37 year old David MacDougall of the Ministry of Information (MoI) who's soon to be evacuated office was on the 1st floor of the Hong Kong Bank building with the now bullet scarred bronze lions at its entrance. Forty Six year old Admiral Chan Chak had been in Hong Kong since 1938 after the Japanese occupation of much of southern China to assist the police and intelligence service^[73] under his cover as a stock-broker trading as Wah Kee & Company with offices in the APC (Shell) building in Queens Road. His team consisted of 37 year old Colonel S. K. Yee of the Chinese Secret Service posing as an insurance salesman from Shanghai who spoke perfect English, unlike Chan. 29 year old Flag Lt-Commander Henry Heng Hsu ADC to Chan known simply as Henry, and 45 year old Coxswain Yeung Chuen his bodyguard and expert in martial arts. SK engaged the services of the leader of the SOE (Churchill's secret army) Z Force Mike Kendall and his team who engaged in the art of "ungentlemanly warfare". "Mike was engaged through General S. K. Yee and Admiral Chan Chak. They were the Nationalist government's representatives in HK trying to establish contact with the guerrillas in the HK border area, whom we would supply with arms in turn for their interfering in the Japanese lines of communication."^[11] Kendall reported directly to GOC1 Colonel Newnham at Fortress HQ, Kendall was in Macau when Hong Kong was invaded and promptly returned upon hearing the news of the invasion. He had only two of his team who were not trapped behind enemy lines, Colin McEwan as his 'runner' and John Talan his undercover man in HK.^[11] Their tasks were many and varied in keeping the lid on the Chinese civil population, freeing up the military to fight the aggressors. David MacDougall assured the Chinese they would be got out to free China in the event of defeat.

The Triads, in the pay of the Japanese created mayhem in Kowloon and the New Territories resulting in the Japanese over-running the mainland territory within four days. Chan Chak decided the only way to control the Triads on the island was to raise money to out-pay the Japanese. He then appointed Triad leaders to each quarter of the island.^[7] There was no mass carnage on the scale of Kowloon recorded on the island. Mike Kendall and his team started their anti fifth Columnist patrols on the night of the 12th December^[11] and were instrumental in eliminating Japanese sympathisers. McEwan recorded "At last 10 o'clock came and with the feelings very confused we had the jail opened and our prisoners handed over. I had expected to feel some sympathy for them but instead felt only a slow anger and a feeling that they were not human beings in the real sense of the word. Coming out into the street was dark as hell and all we could feel was the presence of the Punjab guard, the rasp of their boots, and the occasional whimper of one of the prisoners who was taking it pretty badly. In Queen's Road they were soon lined up and shot, though one of them, who all along had preserved a dead silence, made a break for it and was cornered in an alley after a chase. Duly placarded they were left and home we went again via the Punjab H. Q. where some marvellous crusty bread, cheese, and whisky proved exactly what the doctor ordered. On the way home we were all pretty quiet — I personally had a mindful of thoughts — the changes we had seen — the difference in our lives — different attitudes to life and its value — change in occupation"^[11]

On the 15th Kendall, McEwan, and Talan set out to successfully place underwater limpet mines on a ship occupied by a Japanese observation party off North Point. McEwan recorded "Here was our chance to try out our 'toys' and by some curious twist this problem was the very one set me during our training course."^[11]

18th December saw the SOE team in Aberdeen dockyard being shown over the ML French by Lt J B Colls. Their task was gun running to supply Chinese guerrillas against the Japanese."Lt Colls showed us over the 'French' ^[67]— a snappy little cruiser on the lines of an M. T.B. —fast and fairly quiet."^[11]

On the morning of the 20th the Flotilla C/O attended a meeting at the Battle-Box HQ where upon he was told that three members of the SOE would join the flotilla the following day. The reason for this was that the flotilla was to leave Hong Kong and sail to mainland China in the north deep behind enemy lines, and in the event of not getting through to act as a guerrilla force until relieved by the allegedly advancing Chinese army. ^[15]

We knew something was going on when three members of Force 136 [Z Force] (the Far East branch of the Special Operations Executive, SOE) arrived on the 21st December and proceeded to load MTB 10 with Bren guns, bombs, food & clothing supplies. The SOE had been using the RASC War Department "ML French"^[67] which was similar to the MTBs^[11] commanded by Lt Kilbee HKRNVR ^[16] late of MTB 08 from the Camber (Marina) in Central. The following day the flotilla was put on standby to get the Chinese liaison party out of Hong Kong before the surrender.^[11] Four Battle Box staff officers had approached the GOC and requested to flee prior to surrender, they were granted permission.^[31] The MTB's proceeded to load special iron rations, arms, stores, and equipment.^[15] That evening the SOE agents gave the flotilla crews a talk on survival tactics behind enemy lines in mainland China, and to prepare 25Kg packs for the event. The word on deck was that we were to make a break for it just prior to surrender as the situation was by now looking very grim. Lt Ron Ashby recorded; "They were interested in getting China’s No. 2, Admiral Chan Chak, some of his staff and some higher British officers away from the Island, and decided to combine the two parties. Three or four days before the end we were under official orders to get away at the last moment at all costs after picking up the official party." ^[5]

 

 

"We returned from patrol about dawn on Christmas Day, and were told to find a secluded spot West of Ap Lei Chau. My boat MTB 07 along with 09 went into Telegraph bay between Mt Davies and Aberdeen and lay alongside the Dairy Farm pier close to Pill Box No 4. We were to hide and await orders for the pre-arranged escape later in the day from Aberdeen just prior to surrender. We covered our boats with straw and branches of trees & canvas as the Japanese bombers were targeting the Flotilla.^[21] We were able to procure some dairy produce including Chicken and cream from the dairy farm^[11] and had a reasonable Christmas Dinner along with a double ration of rum. There was an impromptu truce to hostilities which was initiated by the Japanese at 09.00 till noon, when Major C M Manners & Mr A L Shields came across from the Japanese lines under a white flag. They told of the artillery and troops in reserve and urged His Excellency the Governor Sir Marc Young the C-in-C & Major Maltby the GOC that it was futile to continue. During the ensuing emergency defence meeting it was decided there could be no talk of surrender. Although the ceasefire was observed by the ground troops, the IJA operating out of Canton seemed unaware and continued bombing. The crew of the MTBs were able to take advantage of ceasefire with a swim in the bay.^[11] The bombardment of Hong Kong Island resumed in earnest at 12.00 precisely. At 15.00 hours Maltby advised H.E. the Governor and C.-in-C. that no further useful military resistance was possible in protecting the civilian population and ordered all Commanding Officers to break off the fighting and to capitulate to the nearest Japanese Commander, as and when the enemy advanced and opportunity offered. This was one hour before the agreed time with Admiral Chan Chak^[6] after 17 days of some of the fiercest close quarter combat of WW II. The surrender was formerly declared at 15.15 hours, and accepted and formerly signed in the Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon at 18.00.