15 Kent Road, Kowloon Tong [c.1930-c.1983]
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The Jurors List records a "J.B. Winter" as residing at 15 Kent Road in 1934.
A later resident, Mr Frederic A. Silva, has kindly shared his memories of living at 15 Kent Road during the 1960s:
“My ancestors were in HK (from Macau) as early as 1847. I lived in Kowloon always. My last Kowloon home was 15 Kent Road in Kowloon Tong. I had bought it in 1961 at a Lammert Bros. auction. The previous owner was the estate of Butterfly Wu [a movie star] who mortgaged this home to the Bank of East Asia and she died later. I was happy living there with 2 sons, wife and mother in law and 2 female servants. I left HK with my wife and family to migrate to the USA in 1971.”
“There were many good points in living in Kowloon Tong. It was a quiet area most of the time. Gardens were large with great ‘Flame of the Forest’ trees which bloomed in the early summer. Most homes were owned by residents. But there were downsides too. Living here would be more expensive than most other areas. There were mosquito infestations from time to time. But the biggest nuisance were the low-flying planes from the nearby Kai Tak airport which created ear-splitting noise landing and taking off all year round.”
(these are edited extracts from his letters dated 7.12.2017 and 22.1.2018)
