New on Gwulo: 2026, week 44

Submitted by David on Sun, 11/01/2026 - 01:00

What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

I'm a regular visitor to the hkmaps.hk website to explore their historic maps of Hong Kong, and see it has just had a major upgrade. I asked the website's founder Tymon Mellor for some of the highlights of the new site, and he replied:
- can now search every building address and lot number
- more aerial photos including the wartime images
- improved 1924 aerial image for the urban areas
- 3D imagery based on an older digital terrain model
Ken Salmon is giving a talk in Hong Kong on 10 November, based on his father's wartime experiences: Surviving the Lisbon Maru: The story of Japan's ship from hell, told by a survivor
2026 Gwulo meet up lunch in Hong Kong on 18 November - please leave a comment on that page to let Annelise know if you'd like to join. (Annelise has been organising these for several years, to give Gwulo's contributors and readers a chance to meet up.)
Behind the scenes I'm working on an upgrade to the Gwulo website, to keep up to date with the latest version of the software it runs on. If there are any features you'd like to see added to the site, this is a good time to see what's possible - please leave a comment below with the details of what you have in mind.
Extract from The Charge of the Rice Brigade, written in Shamshuipo POW Camp:
- No fags, no beer,
  Beri-beri, Diarrhoea,
  Sore throat, Pyorrhoea,
  You can catch anything here.
  Good old Five Thousand.
The earliest mention of 'Hong Kong', on a 16th-century map.
More Heavy Draw-off Fire Hydrant info found in public records
Re-siting of postboxes in the late 1940s to make them safer
Recent news in the wartime diaries:
- 1942
  - 25 Oct 1942. The American Air Force makes its first bombing raid over Hong Kong.
- 1943
  - 25 Oct 1943. It’s the first night of “La Czigane”, a popular show performed at the Shamshuipo POW Camp.
  - 29 Oct 1943. Thirty three people are executed on Stanley Beach soon after 2 p.m. All have been involved in one way or another with resistance activities organised by the British Army Aid Group.
- 1945
  - 27 Oct 1945. The repatriation ship carrying two of our diarists, Barbara Anslow (née Redwood) and R. E. Jones, arrives in Liverpool.
Cheung Chau Concert (August 1936)
Readers ask:
- Nicky in the UK is looking for any relatives of their great grandmother, Maria Augusta FERRAS (née MARQUES DA SILVA) [1878-1956] in Hong Kong / Macau

Places

(Click a Place's link below to visit its page - you'll see all the photos we have for it, and can add your memories of the Place to its comments.)

Kowloon
- 16-18 Lung Kong Road [????- ], shophouse
- Kowloon Technical School [1961- ]
- Nam Shan Estate [1977- ]
- Tai Hang Tung / Maryknoll Fathers' Chapel [????-c.1977]
- Tai Hang Tung Estate [1955- ]
- 3 Yu Chau Street [????- ], shophouse
Hong Kong Island
- Jubilee Battery gun emplacements: No.1, No. 2, No. 3
- Tai Koo Firing Range in the valley behind Quarry Bay
- Streets
  - Broom Road [????- ]
  - Green Lane [1940- ]
  - Haven Street [1931- ]
  - Hawthorn Road [1940- ]
  - Holly Road [1940- ]
  - Kui Yan Lane [????-????]
  - Wun Sha Street [1932- ]
New Territories
- Mount Parker Radar Stations [1976- ]
Outlying islands
- The "Ally Sloper" rock off Stonecutters Island

Organisations & People

(Click a Person's link below to visit their page - you'll see all the photos we have for them, and you can add any memories of the Person or extra information in their comments.)