This photo is taken from the 1939 Christmas card sent by my uncle Leslie Warren to his family in England. He has drawn a cross over his head. I don't know where the photo was taken but there seems to be a church behind. I also don't know if this photo is already on line, but thought it important to post it in case it contains family members of people who consult the Gwulo site and who may not have survived the war. There must be a list of the names of the people in the Defence Corps, similar to the list of names of people in the Reserve, posted a few days ago. I have had help with enhancing the photo to make the faces clearer.
Jill
Names supplied by Peter Braude: Some names for the above photograph from my Father's (Capt A N Braudé) personal records:
Back row, standing on bench:
- 1a ?
- 1b L Glendenning
- 1c N J Booker
- 1d G F Walker
- 1e G May
- 1f K Baxter
- 1g J Rose
- 1h T Suiter
- 1i C L Salter M.M.
- 1j L Warren
- 1k J Fountain
MIddle row, standing:
- 2a Edward Eu
- 2b J W Yee (Initially identified as J R Lee, but corrected in the comments below)
- 2c B K Yip
- 2d R Tam
- 2e D W Yee M.M.
- 2f G Carr
- 2g V Bourne
- 2h J Mitchell
- 2i S McNider
- 2j B Wilson
- 2k W S Gegg
- 2l C Semellman
- 2m N L Smith
- 2n ?
- 2o S B Tan
- 2p W G Poy M.M.
- 2q William Eu
- 2r K P Wong
- 2s J M Chen
Front row, seated:
- 3a Sgt W Hirst
- 3b Sgt J J King
- 3c CSM R Meadows
- 3d Capt A N Braudé
- 3e CQMS V C Labrun
- 3f Sgt A D Coppin
- 3g Sgt D Rathmell
- 3h ?
Comments
Re: Photo Location
I think the photo was taken at HKVDF HQ near Lower Albert Road. The distinctive Tower of St. John's Cathedral can be seen in the background. See here
re: Christmas photo 1939
Hi Jill, thanks for uploading this. I've annotated it to make it easier to identify people. Please can you let us know which person is Leslie Warren?
Tony Banham notes that the Corps Signals had two officers and 38 men. There are 38 men in this photo! He also lists a few of the names, see: http://www.hongkongwardiary.com/searchgarrison/hkvdc.html#_Toc113344208
I agree with Moddsey for the location.
Regards, David
Position of Leslie Warren in HKVD Corps photo
David
Thank you for inserting the annotations.
Leslie Warren is 1j in the top row. You can see the little cross he has marked in the frame above his head.
Jill
What equipment are the signalmen carrying?
Ignorant as I am of military matters, could someone tell me what is protruding from the pockets of signalmen 2p and 2q? At first this article looked to me like a bristly mine, but that must be impossible. Is it a large cable for a radio set? What else did they have to carry?
Jill
Gas masks
Hi Jill, I guess it's their gas mask, especially as everyone has one. I think that's the corrugated tube we can see, as shown here: http://www.rjmilitaria.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=121&zenid=jqnfrdqf96pd5d8ruh4aj4v243
Regards, David
Yes-those are the gas mask
Yes-those are the gas mask hoses. I also note that a couple of the men have goggles around their necks-I would guess these men would have been the motorcycle Despatch Riders.
Gas mask pouches
Thank you David and Doug. It's easy to forget that chemical warfare has been around for 99 years. Some of the pouches seemed to me to be bulkier than others, but maybe they had been badly packed. I wasn't sure if 3d was even carrying one. Perhaps he has some sort of seniority that lets him off. 3c to 3f look rather more casual than the rest - perhaps because they aren't balancing guns. Are they normal rifles? I'm not an expert on guns.
Jill
I'd say 3C is an
I'd say 3C is an officer-that's a "swagger Stick" he has in his lap. Officers, and specialized occupations like those Despatch Riders would only be armed with pistols.
Swagger stick denoting staff sergeant?
Doug
David's earlier reply speculates that this photo represents the full head count of 38 members of the Signal Corps recorded by Tony Banham without the two officers. I'm told that a staff sergeant would be entitled to carry a swagger stick. Philip Cracknell has copied a note from Bill Anderson that answers my question about the unwieldy-looking guns: We were trained to shoot the 303 WWI rifle and that was all.
Jill
Despatch Riders
By email from Henry Ching:
Yes, the photo of the HKVDC Corps Signals would have included the despatch riders. I think these would have been the ones wearing knee-high boots. Amongst them would have been Cpl William George Poy who was awarded the Military Medal - a Chinese Australian, his daughter Adrienne became Governor-General of Canada. Another despatch rider was Gerald Goodban, Headmaster of the Diocesan Boys’ School, but I am unable to identify him in the photo.
Despatch Riders
In his book Bill Anderson mentions that they "we were given the venerable British .303 Enfield rifle and also were trained in the army's standard .45 Revolver (Webley) which was never issued to us". I know that other HVDC units issued side-arms to ORs for example the No 2 on a Bren Gun would have a 45 side-arm. Bill elected for Signal Section (Despatch Rider) because he liked the idea of driving a fast BSA motorcycle.
Philip Cracknell
Another photo of the Corps Signals
This one has names attached - click the photo for details:
Some names for the above
Some names for the above photograph from my Father's (Capt A N Braudé) personal records:
1a ? 2a Edward Eu
1b L Glendenning 2b J R Lee
1c N J Booker 2c B K Yip
1d G F Walker 2d R Tam 3a Sgt W Hirst
1e G May 2e D W Yee M.M. 3b Sgt J J King
1f K Baxter 2f G Carr 3c CSM R Meadows
1g J Rose 2g V Bourne 3d Capt A N Braudé
1h T Suiter 2h J Mitchell 3e CQMS V C Labrun
1i C L Salter M.M. 2i S McNider 3f Sgt A D Coppin
1j C (L?) Warren 2j B Wilson 3g Sgt D Rathmell
1k J Fountain 2k W S Gegg 3h ?
2l C Semellman
2m N L Smith
2n ?
2o S B Tan
2p W G Poy M.M.
2q William Eu
2r K P Wong
2s J M Chen
I'll try to find the missing names and the identities of those in other photos.
HKVD Photo
Jill,
That's an interesting photo.....3E is Vic Labrum of Ye Olde Printers, and is Martin's grandfather.
It just happens that Martin is over on holiday,so he will be amazed to see this.You probably remember
the book he had inherited that was made for Vic in the Shamshuipo camp.
The Magic Wok is as good as ever we had a chow there with them last week!
Regards Mike
1939 photo?
Hello Mike,
Give my regards to Martin. Glad the photo that I posted has Vic Labrum in it. At first I thought you meant the 1941 photo, which isn't mine, but then realized that Peter's crib referred indeed to the 1939 photo.
Look forward to the next Magic Wok - maybe in the autumn? I'm travelling at the moment, so apologies to everyone if I don't respond immediately.
Jill
re: Some names for the above
Dear Peter,
This is great information. Thank you very much for adding these names, and for the names on the other photos too. I've added them to the lists below each photo.
Regards, David
Names for the faces in the 1939 HKVDC Christmas photo
And thanks from me too, Peter, for putting names to nearly all the faces in the 1939 HKVDC Christmas photo. If there is already one grateful person, delighted to have his grandfather identified, there will surely be many more. It will also be a much easier task to cross reference with the 1941 photo.
Jill
Info on 2b and 2e
2b J R Lee is incorrect. While this picture is rather small. I was able to identify my Uncle. J R Lee should be J W Yee. https://gwulo.com/node/22246
His full name is James Waymond Yee. It is a common mistake that people mistake Yee for Lee. Waymond is Uncle’s middle name, it was mistaken as Raymond and no one noticed it. Uncle is 3a in the ‘1941 HKVDC Corps Signals at Fanling’ picture. He was known as Jimmy.
I used the zoom feature and I have no doubt that that 2b is J W Yee.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t305/nsx94/1939.jpg
2e D W Yee M.M. is correct. This is my dad, his full name is David William Yee. Yes, he was decorated with the Military Medal. https://gwulo.com/node/22245
He is 3i in the ‘1941 HKVDC Corps Signals at Fanling’ picture.
https://gwulo.com/atom/17232
Ed
re: Info on 2b and 2e
Thanks Ed, I've updated the main text with your corrections.
Regards, David