TO the roar of the crowd, Sir Ellis Kadoorie's Tytam Chief galloped home to win the Hong Kong Derby. In 1918 the race was held on February 26, and it was a beautiful sunny day.
Sir Ellis and the members of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club watched the race from a luxurious ornate Victorian grandstand.
Non-members either lined the railings of the racetrack or sat in temporary matshed stands, especially constructed for event.
Just before the China Stakes were due to start, there was a second, more sinister roar as one of the three storey rickety grandstands collapsed like a house of cards sending 3,000 spectators tumbling to the ground.
Underneath the stand were a number of cooked food stalls selling tea and dim sum. These primitive field kitchens were crushed during the collapse, littering the ground with burning coals. The broken bamboo matting burst instantly into flames and soon the whole grandstand was ablaze.
A ghastly, struggling mass of panic-stricken spectators clawed and trampled over each other as they fought to escape from the relentless flames.