80 years ago this December, it was World War II and the Japanese had just attacked Pearl Harbor. At the same time in Hong Kong, there were soldiers stationed around the countryside of Kwai Chung, an area that we are now familiar with. They travelled through Golden Hill, Shing Mun Reservoir, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn, until they reached Port Shelter in Sai Kung. They fought their hardest for 18 days to defend Hong Kong and its people from the Japanese invasion. “3 years and 8 months” is often used to summarize the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong, but we seldom hear about the details of these 18 days before the Occupation. We live so close to the places where this important piece of history occurred, yet our textbooks mention nothing and only a few people know about it.
Watershed Hong Kong, An Organisation to Showcase the History Again
In recent years, there have been a number of groups on social media writing about Hong Kong’s history, elevating this precious history into the public’s attention. Watershed Hong Kong, an organisation has not only written online articles, but also reenacted the scenes live. Since 2016, following European and North American styles to act out history, they invite history enthusiasts, grandchildren of the soldiers or students to be their actors. They dress up and walk to the popular Tsim Sha Tsui area to draw attention and tell the public what had happened.
A guided tour by Watershed Hong Kong X TrailWatch at Shing Mun Redoubt in Christmas 2018
Apart from storytelling in the city, Watershed Hong Kong also hosts guided tours in the country parks. Around the Shing Mun Redoubt, pillboxes and trenches, they invite the participants to look closely at the bullet holes and the traces carved by the soldiers back then. The actors hold imitation props and wear uniforms from that time to explain the origin of each detail. They turn history on paper to a living experience. Last year, a popular behind-the-scenes production team from ViuTV (無制限ot編集団) introduced the battle in Shing Mun Redoubt in one of their episodes. This part of Hong Kong’s history is gradually returning to public sight.
Organising History: Finding the Descendants of the Soldiers
By reading Watershed Hong Kong’s articles carefully, you will discover that they did not only reorganize the forgotten history but also included numerous first-person interviews. In Autumn 2021, they received an opportunity to meet with the past, “We met with the grandchildren of Resham the sepoy in Central to learn more about him! We also contacted the daughter of Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride, he was the former commander of the Hong Kong Defence Corps and the principal of the University of Hong Kong. We feel that the traces of history are right in front of us.”
Of course all these experiences can be posted on social media but they can also disappear in just a flash. Watershed Hong Kong, together with Humming Publishing released a book (香港保衛戰紀——十八個需要記住的香港故事) on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong. Back to square one, recording history by book. They selected 18 characters to explain the 18 days' of battle with their experiences. The book has four chapters, including the two stages of the battle in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, the occupation and postwar periods. Watershed Hong Kong's view is that in the past, history education was too focused on the rise and decline of major regimes or numbers, instead of educating through the process or from the characters in the era, which created a sense of withdrawal when people talk about our own history.
A story teaser in this book, which you can read from the Dec newsletter, is the story of Major Evan Stewart who lost his parents and loved ones when he was a child but led the Eurasian soldiers to fight against enemies. He survived the war and became the principal of a prestigious local school. The story not only records his experience during the war but also tracks the people who went through the battle and how they contributed to the next generation.
Although Watershed Hong Kong has tried their best, many stories and unsung heroes have not been written down. For example, Mr. Peter Choi who shot down a Japanese reconnaissance seaplane passed away in 2020 – his story is also worth remembering. 80 years later, the soldiers and the people who have experienced 1941 are gradually leaving us. Watershed Hong Kong is trying to compete with time to look for more lost stories.
TrailWatch is about to giveaway four copies of the book《香港保衛戰紀——十八個需要記住的香港故事》via Facebook and Instagram, a guided tour with Watershed Hong Kong in Cantonese will also be hosted in Jan 2022.
Watershed Hong Kong X TrailWatch – A Guided Tour about the Battle of Hong Kong in Mount Davis
Date: 16 January 2022 (Sun)
Time: 09:30-13:30
Language: Cantonese