Margaret Anne BOND [c.1878-1971]

Moved to the page for the correct person, see https://gwulo.com/comment/57458#comment-57458

Jill, I was surprised and shocked to read the latest Gwulo newsletter and see the name of Margaret Bond mentioned and your comments regarding the background history of her family.  Aunty Maggie, as I knew her, was my father's aunt but I was never fully aware of the connection to the Murray and Reed families. Your findings certainly answered a lot of my questions and I really appreciated the information you researched and provided.

My father and his six brothers grew up living with their parents, Amaro and Rita Reed, at 8 Broadwood Road.  Amaro, who was the Chief Accountant at the General Post Office, died in 1936.  I don't know if Aunty Maggie lived at this residence with the Reed family, but I do have a photocopy of an undated photo of the family and some relatives taken in front of the house prior to the war, and Aunty Maggie is in the photo.  When  the war broke out, I was told that my father Wilfred was chosen to remain behind to care for the women in the family, eventually escorting them to Macau to wait out the war.  Four of his brothers lost their lives in the war and two were incarcerated. Two of the brothers, Francis and Arthur, left behind widows and one child.  Francis had only been married for two months before he went to war and lost his life.

On returning to Hong Kong after the war, my parents ended up living at 244 Nathan Road along with my father's oldest brother Robert, his brother Arthur's widow and young daughter, my paternal grandmother and Aunty Maggie.  The house on Broadwood Road had been looted and left in shambles when the war was over.  I heard that the Japanese occupied the house as one of their posts during the war.  I have only seen a few small photos of the house entrance, porch and garden but have never seen an actual photo of the entire house.  

Aunty Maggie had a niece, Maria "Cissy" Gonella, who was married to Jan Huysman who worked for Banque Belge.  The couple lived in Tientsin for some years when he worked for the branch there.  When they returned to Hong Kong, Aunty Maggie went to live with them at their home in the mid-levels.  The couple eventually retired to Belgium and both passed away several years ago.

In visiting St. Michael's Cemetery, I did notice the grave of Patrick and Lucretia Murray, especially as the full name of Lucretia Mary Murray (nee Reed) was on it.  My father, who passed away in 1971, could not be buried in his parents' grave as his brother Robert died less than seven years prior.  Consequently, my father was buried in the grave belonging to Cissy's family, which was the Murray grave.  Lucretia Reed Murray was my father's aunt.

Jill, thank you again for the information you shared.

Jill, thanks so much for your response.  Interesting that you saw the name of Ugo Gunella connected to my family.  I wasn't sure of the correct spelling of that surname so am glad to get a correct version.  That could well be Maria's father or a relative.  How did his name come up?  The photos of the two graves were taken by a friend who was visiting Hong Kong.  His photos mainly focused on the portion of the graves with the Reed names instead of the entire graves which would have been helpful in identifying the names of Maria's family members that my father was buried with.  I regret that both my cousin Mary and I have no knowledge or stories about Aunty Maggie's father, Charles Bond, nor any information about the children of Leticia and Patrick Murray.

I would be glad to include the jpg photos of the graves if I can figure out how to upload them.  The same applies to the group family photocopy I have which is in pdf format.  I also have a photo of the Reed family taken on the lawn of their house when the sons were quite young.  If you can upload the photos I can send them to you in an email if that works.

It is interesting that your grandfather and uncle's building business provided some of the graves at the cemetery, including the large Rosario grave.  I left Hong Kong for Seattle at the end of 1974 and have not been back since 1996 when I last visited the cemetery.  I wish I had known about the Rosario grave to see if that is Anna Maria's family plot.

I will go through my notes and see what I can come up with regarding my grandfather Amaro.  I just spoke with my cousin Mary who lives in Toronto.  She and her mother Marie moved there when Mary was 14. Mary's father Arthur married Marie in 1938 and they lived at the Broadwood Road House, Mary being born a year later.  The other brothers were living at home as well, including Francis and his new bride Vera who were married in October 1941 (he died in December, so two months after they were wed).  My father was already married to my mother at that time and Mary remembered their frequent visits to the house.

  Mary said that Aunty Maggie and Maria were staying at the Italian convent during the war and did not think they went to Macau as I had thought.  Mary also informed me that she, her mother, our grandmother and my parents, along with other Portuguese/Macanese families, were staying in quonset huts prior to leaving for Macau.  She remembered there being a high wall and Japanese soldiers around. I am not aware of what became of Maria's parents as Maria and Aunty Maggie both ended up staying at our Nathan Road flat after the war, according to Mary.

Interestingly, Mary vaguely recalled hearing about a Jack Reed who left Scotland for China.  She didn't remember the name of the town in Scotland but said that Uncle Reggie (the youngest Reed brother) went there to to try and locate some of the relatives but was unsuccessful.  Reggie's son Stephen, Stephen's son Carl and grandson Jacob are the only males carrying on the family name.  They reside in Rhyl, Wales, and Mary stays in touch with Stephen.

Jill, thanks for the information on Ugo Gonella and his relationship to the Murrays.  If he is indeed Maria's father or relative that explains the connection.  If Aunty Maggie never married, I'm not sure how Maria is her niece unless by association.  They were very close and stayed together during the war and then at our Nathan Road flat.  I know I always thought of Maria as being my dad's cousin.

I do remember seeing photos and comments about Broadwood Road on the Gwulo website sometime back.  At that time I wondered if one of the houses in that photo could have been the one where my father and his family lived.  I just heard from my cousin Mary that her father Arthur Reed's birth certificate listed 167 Wanchai Road as their residence which confirms that the family lived there before moving to the #8 Broadwood Road house.

Re Robert Reed, I don't know if he came from Scotland or if an ancestor did.  I was told Reed is a Scottish name.  Incidentally, I tried to look up my grandfather Amaro John Reed's grave at St. Michael's Cemetery as I wanted to find out what year his oldest son Robert Cyril died as he was buried with them sometime in the mid sixties.   I know Amaro and his wife Rita are buried at that cemetery as I've visited their grave in the past.  I tried putting all three names and dates in my search but nothing came up!

In the da Silva family tree prepared by a relative I saw that my grandmother's name was listed as Maria Rita da Silva, but we always called her Avo Rita so I assume she went by that name.

I did email David to request your email address but have not heard back as yet.  If I cannot upload the pictures, I am hoping you can help me with this, if it is not too much of an imposition.  In the group photo taken in front of the house a Harry Gubby is also in it as he was a friend of the family.  Was he part of the family that also lived on Broadwood Road? I seem to recall the name mentioned in one of your comments.

Thanks again for your comments and input.

hi angie

Robert Cyril Reed 18th March 1903-4th October 1969. He was buried on the 7th October 1969 at St Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, Section 5, Grave Number 8354A. The cemetery records are viewable on familysearch.org (free of charge)

You can also search for him in the Carl Smith collection and it mentions his death date and his obituary appeared in the South China Morning Post 6th October 1969.

"EX-TEACHER DIES

Mr. Robert Cyril Reed, a long-time resident, died on Saturday. He was 66.

Mr Reed was a teacher at the Moral Training School in Kowloon Tong.

He was a keen follower of hockey, cricket and lawn bowls.

Mr Reed was also a former prisoner of war in Shamshuipo Camp.

He is survived by his brothers, Willie and Reggie.

The fuenral arrangements will be announced shortly."

Source: South China Morning Post, page 6, 6th October 1969

If you or jill want to make a person page for Robert Cyril Reed (then you can edit as you see fit as he is family for you) on gwulo.com then we can add further information on him.

David, this is wonderful that you were able to locate the grave and also the obituary on my uncle.  I was using the cemetery's search tool which did not come up with any results. I will check out the familysearch.org link for future use as well as the Carl Smith Collections. Thanks so much for following up on this matter and for your help.  I have learned so much more about my father's family and relatives from all the comments posted.

Jill, thanks for the information regarding Harry Gubbay.  His age sounds about right if he was friends with the family. I will check with my cousin Mary to see if she has further information on his family and whether he actually lived at 16 Broadwood Road.

Regarding Maria Gonella, we always knew her by her nickname Cissy and that she was Aunty Maggie's niece.  Amaro Reed had no daughters, only the seven sons.  You had mentioned a Ugo Gonella and I don't know if he was Maria's father or relative. After the war she and Aunty Maggie lived with us at our flat, Maria just for a short time.  I don't know when she got married to Jan Huysman.  They lived in Tientsin for a few years where he held a position with the Belgian Bank.  After their return to Hong Kong Aunty Maggie went to live with them.  We moved to Suffolk Road in Kowloon Tong around the mid fifties, and by then Aunty Maggie was no longer living with us.

When my father died on March 20,1971, Maria arranged for him to be buried in her family grave.  I can't recall if her parents were buried there.  Aunty Maggie died on June 3, 1971, so would not have been buried in the same grave.  Maria's family grave was right next to the grave where Patrick and Lucretia were buried.  If I get further information on this I will let you know. I apologize for the confusion and wish I had a better recollection as far as names and dates.

I actually wondered  if Maria could be the daughter of Ugo and the Murray daughter...certainly makes the most sense.  Maria was quite a bit older than Mary and I.  I am assuming her parents died when Maria was still young or at least in her teens, and Aunty Maggie was like a second mother to her. She, like Mary and I, had no siblings.  I'm glad you found this piece of information on a Carl Smith card.  Thanks again for your help - you have been a great source of information!

 I will work on pulling together whatever information I have about Amaro as you had asked.