New on Gwulo: 2020, week 01

Happy New Year! I hope you've enjoyed the recent holidays.

It's been a month since the last roundup of what's new on Gwulo.com, so there's lots to catch up on. As always, please click on the photos or the blue links for more information, and please leave a comment if you can add any new details.

General

• Klaus posted a collection of film clips of Hong Kong in 1946.
• Brian posts details of two events in the north of England for anyone interested in the POW and civilian internee experience in the Pacific war.
• Don Ady asks local sailors if the sailing boats in Hong Kong all use fixed keels?
• Have you subscribed to the wartime diaries yet? We're up to January 1942 - the fighting is over, and now our diarists are wondering what will happen next. Several have just been interned in the Chinese hotel/brothels, where they will spend an uncomfortable couple of weeks before moving to Stanley Camp. Others are in POW camp getting ready to escape, or living in the city and worrying how they'll survive. Follow their progress by subscribing to receive a daily email with extracts from their diaries.
• The 1966 Hong Kong Telephone Co Murder.
• Richard is looking for pictures of the hotels on Des Voeux Rd where civilians rounded up by the Japanese forces in January 1942 were held prior to their removal to Stanley.
• The Italian (Canossian) Convent in Caine Road asks for contributions to their archives.
• Chris is rebuilding a Scorpion tank that was used in Hong Kong, and asks if anyone has photos of British armoured vehicles in Hong Kong in the 1970s so he can get the colours and markings correct.

 

---

 

Places

• Torpedo Depot / Kowloon Naval Yard / Government Dockyard [????-????]
• St Joseph's College Primary School [1968- ]
• Swire House (originally named "Union House") [1962-1998]
• The large Scots Guards badge on the hillside at Crest Hill was repaired in the 1970s.
• Well done to everyone involved in tracking down the White obelisk on side of hill above Wanchai [????- ]
  • 

    Meridian Marker Above Bowen Road, by Moddsey

• Wai Lun Mansion [1967- ]
• Sea Terminal, Navy Street, TST [1962-1969]
• China Hong Kong City [1988- ]
• 148 Austin Road [c.1954-c.2015]
• Whiteaway & Laidlaw Department Store [1913-c.1957]
• Are these Ocean Park buildings remnants of the Brick Hill AA Battery?
• Vehicular Ferry Pier, Central [1933-1994]
• 71 Mount Kellett Road (previously '174, The Peak') [????-????]
• Swire exec house at 53 Stubbs Road [????-c.2006]
• Hai Phong Mansion [1960- ]
• 10 Bluff Path [????-c.1978]
• 16 & 18 Austin Avenue [c.1910-c.1960]

 

---

 

The glamorous life of the independent author.

 

Where am I heading to with my suitcases? An all-expenses-paid convention of history writers perhaps?

Then are the suitcases packed with warm clothes for winter in Europe, or with lighter clothes for a beach resort in Asia?

Let's open them up...

 

They're the easiest way to ferry envelopes to our nearby post office!

The printer delivered the order of 1,000 copies of the new Gwulo book on Monday 16th December as promised, but the books didn't reach us until after lunch.

 

That meant a hectic afternoon. But we had all the envelopes, labels, and packing slips ready, so we managed to get all of the international orders mailed out by the end of the day. I was expecting they'd only arrive at their destinations at the end of December, so I was very pleased to hear from customers in Australia, England, and the USA, that their copies had arrived in time for Christmas.

On Tuesday 17th we sent out the local Hong Kong orders, and most of them were received the next day. If you haven't received your copy yet, please let me know so I can track it down.

 

The only thing that looks better than a stack of boxes full of books is a stack of empty boxes!

 

We sent out over 200 packages, as altogether you ordered over 250 copies during the pre-launch offer. I'm very grateful that you're willing to order a copy without having seen it. I'm really pleased with how the photos look in this latest volume, so hopefully you haven't been disapointed. Which leads me to...

 

Tell a friend

If Santa gave you a copy of the new book, please could you take a moment to give it a rating or a review on Amazon or Goodreads? They help encourage potential readers to take a closer look and consider buying a copy.

Or for a more personal approach, if you can think of any friends who might enjoy the book, please let them know about it. Word-of-mouth recommendations can't be beat!

 

Now available in bookstores

You can now find all three volumes of the Gwulo books on the shelves at Bleak House Books, branches of Bookazine, and the St John's Cathedral Bookstore. 

 

And online

Readers living outside Hong Kong can now order Volume 3 from Amazon.com (affiliate link*), and you're always welcome to order direct from Gwulo.com (with free international shipping for 2 or more copies!).

 

In the news too

Thanks to Angel at Bleak House Books for inviting me to their bookstore for a quick Q&A:

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Bleak House Books (@bleakhousebookshk) on Dec 16, 2019 at 4:11pm PST

 

And thanks to James Ross for inviting me onto RTHK's Morning Brew show for a longer chat about old Hong Kong photos and the new Gwulo book. (If you click that link, please scroll down to the last-but-one player, which has the segment with our chat.)

 

---

 

People

• Jessica is interested to know any more information about her ancestors in Hong Kong:
  • Great-great-grandparents: Isabella DIXON / LYSAUGHT (née Pereira) [????-????] and William LYSAUGHT [1836-1910]
  • Great-grandparents: Elizabeth Johanna GIBSON (née LYSAUGHT) [1871-1946] and Emerson Fitzgerald GIBSON [1864-1928]
• Policeman Arthur J W DORLING [????-????]
• Gertrude Anne SMITH (née ANTON, aka Pixie) [1894-1975]
• Stanley Camp internees
  • William L CLARK [????-????], policeman
  • Richard Walter MILLS [1910-1974]
  • W G MORRISON (aka Bill) [1913-????], policeman
  • Elizabeth MOSEY [c.1877-????], the brave nurse from the Repulse Bay Hotel.
  • Andrew NICOL [1898-????]
  • Iris Audrey PREW (née FRITH) [c.1915-????], Matron at DBS for many years
  • Alexander Bruce PURVES [1890-????]
  • George Gordon STOPANI-THOMSON (aka Stops) [c.1903-1945]
•  POWs
  •  Stanley Robert KERR (aka Dickie) [????-1969], spoke Japanese and acted as interpreter 

 

---

 

Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contributor SiliconDioxide welcomes any details about the who / when / where in a set of 1950s photos of scouting in Hong Kong. I've included a couple of samples below, and here's the link to the full set.

 

 

 

Click to see all recently added photos.

 

---

*The affiliate link takes you to the Amazon page for this book. It doesn't affect the price you pay, but if you order via Amazon, they pay a small commission to Gwulo.