bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A 66-year stint in HK was full of extraordinary experiences

Eugene Yourieff 1915-2004

No one would doubt that Eugene Yourieff, who died seven days ago, aged 88,  had an extraordinary life.

One of his strongest memories was standing on Cape D'Aguilar on December 8, 1941, when he was the first to spot the incoming Japanese arriving in Hong Kong.

'As the light came up, I saw the planes approaching from the direction of Macau. I sent for the officers, but by the time they arrived the planes had disappeared. We learned later that they had bombed the airport and Shamshuipo. We also knew the next day that the Japanese had arrived by land,' he told the South China Morning Post in May last year.

On Christmas Day in 1941, he fought all night defending Stanley. Starting with 69 people, by morning, only 18 were alive, all wounded. The Japanese had attacked their position from behind.

His list of extraordinary experiences also include helping to build the pagoda in Qingdao  in China which  appears on the bottles and cans of  Tsingtao beer.

But it was his kindness and selflessness that his family most remembers him for.

'He always put others first,' said his daughter-in-law Martine. 'There is some indefinable quality about him that goes beyond selflessness. He only fully enjoyed himself when others were enjoying themselves.

'He set an example for the rest of the family in a quiet way.

'He was the backbone of our family. His nobleness and selflessness are a rarity in today's world.'

Yourieff's younger son, David, believes that his father simply endeared himself to people. 'He was softly spoken naturally and always had a big smile,' he said.

'He was a great teacher, always giving his thoughts, but never forcing them upon people.'

Yourieff was born in  Ukraine in 1915. His father died seven years later, leaving him, two brothers,  a sister and his  mother.

In 1924, to escape the famine that followed the Russian revolution, his mother took  the  children to China to join her brother, who was the Russian charge d'affaires.  The train journey took a week and all the  children caught scarlet fever along the way.

In 1938, Yourieff came to Hong Kong to work as a passenger assistant with the French shipping company Mesagrie Maritimes.

His starting pay was $300 a month and it  increased to $350 after three months, $50 of which he sent to his mother who lived on the mainland.

Apart from witnessing the first incoming Japanese in 1941 as one of the Hong Kong Volunteers,  he was also one of the founding members of the Hong Kong Marine Police when 80 keen yachtsmen launched  the water force.

Before his death, he was the longest serving member of the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club.

Yesterday, 66 years after he first set foot in Hong Kong and six days after his death, Yourieff's wife, two sons, two daughters-in-law and three granddaughters were out sailing together on the city's  harbour.

'It's beautiful out here - being on the dinghy, sailing around - I feel like I've got some sunburn today,' David said over the phone.

Children's screams and laughter could be heard in the background.

'My father is with us here.

'I'm sure. This is how he would like us to be.  The last thing he said to me was, 'I love you, and now go sailing'.'



Marine Police founding member put others first