BAAG records of shipping in HK during 1944-45 – the Nanhatsu aka Nanbatsu Maru
Elizabeth Ride has British Army Aid Group (BAAG) records of shipping movements for 1944-45 in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in World War Two.
These provide information not only about the ships themselves but what cargo was being brought into and out of Hong Kong during the latter stages of WW2, passengers carried, and of godowns, docks etc that were being utilised.
BAAG Report KWIZ #70
The Nanhatsu aka Nanbatsu Maru, a fishing vessel /converted cargo boat, was seen on 26 Aug 1944
Arrived on 10 Aug 1944 from Macao
Inward cargo: 200 bags of rice, 1 lot of provisions. Discharged 11-14 Aug, taken to Kowloon Godowns
Departed on X
Outward cargo: X
Transit cargo: X
Repairs: On 16 Aug admitted to Cosmopolitan Dock. To be completed by 25 Sep.
An image of this ship would be helpful.
This article was first posted on 19 February 2017.
Further information:
- For general information about the Elizabeth Ride collection, her father Sir Lindsay Ride, and the British Army Aid group during WW2 a very useful introduction is through http://gwulo.com/node/13968
- The BAAG papers are kept at the Hong Kong Heritage Project – Elizabeth M Ride Collection
No ship of this name exists in Japanese records. In all likelihood the ship was a wooden hulled locally constructed auxiliary motor sailboat (like Manshu Maru- see BAAG report on this ship). The fate of such vessels are generally unknown- most that survived the war were quietly taken over by local fishermen and shipowners. Some were seized by the authorities and auctioned off or scrapped, particularly if they have suffered war damage. In this case there is no reference to the Nanhatsu Maru being attacked in Allied records.