Pritamdas Vaswani (born 27th Sept 1937) when the latter reaches the age of 21 years.

Also subsistence payment to his aunt Rukmanibai Vaswani of Bandra, Bombay (200 Reis) and his younger brother Nari Hashmatrai Vaswani of Byculla, Bombay (200 Reis). There was a witness Shelley. Probate 28th April 1952.

 

Another name associated with Utoomal and Assudamal Co. was Eduardo Augusto Mattos who worked as a clerk for the company in 1940 and he resided at 171 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok. He was born in Macau in 1901. In 1942 he decamped to Macau from Hong Kong as a refugee. He later returned to Hong Kong on 31st September 1945. He had a wife Luiza (born 14th June 1905, Canton) and 5 children all born in Hong Kong 1930, 1934, 1937, 1939 and 1941.

If we hyperfocus on the 1940 Jurors List for Hong Kong, these are the other names associated with Utoomal and Assudamal Co.:

c   Advani, Hashusing Awatsing Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Robinson Road, Top floor.  

 

c   Advani, Hiranand Lekhraj Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Robinson Road, Top floor.  

 

c   Advani, Ramchand Parsram Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Robinson Road, Top floor.  

 

c   Cheung Jack-fun Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 59 Lee Garden Street, Top floor.  

 

c   Jagia Rijhumal Jeramdas Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Robinson Road.  

 

c   Li Hing-wah Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 32 Hillier Street.  

 

c   Mansukhani, Bhopatrai Woharam Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Robinson Road, Top floor.  

 

c   Mattos, Eduardo Augusto Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 171 Fa Yuen Street, 3rd floor, Mongkoktsui.  

 

c   Sadarangani, Ramchand Gulabrai Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 19 Pokfulam Road.  

 

c   Shewani, Dingamal Dharamdas Manager, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 212 Cheung Sha Wan Road.  

 

c   Tso Pun-to Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 41 d'Aguilar Street, 3rd floor.  

 

c   Vaswani, Assudamal Hashmatrai Proprietor, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 17 Robinson Road.  

 

In the 1941 Jurors List there are additional names:

c   Advani. Gangaram Murijmal Assistant, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 7 Garden Road.

 

c   Chan Mar-san Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 42 Spring Garden, 2nd floor.

 

c   Garcia, Victor Julian. Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 29 Jardine Road, 2nd floor.

 

c   Jagtiana, Mulchand Tolasing assistant, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 7 Garden Road,

 

c   Motta. Victor da Clerk. Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 112 Austin Road, Kowloon.

 

c   Wan Chow-chun Clerk, Utoomal & Assudamal Co. 28 LyndhurSt Terrace.

 

You get the drift...you can go through the Jurors List for each year to get a run down of names...

 

You can request a copy of your father’s will from the Hong Kong Government Records Service. If you are in Hong Kong you can visit the archive in person and see the original. If living abroad or you want a copy for whatever reason, you can request a copy – either photocopied paper or digital format (more expensive) and payment is in $HK.

Here it the link for request forms:  https://www.grs.gov.hk/en/public_forms.html

You are family and the Will and Probate dates are now historical – I don’t think there should be problems with access from the Judiciary.

 

Will of your father:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=rDs9jUm4Fn5pvGB%2FBadHMw%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D1

Probate of your father:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=whQmDu7JEaCbSS9lbDdDew%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D1

Will of your uncle:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=eN4AFqd39dz22UF3prG2cw%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D1

Probate of your uncle:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=haucTiheCY9h327IpcyHBw%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D1

Will of your mum:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=jKQzfbPwyZDyfL5%2BPCQS5Q%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D2

Probate of your mum:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=8v9qDrJ54vsBMF%2FCDo0pQA%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D2

Another record of your father from December 1948, presumably a business venture, just before he died, in relation to New Kowloon Inland Lot (N.K.I.L.) Number 2850:

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=Vaswani&eid=%2FNmnA6GHj%2F90WPbsHdDKUg%3D%3D&ls=q%3DVaswani%26rpp%3D10%26page%3D3

…later in the 1950s the site of the Lee Wah Weaving Factory on Un Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong:

https://www.hkmemory.hk/MHK/collections/postwar_industries/All_Items/prints/201307/P020131218388519407877.pdf

 

Looking within gwulo your parents and yourself and siblings were on the REPATRIATION NOTICE No. 8 to embark on S.S. "HIGHLAND MONARCH" en route to the UK but presumably you and family disembarked in Bombay. The notice was issued on 30th September 1945 - did you remember that trip in October 1945? 

https://gwulo.com/node/58036

Dear Chandru, thank you for writing to us about your father. I believe he may have played an important part in supporting people in need during the Japanese occupation.

Dr Selwyn-Clarke was one of the few members of the British community who the Japanese allowed to stay out of the Stanley internment camp, to continue his work supporting public health in Hong Kong. One of the mysteries of his support to internees and POWs is how he managed to fund it, but I've seen notes that he was given money by members of the Indian community in Hong Kong. I wonder if the documents you have about the loan are related to your father providing funds to Dr Selwyn-Clarke?

On 29 Aug 1944, the Japanese held a trial of 39 people in Stanley Prison Chapel. The people on trial included Dr Selwyn-Clarke and your father. You can read more about this trial at https://jonmarkgreville2.wordpress.com/2021/08/08/a-list-of-those-who-s…

I can think of a few places you could look for more information about your father's experiences.

1. In his own words

Do you know when your father returned to Hong Kong after leaving in 1945?

If he had returned by 1946 I wonder if he was a witness at the War Crimes trials held in Hong Kong after WW2? If yes, then there should be records of his statements (e.g. see https://gwulo.com/hong-kong-war-crimes), and he may also have been mentioned in the Newspaper coverage of the trials (if you visit Central Library in HK they will be able to help you search the old copies of the SCMP from 1945-1948.)

2. From others who went through similar experiences

The people at the 29 Aug 1944 trial would have been through similar experiences as your father:

Good luck with your search, and please let us know what you discover in the comments below.

Regards, David

Thanks David, I saw my fathers name  and that of  DS Dinga  who was my fathers company manager, there is no word about the reason for his imprisonment at the Stanley camp by the kemptai, my father returned to HK in 1948 and passed away in March 1949, best regards, any further information will be appreciated, CHANDRU VASWANI 

Can some one at Gwulo find out about my fathers company retail shop called Modern silk store at 56 queens Road central, who were the manager and staff, Most important the reason for my fathers and two staff internment,