Philo Norton McGiffin helped modernise the Imperial Chinese Navy and was severely wounded during an battle against the Japanese. Photo: Courtesy of Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Philo Norton McGiffin helped modernise the Imperial Chinese Navy and was severely wounded during an battle against the Japanese. Photo: Courtesy of Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Lifestyle /  Arts & Culture

‘Treachery’: how US officer who fought for China in first Sino-Japanese War came to a bad end

  • Unable to obtain a commission in the US Navy, naval officer Philo Norton McGiffin left America in 1885 to seek employment in China
  • His story, including being seriously injured during a battle against Japanese warships, is told in a Hong Kong Maritime Museum online exhibition

Stuart Heaver
Stuart Heaver

Updated: 6:26am, 17 Jun, 2020

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Philo Norton McGiffin helped modernise the Imperial Chinese Navy and was severely wounded during an battle against the Japanese. Photo: Courtesy of Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Philo Norton McGiffin helped modernise the Imperial Chinese Navy and was severely wounded during an battle against the Japanese. Photo: Courtesy of Hong Kong Maritime Museum
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