The "Glorious Dead"
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Submitted by jill on Wed, 2017-06-28 06:30
I’ve been wondering whether there is any way that the lists of the WW1 Hong Kong war dead could be published on Gwulo without a great deal of work. Gwulo is already doing so well with the Jury Lists and with documenting everyone who was interned in Stanley Camp. Patricia Lim’s database of the Colonial Cemetery and, for WW2, Tony Banham’s list of POWs are also invaluable in the process of tracing people. I noticed a list of names of the war dead published in the SCMP while I was searching the period 1918 to 1920. Does anyone know how often these were published? Would it be possible to reproduce them on Gwulo, I wonder?
Forum:
re: The "Glorious Dead"
That would be a good addition. The simplest way is to just type in the names as a list here, or is there anything more sophisticated you have in mind?
SCMP lists of WW1 dead
Nothing more sophisticated. I don't know though when the lists started, whether they were published at regular intervals or how to find them on line I can't remember if the one that I saw was published under a particular heading. Nor do I know the number of Hong Kong citizens involved. Perhaps someone is an expert on how severely the First World War depleted the British population of Hong Kong and what proportion of men went "home" to fight.
If you find them again,
If you find them again, please add names in a comment here.
This BBC article says:
In the UK around six million men were mobilised, and of those just over 700,000 were killed. That's around 11.5%.
I expect a similar proportion of the Hong Kong men who went to fight would have died in the fighting. However conscription wasn't introduced in Hong Kong til 1918 (see https://gwulo.com/comment/40840#comment-40840), so a lower percentage of British men from Hong Kong likely fought than men of the same age who were living in the UK.
Date of conscription in Hong Kong for WW1
David, very useful to know that conscription wasn't introduced in Hong Kong until 1918. The list of Hong Kong dead that I saw would have been in the period 1918-1920 and possibly January 1920 when I was looking for something in particular. I had previously thought that British men whose names disappeared from the Jurors Lists during 1915-1917 and who aren't buried in the Colonial or Catholic cemeteries might well have died fighting in World War One. That clearly isn't true unless they went back to fight voluntarily alongside family members. I suppose that the names of the fallen weren't inscribed on the Hong Kong Cenotaph, huge as it is?
Cenotaph
Unfortunately no, there aren't any names listed there.
Too many names
Many too many to inscribe, I fear. Thanks for confirming.
Got to start somewhere.
Pulling together some of the many screen shots I've collected over time, and having a browse through - here's a start. Interestingly, I've just come across a piece in 1919 about there being as yet no roll of honour. I'll try to post it. In addition to this there's also the list of HK Police killed in action, in the CSP's reports for 1918 and 1919.
I'm a little suspicious that most of those I've found have been gazetted officers ...
Death
Name
Regiment
HK occup.
27 May 1915
T E S Robson
Taikoo Docks
24 July 1915
Lt. Kenneth Rowley Forde
2nd East Kent
HSBC (?)
2 June 1916
Ainslie Richards
Jardine Matthieson
1 July 1916
H E Victor
2nd Middlesex
HK Daily Press
1918
Lieut.Walter Smart
Machine Gun Corp
SCMP & NC Daily News Shanghai
1918
Lieut. Jasper Clark
Sutherland Highlanders
Standard Oil
1914
Lieut. D S Dodgson
RGA
1914
Lieut G P Shedden
RGA
1914
Capt Harry Sherwood Ranken VC
RAMC
(stationed at HK earlier)
26 Aug 1918
Lieut W H Stapleton
3rd Bat Bedfordshire, attached Royal Berkshires
A Roll of Honour for Hongkong? (1919)
No, I can't. I give up
re: A Roll of Honour for Hongkong? (1919)
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for the first names. If you find other sources that aren't easy to post here, how about just jotting down the source (or link if they're onlline) in a comment here. Then anyone who's interested can follow them up.
Regards, David
What about images?
Here is more evidence of Patricia’s wide-ranging research for her book and which it would be a shame to have go to waste. Thanks Patricia! Would it be possible and not too difficult, over time, to upload your screen shots as images, similarly to your Rate Book images, rather than trying to paste them into this thread? It could be called “Roll of Honour pt. 1,2,3,4 etc.” If the batches are small, I could retype them into this thread. It’s interesting that, out of this initial batch of ten, there are seven men who died in action prior to the official date of conscription and that Hong Kong lost two of its journalists among them. It would be a valuable list for people still looking for vanished male relatives and who have already eliminated the Jury Lists and the cemetery records ... and it would enrich the already much-consulted research resources provided by Gwulo.
Jill
Enlistment
Jill - don't get too focused on conscription - I really can't see that it had a huge impact on Hong Kong - in fact there was quite a lot of debate about whether it was needed in the first place. The Military Service Commission which met between February and April 1917 was established almost as HK's first 'call to arms' - that is to say, part of its role was to counter the opinion that there wasn't a further need for men. The Commission put out a call for men to come forward, on favourable terms, to enlist and interviewed 125 men (aged 18-40) out of the 182 who had applied (most of those not interviewd had failed the medical). Of these 125 it was found that 43 'could be spared' from the business of HK. The principle of Imperial and Colonial need - men who were required to stay in the colony in order to keep it runnning, both administratively and as a trading centre - was applied. Earlier in the war I think that men had to apply to the Governor for permission to enlist and leave HK ... even those in commerce and trade. May noted that he'd had to refuse 'scores' of appications. The Commission did note that younger men hadn't come forward in the numbers they were expecting - but from what they write, I think that had they done so, only another dozen or so would have left for Europe. So with all that, I can't think that conscription actually found many recruits ... By the way, at the first Police Presentation after the War, the Claude Severn, admistering the colony in May's absence, commiserated with those officers who'd wanted to enlist but who had been refused. What I haven't yet found is any report on the actual number of men (other than those in the Civil Establischment) who went to war. The report on the Commission can be found in the China Mail of 5th May 1917.
Uploading screenshots seems to be utterly beyond my capabilities ... I was quite surprised that I was able to just paste the chart ... I haven't been able to 'paste' anything else!!
Hong Kong enlistment for WW1
Patricia, many thanks for this extremely useful summary of the patchwork departures of men who enlisted for service in WW1. It seems that there's no total of Hong Kong men who enlisted readily accessible, (although someone may have written an academic paper on the subject.) To recap: 43 men were officially "spared' to go to war in 1917, although we don't know how many returned alive. Interesting that Governor May refused so many.
I wish I could help about uploading screenshots, but maybe there's a way that others will know about. The names you've already given are an important start.
Jill
"Ceremony at Hongkong Club"
Just come across the following article in the China Mail of 24 May 1918:
"H.E. the Governor (Sir Henry May K.C.MG.) today unveiled I the hall of the Hongkong Club two teak panels, artistically designed by Mr H.W. Bird, bearing on one a scroll containing about 170 names of members of the Club who have left the Colony for active service since the war began. (...)"
There follows a list of "those who have made the great sacrifice ". I will copy the names without ranks:
B.F. Chapman; C.C.F. Cunningham; P. Delaunay; A.F. Deane; A.C.E. Elborough; F. Grissel; L. Gull; J.E. Gresson; R.G. Munro; F. Richardson; R.A. Stoker; A.D. Shewan; G.S. Thorne; C.N.G. Walker.
The President of the Club expressed the intention of transposing the names to a brass tablet in due course. He explained that it had been extremely difficult to obtain a correct list of those who had left and hoped to correct any incorrect names when the permanent memorial was made.
Hong Kong men who died in WW1
Of the fourteen men commemorated at the 1918 Hongkong Club ceremony at least seven appear on the Jurors Lists and came from the major firms and banks. They are: Ben Fletcher Chapman; Charles Clement Francis Cunningham; Paul Edmond Delaunay; Arthur Francis Deane; Alfred Charles Ernest Elborough; Leonard Joseph Gull; and Roland (or Ronald) George Munro.
1918 list of men gone to the front
I've just come across a more complete list of Hong Kong men who died in WW1. It gives their regiment and where they died. The article also lists the names of the men who had gone to the front, commemorated on the second teak tablet. I still haven't learnt how to provide a link to articles in the old newspapers, but for those who'd like to look it up, it's in the Hong Kong Daily Press of 25 May 1918, page 3, column 1.
JIll
Corrections to China Mail list of war dead
The Daily Press list of those killed in action includes a fifteenth name: that of F.H. Robinson, 3rd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment. Attached 3rd Nigeria Regiment. Killed in action E. Africa.
The name of "R.A. Stoker" in the China Mail list is given in the Daily Press as "R.A. Stokes".
If I've counted correctly, the number of names of the men who had gone to the front listed in the HKDP comes to 162. So that would be 177 altogether on record by May 1918.
Police Roll of Honour of the First World War
Below are names of those on the First World War section of the Hong Kong Police Roll of Honour, a marble tablet currently on display in the Police Museum on Coombe Road, Mid-levels.
P.C. 25 Herbert G. Wakeford KILLED IN ACTION 16.5.16.
P.C. 27 Ernest G. Painting DO 1.7.16.
P.C. 52 Arthur Allchurch DO 1.7.16.
P.C. 125 Harold Wilson REPORTED MISSING ON 27.7.16.
PRESUMED DEAD ON THE 11.5.17.
P.C. 114 Peter Boyd Gardner KILLED IN AEROPLANE
ACCIDENT ON 4.12.16.
P.C. 124 Ernest F. Drury KILLED IN ACTION 17.2.17.
P.C. 155 Robert Edwards DO 30 4.17.
P.C. 120 Edward C. Sillis DO 1.8.17.
P.C. 81 John Delahunty DO 9.10.17.
P.C. 69 F. J. Singleton DIED OF INFLUENZA 2.11.18.
P.C. 127 A. E. Clarke DIED OF WOUNDS 15.5.19.
Two different rolls of honour for police?
Interesting that the commemorative marble tablet in the Police Museum doesn't contain a single name from the list of HK Police killed in action in the CSP's reports for 1918 and 1919 given by Patricia above and which, strangely, doesn't record any of the 1917 deaths given on the marble tablet.
The lists of names that we have so far are the two that commemorate fallen police officers (21) and those engraved on the teak panels of the Hong Kong Club recording both their members who had died (15) and those who had so far gone to the front in May 1918 (162). There must have been quite a few men who didn't fall into either category.
Jill
HKP WWI Roll of Honour
Hi Jill,
Patricia O's list dated 20.1. 2018 is as recorded on the marble roll of honour now on display in Police Museum and they are the names recroded in the 1918/1919 Annual Reports. (The names in her post dated 2017-07-02 are not Police Officers - I think she'll confirm that) FYI the marble memorial "went missing" for 40 years, from 1976 when the Police Recreaction Club was demolished until 2006, when it was found wrapped in cardboard in the basement of the Police Museum - long forgotten - but at least someone had thought about what to do with it. It must have moved around a bit as the Museum only opened at that location in the 1990s I recall.
I'll try to post my complete account of all of the men listed on that marble tablet for WWI and WWII.
Police Recreation Club Roll of Honour
Police Recreation Club
Roll of Honour
The two marble tablets contain the Roll of Honour of members of the Police Recreation Club who gave their lives during World War I and World War II.
Police sports teams, including cricket and lawn bowls, had existed for some time before the construction of the Police Recreation Club in Happy Valley. The Club was opened by the Governor, Claude Severn, CMG, on 3 May 1919, and stood on the site of what is now the Canal Road flyover, adjacent to the present Hong Kong Jockey Club Headquarters.
The Police Recreation Club was demolished in 1976 to make way for the flyover, and was eventually replaced by the Police Officer’s Club, in Causeway Bay, which was opened in 1984.
The Roll of Honour covers only members of the Police Recreation Club is split into two sections, the first for World War I and the second for World War II.
World War I
During World War I around 70 members of the Hong Kong Police volunteered for military service. Most were transported to the United Kingdom and served in Western Europe. A few (those with a knowledge of Urdu) are known to have joined Indian Army Regiments and served in East Africa.
The Roll of Honour for World War I lists 11 officers. Their details are as follows :-
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Herbert G. Wakeford
Police Constable 25
Lance Sergeant 15516
2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
17 May 1916
St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Loos
Ernest George Painting
Police Constable 27
Lance Corporal 17760
2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
1 July 1916
Maroc British Cemetery, Grenay
Arthur Allchurch
Police Constable 52
Rifleman 17759
2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
1 July 1916
Arras Memorial
Harold Wilson
Police Constable 125
Lance Corporal 15463
1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Reported Missing on 27 July 1916
Presumed Dead on 11 May 1917
Thievpal Memorial
Peter Boyd Gardner
Police Constable 114
Airman 1st Class 28923
Royal Flying Corps
Killed in aeroplane accident
4 December 1916
Currie Parish Churchyard
Ernest Frederick Drury
MM
Police Constable 124
Serjeant 15465
1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
17 February 1917
Thievpal Memorial
Robert Edwards
Police Constable 155
Corporal 17812
48th Squadron
Royal Flying Corps
30 April 1917
Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery, Saulty
Edward Charles Sillis
Police Constable 120
Private 6810
2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards
1 August 1917
Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial
John Delahunty
Police Constable 81
Private 10793
2nd Battalion Irish Guards
9 October 1917
Tyne Cot Memorial
F. J. Singleton
Police Constable 69
Serjeant 17803
No. 6 Aircraft Acceptance Park Royal Air Force
Died of influenza
2 November 1918
Glasgow Western Necropolis
A.E. Clarke
Police Constable 127
Unknown
Unknown
Died of wounds
15 May 1919
Unknown
World War II
Hong Kong was invaded by Japanese military forces on 8th December 1941. The Japanese entered Hong Kong via its northern boundary with Shenzhen. The Japanese had occupied southern Guangdong Province since 1937. The British forces surrendered on 25th December 1941, after the Japanese forces had landed on Hong Kong Island, and occupied the eastern half of the island. This building, which was then Wanchai Gap Police Station the stood in the middle of the front line at the time of surrender (which ran from Stewart Road in Wanchai, to Aberdeen on the south side of the island ) was evacuated after being damaged by shell fire on 19 December 1941.
During the period of hostilities the Hong Kong Police were designated as militia, by way of the Police (Militia Status) Bill 1941. Although the Force principally remained responsible for the maintenance of order within the civilian population, Police Officers fought and died together with British and Commonwealth military units, mainly in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong Police Officers were also present at the isolated pocket of defence at Stanley, and manned defence posts at Stanley Police Station and in front of Stanley Prison as Japanese forces advanced along the Stanley peninsula.
Several Police Officers captured by the Japanese when taking part in military operations were treated as Prisoners of War, and were not permitted to transfer to the civilian internment camp at Stanley.
The Police Recreation Club Roll of Honour lists 25 men, not all of whom Police Officers. Their details are as follows:-
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
George Alfred Hudson
Sergeant A38
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
J A Stevens
(Recorded as Jack Leslie Stephens in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Served in HKP 1932 to 1937
Harbour Department
Corporal
3353
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Patrick Donohue
Sergeant A191
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Albert Leslie Hopkins
Inspector
15 December 1941
Stanley Military Cemetery
Albert Victor Baker
Inspector
15 December 1941
Stanley Military Cemetery
Henry Tilman
(Recorded as Tillman in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Serjeant
Hong Kong Dockyard Defence Corps
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Adam Bone
Served in HKP 1934 to 1938
Inspector of Works, Grade III, Public Works Department
Serjeant
3224
4th Battery
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
18 December 1941
( Recorded as 24 December 1941 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Stanley Military Cemetery
A Jessop
Retired Sergeant A166
Tai Koo Dockyard
Believed to be
Lance Corporal
John Edward Jessop
1st Company Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
18 December 9141
Sai Wan Memorial
Thomas Alwyn Porritt
Lance Sergeant A92
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Albert Joseph Johnson
Sub-Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Frank Louis Willison
Lance Sergeant A107
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Thomas O’Connor
Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Edward George Post
Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Malcolm Kenneth Ross
Lance Sergeant
A 149
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Richardson Barry Loxley Leslie
Lance Sergeant A106
26 December 9141
Hong Kong Cemetery
Section 2
John Joseph Walsh
Sub-Inspector
4 March 1942
Stanley Military Cemetery
Peter Harry Loughlin
Sergeant A45
Lisbon Maru
(Recorded as
2 October 1942 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Sai Wan Memorial
William Campbell
Sergeant A68
Lisbon Maru
(Recorded as
2 October 1942 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Sai Wan Memorial
Hon. John Alexander Fraser
GC, MC and Bar
Defence Secretary Hong Kong Government.
British Army Aid Group
29 October 1943
Stanley Military Cemetery
Walter Richardson Scott
Deputy Commissioner of Police
British Army Aid Group
29 October 1943
Stanley Military Cemetery
Michael Flaherty
Lance Sergeant A34
22 June 1944
Stanley Military Cemetery
Charles Henry Goodwin
Sub-Inspector
25 June 9144
Stanley Military Cemetery
Henry George Hallem
(Recorded as Hallam in HKP Roll of Honour)
Inspector
16 July 1944
Sai Wan Memorial
Albert Edward Cary
(Recorded as Carey in HKP Roll of Honour)
Inspector
13 December 1944
Stanley Military Cemetery
Yeung Hong kor
Unknown
10 December 1941
None known
Additional details are known of many of the WWII deaths. The brief circumstances are recorded below:-
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
George Alfred Hudson
Sergeant A38
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
J A Stevens
(Recorded as Jack Leslie Stephens in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Served in HKP 1932 to 1937
Harbour Department
Corporal
3353
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Patrick Donohue
Sergeant A191
12 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Sergeant Hudson, Corporal Stephens and Sergeant Donohue were killed at around 23.00 hrs on 12 December 1941, whilst aboard the Steam Launch Jeanette, which had been tasked to tow a barge of explosives from Green Island to the Star Ferry Pier in Central. The vessel was mistakenly fired upon by friendly military units situated at the vehicular ferry pier causing a massive explosion. Indian Police Constable B607 Santa Singh and Indian Police Constable B727 Waryam Singh, who were also on board and killed in the explosion, are included in the Hong Kong Police Roll of Honour.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Albert Leslie Hopkins
Inspector
15 December 1941
Stanley Military Cemetery
Inspector Hopkins was killed in Central Police Station compound, Hollywood Road, as a result of aerial bombardment by a Japanese plane which dropped a stick of bombs in the area of Hollywood Road, Old Bailey and Caine Road, at around 16.00hrs on 15 December 1941. The complex also housed Police Headquarters which was later evacuated to the Gloucester Hotel.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Albert Victor Baker
Inspector
15 December 1941
Stanley Military Cemetery
Inspector Baker was found shot dead at No. 3 Conduit Road.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Henry Tilman
(Recorded as Tillman in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Serjeant
Hong Kong Dockyard Defence Corps
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
The South China Morning Post for Tuesday 18th September 1945 states that Serjeant Tillman was killed whist in charge of the ammunition ship Moa Lee.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Adam Bone
Served in HKP 1934 to 1938
Inspector of Works, Grade III, Public Works Department
Serjeant
3224
4th Battery
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
18 December 1941
( Recorded as 24 December 1941 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Stanley Military Cemetery
Serjeant Bone was an Inspector of Works, Grade III, Public Works Department. No further details of his death are known.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
A Jessop
Retired Sergeant A166
Tai Koo Dockyard
Believed to be
Lance Corporal
John Edward Jessop
1st Company Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
18 December 9141
Sai Wan Memorial
Thomas Alwyn Porritt
Lance Sergeant A92
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Albert Joseph Johnson
Sub-Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Frank Louis Willison
Lance Sergeant A107
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Thomas O’Connor
Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Edward George Post
Inspector
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Malcolm Kenneth Ross
Lance Sergeant
A 149
18 December 1941
Sai Wan Memorial
Peter Harry Loughlin
Sergeant A45
Lisbon Maru
(Recorded as
2 October 1942 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Sai Wan Memorial
William Campbell
Sergeant A68
Lisbon Maru
(Recorded as
2 October 1942 in Commonwealth War Graves Records)
Sai Wan Memorial
The deaths of ex-Sergeant Jessop, Lance Sergeant Porritt, Sub-Inspector Johnson, Lance Sergeant Willison, Inspector O’Connor, Inspector Post, Lance Sergeant Ross and Sergeant Loughlin are all connected by the fact that all were stationed in eastern Hong Kong Island at or close to the location where Japanese forces landed on the night of 18 December 1941.
Ex-Sergeant Jessop was employed as a watchman at the Tai Koo Dockyard, on the site of the current Tai Koo Shing, and was also a member of 1st Company Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, which was stationed in the area of Quarry Bay on 18 December 1941. At 19.30 hrs on 18 December 1941 he went to the charge room of Quarry Bay Police Station and reported the landing of Japanese forces at the dockyard. Nothing further is known about his death. This marble tablet is his only known memorial. He is not included in Commonwealth War Grave Commission records.
On receiving the report from Jessop, Inspector O’Connor and Inspector Post formed up all available officers into two squads, and with fixed bayonets proceeded to King’s Road where fighting was in progress between the Japanese forces and 5/7th Rajputs who were stationed in the area. The party was attacked and Lance-Sergeant Porritt was seriously wounded by a hand grenade. They retreated to Quarry Bay Police Station, but Inspector O’Connor and Inspector Post were missing and were never seen again. Indian Police Constable B560 Joginder Singh is believed to have been killed in the same encounter. Indian Police Constable B388 Kala Singh, and Indian Police Constable B478 Arjan Singh were also wounded at Quarry Bay on 18 December 1941 and later died from their injuries. The Indian officers are included in the Hong Kong Police Roll of Honour.
Having consulted with Colonel Rawlinson Commanding Officer of the 5/7th Rajputs, Sub-Inspector Johnson gave instructions for the remaining officers to proceed up Mount Parker Road to Sanatorium Gap, in the direction of Stanley. The injured Lance Sergeant Porritt was carried by Lance Sergeant Ross and Lance Sergeant A78 John Campbell, accompanied by a number of other officers, including Sergeant A19 Joseph Hill, Lance Sergeant A175 I.R. Jack , Sergeant Loughlin, and Lance Sergeant Willison.
Sub-Inspector Johnson remained on the lower end Mount Parker Road and was killed fighting, together with the Indian soldiers stationed there. Lance Sergeant Willison lost contact with the main group on Mount Parker Road and was recorded to have been shot and killed by a Japanese ambush party. Lance Sergeant Ross is also believed to have been killed on Mount Parker Road.
At about 04.00hrs on 19 December 1941 most of the remaining officers were captured at Sanatorium Gap. The wounded Lance Sergeant Porritt was lead away and was never seen again. Sergeant Hill, Lance Sergeant A78 John Campbell and Sergeant Loughlin were first sent to Argyle Street Camp, and then to the military Prisoner of War Camp at Sham Shui Po. They were later joined at Sham Shui Po by Sergeant A63 F. Woodhead, and Sergeant A68 William Campbell. The Police Officers requested to be transferred to the civilian internment camp at Stanley. This was refused by the Japanese authorities as they had been captured when fighting.
On 28 September 1942 the five Police Officers, Sergeant Hill, Lance Sergeant A78 John Campbell, Sergeant Loughlin, Sergeant Woodhead, and Sergeant A68 William Campbell, were amongst over 1,800 Prisoners of War loaded onto the Japanese troop transport, the Lisbon Maru, for transportation to Japan. On October 1st 1942, the American submarine Grouper fired six torpedoes at the Lisbon Maru, off Shanghai. Five of the Mk 14 torpedoes either passed under the target or failed to detonate, but one exploded against the stern, bringing the ship to a standstill. Grouper immediately came under attack from patrol boats and aircraft, and departed the scene. 700 Japanese soldiers were taken off the stricken vessel, leaving the Prisoners of War locked down in the holds. When the vessel sank over 1,000 Prisoners of War died including, Sergeant Loughlin and Sergeant A68 William Campbell.
[The above events are reconstructed from information contained in the Police War Diary provided by Lance Sergeant A175 I.R. Jack, who survived the retreat up Mount Parker Road on 18/19 December 1941 and reached Stanley, and a letter to the Commissioner of Police written in April 1946, by Sergeant A19 Joseph Hill who survived both the events in Quarry Bay and the sinking of the Lisbon Maru.]
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Richardson Barry Loxley Leslie
Lance Sergeant A106
26 December 9141
Hong Kong Cemetery
Section 2
Lance Sergeant Leslie was serving at Upper Levels Police Station. On 26 December 1941, the day after the surrender, he was sent to respond a robbery in progress at No. 6 Hospital Road. He was shot dead. Leslie’s sister, Miss E.S.R Leslie, was a nursing sister at Queen Mary Hospital. She attended his burial in the grounds of Upper Levels Police Station. His body was exhumed after the war. He was re-interned in a Commonwealth War Grave in Section 2 of the Hong Kong Cemetery, Happy Valley.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
John Joseph Walsh
Sub-Inspector
4 March 1942
Stanley Military Cemetery
Michael Flaherty
Lance Sergeant A34
22 June 1944
Stanley Military Cemetery
Charles Henry Goodwin
Sub-Inspector
25 June 9144
Stanley Military Cemetery
Albert Edward Cary
(Recorded as Carey in HKP Roll of Honour)
Inspector
13 December 1944
Stanley Military Cemetery
Following the surrender, civilians considered to be enemy nationals by the Japanese authorise were interned in Stanley Internment Camp. This included the Gazetted Officers of the Hong Kong Police and most of A and E Contingents. They remained in the camp until the liberation of Hong Kong in August 1945. Sub-Inspector Walsh, Lance Sergeant Flaherty, Sub-Inspector Goodwin and Inspector Carey died from illness, during the period of their detention.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Hon. John Alexander Fraser
GC, MC and Bar
Defence Secretary Hong Kong Government.
British Army Aid Group
29 October 1943
Stanley Military Cemetery
Walter Richardson Scott
Deputy Commissioner of Police
British Army Aid Group
29 October 1943
Stanley Military Cemetery
During 1943 the Japanese authorities began intensive investigations into the activities of the British Army Aid Group, which operated from unoccupied China, and its agents and volunteers who operated in Hong Kong and within Stanley Internment Camp. As a result a number of trials were held by the military authorities and 33 persons were sentenced to death by beheading, in mass execution held near the waterfront close to St. Stephens College, on 29 October 1943. Those executed included military officers, government officials and civilian volunteers. The Hon. John Fraser was the Defence Secretary of the Hong Kong Government. Deputy Commissioner Walter Scott was not the only Police Officer implicated during the investigation. Sergeant Frank Roberts was also convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, and spent the rest of the war imprisoned in Guangzhou.
The following members of the Police Reserve who were volunteers for the British Army Aid Group were also executed on 29 October 1943, Sub-Inspector Preston Wong Siu-pun, Sergeant R83 Yeung Sau-tak, Sub-Inspector Chan Ping-fan and Sub-Inspector Cleveland Elroy Chang Yit.
David Louie Fook-wing, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Reserve) had earlier died whilst under interrogation in May 1943. He was posthumously awarded the King’s Police Medal for Bravery. These five officers and other members of the Police Reserve are included in the Hong Kong Police Roll of Honour.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Henry George Hallem
(Recorded as Hallam in HKP Roll of Honour)
Inspector
16 July 1944
Sai Wan Memorial
Inspector Hallam, is believed to have left Hong Kong by boat on leave to return to the United Kingdom on leave in early December 1941. He died at Muntok Internment Camp, Banka Island, Java on 16 July 1944. It seems likely that he was in Malaya/Singapore at the time of the surrender there, and was subsequently interned in Indonesia.
Name
Police Rank
Military Rank
Unit
Inscribed Date of Death
Memorial
Yeung Hong kor
Unknown
10 December 1941
None known
Mr. Yeung Hon kor was an employee of the PRC. He died at the Club during bombing of Hong Kong Island on 10 December 1941. [Information from Mr. Keith Lomas 2008.]
Thanks for the correction
Thanks for the correction, Happy Valley. I now see that I misinterpreted Patricia O's post of 02-07-17 and that the names she posted are ones that she has gathered from various places, not the police officers mentioned in the CSP reports of 1918 and 1919. The list of police officers on the marble tablet posted on 20-01-18 was by C. How good that the tablet was rescued from oblivion.
What a terrific job you've done copying all the names of the policemen who died in WW1 and WW2 and their details. That's going to be a valuable resource on Gwulo.
Jill
Police Recreation Club Roll of Honour
Hi Jill,
For WWII those listed in the memorial are just the deceased members of the Police Recreation Club. There are more than 100 police officers on the official roll of honour for WWII, who died during the invasion/battle or occupation (and those on board the Lisbon Maru).
Police Roll of Honour cor the world wars
Police Roll of Honour
Yes I think you did contact me before by email.
Hong Kong's Involvement in World War I
A good read of Hong Kong's involvment in World War 1. HK Telegraph 9 March 1940 refers. See here and scroll to Page 9
Photograph of Police Roll of Honour tablets
Issue 1172 of the Police Force magazine Offbeat has an article 'Force honours fallen officers'. It includes a photograph of the two marble tablets (mentioned above in this discussion) on which the Rolls of Honour of the two World Wars were inscribed. The marble tablets are in the Police Museum in which visitor photography is prohibited.
HKCC Roll of Honour 1914-1919
The Hong Kong Cricket Club bronze 'Roll of Honour 1914-1919' has the following names:
H.M.C. Arthur, B.F. Chapman, D.G. Cheeseman, Jasper Clark, C.C.F. Cunninigham, R. Sydenham Dixon, P. Delaunay, A.C.E. Elborough, K.R. Forde, L. Gull, H.I. Jones, R.G. Munro, P. Richardson, P.H. Robinson, A.D. Shewan, R.A. Stokes, C.N.G. Walker, A. Whitmarsh, W.H. Viveash
Several of the these are listed on the HK Club Roll above.
Ian
W. H. Stapleton
A memorial plaque to William Howelll Stapleton hangs in the chapel of St. Andrew's Church. He was killed in action at Carnoy, France on 26 August 1918. Aged 20 years.