Escape from Hong Kong - The Fortunate Few

 

Buddy Hide & the fortunate few. Photos from the Hide & Ross collections ©

 

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The 2nd MTB Flotilla on the Road Across China

Admiral Chan Chak & the Fortunate few arriving in Kukong 6th January 1942

The Fortunate Few

Left: Admiral Chan Chak with Yeung Chuen behind him & Hsu Heng, wearing his dark coat, by the truck with Sub-Lt D.P. Legge to the left looking on during a stop at Lianping, about 1/3rd of the way from Longchuan to Kukong, now Shaoguan. Lianping had grown from a typical fortified walled village into a small town where the ratings were billeted in the Middle School for the night with the officers in a hotel.

On the Rollover photo

Top Left: Petty Officer Charlie Moore of MTB 27 looking pretty whacked.

Top Right: Bones Arnold and Buddy Hide with his hand on guerilla leader Leung Wingyuen's shoulder. Lofty Gurd of MTB 09 is on the left hanging out of the back of the ambulance in the top right picture along with Bill Schillemore, & John Pawley.

The padded jackets were obtained by the British Liaison officer to the Chinese army Lt- Colonel Harry Owen-Hughes, at Lung Chun. The party later swapped their Chinese army jackets for khaki shirts & shorts with an incoming detachment of British/Australian Marines of the 204 military Mission at Kunming.

Bottom Left: Admiral Chan Chak ROC and the senior Royal Navy Officer Cmdr Hugh Montague RN being feted by Chinese Army Officers Kukong.

Bottom right is 37 year old David MacDougall talking to a journalist. David was shot in the back during the fiasco in Aberdeen Channel. Mac returned as Brigadier Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong 1945 - 1949. He was acting Governor from May - 25 July 1947

Note the HERO rosettes visible on some escapees lapels in the two top pictures.

This page is from "The War Illustrated" Vol 5 No 126 April 17 1942. These photos were also featured in "The Illustrated London News" 21st March 1942.

PO Prest: "We traveled by cycles, lorries, junks, and donkeys, but mostly we walked. It was a case of march or die"

Buddy Hide: "On the whole, the moral, spirits, and courage of the party was magnificent. I think it was the shear thoughts of beating the Jap's, and the prospects of getting home after three years, some of us four years from home, that made us carry on."

If you recognise any members of the escape party, or have any information on the escape please let me know via the Webmaster Thank You

The Kukong HERO Rosette

Buddy Hide's HERO Rosette.    
Photo from Buddy Hide's collection ©

This is Petty Officer Buddy Hide's Chinese HERO Rosette proclaiming:

Chung/Loyal

Yung/Brave

Sat/Kill

Dik/Enemy

Photo from Buddy Hide's collection ©

Given to each member of the escape party at KuKong while escaping through Japanese occupied China.

This is a direct translation given to me by Admiral Chan Chak's  son Donald.

Click here to see the Waichow Group Photo taken on 30th December 1941

Click here to see the Guiyang Group Photo taken on 24th January 1942

Click here to see more

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Research and web publication by Buddy Hide Jnr ©

The contents of this web site led to a considerable number of escapee families contacting me and now each other, and remains the principle source of contact and private information for the spin off projects that have followed. The personal accounts enabled me to record the complete and true account of this remarkable episode of Sino-British war time co-operation. The information compiled here has directly resulted in a museum exhibition in Hong Kong, a re-enactment of the escape in Hong Kong and China, with a movie drama and documentary in the making.

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