Lily FLAHERTY [1905-????] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Lily FLAHERTY [1905-????]

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Submitted by Admin on Mon, 2012-04-09 15:39
Names
Given: 
Lily
Family: 
Flaherty
Sex: 
Female
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
1905-05-07
Tags: 
WW2: Interned at Stanley Camp
Connections: 
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Comments

Submitted by brian edgar on Thu, 2015-07-09 18:30.

Lily Flaherty, born May 7 1905. (Stanley Camp Roll, IWM)

According to George Wright-Nooth (Prisoner of the Turnip Heads, 1994, 214) she was of Malayan-Chinese ethnicity and married M. J. Flaherty as part of a joint service with 5 other police couples soon after the surrender in 1941.

Submitted by Tideswell27 on Wed, 2017-06-07 07:39.

It really is worth reading Wright-Nooth's "Prisoner of the Turnipheads" for his description of Mrs. Flaherty's activities whilst in internment. He is somewhat patronising, somewhat condescending, towards a number of people (including the Flahertys) in his attitude, but I guess that's the sort of person he was. A product of his time, to some extent. I met him (and spoke with him) only once, when he was visiting HK in the early 1990's researching his book.

"Royal George" describes in his book how Mrs. Flaherty managed to cheat, or "rip off," the Formosa guards with whom she was dealing, and also obtain wood for a coffin for her husband. Sgt. Flaherty did not want to be buried without a coffin - unlike other internees who had to make do with just a shroud.