World War Two Air Raid Precaution Tunnel / Shelter | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

World War Two Air Raid Precaution Tunnel / Shelter

Primary tabs

Submitted by Zenning on Sat, 2014-09-06 02:29

Hi there,

What an amazing archive of historic HK on this website!

I was browsing the topic on air-raid precaution tunnels - again, amazed at the wealth of information - though I didn't see the one-and-only I knew when I was in HK, the one on Wong Nai Chung Road, along the huge stone wall next to St. Pauls Primary School? (At the foot of St. Paul's Secondary School). Is that an air-raid shelter of sort? Anyone knows anything about it?

Best,

Zenning

Forum: 
General
  • Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by David on Sat, 2014-09-06 14:38.

Hi Zenning,

Are you thinking of this one?

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.273261,114.1839523,3a,26.8y,56.97h,85.69t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sXRwhEPrzkwt4doHHQ-Oy0A!2e0?hl=en

You can see "Le Calvaire" in the stone lintel over the doorway. It was an entrance to the site to the site when it was an orphanage of that name. See:

http://gwulo.com/node/8235

There are two entrances like this in the wall.

Regards, David

Submitted by Zenning on Sun, 2014-09-07 00:59.

Hi David,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, indeed. Between the two arches etched "Le Calvaire", approxiately in the mid-distance, under the Secondary school, there is this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.2728498,114.1841491,3a,75y,100.27h,83.22t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1snBQwleWXAQnOkJ9bqMx8vA!2e0?hl=en

A retaining wall (according to the Heritage documents from the plans built by Leigh and Orange) for the change of grade from the street level up to the terraced level onto the secondary school playground.

So it is not an air-raid shelter then.

Submitted by David on Mon, 2014-09-08 10:35.

I'm not sure what is behind that grey door, but I don't know of any air raid shelters built here. I'd guess it is access to underground storage, but it'd be good to hear from anyone who knows.

Regards, David

Submitted by 80sKid on Mon, 2014-09-08 19:52.

Hi as suggested it's the driveway that originally led to the convent and hasn't been used for a long time. I saw them hose it out the other day, years of muck spilling out. They may reopen it as part of the renovation works. The off centre staircase was carved into the hillside by the Japanese during the occupation 

Submitted by Zerlina on Tue, 2016-11-01 18:51.
They were the orginal entrance to the building. When the japanese occupated the site they decided to close cut a grand staircase in the center. Is hollow now, when they were building the residential tower next to the school close to cwb side, the kindergarten playground collapsed a bit. Now is all safe and sound.

Submitted by Zenning on Fri, 2017-09-08 01:41.

On the documents, Le Calvaire was an orphanage / home for the aged and sick women before the 1940s, which later turned into a catholic girls school run by the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartre. During Japanese occupation, the building was a prison and an armory (and it wouldn't be hard to deduce it had been a place of killing, as well) and that was when the Japanese built the momumental stairs that shot straight up the school entrance.

My question is, during the war, were the Sisters sent back to France or remained in HK? There was a piece I read on the website (now I couldn't find it), a recount from the missionary probably at the time near the end of the war, saying something like, "they're returning the school back to us" (They, being the Japanese). What's the history, what happened to the students and staff?

Any information on the school or the lives of the girls and Sisters would be most helpful.

Thank you!

 

Submitted by David on Mon, 2017-09-11 12:45.

During the Japanese occupation, I think the staff & students at Le Calvaire moved back to the main site owned by the Sisters, where St Paul's Hospital and St Paul's Convent School are today.