Argyle Street Camp

Last updated

Argyle Street Camp was a Japanese World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Kowloon, Hong Kong, which primarily held officer prisoners.

Contents

World War II

Built by the Hong Kong government as a refugee camp before the war as North Point Camp and Ma Tau Chung Camp, [1] it began life as a POW camp soon after Kowloon and the New Territories were abandoned to the Japanese.

In January 1942 it was emptied, with the POWs moving to Shamshuipo, North Point, and Ma Tau Chung Camps. However, after a number of escapes by POW officers and other ranks from Shamshuipo, Argyle Street was re-opened in mid-1942 as an officers' camp. In 1944 the officers were moved instead to Camp 'N' at Shamshuipo, and the Indian POWs from Ma Tau Chung Camp took up residence.

After World War II

After the Japanese surrender, Argyle Street Camp became a centre for displaced people returning to Hong Kong. Later still, it was a camp for refugees reaching Hong Kong from other parts of South East Asia. The camp started accommodating Vietnamese refugees in June 1979, with a planned capacity of 20,000. [2]

Today there are no memorials of any kind on the site of the camp, which is just to the south of St Teresa's Hospital.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kowloon</span> Area of Hong Kong

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km2 (111,450/sq mi) in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and the rest of the New Territories. The peninsula's area is about 47 km2 (18 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sung Wong Toi</span> Historic inscribed stone in Hong Kong

Sung Wong Toi is an important historic relic in Ma Tau Chung, Kowloon, Hong Kong. While its remaining portion is now located in the Sung Wong Toi Garden (宋皇臺花園) at the junction of Ma Tau Chung Road and Sung Wong Toi Road, it was originally a 45-metre-tall boulder standing on the top of Sacred Hill (聖山) in Ma Tau Chung above Kowloon Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hung Hom</span> Area of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong

Hung Hom is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Hom Bay in the Yau Tsim Mong District. Hung Hom serves mainly residential purposes, but it is mixed with some industrial buildings in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ho Man Tin</span> Area in Kowloon, Hong Kong

Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hong Kong</span> One of the first battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II

The Battle of Hong Kong, also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown colony of Hong Kong around the same time that Japan declared war on Great Britain. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian and Canadian units, also the Auxiliary Defence Units and Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma Tau Wai</span> Residential area of Kowloon region, Hong Kong

Ma Tau Wai is an area in the Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was originally a walled village between present-day Argyle Street and Prince Edward Road West, east of present-day St. Teresa's Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyle Street, Hong Kong</span>

Argyle Street is a four-lane dual-way thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong, connecting the districts of Mong Kok, Ho Man Tin, Ma Tau Wai and Kowloon City. It runs on an east-west alignment starting at its intersection with Cherry Street, Ferry Street and Tong Mi Road in the west, and ending near the former Kai Tak Airport in the east. Due to the street's proximity with the latter, a variety of aircraft could be seen from this street and thus photographers seized the opportunity to capture landing aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese occupation of Hong Kong</span> Military occupation during World War II

The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the Japanese forces that invaded the territory. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until Japan surrendered at the end of the Second World War. The length of the period later became a metonym of the occupation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma Tau Chung</span>

Ma Tau Chung is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, west of Ma Tau Kok and east of Ma Tau Wai. It was named after a creek which originated in Quarry Hill emptying into Kowloon Bay. The village of Ma Tau Chung stood on its banks near the river mouth near the Sacred Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sham Shui Po Park</span> Public park in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Sham Shui Po Park is a park in Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It comprises two physically discontiguous sites on either side of Lai Chi Kok Road. The larger site is more well-known as Sham Shui Po Park. The smaller, located within Lai Kok Estate and originally managed by the Housing Authority, became part of Sham Shui Po Park when it was transferred to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Military Cemetery</span>

Stanley Military Cemetery is a cemetery located near St. Stephen's Beach in Stanley, Hong Kong. Along with the larger Hong Kong Cemetery, it is one of two military cemeteries of the early colonial era, used for the burials of the members of the garrison and their families between 1841 and 1866. There were no further burials here until World War II (1939–1945).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Chiu Street</span>

Tin Chiu Street is a street in Tsat Tsz Mui of North Point in Hong Kong.

North Point Camp was a Japanese World War II Prisoner-of-war camp in North Point, Hong Kong which primarily held Canadian and Royal Naval prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Internment Camp</span> Civilian internment camp in Hong Kong

Stanley Internment Camp was a civilian internment camp in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Located in Stanley, on the southern end of Hong Kong Island, it was used by the Japanese imperial forces to hold non-Chinese enemy nationals after their victory in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. About 2,800 men, women, and children were held at the non-segregated camp for 44 months from early January 1942 to August 1945 when Japanese forces surrendered. The camp area consisted of St Stephen's College and the grounds of Stanley Prison, excluding the prison itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sham Shui Po Barracks</span> British Army facility built in the 1920s in the Sham Shui Po area of Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Sham Shui Po Barracks was a British Army facility built in the 1920s in the Sham Shui Po area of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The base was bounded by Fuk Wa Street to the east by Yen Chow Street and to the west by Tonkin Street and Camp Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma Tau Wai Estate</span> Public housing estate in Ma Tau Wai, Hong Kong

Ma Tau Wai Estate is a public housing estate in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is the oldest existing public housing estate in Kowloon City District and it consists of five residential blocks completed in 1962 and 1965. Although it was developed by Hong Kong Housing Authority, it is currently managed by Hong Kong Housing Society.

The following is an overview of public housing estates in Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai, of Kowloon City District, Hong Kong, including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), and Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Cathedral, Hong Kong</span> Church in Ma Tau Chung Road, Kowloon

Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Kowloon, Hong Kong, is a cathedral for the Anglican Eastern Kowloon diocese. It was established in 1890, making it one of the oldest Anglican churches in Hong Kong. The cathedral is one of the three Anglican cathedrals of the Hong Kong Anglican church.

Ma Tau Chung Camp was an internment camp in Ma Tau Chung, Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong during World War II.

References

  1. Antiquities Advisory Board. List of Internment Camps in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation (1941 – 1945) Archived 18 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "500 move to Tuen Mun" (PDF). South China Morning Post . Hong Kong. 5 June 1979. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2008.

Further reading

22°19′30″N114°11′05″E / 22.3251°N 114.1848°E / 22.3251; 114.1848