Not the Slightest Chance: The Defence of Hong Kong, 1941

Annotated Bibliography

PUBLISHED SOURCES (1) 17 Days Until Christmas. Leo Paul Berard. Privately printed, Canada, 1997. Berard’s useful book covers the period from his joining the Winnipeg Grenadiers in 1933 to leaving the Canadian army in 1965, though the vast majority of the book covers his experiences in Hong Kong and Japan with his original unit. It should be noted that the twelve platoon members listed here are those serving prior to the formation of ‘C Force’; by the time of their arrival in Hong Kong, nine of these men were no longer with them. Company Sergeant Major ‘T’ is of course Tugby. (2) A Mountain of Light. A. Coates. Hong Kong: Heinemann, 1977. Chapter 16 of this history of Hong Kong Electric covers the 19 December battle for the North Point power station. There are also some interesting photographs. (3) A Record of the Actions of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps. Major Evan Stewart, DSO. Hong Kong: Ye Olde Printerie, Ltd., 1953. This is the original book on the subject, written by the wartime commander of 3 Company HKVDC. Most histories written since have largely relied on a timeline based on this book plus Maltby’s despatch. A short book, it is unbeatable for anyone wishing to get a basic understanding of the December actions, though it is naturally somewhat biased towards those involving the HKVDC. In a nice twist of fate, the two principals of Ye Olde Printerie pre-war were both Volunteers Annotated Bibliography 未命名5:; 386 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (the Labrum brothers). Whilst at Sham Shui Po, they sent a message to their Hungarian partner (technically an enemy) to re-open the Printerie. He did so, together with two Japanese partners who were forced upon him. See (87). (4) A Tear for the Dragon. John Stericker. London: Arthur Barker, 1958. Approximately half of Stericker’s autobiographical account covers his internment at Stanley. There is little specific information, but good general coverage of diet and camp life. Arthur Barker, who published Robert Graves’s ‘Claudius’ books, and later many of the early books about Hong Kong POWs, was himself captured in Hong Kong as a Captain in the 5th AA Regiment (51: 52). (5) A Yen for My Thoughts. G. A. Leiper. Hong Kong: South China Morning Post, 1982. Leiper’s book deserves to be better known. A member of 2 Company but also an ‘Essential Person’, he spent the 18 days working in Chartered Bank during the day, and attached to 4 Company at night. He therefore witnessed the goings-on in Central twenty-four hours per day. His obscene (and probably very accurate) depictions of the effects of shells and bombs hit home with this author, as all were within a short walk of where this book was written; the bloody execution of two Chinese ‘looters’ post-surrender was almost on the doorstep. The remainder of the book describes life under the occupation. (6) After the Battle, No. 83. Winston G. Ramsey. London: Battle of Britain Prints International Ltd., 1994. A 26-page article in a more general magazine, this consists of a quick summary of events brought to life by photographs in the familiar ‘then and now’ model. (7) An End to Tears. Russell Clark. Sydney: Peter Huston, 1946. Arriving with Harcourt’s fleet to relieve Hong Kong in August 1945, Clark writes of his impressions — as a journalist — of the Colony’s reactions to the removal of the Japanese overseers. The coverage of the last days of Stanley and Sham Shui Po are particularly useful. (8) At the Going Down of the Sun. Oliver Lindsay. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1981. A good overall account of the post-1941 experiences of Hong Kong and the POWs in general. Chapter 1 contains a summary of The Lasting Honour (95), and chapter 2 is the full story of the MTB escape of 25 December 1941. The remainder covers the camps, the Lisbon Maru, and the War Crimes trials. (9) BAAG. Edwin Ride. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1981. The son of the British Army Aid Group’s founder, Lt.-Col. Ride of the HKVDC Field Ambulance, Edwin Ride describes the BAAG’s role from the point when 未命名5:; ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 387 his father escaped Sham Shui Po till the end of hostilities. Initially formed to facilitate POW escapes from Hong Kong, BAAG’s mission was expanded to include assisting USAAF evaders and gathering intelligence from within both...