100 years ago on Monday five policemen, at least 2 members of the public and two bandits lost their lives in a shoot out that quickly became known as the Gresson Street Affray. A month before the catastrophic Race Course fire, Hong Kong had been receiving daily news of the fighting in Europe for the past four years. This unprecedented massacre of policemen in the course of their very ordinary duty shocked Hong Kong. Two days later it was said that half the colony - some 250,000 people - were on the streets to see the funeral procession that resulted. <Read more ...>
