BAAG Naval Section Intelligence Summary, late January to late March 1943, ship repair, maintenance and movements
Elizabeth Ride has sent the Naval section of a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) Waichow Intelligence Summary (WIS 24) dated 23rd March 1943. This covers shipping movements in and out of Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in World War Two during late January to late March 1943, a longer period than is usual in this type of report. There are a number of Naval Section Intelligence Summaries covering these months which tend to overlap one another.
These reports also describes time spent by vessels undergoing repairs and maintenance in a number of Hong Kong shipyards.
They also offer a wide range of other information including that concerning the Japanese Army and Air Force and other aspects of life in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in which you may be interested. This is not usually included here. To see the full reports please refer to Further Information below.
HF: To aid research I have attempted to summarize and list the most salient points covered in the report under three sections:-
Firstly, Locations mentioned – both shipyards in HK and ports vessels have come from or are going to in South and East Asia.
Secondly, the names of Ships mentioned. This has not always been easy. My inability to read Chinese or Japanese is a clear hindrance. Plus even when in English whether typed or handwritten they are sometimes semi-legible. Any corrections or clarification would be helpful.
Thirdly, under Miscellaneous I have noted any items that I think might be of interest.
Further information regarding subjects mentioned in this report including images of the ships would be very welcome.
Locations: Dairy Farm Storage at East Point, Naval Yard, OSK Pier, KOwloon Wharves, Jardine Wharf, Taikoo Docks, Stone Cutters Island, Cosmopolitan Dock
Ships mentioned: Manila Maru hospital ship, Transports, destroyer, cargo ships, Aosan transport, Asosan – former Swedish tanker, Enemy Supply Ships
Miscellaneous: Numbers of Japanese employed at the Naval Yard
THE Asosan Maru Courtesy: The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association
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 https://www.hongkongheritage.org/Pages/FindingAids/LibraryCollection/Elizabeth_M_Ride_Collection.aspx
Our Index contains several examples of BAAG Naval Section Intelligence Summaries.