Escape from Hong Kong - The Final Hours

Norman Halliday M.N.

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Forty eight year old Norman Halliday who had worked for Butterfield & Swire since 1919 in Shanghai before transferring to their Hong Kong branch along with forty three year old Lt-Cmdr Yorath RN of the XDO staff used the lifeboat from the HY Ferry moored in the harbour and rowed accross from Aberdeen under shell fire round Ap Lei Chau to instruct Cmdr Gandy RN to "GO" and requested to join the escape party with the MTBs at Aberdeen Island.^[15]

Photo from Buddy Hide's collection ©

Waichow 30th December 1940

Two days after arriving in Kukong Norman was admitted to the Mission hospital with malaria along with Holgar Christiansen, Frank Penny, Arthur Goring, and Fred Quixall

After 3000 miles traveling overland through China and Burma he arrived in a deserted Rangoon. After five weeks he left onboard the Armed Merchant Cruiser Heinrich Jessen bound for Calcutta along with Lt-Cmdr Gandy, Lt Collingwood, Lt Ashby & Jix Prest, Buddy Hide, Charlie Evans, Al Rutter, John pawley, Jack Holt, Les Barker, Ron Priestley, and others.

Norman along with fellow merchant navy officers Charlie Skinner and Duggy Pethick re-joined the merchant service while in India.