Hong Kong Industry during World War Two

HF: This is an article where we can gradually add information about what happened to HK’s industry, manufacturing, mining , transport and other related areas such as shops and the retail trade during World War Two. As bits and pieces come in I’ll update the article and re-post it with the current date.

Linked articles have been posted on the Group’s website unless otherwise stated.

Contributors:
PC Philip Cracknell
ADW
HF Hugh Farmer
IDJ
YL York Lo
TM Tymon Mellor
FCM Fung Chi Ming
CM Craig Mitchell
ER Elizabeth Ride
Mike T
LT Lawrence Tsui

Industry General

1943 Aug “By August the coal stocks were exhausted. The power stations could no longer supply electricity, industrial activity ground to a halt and the colony was plunged into darkness as soon as night fell” (Snow)

Kiangsu Chekiang Residents Association

YL: When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1938, Yu moved to Hong Kong and set up Golden Dragon Metal Manufactory (金龍金屬製品廠) to manufacture screws. Together with fellow Shanghainese industrialists such as C.L. Hsu of Diaward Steel Works and John Yuen and China Can, Yu co-founded the Kiangsu Chekiang Residents Association in HK in 1939. Back home in Shanghai, Yung Zeng tried to protect its business through partnership with the German trading house of Melchers but after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, production ceased as export routes were disrupted. Refused to collaborate with the Japanese invaders, Fang Yexian was killed by the Japanese in 1940.

Business in Shanghai resumed in 1945 but as the Civil War situation worsened in the mainland, S.S. Yu and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1948 where they established Yung Zeng Industrial (HK) Ltd with offices in Central Building in Central and factory in Sam Pak Tsin in Tsuen Wan. In addition to manufacturing menthol crystals, peppermint oil, camphor powder and essential oils, Yung Zeng also manufactured screws, fasteners and synthetic hair wigs.

See: S.S. Yu (虞兆興): King of Menthol and Camphor

British Army Aid Group (BAAG)

LT: Various series in Folder 10 of the Lindsay Ride Papers for the AWM collection regarding the BAAG contain much information about shipping as well as industries and economic activities in HK and S. Guangdong all meant for targeting by Allied bombers. They would provide good information on industrial activities in HK under Japanese Occupation.

Lawrence further points out that “the BAAG is a regular (not irregular) force under GHQ India, New Delhi, through the Military Attache at the British Embassy in Chungking, China. I have a letter from the HK Government Secretariat in hand, written in 1962, clarifying this status of the BAAG with the UK Government.”

The BAAG started as a MI9 & MI19 operations in March 1942. It immediately combined with remnants of SOE operatives as well as evolved rapidly & extensively as an enemy intelligence collection operations. It functioned under the cover of elaborate Medical Services and Refugee Relief in South China.

HF: http://gwulo.com/node/13968  (Gwulo is an easy way to find out about and access the following). The Elizabeth Ride Collection is a collection of material based on the life and work of Elizabeth’s father, Sir Lindsay Ride. It will be of most interest to people researching wartime Hong Kong, 1942-5, as it includes detailed records of the activity of the British Army Aid Group, the BAAG.

Lindsay Ride Private Papers, The

Lawrence Tsui writes: The voluminous Lindsay Ride Private Papers are deposited at the Australian War Memorial. Copies and summaries of work done by Elizabeth Ride are placed at the Hong Kong Heritage Project, I understand. Gwulo.com has good coverage on this; including explanations of the Intelligence Summaries (KIS, WIS & KWIZ). The sections relevant to this site in the KWIZ would be II & III referring to general conditions under the Japanese Occupation. However, there were coverage under other headings as well, such as targeting & results of Allied Bombing of HK. The Agents reported on strategically important companies and docks etc, producing site plans, diagrams and maps. Allied bombings were extensive in late 1944 and early 45. I came across the Taikoo Docks (and other docks and factories) information in KWIZ 66/6 in Folder 10.

Building Contractors

Joy Fat Construction

YL: A native of Tat Ho village in Chaoyang prefecture (潮陽縣達濠鄉), Joy Fat’s founder Chan Ying-for (陳應科, 1907-1962) was born into a poor family and followed his father to Southeast Asia at an early age. He eventually ended up in Hong Kong where he set up the trading firm Joy Fat Hong (再發行) in the 1940s at 140 Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan. He was involved with the Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce from its early years and supported its efforts in building schools and clinics for fellow Chiuchow natives in HK. During the Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s, he donated medical supplies to Chiuchow which was under attack by the Japanese and over the years, he contributed funds to purchase over 30 fishing vessels which were leased to the villagers from his native Tat Ho village and in return the lease payments funded the renovation and maintenance of his family ancestral hall.      

Joy Fat Construction (再發建築) – Factory Building Pioneer

Wing Yick & Company

YL: After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, he was also involved in refugee relief not only in New Territories where many refugees had flooded in from the mainland but along villages of the Kowloon Canton Railroad line in Guangdong province which was under attack.During the Japanese occupation, he was appointed leader of the Yuen Long district by the Japanese military administration and he died in 1944 while HK was still under Japanese control. After the War, Wing Yick& Co was no longer active.

Tsoi Po-tin (蔡寶田) and Wing Yick & Co (榮益建築) – Prominent Building Contractor and New Territories Leader from the early 20th century

Films

HF: RTHK transmitted a programme My Own Private Museum – Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong on May 8 2013. There’s nothing specific about Industry, Manufacturing etc, except a brief mention of the difficulties faced by small businesses and those with warehouses. It covers: Ko Tim Keung’s collection of Japanese magazines published during WWII providing a glimpse into the propaganda generated by the Japanese military machine to justify its aggression. Police memorabilia of the period collected by Lam Kin Keung shows how Japanese used the police force, the secondary military power, to infiltrate every corner of the occupied areas to control people’s life .Collector Cheng Po Hung explains how the Japanese took over the territory’s finance and economy by issuing military yens.    http://programme.rthk.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/hkstories20e&d=2013-05-08&p=5852&e=214339&m=episode

HF: This appears to be a student history project but contains some very good footage of HK during the occupation.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmju0wAj2ws

HK:Another student history project  but again some interesting film of HK during the occupation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCZCZvd2ovQ

Godowns/Warehouses

Kowloon Godown
LT:  On Jan 26 1945 [during an Allied air raid targeting various locations] Oil storage at No.11 Kowloon Godown was set on fire.

Manufacturing 

General Information

The Japanese regime introduced a programme for reopening factories to produce goods such as shoes made with rubber from Indochina and Malaya. ( p 123 Carroll)

There was  a great shortage of all kinds on commodities, caused partly by General Tojo’s directive to find and export all valuable material kept by the British… for use in Japan. This resulted in the shipping from Hong Kong to Japan of the colony’s large reserve of rice, among othervaluables like vehicles and machinery. ( p 127 Tsang)

Bakilly

Bakilly – the forgotten maker of perfumes, hair cream, toothpaste and other personal care products
YL: see York’s comment below our Bakilly article.The original Bakilly factory was located in 18-22 Shaukiwan Road (near the present day Taikoo Shing) when the firm was founded in 1918 until the late 1920s when it was relocated to a 10000 sq ft space in 203 King’s Road (now King’s Centre) as a result of the firm’s success. Sadly the firm’s factory was bombed first by the Japanese during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941 and then by the Allied forces in April 1944. As a result the firm was devastated and had a difficult time recovering in the late 1940s, and only able to achieve less than 20 percent of its prewar sales.

Cheung Nam Weaving Factory

YL:In 1940, Chu Shek-lun (1909-1964) and fellow weaving mill owners formed the HK Weaving Mills Association (香港織布業同業商會) and he served as its inaugural vice chairman. Business was suspended during the Japanese occupation but resumed after the War.
Alexander Kwang (鄭光) and Chu Shek-lun(朱石麟)

China Can Company

YL: When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1938, Yu moved to Hong Kong and set up Golden Dragon Metal Manufactory (金龍金屬製品廠) to manufacture screws. Together with fellow Shanghainese industrialists such as C.L. Hsu of Diaward Steel Works and John Yuen and China Can, Yu co-founded the Kiangsu Chekiang Residents Association in HK in 1939. Back home in Shanghai, Yung Zeng tried to protect its business through partnership with the German trading house of Melchers but after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, production ceased as export routes were disrupted. Refused to collaborate with the Japanese invaders, Fang Yexian was killed by the Japanese in 1940.

Business in Shanghai resumed in 1945 but as the Civil War situation worsened in the mainland, S.S. Yu and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1948 where they established Yung Zeng Industrial (HK) Ltd with offices in Central Building in Central and factory in Sam Pak Tsin in Tsuen Wan. In addition to manufacturing menthol crystals, peppermint oil, camphor powder and essential oils, Yung Zeng also manufactured screws, fasteners and synthetic hair wigs.

See: S.S. Yu (虞兆興): King of Menthol and Camphor

China Paint Manufacturing Company (1932) Ltd

During Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, China Paint…remained in operation. (10)

Continental Rubber Manufacturing Company

“During the war the factory had produced military belts, sports shoes, masks and other rubber parts. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the products were confiscated.” (10) 

Cowhide Factory, Cheung Chau Island

Hong Kong Memory Project: Wat Wai Chun’s younger sister had a lonely life during the Japanese rule. There were no adults around to take care of her. Neither were there any companion of her age. She lacked a good learning environment and a stable life…At the time when Hong Kong was severely bombed, a bomb dropped on a cowhide factory in Cheung Chau.

Source: Wat Wai Chun’s life on Cheung Chau during the Japanese occupation, WW2 – HK Memory Project

Diaward Steel Works

YL: When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1938, Yu moved to Hong Kong and set up Golden Dragon Metal Manufactory (金龍金屬製品廠) to manufacture screws. Together with fellow Shanghainese industrialists such as C.L. Hsu of Diaward Steel Works and John Yuen and China Can, Yu co-founded the Kiangsu Chekiang Residents Association in HK in 1939. Back home in Shanghai, Yung Zeng tried to protect its business through partnership with the German trading house of Melchers but after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, production ceased as export routes were disrupted. Refused to collaborate with the Japanese invaders, Fang Yexian was killed by the Japanese in 1940.

Business in Shanghai resumed in 1945 but as the Civil War situation worsened in the mainland, S.S. Yu and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1948 where they established Yung Zeng Industrial (HK) Ltd with offices in Central Building in Central and factory in Sam Pak Tsin in Tsuen Wan. In addition to manufacturing menthol crystals, peppermint oil, camphor powder and essential oils, Yung Zeng also manufactured screws, fasteners and synthetic hair wigs.

See: S.S. Yu (虞兆興): King of Menthol and Camphor

Duro Paint Manufacturing Company

Japanese soldiers North Point 20th December 1941 Duro Paint Factory in background Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

During Japanese occupation of Hong Kong… Duro Paint remained in operation. (10)

Fung Yuen-hon (馮元侃) and Wai Yuen Cheong (惠元昌)

YL: When Hong Kong was invaded by the Japanese, Fung Yuen Hon shut the shops and returned to Guangzhou. Before World War II broke out, Fung Yuen Hon had invested on insurance for exported goods. When one of the ships carrying goods bound from his drugstore was sunk during the war, he was compensated for the loss. As soon as Hong Kong was liberated after the war, Fung Yuen Hon was able to board a train and return to the Territory with the help of a relative who was a Kuomintang commander.

Before the World War II, Fung Yuen Hon was engaged in the trading and import of fluorescent lamps which were sold for $6 a piece in Hong Kong. During the Japanese occupation, speculation pushed up the price of fluorescent lamps to more than $100. After peace was restored, Fung Yuen Hon was able to ship fluorescent lamps from the U.S. to Hong Kong. In doing so, he was able to secure sales at a time when transportation by land and sea were not yet back to normal.”

During the Japanese occupation, Fung Sing-hong was a district councilor of the Western district alongside Wong Iu-suen of Wing Lee Wai (see article) and he was also a longtime director of the Fung’s Clansmen Association. As a firm, Wai Yuen Cheong was incorporated in 1954 and is still active.

See: Fung Yuen-hon (馮元侃) and Wai Yuen Cheong (惠元昌)

Golden Dragon Metal Manufactory

YL: When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1938, Yu moved to Hong Kong and set up Golden Dragon Metal Manufactory (金龍金屬製品廠) to manufacture screws. Together with fellow Shanghainese industrialists such as C.L. Hsu of Diaward Steel Works and John Yuen and China Can, Yu co-founded the Kiangsu Chekiang Residents Association in HK in 1939. Back home in Shanghai, Yung Zeng tried to protect its business through partnership with the German trading house of Melchers but after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, production ceased as export routes were disrupted. Refused to collaborate with the Japanese invaders, Fang Yexian was killed by the Japanese in 1940.

Business in Shanghai resumed in 1945 but as the Civil War situation worsened in the mainland, S.S. Yu and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1948 where they established Yung Zeng Industrial (HK) Ltd with offices in Central Building in Central and factory in Sam Pak Tsin in Tsuen Wan. In addition to manufacturing menthol crystals, peppermint oil, camphor powder and essential oils, Yung Zeng also manufactured screws, fasteners and synthetic hair wigs.

See: S.S. Yu (虞兆興): King of Menthol and Camphor

Great China Match Company on Peng Chau Island

YL: In December 1941, HK fell to the Japanese and six months later in June 1942, representatives of the Japanese trading house Mitsui approached N.L. Lieu in HK asking him to consider returning to Shanghai to revive the family’s enterprises there. In November 1942, the Japanese seized the Peng Chau plant but after 10 months of negotiations with help from his brothers who had by then formed a joint venture with the Japanese in Shanghai, N.L. was allowed to re-open the Peng Chau plant in August 1943, although production for the remainder of the War was limited due to shortage of raw materials and fuel with only 11 workers working part time.

In 1946, the firm resumed its operation at its pre-war office at 409, Bank of East Asia Building in Central. with expanded capital of HK$1 million and in July, the Lieu family sent Li Siu-po (李少甫, Ningpo native who joined Great China in Shanghai in 1934 and worked for the family enterprises in Hangzhou and Szechuan) as the new factory manager of the Peng Chau plant in HK

See: Great China Match Co. (大中國火柴廠)

Green Island Cement Company
See: Green Island Cement Company during World War Two

Hing Wah Battery Factory

ER has sent this BAAG report

HK Tobacco Company (British American Tobacco) 

ER has sent this BAAG report

Hume Pipe (Far East) Ltd

PC: writes about the company on 10 Dec 1941. The following reports come from the War Diary of HMS Cicala.

0715   Opened fire on the Hume Pipe Factory  with 6” HE. This was a most unsatisfactory target  at close range as it was a long low building partially obscured  by a high bank, however many hits were obtained , and then the two corrugated  iron sheds in front of the factory  were shelled and destroyed.

Island Paint Company Ltd (香島漆廠, IPCO)

YL: When Canton was occupied by the Japanese in 1938, he moved to Hong Kong with six of his technicians and founded IPCO.

The company first set up a factory on Lau Li Street, Causeway Bay which had an area of more than 8,000 sq. ft.

During the Second World War, two branch factories were set up, one on Kwong Wah Street and the other in 141 To Kwa Wan Road, Kowloon. IPCO manufactured ship paint, building paint, synthetic enamel, varnish, lithographic and letterpress printing ink.
Island Paint, Kin Kwok Lacquer and HK Paint Products – the three Forgotten Players of the HK Paint Industry

Kwoon Kwen Metal Ware

YL: Natives of Falong in Panyu (Pun U) in Guangdong province, Li Yan came to HK before the War where Sze-king was born in 1931. When the Japanese occupied HK in 1941, the family moved back to Panyu and returned after the War was over in 1945.
Kwoon Kwen Metal Ware (冠群金屬製品廠)

Lea Hin Company (立興公司) 

YL:When the Japanese occupied Singapore in 1941, Lea Hin came under Japanese military control. After the War, business resumed and in addition to kerosene lamps, Lea Hin began importing kerosene stoves from America and marketed them under the “Butterfly” brand.When the Communists took over Shanghai in 1949, Lea Hin lost its source of supply for kerosene lamps and as a result, the firm set up its ownmetal factory in Singapore at the junction of Alexandra Road and LengKee Road to manufacture lamps. It later ventured into the production of steel casement windows, marketed under the “Star” brand, and supplied them to Housing Development Board projects that required window grilles, roller shutters and aluminum sliding windows.
Lea Hin Co (立興公司) and “Butterfly” and “Tingkwon” Kerosene Lanterns

YL: During the Second World War, two branch factories were set up, one on Kwong Wah Street and the other in 141 To Kwa Wan Road, Kowloon. IPCO manufactured ship paint, building paint, synthetic enamel, varnish, lithographic and letterpress printing ink.

Lee Seng Heng (李成興魚露): King of Fish Sauce

YL: When the Japanese occupied Swatow in 1938, Lee Seng Heng’s plant and equipment were completely destroyed. After the Japanese took over Hong Kong, the Japanese Army took over Lee Seng Heng’s Aberdeen plant and looted all of its equipment, resulting in over HK$1 million in losses.
After the War, Lee Seng Heng rebuilt its plant in Swatow at its original site and refurbished its HK plant with new canning equipment from the UK.
Lee Seng Heng (李成興魚露): King of Fish Sauce

National Lacquer and Paint Products Company, Limited

During Japanese occupation of Hong Kong… NLPP… remained in operation. (10)

Penn E., Industrial Manufactory

YL: After the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Eugene Penn relocated to Hong Kong where he continued his trading business under the name of E. Penn & Co (興華洋行, which joined the HK General Chamber of Commerce as a pre-war member). Wu joined her husband in HK where she starred in several films. When the Japanese occupied Hong Kong in December 1941, Butterfly Wu and her husband were stranded on the island and were rumored to be killed during the siege of HK. The reality was the Japanese military administration kept her under custody and tried to coerce her into starring in propaganda films. Refusing to collaborate with the Japanese, Wu and her husband disguised as beggars and with the help of resistance fighters managed to escape from HK in 1942 and eventually arrived at the wartime capital of Chungking in 1943.
Star Power: E. Penn Industrial Manufactory (興華實業) and “Butterfly” (胡蝶牌) Vacuum Flasks and Torch Cases

Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精)

YL: When the Japanese occupied Canton in 1938, Po Chai relocated with the KMT regime to the Southwest where branches were established in cities such as Kunming, Chunking and Kweilin. When the War was over in 1945, Chan returned to Canton and then moved to HK in 1949 where he extended Lemonin’s markets to Southeast Asia and beyond. In 1954, Chan Shiu-chuen visited Phnom Penh with plans to open a branch there.
Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精)

Shoes

The Japanese regime introduced a programme for reopening factories to produce goods such as shoes made with rubber from Indochina and Malaya. (p 123, Carroll)

South China Iron Works

HF “South China Iron Works Ltd., founded in 1938, lost much of its machiney during the Japanese occupation, but by 1949 had resumed production of diesel engines, including ‘specially designed’ three wheeled vehicles ‘especially designed for use in Southeast Asia’, and 2.5 ton trucks.”
From Made in Hong Kong: A History of Export design in Hong Kong 1900-1960, The Urban Council, May 1988
A undated photograph accompanying the quote shows the factory as being in Tsuen Wan, though in tiny font

ER has sent this BAAG report:

KWIZ #77 15.12.44

KWIZ#77 15.12.44

IDJ: During the Japanese occupation period, the Japanese removed most of the machinery to Japan.

The machinery was, fortunately, located after the war and returned to the factory. But many essential parts were missing.

While waiting for these vital parts, the bigger party of the factory was requisitioned for military accommodation, and it was not until recently that the company was given back its premises.
South China Iron Works built rally vehicle and details about the company, 1950 newspaper article

Tai Shing (泰盛)

YL: When the Japanese occupied HK in 1941, they took over Tai Shing’s factory for two months before returning it to the Heungs but $30,000-40,000 worth of damage was already done to goods and equipment in the factory. After the War, Tai Shing resumed its business in HK with sales office at 131 Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan and factory location still at Tam Kung Road and re-opened its Canton plant at Ming Him Lane in August 1946 with assistance from Yu-po’s eldest son Chit-kau, who recently graduated from Wah Ying College (華英中學) in Foshan.

Tai Shing (泰盛): the Heung family’s eight decades journey from Canton to HK and from Weaving and Dyeing to Properties and Stocks

Vitasoy

YL: During the Japanese occupation (1941-45), the Vitasoy factory was shut down and K.S. Lo moved to the mainland with his family. Shiu Wai-ming stayed in HK where he was appointed chief of the Western district under the Japanese military administration. Two weeks after the Japanese surrender in 1945, Lo returned to HK and restarted Vitasoy in November with the support of Shiu. An Aberdeen factory was added in 1950 to bottle Green Spot orangeade and the firm also secured the bottling franchise for Pepsi Cola in 1957, the year of Wai-ming’s death. By then, HK Soy Bean Products had become one of the most successful beverage companies in Hong Kong. 

See: From Curios and Jewelry to Soy Milk and Cinemas – the 150 year old saga of the Shiu Lock Hing family

Wan Tat-ming (溫達明) and Ling Nam Weaving (嶺南布廠)

YL: In 1930, he established Wan Hop Cheong in Foshan and thanks to its quality and low price, its umbrellas were sold throughout South China and Southeast Asia. When the Japanese occupied Canton in 1938, Kam-pui sent his third son Tat-ming to HK to establish Ling Nam Weaving Factory to manufacture cotton fabric
Wan Tat-ming (溫達明) and Ling Nam Weaving (嶺南布廠)

Woo Ping (胡炳) – Weaving and Real Estate Pioneer

YL: A native of Nanhai in Guangdong province, Woo’s father Woo Kam-cheung (胡金祥) was the founder of Woo Kam Tak Weaving & Dyeing Factory (胡金德織染廠) in Foshan, whose mosquito nets were popular in Southeast Asia before the War. When the Japanese occupied Canton in 1938, the 23 year old Woo Ping set up Ling Nam Weaving in Hong Kong with friends (presumably Wan Tat-ming, see article) but soon struck out on his own and established Shun Sing Weaving & Dyeing Factory (慎成織染廠) in Kowloon City in 1940. The initial operations were small but the firm’s “Three Bears” and “Three Dragons” brand of cotton fabric gained a foothold in the market for its high quality and durability.

When the Japanese occupied HK in 1941, Shun Shing continued its operations on the second floor of 15 Nga Tsin Wai Road, starting with 4 hand operated looms. Thanks to Woo’s persistence, the business was one of the few if not only weaving mill which continued to operate during the Japanese occupation and expanded its factory to No. 17 and No. 23 of the same road with additional machinery, daily output of 3-4 put and $5000 of working capital. 

After the War was over in 1945, the firm continued to operate from the same site and by then had 40 looms, ten times its original capacity.

Woo Ping (胡炳) – Weaving and Real Estate Pioneer

The World Pencil Co. (大華鉛筆廠)

YL: In 1931, the Japanese occupied Manchuria which triggered a nationalistic wave of demand for Chinese-made products and establishment of local factories, especially in areas which historically had relied on imports from Japan and other foreign countries. It was with this background that the World Pencil Co was incorporated in September 1932. Allegedly the firm was established through the acquisition of a former British-owned pencil factory.

During the Japanese occupation, World Pencil continued its operations and Allen Ng Chung-chew (吳仲朝) served as sales manager and secretary of the firm. Allen was the great grandson of Ng Ying-cheong (吳應昌), the first comprador of Douglas Lapraik & Co who died in 1873 and son of Ng Kwok-hing (吳國興), the comprador of W.G. Humphreys (紹昌洋行) which went out of business. Prior to joining World Pencil, Allen worked for Asiatic Petroleum for over a decade. Based on his father’s name, it is possible that Allen was Ng Ip-hing’s nephew (to be confirmed).

The World Pencil Co. (大華鉛筆廠) – the first Chinese-owned manufacturer of pencils in HK and China

Mining 

Lin Ma Hang mine

HF:  Small-scale mining was carried out in a haphazard way during the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945. This was done mostly by robbing pillars in the eastern section of the mine, which resulted in the roof caving in and making it generally unsafe.  Most of the equipment was removed during this time and the buildings were looted and damaged but probably not by the Japanese. (unknown source)

LT: There was some mention of mininghan  done during the Japanese Occupation, especially the Lin Ma Hang Mine, in the intelligence reports of the British Army Aid Group (BAAG) – see the Sir Lindsay Ride Private Papers.

Ma On Shan Iron Mine

TM: In 1940, the South China Iron Smelters Co. Ltd. took over the mine and started to excavate commercial quantities of ore in an open cut quarry using hand operated tools. Production reached up to 100 tons a day with the concentrate, carried to the coast using mule and horses and shipped to the Green Island Cement Company. The mining company had plans to build a blast furnace on the sea-front to produce its own steel. However, the Second World War interrupted production.

During the Japanese occupation of the territory, from 1942 to 1945, the mine was operated sporadically by the Japanese who shipped the raw ore to Japan to support war production. At this time the mine employed about 1,500 workers (it is not clear if these were paid or forced labour as adopted in many Japanese captured mines) and as there was still no mechanical transport, horses and donkeys were used to carry the ore down the hill to the dockside.

Ma On Shan Mine – Part One, The Open Cut Years

Money/Currency  

Military Yen In Hong Kong

On 26 Dec 1941, the day after the Hong  Kong Government surrendered to the Japanese,the Japanese authorities decreed the military yen to be the legal tender of Hong Kong. [this conflicts with another source which states this did not happen until 1942 – Does anyone know the actual date?] The use of the Hong Kong dollar was outlawed and  a deadline was set for exchanging these into the military yen. [Does anyone know the date of this deadline?] When the military yen was first introduced on 26 December 1941, the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the military yen was 2 to 1. However, by October 1942, the rate was changed to 4 to 1.

Newspapers during the occupation

Fung Chi Ming:  The English language (Japanese) newspapers published during wartime, known as Hongkong News, is only available in microfilm, deposited at the Hong Kong University Library (possibly also in the HK Central Library, Causeway Road).  In the HK public libraries website, there is a limited amount of digitalized newspapers but they do not include the Hongkong News.

HF: Sep 1942 ” At present there are four morning and one evening newspapers in Hong Kong. They are: daily newspapers such as the Xiangiang, the Xingdao, the Huaqiao, and the Dongya Evening Post. These are all published in Chinese. In addition, there is the Hong Kong Daily published in Japanese, and the Hong Kong News in English. The newspapers come out daily in a single sheet, and are sold at 5 sen Military Currency each.” (quoted form the HK Broadcasting Office in Faure p225) I do not know if the Japanese or Chinees language newspapers can be seen in Hong Kong, nor if so in what form.

Oil Depots

Caltex Oil Terminal – Tsuen Wan 

ADW: Parts of the Terminal were old.  One of the tanks was built around 1936, of riveted construction rather than welded, and it was badly damaged by Japanese bombing during the war.  It was taken apart, rivet by rivet and plate by plate, then the plates were beaten back to semi-flat using sledge hammers (the marks were clearly visible on the plates) and re-riveted.  The rebuilt tank only leaked a little so it was used for lube base stock because lighter products such as diesel would have spurted little fountains all over it.

Texaco Oil Depot
LT: On 26th Jan 1945 [during an Allied air raid targeting several locations] the Texaco  Oil installation at Tsuen Wan  was bombed and caught fire. Oil storage at No.11 Kowloon Godown was set on fire.

Place/Area/Street  Names during the Japanese occupation

Area Names

Aberdeen – during the occupation the Chinese name  for Aberdeen, ‘Hong Kong Tsai’ was changed into  the Japanese, ‘Yuan Hong Kong’ (元香港), meaning ‘The Origin of Hong Kong’.

Street Names – Japanese versions

The re-naming of streets into Japanese apparently took place on 1 Apr 1942.

Names of HK roads rewritten Japanese

Postal Services

Stamps

Dec 4 1941 Last mail sent out of HK – to Australia
http://www.hkpsoc.com/articles/ww2.htm

Stamps during the Japanese occupation
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26965 a forum discussing this subject. This suggests: “Until April 1945, ordinary Japanese stamps were used in Hong Kong, which had surrendered December 25, 1941.”

April 1945

courtesy: www.stanleygibbons.com

Public Records Office HK (PRO)

The PRO  has put together a small but useful introduction to : Life under Japanese Occupation
www.grs.gov.hk/ws/erp/japanocc/eng/index.htm

Property

Li Shiu Chung – Property Investor

The Riches to Rags to Riches Sagas of Li Po-lung (李寶龍) and his son Li Shiu-chung (李兆忠)
YL: During the Japanese occupation, Li resumed his career as a property broker. At the time landlords were liquidating properties at bargain prices to get by and as a scion of the Li family, Shiu-chung was connected to many of the sellers. He also befriended many of the buyers including the Chiuchow merchant Liu Po-shan (廖寶珊, 1900-1961), who became one of the biggest landlords in Western district with the help of Li and later founded the Liu Chong Hing Bank (now Chong Hing Bank).

Retaliers/Shops

Yu Yat Kee Watch Co (余日記)

YL: Yu Yat Kee was named after its founder Yu Yat-nin (余日年), a native of Nanhai who was born in 1904. In 1926, he founded the first Yu Yat Kee at 80 Des Voeux Road Central, next to the still standing Tak Wing Pawn Shop. During the Japanese occupation of HK from 1941-45, he relocated to Canton where he continued to operate. After the War was over in August 1945, he returned to Hong Kong where he restarted Yu Yat Kee at 187 Johnston Road in Wanchai and joined the Swiss firm of Desco de Schulthess& Co (達昌洋行, aka Desco) in October 1945 as its Chinese comprador for watches. (WKYP, 1958-4-5)

Yu Yat Kee Watch Co (余日記)

Ship breaking

Please see the article:  Ship breaking in Hong Kong – post WW2 to 1961  which includes the following, “Between 1947 and 1950 the [HK ship breaking] industry mainly relied on war wrecks from HK harbour, in 1949 and 1950 unwanted “Liberty ships” were broken up.”

HF: The numbers in the above newspaper article differ from the following. “[Post War] Almost none of the navigation aids remained, and the fairways ad wharves were clogged with 13 major and 95 minor wrecks.” (Ward).

And again from an information board at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum which states, “[the liberation of Hong Kong] found a  devastated town, wrecked dockyards and 230 shipwrecks strewn across the harbour”. It continues “all wrecks were cleared by Sept 1947”.

Shipping, General

LT: Various BAAG agents were actively observing all enemy shipping in HK and providing details of Japanese ships as well as the various dockyards, making detailed drawings of both.  (See Lindsay Ride Papers at the AWM Series 10 Folder 16).

LT: The BAAG’ had a  strong interest in  collecting intelligence on Japanese shipping into & out of Hong Kong during the Occupation. In the Ride Papers (Ref: AWM Series 2 Folder 32) there were some reports of a plan to set up an Observation Post for shipping at Lamma Island circa August 1944. Agent 530 Sham Yung-hung, formerly HKRNVR), whose family were from Lamma Is, was sent back to conduct feasibility studies. The plan was for Sham to bring back a BAAG OP Team and operate a Force 136 radio set on a moving junk steered by his family off Lamma. There were reportedly no enemy troops or Red Guerrillas on Lamma. Japanese troops from Aberdeen visited from time-to-time only.

Originally, the BAAG tried to set up a Shipping OP at  Sunset Peak on Lantau. The plan was disallowed by the Nationalist Government on account of the needed co-operation for protection by the local Red Guerrillas. Then the Nationalist Government allowed a BAAG OP to be set up at Tzatleunshan, Daipeng Bay. Upon arrival in the Autumn of 1943, the OP Team was captured by the local Red Guerrillas and held for ransom for some 4 months. This Lamma Island OP would be free from such complications. I’m not clear why the Lamma Operation was not implemented.

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided HK lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs.  Five vessels in the harbor were severely damaged and half sunk.
CM: On this date two TBM-Avenger bombers carried a payload of 11, 2000-pound bombs over the city. Five targeted ships.  [see SCMP 8th January 2014, ” Bomb fell in huge early 1945 US raid.]

Shipyards/Dockyards

LT: Various BAAG agents were actively observing all enemy shipping in HK and providing details of Japanese ships as well as the various dockyards, making detailed drawings of both.  (See Lindsay Ride Papers at the AWM Series 10 Folder 16).see Lawrence’s  article: World War Two -BAAG, Mateys and Allied attempts to disrupt HK Dockyards

Jan 1943 “For a time the Imperial government hoped to staunch this haemorrhage [caused by American aircraft and submarines sinking Japanese merchant ships] by exploiting  Hong Kong’s potential as a shipbuilding centre. The colony’s shipyards would be put to work turning out auxiliary merchant vessels for the use of both Hong Kong itself and the entire Southern Region. In January 1943 the first such vessel rolled off the slipways, and the media claimed that Hong Kong would able to produce another one every three days. But the colony proved unable to to sustain this momentum. In the following months, to judge from official announcements , just five more auxiliary ships were produced.” (Snow)

Aberdeen Dockyard

CM: On 16th January 1945 two TBM-Avenger bombers carried a payload of 11, 2000-pound bombs over the city. One was dropped on Aberdeen Dockyard.  [see SCMP 8th January 2014, ” Bomb fell in huge early 1945 US raid.]

Bailey’s Shipyard

HF: BAAG WIS#15 30th December 1942. In October 1942 the Army handed over Bailey’s Shipyard to the Osaka Iron Works Company.

Cosmopolitan Docks

LT: BAAG Ref: Kwiz 86/5 Feb 1945 (Lindsay Ride Collection AWM Series 10 Folder 30).  BAAG was active in collecting information, including sketches of ships and site plans of this dockyard. Details of work done, work force and problems encountered were reported.

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided HK lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs. During this raid the Cosmopolitan Dock at the end of Boundary Street was damaged.
On 26th Jan 1945  during air raids by Allied aircraft [targeting various locations]  the Cosmopolitan Shipyard  was damaged.

Kwong Hip(Heep?) Lung Shipyard

LT: BAAG Ref: Kwiz 86/5 Feb 1945 (Lindsay Ride Collection AWM Series 10 Folder 30).  Renamed Dainichi. BAAG was active in collecting information, including sketches of ships and site plans of this shipyard. Details of work done, work force and problems encountered were reported.

Kowloon Docks (HK & Whampoa)

HF: “The bombed Jinsham steamer returned to duty after repairs at the Kowloon Dockyard (Whampoa). (Cheng 2006) When was the ship bombed and when did it return to duty?

HF: BAAG WIS#15 30th December 1942. In October 1942 the Army handed over Kowloon Docks to the Osaka Iron Works Company.

Oct 25, 1942 Report of an American bombing raid (CATF) 12 B-25s and 7 P-40s,  on Kowloon Docks.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/china/hong-kong/missions-hong-kong.html

Kowloon Docks mid-December 1942

HF: BAAG KWIZ#76 24th November 1944 Two small generators remain working in the China, Light & Power Co. Station (22365684). Electricty is supplied only to Kowloon Docks and Green Island Cement Works, each of which receives 3 days’ power in the week. This power station has been allotted 47 tons of coal from Formosa, and on 5th November had about 2,000 tons of coal in stock.

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs. Sixteen ships were sunk or damaged, including one sunk at Kowloon Dock.
CM: On this date two TBM-Avenger bombers carried a payload of 11, 2000-pound bombs over the city. One was dropped on Kowloon Dockyard.  [see SCMP 8th January 2014, ” Bomb fell in huge early 1945 US raid.]

5th Apri 1945 (FEAF) B-24s bomb Kowloon Docks.
8th April 1945 (FEAF) B-24s bomb Kowloon Docks.

Naval Dockyard

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided HK lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs. Sixteen ships were sunk or damaged, including: one sunk and one damaged at the Naval Dock.
On 21st Jan 1945 air raids were conducted by some 20 Allied Aircraft  which included damaging the Naval Dock, including electrical workshops & godowns.

Taikoo Dockyard (Mitsui Dockyard)

HF: BAAG WIS#15 30th December 1942. In October 1942 Mitsui Bussan Kaisha took over Taikoo Dock from the HK Government.

LT says: Folder 10 Series 16 of the Lindsay Ride Papers of the AWM collection regarding the BAAG contain a couple of site plans of Taikoo Docks circa Aug & Sep 1944. These were supplied by BAAG Agents as intelligence for targeting by US Bombers. I should think bombing took place immediately after. The Taikoo Docks could have been bombed more than once though.

Taikoo Dockyard during a US air raid,  January 1945 WW2

Can anyone provide the exact date of the above raid. And any further information about locations bombed by either Japanese or Allied forces during WW2.

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided HK lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs. Sixteen ships were sunk or damaged, including six damaged at Taikoo Docks.
CM: On this date two TBM-Avenger bombers carried a payload of 11, 2000-pound bombs over the city. Four were dropped on Taikoo Dockyard. One narrative on this attack said, ” Five planes dove [sic] from south to north , releasing their bombe between 3,000 and 3,500 feet and all bombs were observed to hit in the dry dock area…It is considered that serious damage was done to… the dry docks.” [see SCMP 8th January 2014, ” Bomb fell in huge early 1945 US raid.]

HF: “The Taishan steamer, sunk by British forces, was recovered from the waters of Chaiwan and brought for repairs at the Mitsui Dockyard (Taikoo Dockyard). (Cheng 2006). What date was this ship sunk?

Tsuen Wan Shipyard

LT: On 16th Jan 1945 over 300 Allied Aircraft raided HK lasting from 0900 to 1800hrs. Sixteen ships were sunk or damaged, including two destroyed in Tsuen Wan Shipyard.

Wing On Shipyard

LT: BAAG Ref: Kwiz 86/5 Feb 1945 (Lindsay Ride Collection AWM Series 10 Folder 30). BAAG was active in collecting information, including sketches of ships and site plans of this shipyard. Details of work done, work force and problems encountered were reported.

Transport

Please see the article, HK Industry during World War Two – Transport 

Utilities

Electricity

1943 Aug “By August the coal stocks were exhausted. The power stations could no longer supply electricity, industrial activity ground to a halt and the colony was plunged into darkness as soon as night fell” (Snow)

BAAG KWIZ #76 24.11.44

China Light and Power

BAAG Kwiz #76 24.11.44

Hok Un Power station shortly after the Japanese surrender.
October 1945

Hongkong Brewery

KWIZ#77 15.12.44

Hong Kong Electric

In 1941, during the Battle of Hong Kong just prior to the Japanese occupation the plant was severely damaged. Casualties included the plant’s manager, Vincent Sorby, who later died in a prison camp of wounds received during the attack

Oct 25 1942 (CATF) 12 B-25s and 7 P-40s, bomb the North Point power plant which provides electricity for the shipyards.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/china/hong-kong/missions-hong-kong.html

Telephone 

Immediately after the occupation began “a handful of British engineers were kept on at the telephone exchange…to repair war damage and to get the various installations working again”  (p138 Snow)

http://www.grs.gov.hk/ws/erp/japanocc/eng/eve02.htm

Sources:

1. Carroll, John M, A Concise History of Hong Kong, HKUP, 2007
2. Cheng Po Hung, Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong , 2006
3. Cheng Po Hung, Early Hong Kong Transport, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 2009
4. Faure, David, Edited by, A Documentary History Of Hong Kong: Society,  HKUP, 1997
5. The Lindsay Ride Private Papers are deposited with www.awm.gov.au
6. Snow, Philip, The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China and the Japanese Occupation, Yale University Press, 2003
7. Tsang, Steve A Modern History of Hong Kong, HKUP, 2004
8. Ward, Iain, Sui Geng: The Marine Police 1841-1950, HKUP, 1991
9. Arenz B, Hong Kong Kong Trams  Pacific Century Publishers Ltd, 1998
10. Hong Kong Memory Project

This article was first posted on 9th August 2014 and has been updated many times since then. Most recently on 27th December 2019  with information relating to Vitasoy.

Related Indhhk articles:

1. HK Industry during World War Two – transport
2. HK Industry during World War Two – fishing, food and beverages, tobacco
3. HK Industry during and immediately after World War Two – utilities

The Index contains many articles about Hong Kong during World War Two