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Built in 1931, when it was part of Stanley Internment Camp it was known as "Bungalow A". Named "Bungalow 3" today, it is now the school's Heritage Centre, which contains items donated by internees and their families. The college, including the bungalows are living history, and help us to piece together the dark events from the utter devastation of defeat, the abuses at the hands of an ebullient foe, and then the day to day misery of being a prisoner on a starvation diet. The far prettier entrance is on the right.

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The Union Jack (flag) is thought to have been in an Indonesian internment camp during the war. The flag was donated by Ian Gill during a reunion of those who were children in the camp, and either born before internment, during internment or conceived during internment. See what happened in what must have been a remarkable event: https://gwulo.com/node/30240

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This painting is entitled 'Captivity'. This is a print of a painting by Sally Grumbridge and shows Stanely internee Katherine ("Kitty") Hackett with the view from the Married Quarters of the "doctors house".

"Bungalow 4" looks a little run down and at the time a tree had fallen onto it and was resting against the corner of the roof. This was called "Bungalow B" during the interment.

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Lieutenant H.T. Buxton, Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp, 18th December 1941, Age 38. Henry Thomas Buxton died on the night of the invasion of Hong Kong Island. Lt. Buxton was located at the Pak Sha Wan Battery, about 300m to 400m east of the Lyemun Fort. This placed him directly in the way of the invasion. In the confusion he withdrew with whatever men he could collect to the Lyemun Barracks. However, they were ambushed along the way, killing Buxton and leaving just one survivor. Tragically, his wife was a nurse at St. Stephen's College when the Japanese took control. On the 25th December at 16:30, she along with nurses Begg and Smith were taken from the room they were locked in with other nurses, repeatedly raped and then murdered. I cannot even imagine the depths of despair to have lost her spouse 7 days earlier and then to be subjected to such inhumane behaviour.

Gunner F.O. Reed, Age 28. Gunner G.D. Stokes, Age 31. Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp, 18th December 1941. These died on the night of the Japanese invasion fighting on Sai Wan Hill just behind the Lyemun Fort. There's a high probability that they were killed in the massacre rather than in the fighting. Most of the bodies were found dumped in a trench in 1949.

HKVDC - Lieutenant T.W. Lawrence Lieutenant T.W. Lawrence. Age 40. Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp, 25th December 1941. Thomas Walter and six other officers were held captive and murdered with several other ranks, shortly before the official surrender. The Maryknoll fathers gave an account of what happened: "Squatting together with us, but tightly bound, were a Canadian Captain and three English officers; they behaved nobly, as you would expect from a military officer. In no way would they bow to their Japanese captors even when cruelly beaten. I cannot remember the name of the Canadian . The British were Lt Lawrence , RA , 2nd Lt Newman and 2nd Lt Scantlebury (both Middx). Scantelebury whispered that he had been married for only 10 months. He then asked me to contact his wife in Hatfield, near London and let her know that he was still alive. They expected to be executed. The ropes that bound them were almost choking them". Later they were all moved down to the alleyway beside the Carmelite monastery. "The four British officers squatting with us were grilled; someone tried to cut off their shoulder straps with a sword or bayonet; an order was given for them to get up and move down to the end of the row where they were brutally bayoneted to death , and this on Christmas morning , right outside the Carmelite Monastery. We were sickened and disgusted; but they bravely faced death. Later I came to know that Brother Cheung and our boys (left at Maryknoll) had been ordered to bury them and other victims close by. After the war I managed to correspond by letter with the wife of Lt Scatlebury and offer her my condolences . I did not dwell on the details of his death. In 1948 I was able to return to UK and met Mrs Scantlebury in our college at Battersea, London. We went to our college chapel and prayed for him and his companions in death".

The Twins are two mountains of similar height, popular with fitness enthusiasts for reasons that are obvious from this photo. The Southern Twin which can be seen is the taller at 386 metres in height, while the Northern Twin is 363 metres. Beyond this is Violet Hill at 436m. What is not obvious is that between them is a descent down to the bottom of the valley leading to Repulse Bay. The elevation at the bottom is about 140m. The North Twin has over 1200 continuous steps (closer to 1300 by some accounts - I wouldn't know as I've never counted it) and is a real burner.

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Under blue a lovely blue sky on a clear day.

Masonry wall trees grow from gaps in masonry retaining walls. Hong Kong has many of these walls to prevent the landslides that would occur and were built in the 19th century and before World War 2. Typically banyan trees, these sprout in the gaps and often act to support the wall.

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Last year the weather was a bit overcast with some light rain. This year the sun was out and it seems that it brought out far more people.

The Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships is one of the most popular dragon boat races in Hong Kong. It's the largest one day dragon boat racing event in the world with local and overseas teams joining in. 6000 athletes are said to compete. This photos clearly shows the popularity if this event.

Before the time to race arrives, a warm up and stretch takes place on the beach before entering the boats. Whilst in the boats further stretches are performed before a fairly gentle paddle with a few bursts of speed to the start point.

The exhilarating end to the race. Plenty of time to recover before the next race.

The Old Stanley Police Station was constructed in 1859 and is the oldest remaining police station building in Hong Kong. The Japanese Gendarmerie used the police station as a local headquarters and extended the building by adding a mortuary. With the end of the war it reverted back to a police station until 1974. It has been used a restaurant and is currently a Wellcome supermarket. Next to it is the old Stanley Post Office, both of which give a view of a time gone by.

Next to the old police station is an old post office. Outside is the original Royal Mail post slot engraved with the royal cipher of King George VI. The stamp vending machine was installed in Hong Kong in 1955. These are non-functional today but are retained as protected structures.

Lots of shelters. Lots of people. There are more boats on the water racing. Races are fun but there are long waits between your races.

The excitement begins as soon as you get into your boat. A small warm up and practice as you head to the start line gets you ready...you get into position...grip the paddle...focus...wait for the claxon and GO! Give it your all as 1 minute later (it feels like that but I have no idea how long a race takes) you get the chance to rest again for the next race 30 to 60 minutes later.

The fun is about to start. About time to.

Originally known as Pedder Wharf and situated at the then waterfront facing Des Voeux Road Central, it was named in 1900 after Sir Henry Blake, 12th Governor of Hong Kong (1898 to 1903). In 1904 with the completion of the praya reclamation in Central, Blake Pier was relocated to the junction of Connaught Road and Pedder Street. Blake Pier used to be the landing place for new Governors and British royals visiting Hong Kong. This role was eventually taken by the Queen's Pier in the mid-1920s between Blake Pier and Star Ferry Pier. Blake Pier was demolished in 1965 but the roof was preserved and moved to an open air theatre for shelter. The pier was rebuilt. In 1993 the rebuilt Blake Pier was demolished to make way for more reclamation. The roof was moved in 2006 to the reconstructed Blake Pier in Stanley.

Murray House, originally located in Central and built in 1846, was dismantled and put in boxes in 1982. It was reconstructed in Stanley in 2001.