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K.J. FILLERY : 1956 ORIGINAL SIGNIFICANT ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A ROYAL ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEER IN POST WWII HONG KONG

24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall. On offer is an interesting military diary from the immediate post WWII years. It measures 5.5 inches by 3 inches and contains 365 page plus memoranda. The cover is in good condition and all pages are intact. It is about 66% complete although many entries are quite brief. K.J. Fillery is the author of this diary. In 1956, he is a Corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). Casual research has not turned up any additional information but he has noted his service ID number which would make a detailed search successful. Fillery belongs to a Light Aid Detachment (LAD), attached to the 27th HAA Reg't RA (Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery). The 27th was stationed in Hong Kong and the REME LAD unit was attached to it to assist with engineering tasks. On Dec 30th, 1956, he embarked for Hong Kong to join the Regiment. He arrived Jan 25th: "Total - 9255 miles. Arrived Kowloon about 0800. Very busy harbour, good views of the island. Letter from Mum and Sheila. Weather cool - rather cold in fact. Ferry to Victoria arrived about 1100. Transported with mob of gunners to Stanley Bks miles away over twisty hilly road. Impressive scenery. Installed in L.A.D quarters." [Jan 25]. Almost immediately, he is out shipping - important when you consider the rationing in effect in England at the time: "Started work in gunnery sets. Payday - $40.00. ... bought cable release and PO [ ] medium filter $4.50. Went to tailors place, bottles of pilsner, steak egg supper in Sailors Mission House went to New York Theatre - saw "A Day to Remember"..." [Jan 26]. All told, he spent 9 months in Hong Kong before being rotated back to England Oct 17th. In those 9 months, he travelled throughout Hong Kong, visiting shops, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, etc. He also details his work, whether standing guard duty or working with electrical equipment: "... Everyone knocked off at 1100 to attend Regt sports meeting Boundary Road. Stayed there about 5 min, walked & then bus back to Ferry. Went to American Library. Spent couple of hours rooting around. Reasonable selection of books." [Feb 16] "Went to town with Dave Fishback over to Kowloon, visited YMCA [ ] etc., then saw King Henry V for free in evening, excellent film though the presentation was not exactly 'West End' ... apparently blokes caught a snake (? cobra) down by flying dhobi ... " [May 19] "Hot day. Did minute portion of work on 4/7. Chemical de-bugging session ... " [July 31]. He was present for the Kowloon Riots of 1956. He notes: "Admin put off owing to riots in Kowloon ... Many gunners mobilized into riot squads. Curfew on Kowloon 1930-1030." [Oct 11] He shipped out Oct 17th on the British troop ship SS Captain Hobson. Hobson had served as a Royal Navy hospital ship (HMHS Amarapoora) throughout WWII. En route, they stopped in Dakar: "Dakar pop. About 295,000 of whom 28,000 Europeans. French naval base and commercial port." [Nov 26]. They docked in Liverpool Dec 5th. His last entry is Dec 8th: "Demobbed!!! He is an avid photographer and has purchased camera equipment in Hong Kong. Some of his memoranda pages contain notes about focal lengths, etc. This is an excellent first-hand account of post-war garrison duty in the Far East. There is sufficient detail to paint an interesting picture of a young English soldier dropped into the exotic Far East. Historians will appreciate the corroborating information contained within. His description brings to life the bustling port city of Hong Kong.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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