Kiyoshi WATANABE (aka Uncle John) [1890-????] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Kiyoshi WATANABE (aka Uncle John) [1890-????]

Primary tabs

Submitted by Admin on Fri, 2012-04-20 11:36
Names
Given: 
Kiyoshi
Family: 
Watanabe
Alias / nickname: 
Uncle John
Sex: 
Male
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
c.1890-01-01 (Month, Day are approximate)
Birthplace (country): 
Japan

A Japanese Lutheran Minister, present in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation. He provided help to the Allied prisoners in the POW and Interment camps, at great personal risk.

  • Log in or register to post comments

Comments

Submitted by isl644 on Thu, 2013-01-17 18:06.

For more about Kiyoshi Watanabe and what he did in HK, read 'Small Man of Nanataki' by Liam Nolan. Helena May have a copy of this book published in 1966. It is most moving.

Submitted by isl644 on Mon, 2013-01-28 19:00.

"Footprints", the memoirs of Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke, is dedicated to The Reverend Kiyoshi Watanabe. The dedication page has a post war photograph of Watanabe.

The dedication reads:

'This book is dedicated to The Reverend Kiyoshi Watanabe, formerly Officer Interpreter, Imperial Japanese Army, who helped to save lives of many British prisoners of war and British and Allied civilian men, women and children interned in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation, 1941-1945, at the risk of losing his own. His wife and daughter were killed during the Allied bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945'

The Helena May has a copy of this book.

Ian

 

Submitted by Tideswell27 on Wed, 2020-09-02 08:41.

There is a Podcast on Kiyoshi Watanabe, accessible on YouTube, under the heading "Forgotten, episode 12."

Submitted by yolocor on Wed, 2020-09-02 09:18.

There is a blog entry about him. His DoB is mentioned here.

https://hosannaefcluxmundi.blogspot.com/2016/08/on-day-august-6-1945.html