Air Raid Shelter at RAF Kai Tak | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Air Raid Shelter at RAF Kai Tak

Primary tabs

Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 2009-01-31 17:59

Prior to the outbreak of WWII, air raid shelter(s) were built at RAF Kai Tak. I recall there was also an RAF Battery in the hills close to where the MTR comes out of the Choi Hung Tunnel towards Kowloon Bay, now the site of apartment blocks. This photo taken in 1951 shows an air raid shelter beside the boundary fence facing Kwun Tong Rd opposite the Officers' Mess. The Mess and adjacent buildings from the 1930s are still standing today. As for the shelter, I doubt very much it is still around.

1950s RAF Kai Tak Air Raid Shelter

Forum: 
General
  • Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by tngan on Sun, 2009-02-01 21:04.

Hi there,

Do you mean the one in the foreground withing a narrow passage and dirt/grass?  I think I've seen something similiar in some WWII movies in some British air-fields.  If this is the case, I think it is already gone for good when the re-develop the area, especially when they rebuilt and expanded Kwun Tong Road.  From the location of it, it would be somewhere in the middle of Kwun Tong Road today.

As for the RAF building atop the slopes I think only the top row remains.  They are the Kai Tai campus of the Baptist University today, some Visual Arts colleage/academy.

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by David on Sun, 2009-02-01 21:34.

Hi T,

Yes, that grassy mound is the air raid shelter. There used to be several like that in a field next to my uncle's house in the UK.

As you both say, the one in the photo has likely gone, but there may still be a similar one nearby. The September 2005 edition of the RAS/AMO conservation newsletter has a note:

9. Former RAF Officer's Mess

The former RAF Officers' Mess and Annex Block which are Grade I historical buildings are now being converted into accommodation for an Academy of Visual Arts for the Hong Kong Baptist University. This is a new venture for HKBU and the site will house the academy until it moves into its new campus home in 200. The buildings which were built in the 1930s during the RAF's so-called Expansion Period (1935-39) were designe in Neo-Classical style with Art Deco influence. The buildings were formerly used by the police as a Detective Training School. Wartime relics still survive in the compound including an old air raid shelter, a Nissen hut and mysterious secret tunnels! [!!!] The HKBU Estates Office has agreed with the Antiquities and Monuments Office to set up a small heritage corner in the new academy to showcase the history of the site.

We've passed the 2008 date mentioned above, so I wonder who owns the area now?

MrB

Submitted by tngan on Sun, 2009-02-01 21:57.

Hi there,

Just checked BU's site and the phase one of campus expansion plan, which includes the Visual Arts Academy, was planed to start in 2008 through 2010

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 2018-03-10 16:33.

As noted here , a tunnel is being built under the former RAF Officers' Mess. Only Japanese personnel are being employed in the work. BAAG Report dated 23 March 1943 refers.