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The Independent
08-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Hong Kong bomb that caused scare turns out to be British cannon barrel
A suspected bomb unearthed at a construction site in Hong Kong triggered a brief evacuation and police cordon on Tuesday but was later identified as a British cannon barrel, not an explosive device. Buried about three metres underground, the barrel measured about 4m long and 15cm in diameter. It was found at a construction site on Mody Road near the Urban Council Centenary Garden in East Tsim Sha Tsui on Tuesday at about 12.10pm local time. As a precaution, officers cordoned off a section of Granville Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road for over an hour. They also moved out about 40 workers from the area. Police explosive experts declared the area safe by mid-afternoon. It's fairly common for weapons or relics such as bombs, mines, or cannon barrels from past conflicts, particularly World War II, to be found in the city, often during construction or excavation work. The newly unearthed cannon barrel dates back to British colonial rule. When Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945, it became a target for Allied attacks, particularly its shipyards and harbour facilities that the Japanese military was using. 'Hong Kong's main value during the Japanese occupation was its ship repairing facilities, so putting those out of action was harming the Japanese war effort,' historian Jason Wordie told AFP in 2018. Mr Wordie added that there were likely 'stacks more' unexploded bombs from Allied forces still buried and awaiting discovery. A 500-pound Japanese bomb from World War II was discovered underwater near Shek Ngau Chau in Sai Kung last year and safely detonated. The operation involved the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, Marine Police and other specialist units. In September 2022, Hong Kong police launched a major air-land-sea lockdown ahead of a high-risk operation to safely detonate a British naval mine from World War II containing over 220kg of explosives. The intact mine, found 15 metres underwater near Cape D'Aguilar, was the first of its kind discovered off Hong Kong Island in 30 years. In January 2018, police defused a 450kg World War II bomb made in the US and found at a Wan Chai construction site, prompting the evacuation of over 4,000 people and a 24-hour cordon. The bomb, dropped during the Japanese occupation of the island, was severely damaged and difficult to access, making the operation especially risky. It was the second such device found in the same area within a week, according to news reports at the time. The largest bomb ever discovered in the city was a 907kg wartime explosive which was safely defused in 2014.
South China Morning Post
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's darkest days of Japanese invasion, cannibalism, POW camps and heroism
Discover some of Hong Kong's stories during WWII, from the city's surrender to Japan on Christmas Day 1941 to subsequent tales of survival and resilience under the occupation of the invading forces. Explore disturbing accounts of cannibalism during severe food shortages and learn how POWs used music and theatre to survive, and even escape, as PostMag writer Jason Wordie looks back at some of the stories from the city's darkest days. 1. Hong Kong's darkest December saw surrender to the invading Japanese on Christmas Day 1941 The capitulation to invading Japanese forces on December 25, 1941, means that day will forever also have a darker significance outside of the usual festivities attached to that date in the memories and history of Hong Kong. Numerous war memorials and remnants of conflict that still stand are reminders of 18 days of intense battles before the city fell on Christmas Day. 2. Cannibalism in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong: are the rumours true that food shortages drove people to that most desperate of measures? Harrowing accounts of cannibalism in Hong Kong during World War II are difficult to verify, but anecdotal evidence and oral histories suggest this horrific act was a grim reality for many. Read how Henry Ching, the South China Morning Post's long-serving Australian-Chinese editor, delved into this dark chapter of the city's history in his wartime diaries. 3. How POWs in Japanese prison camps kept their spirits up with music and theatre during the years of occupation Resilience and creativity flourished in the prisoner-of-war camps of Stanley and Sham Shui Po as internees used music and theatre to lift their spirits. Some performers, such as Ferdinand Maria 'Sonny' Castro with his high-camp imitations of 'Brazilian Bombshell' Carmen Miranda, became legendary, while others aided in daring escapes. 4. How Hong Kong lawyer Christopher D'Almada e Castro became a WWII hero whose bravery was stuff of legend Camp Lt Christopher D'Almada e Castro of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps in 1937. Photo: Courtesy of the D'Almada Barretto Collection D'Almada e Castro, a distinguished Hong Kong lawyer from the Portuguese community, bravely and at great personal risk assisted in intelligence-passing while a WWII prisoner of war. Read of his exploits while in internment and his later contributions to Hong Kong society after the conflict ended. 5. How a violinist's tunes helped guide soldiers breaking out of Sham Shui Po prisoner-of-war camp in 1942 During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, four British POWs escaped with the help of violinist Lieutenant Solomon Bard who played musical signals to warn of approaching guards. Conflicting memories of the escape, particularly regarding the meaning of the tunes played, highlight challenges of relying on oral accounts in historical research. Part of this article was produced with the assistance of generative AI
