Henry Anthony SOUZA [1921-1975]
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-My name is Michael Souza and Henry Souza was my father.
-He joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp in 1938 and when war began, he was a member of the Field Ambulance Section of the Volunteers. He became a POW when Hong Kong surrendered.
-He spent his time as a POW in the Shumshuipo POW camp and in April 1944, he was shipped to Japan and was incarcerated in Sendai Camp #2. He laboured at the Iwaki Coal Mine in Yoshima until the end of the war.
-When he was repatriated back to Hong Kong after the war, he remained a member of the renamed Hong Kong Defence Force and became a marksman.
-Henry was married in 1947.
-In 1958, he represented Hong Kong in the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo and won the Bronze Medal in Shooting.
-In 1959, when Prince Philip visited Hong Kong, he and my mother were both invited to visit him on board his yacht Britannia.
-In 1960, Henry represented Hong Kong in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and ranked 44th in his event.
-In 1964, Henry represented Hong Kong in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and ranked 39th in his event. Preceding the Olympics, he was interviewed for an article in Sports Illustrated Magazine.
-In 1966, he represented Hong Kong at the 5th Asian Games in Bangkok,Thailand and ranked 5th in his event.
-Between 1951 and 1967, he won over 200 medals and awards at shooting events in Hong Kong.
-He was also a member of the Sniper Section in the Hong Kong Regiment.
-He was employed by the Hong Kong Government as a Land Assessment Officer. His office was in Tsuen Wan.
-He had six children and in 1968, our family immigrated to Canada and we lived in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
-In 1975, he suffered a heart attack at home and died. He was 53.