Everything tagged: Island-Coastal PB

Update: Rob has identified this as Pillbox 063]

Although the wartime maps don't show the location of pillbox 061, we're guessing this is where it was.

The red marker shows the approximate location of the northern tip of the western arm of the old vehicular ferry pier. You can see the pillbox on this photo of the ferry pier in the 1950s:

Pillbox 62 was on Connaught Road, in front of the GPO building.

[2022 Updated with corrections from Rob]

This photo by Harrison Forman gives a clear view of the pillbox.

UWM's Harrison Forman collection has several photos of this area and the pillbox in 1941 (see below).

Interesting to see there was a gas station on the junction even then, and apparently under the same management. In 1941 the station sign says 'Texaco', and today's station is the ground floor of a building named Caltex House, Texaco being an ancestor of the Caltex brand.

Some points for discussion:

1. Direction.

As usual, the pillbox was built on the old shoreline. In this case, the shore of Kellett Bay.

The bay has been reclaimed, and is now the site of the Wah Kwai Housing Estate. The estate took its first residents in 1990, so the reclamation will have been before then.

I took a walk around the back of the estate, but there is no sign of the pillbox. The hillside slopes have been cut back as part of building the estate, so I guess the pillbox was demolished at that time.

Hi there,

I was walking from Repulse Bay to Deep Water Bay yesterday, taking pictures using my zoom lens.  When I browse over one of those pointing towards Middle Bay I recognize a familiar feature right next to the swimming area boundary.

I'll send the photo in later for verification.

T

The coastal pillboxes were numbered anti-clockwise around HK island, from 1 to 72, so this was the one with the highest number.

The map is not very clear, so the location is only an estimate. If it is still there, it should be visible from the ferry to Lamma - I'll take a look next time I head out that way.

If you have any memories or photos of how this looked, please leave a comment below.

If you are looking from the beach out to sea, this pillbox is at the back of the beach on your left.

As you walk towards it you'll see it has a metal door in good condition (not the original). I guess it is used as a store room for the people working at the beach.

I was expecting the pillboxes around Aberdeen to have been demolished already, so I was very pleased to get this email from Thomas:

I think I have bumped into one of these in March and didn't realise it.  Here is an old photo of the location.

Now the location is boarded up for slope maintenance.