Life in Hong Kong's ARP tunnels

The Imperial War Museum Collections Online website has the following picture dated December 1941, and with the caption: "Air raid wardens take up position at the entrances to public shelters in Hong Kong, during an exercise in the last days before the Japanese invasion."

AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS IN HONG KONG, 1941© IWM (KF 112)

Can anyone identify where this photo was taken?

[2018 UPDATE: Ashley has identified the location as the corner of QRE and Wanchai Road. Please see the comments below.]

I don't think the photo was taken on Queen's Rd East, as it doesn't look like the area surrounding either of the two sets of tunnels along that road.

Recently I've begun to suspect that the picture was not taken near an Air-raid tunnel at all. Instead it looks more likely to be a picture of one of the 'Pen Shelters' that were also built. They were made from hollow concrete blocks, and built to be 'blast and bomb-splinter proof from 500-pound bombs falling 50 feet away'.

At the time they were built, they were reported to be suitable for conversion into market stalls and shelters for street-sleepers. I'm sure they'd have survived the war, but I wonder if there are signs of any now?

MrB

Sorry to hear your sad news. Thank you for your efforts to identify the photo.

Regards, MrB

I don't know that area well - please could you let me know which street that is on? I'm also interested to hear what makes you think it could be a match for the photo.

Thanks for writing, MrB

The Saturday 13th December 1941 issue of the South China Morning Post has two articles referring to life in the shelters. The first begins:

The Chinese population has soon come to appreciate the protection afforded by the network of air raid shelters in the Colony and hundreds have made these their temporary homes, many remaining in them even during the daytime.

Shelters in all parts of the Colony are well patronized these nights, and will be more so following the warning by the military Authorities that intermittent shelling of the island was to be expected in future by Japanese artillery on the Mainland.

Many Chinese in the Central districts, especially the mid levels, now move to the Leighton Hill tunnels in Happy Valley and the Arsenal Street tunnels, with mattresses and other bedding, shortly before dusk and return to town in the mornings.
[…]
A reporter toured one tunnel yesterday where several flights of step lead deep into the earth. [Probably the Wyndham St network? It sounds like the entry at Portal 41 near the junction of Glenealy and Wyndham St. Mrb] Hundreds of Chinese men, women, and children were spread out over its enormous length and seemed completely at home. Ventilation was good.

Children were sleeping beside their parents or playing with each other while the many babies in arms slept peacefully. Here and there a family of three or four were eating meals of saltfish and rice while others were overheard chatting about prevailing conditions and expressing confidence in Hongkong’s defences. Nowhere could a sign of undue apprehension be observed.

The second article describes another visit:

An S. C. M. Post reporter who was forced to remain in town owing to the absence of transport spent the greater part of Thursday night outdoors and in various tunnels and shelters. He relates his experiences as follows:
[...]
The tunnels in the city area were filled with people. I went in through the entrance in one street, and emerged after a long walk nearly 400 yards distant. Men, women and children - hundreds of them - were sleeping in the tunnels.

When the shells came whistling overhead, I saw a few scores of others coming along. They had decided they would be safer in the tunnels.

A member of the public telling his experiences says: I took shelter in two air raid tunnels in the course of Wednesday’s raids. On the first occasion, I was caught in a bus which stopped near Arsenal Street and, together with hundreds of others, I made my way to one of the tunnels in the vicinity.

On arrival I found a great many people already there. A.R.P. officials at the entrances shepherded the people into the tunnels with quiet efficiency, and there was not the slightest semblance of panic.

People, young and old, made themselves comfortable on the benches and with the electric lights burning brightly and no crowding , the half hour I spent in the tunnel passed quickly.

Here and there I came across Europeans. I saw a European nurse in uniform near one of the entrances, She had passed my bus in a car only a few minutes before and had stopped her car dutifully and had taken shelter when the alarm went.

On the same bench with me was a European male engrossed in a cross-word puzzle. I envied him.

While walking along the labyrinthine passages, I could feel the air currents blowing against my face. The air conditioning is good.

In the course of my wanderings, I ran across the A.R.P. official in charge of the tunnels in this section. He happened to be a friend of mine and told me that he had had no trouble at all with the shelterers, who had obeyed all the instructions given them.

Later in the day, I had occasion to visit one of the tunnels behind Leighton Hill Road. Here the conditions did not appear to be so good. Some of the people taking refuge here were crowding the entrances and whether because of this or not, the air was not so clean.

While I was there, people were coming in with camp beds, mattresses and bedding, apparently having decided to spend the night there.

Further along, however, behind Wongneichung Road, the tunnels appeared to be in better shape again. There was not the same tendency here to crowd the entrances and the ventilation was good.

In that same issue of the newspaper, they printed the official communiqué announcing that "We have successfully evacuated our troops, supplies, and essential services from Kowloon". Apart from the Devil’s Peak peninsula, this meant all the shoreline facing Hong Kong island was now available to the Japanese forces and their artillery. Bombardment from land and air would increase significantly over the following days, making the shelters all the more valuable.

This issue of the SCMP is available on microfiche in Central Library. Unfortunately this is the last entry on the microfiche. Does anyone know whether the issues for 14-25th December are available, either online or in print?

MrB

This photo comes from the Jan 14 1942 edition of the Hong Kong News, the English language newspaper put out by the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong.

As often noted, history is written by the victors. The caption for the picture read:

When the British surrendered, the defeated troops were interned according to international law. Internment camps have been set up in various parts of Hongkong and Kowloon, and all except the wounded were sent there. Amongst the former garrison of Hongkong were many hundreds of Indian soldiers, who were severed from their homes and sent here to take up arms by the British. They were also interned, but all of them show gratitude for the coming of the liberating Japanese forces. A group is shown [in this photo] on their way to the camp.

Unfortunately the picture here is a scan of a print of a microfilm copy of the newspaper - ie not very good quality. If anyone has a better version, I'd love to get a copy.

Can anyone confirm where the photo was taken? I'm guessing they are walking past the portals along Queens Road East, just before the road joins Queensway near Pacific Place.

MrB

Reader moddsey writes:

The Ruins of War by Wordie and Ko on Pg 151 does confirm the posted photo are portals on Queens Rd E near to the main entrance of the former Victoria Barracks.

Thank you, MrB

Here's a current photo of roughly the same area:

George Wright-Nooth's book 'Prisoner of the Turnip Heads' briefly mentions their construction:

[in 1939-41] other signs [of concern about the possibility of war in Hong Kong - MrB] were the hurried building of pill-box and machine gun emplacements all around the colony. It was again the Maginot Line principle. Anyhow there were far too many to be fully manned by the existing troops. You did not require any military training to realize that many were badly positioned. Large-scale corruption was involved both by government officials and military personnel. When it came to the fighting many of these fortifications proved to be as effective as papier mache against bullets and bombs.

Then there was the frantic rush to build air raid tunnels and other shelters which was followed by the inevitable corruption. The organization responsible for this was the hastily formed Air raid Precaution Department (A.R.P.). The main protagonist in the enquiry which followed was a retired RAF officer, Wing-Commander Steele-Perkins, who was the Head of the Department. "Mimi" Lau, a Chinese Woman, was one of many witnesses. She was anxious to move in the Chinese and European upper social circles and was to become famous locally because of the concrete blocks which were used to build the shelters. These were square with a large hole in the centre and were referred to, and still are, as "Mimi Laus"!

Thanks to reader IDJ for sending in these clippings from the SCMP in 1940 & 1941 that mention the ARP tunnels:

Received by email:

I, too, have been interested in the IWM photo and trying to find its location. I have always held at the back of my mind two possible locations (both on HK Island):
 
A. Hennesy Rd/Canal Rd junction looking E or
 
B. Johnston Rd/Luard Rd junction looking W.
 
The reason being how the houses are faced in relation to the main road/shelters and the curvature of the road and houses in the distance.

Here's a map showing the two locations:

Moddsey, you are turning up a lot of good information - looks like you are currently working through the newspaper archives? I think we've got enough bits and pieces we can split it up into pages - a bit like the pages of the Martin Booth companion. Something like:

Civil Defence in HK, 1930s & 40s

• Introduction
• Timeline
• ARP Tunnels
• Pen Shelters
• Shelter Areas

Craig, glad to see your tunnel detectors are working as well as ever. And together with the recent 'New Grading', what good news! I'll write to him tomorrow to see if he can let us have any further information.

I think he's a little optimistic that it can be used as a temporary parking lot for Phil's 747. They are certainly larger inside than the entrance section you saw, but according to the previous survey the inside cross-section is about 4m x 2m, while the entrance is about 2m x 2m.

Cheers, MrB

Sophia, thanks for the photos. I also paid them a visit this week, so they must be feeling popular! But I forgot to take any photos, so I'm glad to see yours.

I had a chance to talk to Tony Lai from SSSL. The map you show is part of their safety service, used to show visitors the layout, and key features of the tunnel. So, rather than being involved with any renovation work, SSSL  is responsible for implementing and monitoring a safety system for entering into the tunnel. Once this is in place, other companies' contractors can work safely in the tunnels.

So in this case, the contractor whose project needs access to the tunnels is Hang Lung Property, as they are redeveloping the strip of land above Blue Pool road (and so above the tunnels).

SSSL are the first people into a tunnel at the start of a project. The first visit will be made using breathing apparatus, taking air and water samples, and checking the general condition of the tunnel. Depending on the results of testing the samples, they may conduct fumigation to kill off larger bugs and pests, and ozone sterilization to kill microscopic hazards such as mould & bacteria. Then fixed lighting is set up in the working areas, together with portable torches at every tunnel junction in case of any lighting failure.

Once the basic preparation is complete, the other contractors may begin work. However, a team of SSSL staff are present in the tunnel throughout the project. They continue to monitor air quality, control access to the tunnel, and provide initial rescue services in case of any emergency.

The bad news for us is that the tunnel is considered a 'Confined Space', which means it is covered by certain government regulations. The one that affects us is that only people who are certified to work in confined spaces are allowed to enter. The desk and the yellow chain across the tunnel in your second photo mark the boundary of the restricted area. You can't pass there unless you are certified.

So, there is a lot more to going inside a tunnel than I expected!

Here's a paraphrase of further information from Tony:

Some key events:

• 1940-1941: 28 ARP tunnels were constructed, 7 in Kowloon and the rest around Hong Kong island.
• 1977: There was a partial collapse of a disused ARP tunnel at Sai Ying Pun. This triggered the Government to order a thorough investigation of all the disused tunnels.
• November 1977: Under Agreement No CE 11/77, a consultant was appointed to carry out the study on the disused tunnels and to administer contracts thereafter for necessary site investigation and remedial maintenance. These are the studies that provde most of the information available to us today.
  Based on signs of movement, distress and structures condition of the tunnels, they were categorized into 3 classes of maintenance schedules: high-, medium- or low-priority. A maintenance manual was prepared for each individual ARP tunnel.
• 1990: The Highways Department was given responsibility for the inspection and maintenance of these ARP tunnels.
• Today: The inspection and maintenance of disused ARP tunnels is scheduled at fixed intervals. Inspections focus on water inflows / siltation, linings / cracks / structural defects and surface condition. Other items to be checked include the presence of any debris, and the condition of the portal gate and locking device.

Restrictions on access to ARP tunnels:

• Each ARP tunnel is classified as a 'confined space', which means that it is governed by the 'Factories & Industrial Undertakings (confined spaces) Regulations, Chapter 59 Laws of Hong Kong'.  In particular, only a 'certified worker' may enter a confined space, ie an ARP tunnel. So, no 'Confined Spaces Worker' certificate, no entry.

A typical case:

• Before contractors begin work in a tunnel, Safety Specialist Services Ltd conduct a tunnel survey to capture data for the preparation of a formal Risk Assessment and to establish necessary site-specify safety measures for the environment. A layout plan showing all accessible routes and junctions inside the tunnel is placed at the portal gate for reference.
• At one tunnel, the initial survey found:
   - contamination from unknown bacteria
   - 2 baby snakes seen
   - some of the route was blocked by the root of the tree
   - 2 shallow water ponds
   - the tunnel linings were rotten and small cracks were found
   - apart from the high concentration of Hydrogen Sulfide at the dead end of the tunnel, no Carbon Monoxide or combustible gases could be detected.
• Next the tunnel was fumigated using Ozone followed by flushing the with fresh air for 72 hours.
• Then preparations were made to allow contractors to begin work:
  - install florescent lighting at 150 lux, and a mechanical ventilating system with airflow of 37 meter3 per minute.
  - emergency battery operated torches are positioned at every junction inside the tunnel.
   - easy-operating breathing hoods for escape purposes during emergency are placed along the route.
• During the rest of the time work is underway:
   - the entrance of the tunnel is managed by a registered safety officer
   - gas detection is carried out every 2 hours
   - safety advice outlining the hazards, precaution measures, PPE requirement and safety rules are shown on the notice-board near to the portal gate
   - people holding a valid Confined Spaces Worker certificate may enter ithe tunnel and are required to register with the control desk. The control desk staff use the Register and Tally Board to control the flow of people entering into the tunnel.

Yes, the tunnels have finally proven I'm certifiable.

I'm looking into getting the above certificate, as a step towards taking a look around inside the tunnels. What I know so far is that the one-day English-language course costs around HK$1,300.

Before I check on dates, is anyone else interested? If yes, please send me an email.

MrB

Hi Alex, Please could you clarify which tunnel entrances you mean?

I guess the ones on the junction of Queen's Road East and Queensway?

They were the entrances to the ARP network that runs back south under the ridge. Click here to see a photo of them shortly after construction finished. It shows the same style of entrance with the wire-mesh gate that we see on the other ARP portals around Hong Kong.

In the later, wartime photo earlier in this thread you can see the numbers painted above the entrances. Each ARP portal was numbered.

Regards, David

Interesting. Though the photo is the same as the one from the IWM collection shown above, the Associated Press website gives a slightly different (and slightly garbled!) description:

The spruce, A. R. F. workers manned the shelters and, with a test siren arm, the children, women and young men, most of them of the poor end up to watch, bringing their wares with them, when war was hours imminent in Hong Kong, China, Feb. 16, 1941. (AP Photo)

The AP version is sharper, but I still don't recognise where it was taken. Any ideas?

Regards, David

Thanks to Tony Lam for sending in these pages from the Dec 1938 - Jan 1939 issue of Hong Kong Builder. They likely influenced the design of the various public and private air raid shelters built in Hong Kong before the Japanese invasion.

Thanks Moddsey, an interesting read with a good set of plans, and several interior photos I haven't seen before.

Thanks Ashley. I posted the photo back in 2006, so it's good to have it identified at last!

Please can you let us know how you worked out its location?

Thanks again - that's good detective work!