Lt Alexander Kennedy had an astonishing coincidence. His wife to be left Hong Kong onboard the SS Ulysses of the Blue Funnel line on the morning of Sunday 7th December bound for Australia and the USA. The "Ulysses" was torpedoed and sank off the coast of South Carolina on the 11th April 1942. The entire crew and passengers were rescued by a US Destroyer. After some weeks of American hospitality they departed from New York onboard the SS Myrmidon bound for Glasgow arriving on the same day as the 2nd MTB Flotilla crews onboard the "Narcunda" arriving on 22nd May. Kennedy was back in Hong Kong onboard HMS Pioneer in 1945 and ashore for the Japanese surrender on the 16th September, thus completing his full circle.
S-Lt Brewer [MTB 09] was on demolition duty and drove out northwards in his jeep from Burma. Sadly he died tragically in a road traffic accident on the A1 on Tuesday 28th July 1942 at the start of his leave in the UK. He is buried at the Gillingham (Woodlands) Cemetery, in Kent.
Lt; R. R. W. Ashby was awarded the D.S.C. Later as C. O. of the 33rd MTB Flotilla he was responsible for causing U-439 andU-659 to collide and sink on the 4th May 1943. He returned to the Far East as Senior Officer Arakan Coastal Forces during the Arakan campaign in Burma 1944 where he added a bar to his D.S.C. He kept the ships "Fair Log" for MTB 07 covering the period 1st July 1941 to 8th March 1942.
Lt-Cmdr G H Gandy, Lt Collingwood; Lt A Kennedy, C. P.O. Gilbert Thums; P.O. Buddy Hide, P.O. Jix Prest; Coxswain Bill Schillemore; P.O. R. J. C. Priestley; A/B A. L. Downey; P.O. Rob Stonell; A/B Al Rutter; were all mentioned in Despatches. T. G. Duckworth Mentioned in Despatches (Posthumous) for their action against the Japanese forces in Kowloon harbour on the 19th December 1941.
Admiral Chan Chak Chaushek was granted the dignity of an Honorary Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.) by King George VI for his contribution in quelling subversion, keeping up the morale of the Chinese community, maintaining transport, food supplies, currency circulation and so forth during the conflict, and leading the allied party through enemy lines to Free China. Admiral Chan was only the 2nd Chinese national ever to gain this prestigious award, the other being Major General Tsai-li T'ang on 3rd March 1920.[62]
In 1945 as the first post-war Mayor of Canton Admiral Chan Chak accepted the Japanese instrument of surrende
Admiral Chan Chak kept a meticulous diary and photographic record covering the events in Hong Kong and subsequent escape. Click here for Tributes to Admiral Chan Chak KBE.
Chan Chak was baptized at the Union Church in Chungking on the 2nd anniversary of the Christmas Day escape from Hong Kong, 25th December1943 and adopted the name "Andrew"56
General (then Colonel) Yee Shiu Kee was granted the dignity of an Honorary Commander of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) by King George VI for his contribution to Hong Kong prior to the British surrender.
Lt-Cmdr Henry Hsu Heng CN was granted the dignity of an Honorary Officer of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) by King George VI for his exploits in Hong Kong and the subsequent escape. He retired as Rear Admiral and went on to achieve high office becoming an MP and a legislator in the Taipei Parliament. Henry also became an international hotelier as well as becoming an International Olympic Committee member. Henry was delighted to be appointed as Honorary President of the Hong Kong Escape Re-enactment Organisation [HERO] granting us a firsthand account of the events in Hong Kong and subsequent escape in a personal video interview in 2006.
Chiang Kai Shek fled to Formosa [later known as Taiwan] in 1949 after Mao Tse-tung's Communist Red Army defeated them in the long and bloody civil war.
David Mercer MacDougall became the first Post War Brigadier Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong 1945 - 1949. He was acting Governor from May 1947 - 25 July 1947. Mac was the civilian wing of the military Government. He quickly restored the administration in Hong Kong to a level of efficiency that made it the most shining example of all the territories liberated from the Japanese.
He focused on the immediate needs of the Colony, feeding the local population and maintaining stability. Two months in and he still only had 18% of the required administrative staff required, But David worked steadfastly away at laying the foundations for modern day Hong Kong. Mac thought long and hard during his return to the UK via Lagos in the spring of 1942 about the defeat and was of a mind that had they mobilized 75,000 of the Hong Kong Chinese they may have avoided defeat. As the Japanese occupation neared its end a fierce battle for the hearts and minds of the Hong Kong Chinese raged between the American backed Chinese and the British for post war control.
The epic escape journey from Hong Kong to Rangoon was 3182 miles [5120 km] and took 51 days. The marching part of the China trip was through the jungle, and over mountainous Country 7000 feet above sea level, with no roadways. On the whole, the morale, spirit, and courage of the party were magnificent. The thought of beating the Japanese to get home after three years, four in some cases kept us going.
A/P.O. (Buddy) S. J. Hide is my late father & I am looking for any information regarding this remarkable escape from Hong Kong on Christmas day 1941.
Of the sixty eight men that escaped successfully from Hong Kong sixty five went on to survive WW II
The SOE was a secret organization established under the British Minister for Economic Warfare in 1941 to harass the enemy from behind the lines by a system of sabotage, espionage, and intelligence. Force 136 was the Far East arm of the SOE.
The guerrillas at Nanao laid charges and exploded the flotilla to remove all trace from the Japanese aircraft flying over. Later in the 1950s the harbour was dredged and all remaining bits were sold for scrap.
Buddy got married within days of getting back to the UK. After a short leave he returned to the Far East to continue his war effort. Buddy retired after 22 years distinguished service in the Royal Navy and emigrated to Mwadui [Williamson Diamonds Mine] in Tanganyika where I was brought up.
Click here for Major-General C. M. Maltby G.O.C. China report on the Battle for Hon Kong
The HongKong Escape Re-enactment Organisation [HERO] have an exhibition display at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence dedicated to this remarkable escape led by Admiral Chan Chak who became known as the Nelson of the East.
The contents of this website led to a considerable number of escapee families contacting me and now each other, and remains the principle source of contact and private information for the spinoff projects that have followed. The personal accounts enabled me to record the complete and true account of this remarkable episode of Sino-British war time co-operation. The information compiled here has directly resulted in a museum exhibition in Hong Kong, a re-enactment of the escape in Hong Kong and China, a book just published, and a movie drama and also a documentary in the making.
Some accounts published quote statemants made years, sometimes tens of years after the events, where the facts have been blurred in the mists of time.
Thank you all for your contributions, may our forefathers be remembered.
