Ernest HEMINGWAY (aka 'Papa') [1899-1961]

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Submitted by brian edgar on Sat, 2016-07-23 21:32

Names

Given:

Ernest

Family:

Hemingway

Alias / nickname:

'Papa'

Sex:

Male

Status:

Deceased

Birth

Date:

1899-07-21

Birthplace (town, state):

Chicago, Illinois

Birthplace (country):

United States

Death

Date:

1961-07-02

Cause of death:

Suicide by gunshot

Ernest Hemingway, a nobel-winning writer and novelist, stayed in Hong Kong in February-March 1941 and was back again in May. He was with his then wife the journalist Martha Gellhorn, who he was accompanying on an assignment to cover the Sino-Japanese War. It's possible that he was also a Soviet agent at this time.

He drank in the Hong Kong Hotel, and among his associates there was Morris 'Two-Gun' Cohen, who so impressed Hemingway that he palnned to write a book about him. He himself impressed future Colonial Secretary David McDougall and later became godfather to his second daughter.

But the Director of Medical Services Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke found his admiration for the visitor was purely literary. Years later he wrote to The Observer challenging a description of the writer as a 'gentle giant'. He accepts that Hemingway might have been 'having me on' when he boasted of his satisfaction in breaking the sword arms of Fascist officers captured by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, but his story of arguing with another patron in a well-known Hong Kong bar and 'having the pleasure of grinding the face of the unfortunate 'individual with his boot' was confirmed to Selwyn-Clarke by witnesses. But it seems that at the time Hemingway escaped both prosecution and publicity for his actions.

Source:

'Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke, 'Hemingway "gentle"?', The Observer (1901-2003), Letters, Nov. 25, 1973, p. 12

Comments

Ernest Hemingway in Hong Kong & China

Permalink Submitted by IDJ on Sat, 2016-07-23 23:19.

Late last year I bought an interesting paperback book titled "Hemingway on the China Front" subtitled "His WW11 Spy Mission with Martha Gellhorn" by Peter Moreira.

Although a 2007 published American book, mine came via Amazon UK

One chapter is titled 'Hemingway's Hong Kong', while another relating to his wife is titled 'Gellhorn's Hong Kong.'

He seems to have been somewhat of a pain for her while in Hong Kong.

Interestingly there seem to be very few pictures of either of them in Hong Kong that I can find.

Most of the book covers their somewhat fruitless travels in China looking for a war front to report on.

Ernest Hemingway in Hong Kong 1941

Permalink Submitted by moddsey on Sun, 2016-07-24 07:51.

The Post Magazine recently ran an article about Hemingway's stay in Hong Kong. Other references to Hemingway can be viewed here and here

Ernest Hemingway in Hong Kong 1941

Permalink Submitted by IDJ on Sun, 2016-07-24 17:10.

Moddsey

Thank you for the pointer to the recent SCMP magazine article as some of the pictures are new to me.

Martha Gellhorn’s articles from the Hong Kong/China trip can be read via a web search for

“Colliers magazine 1941 Gellhorn”

She survived until aged 89 when she passed away in London in 1998.

The image of the couple arriving at Kai Tak was included in the ‘Wings Over Hong Kong’ book published in 1998, but it was only derived from a microfilmed image unfortunately.

Interestingly the SCMP's clear image shows part of the hotel bus/coach previously referred to here

http://gwulo.com/atom/24307

The multiple slot-in signs for the various airline nameplates can be seen behind Hemingway.

Unobstructed full view pictures of this hotel bus or buses have yet to be seen.