History buffs bring World War II Battle of Hong Kong to life with tours of military sites and by sharing the accounts of soldiers who fought Japanese invasion
- The Watershed Hong Kong Facebook page was set up by history enthusiasts to share stories about the Battle of Hong Kong during World War II
- The history buffs, who lead tours of wartime sites, sometimes in period uniforms, say Covid-19 curbs on travel have prompted increased interest in their outings
It was at a pre-graduation clean-up in the Ricci Hall student residence at the University of Hong Kong in 2015 that Taurus Yip Kwan-kit stumbled upon a short biography of alumnus Jose Guterres in a 1954 Silver Jubilee Journal.
Guterres, who graduated in 1930, was an officer in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps when the British colony fell to Japanese forces 80 years ago after 18 days of combat between December 8 and 25, 1941 in what is known as the Battle of Hong Kong.
“One page in the book was dedicated to those who died during the Battle of Hong Kong and Guterres was one of six mentioned,” explains Yip. “He had guarded the Mount Davis battery.” The Mount Davis battery comprised three coastal defence gun emplacements at the western end of Hong Kong Island.
When the British surrendered Hong Kong to the Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941, Guterres was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in Sham Shui Po. He died from dysentery at St Teresa’s Hospital in July 1942 and was buried at Stanley Military Cemetery.
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WWII battle site tours by military buffs keep Hong Kong's rich history alive
“We didn’t learn about this kind of history at university so we wanted to find out more,” says Yip, 29. “Before, when we studied history, we were told stories from the point of view of Germany and the United States, not from the British or Hong Kong side.”
Yip began researching the Battle of Hong Kong and started a Facebook page called Watershed Hong Kong, looking for and promoting World War II stories. His posts attracted other people in Hong Kong who are also military history buffs, and they have since led numerous tours to military sites above Shing Mun Reservoir in the New Territories, at Wong Ngai Chung Gap above Happy Valley, and on Mount Davis.