Tse Sam’s life in Hong Kong lighthouses and Green Island Cement Company
HF: Kenneth Wong has sent this brief biography of his grandfather Tse Sam’s life. I am always happy to learn about those who worked in Hong Kong’s industrial history, here lighthouses and Green Island Cement Company.
Tse Sam and his wife in the 1960s
Kenneth Wong: I am happy to have my grandfather TSE Sam’s information added to your website. He first joined the Harbour Master’s Department (as it then was) in 1925. He worked at the Green Island lighthouse and then moved to Tang Lung Chau lighthouse in 1931. He then moved out of TLC to somewhere else (possibly Waglan lighthouse). Family foklore has it that he was on Waglan when the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, so he could be one of the staff evacuated by APV Frosty Moller (but I have no proof).
- Tse Sam and his family (my grandmother and aunts) escaped Hong Kong in 1942 or 1943, and received relief from the British Consulate, Macao. There are letters surviving in the Hong Kong government archive, requesting HK Consul, Macao to contact my grandfather and requesting his return to Hong Kong. Government records show that Tse Sam resumed his lighthouse duty at Tang Lung Chau lighthouse on the 1st December 1945, where he and his family remained until his retirement in 1960. His children (my uncles and aunts) grew up on Tang Lung Chau and Ma Wan islands, and some them still live on Ma Wan. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of Tse Sam at the lighthouse (still trying to find one). I have a photograph of him and my grandmother on Ma Wan in the 1960s.
On another note, thanks to your article, I now realize that Green Island Cement Company was not actually located on Green Island in Hong Kong. Tse Sam’s first job was a manual labour role (coolie?) at Green Island Cement Factory. I thought it was just a new job across the street when he became a lighthouse keeper at Green Island lighthouse. Now I know this is not the case.
This article was first posted on 12th April 2024.
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