By curious coincidence - given what's happening in HK at the moment - this weekend marks the 100th anniversary of another time when the people of Hong Kong gathered together in all the streets and public places, both on the island and in Kowloon. Hostilities had ceased, of course, on 11th November the previous year, but peace and the end of the war could not be declared until a treaty had been agreed - the Treaty of Versaille - signed on 28th June 1919. <Read more ...>
The Port of Hong Kong 1968 edition carries a wealth of information about the port its services and regulations. A total of 97 liner services and principal shipping companies and their agents are listed. <Read more ...>
I'm researching Mordaunt Francis Bannerman (22 December 1907 to 7 March 1973), head of car manufacturer Rootes Group in Hong Kong in the late 1960s. He was related by marriage to Sir John Walsham, envoy to China from 1885 to 1892.
Darryl Lundy has an excellent write up on his The Peerage site.
A look at what's been added / updated at Gwulo.com. Please click on the photos or the blue links for more information - and please leave a comment if you can add any new details.
Summer holidays!
Sorry for the double dose of newsletters - we're getting ready to head to the UK for our summer holidays, so I wanted to send these out before we leave this evening.
While we're away, you can see what contributors are adding to Gwulo by checking the "Recent posts" page. There are also a couple of exhibitions in Hong Kong over the summer that look interesting:
Bob Tatz has published his memoir, "Lost in the Battle for Hong Kong". Brian Edgar writes that it's "The real Empire of the Sun", and continues "I’m sure many readers will be moved by the way in which that scared and abandoned orphan boy eventually found fulfilment in work, love and parenthood."
Another valuable addition to the records about WW2 Hong Kong is "The First Shall Be Last". It's a thick book, over 600 pages long, with the bulk of the content coming from John Charter's diary of events during the fighting and through the long internment at Stanley. Every new diary we read gives new viewpoints on events, but this diary also stands out for the level of detail recorded. John writes well, making it an easy read as well as an informative one.
General
"THE CROWN COLONY of HONG KONG" was printed in August 1945, and given to the British soldiers, sailors and airmen who were heading to Hong Kong. It aimed to explain what to expect, and what they should & shouldn't do.
Gwulo book news:
Volume 1 is now available worldwide from Amazon.com
I acquired this on eBay a few years ago. It was printed in August 1945 by the Government Press in Colombo, for servicemen in the British Armed Forces who were heading to Hong Kong.
This story starts with a photo album I bought a few years ago. It originally belonged to Mr Antony Bosje, a Dutch man living in Hong Kong in the 1920s. Here he is:
What was Hong Kong's Dutch community like in the 1920s?<Read more ...>
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology are showing a selection of old photos and maps of Hong Kong. Many of the photos appeared in the recent Steps Through Time exhibition I prepared for The Pottinger Hotel, so this is a second chance to see them. The exhibition also shows historic maps from the HKUST Library Special Collections, and from local private collections. <Read more ...>
