North Point Camp

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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.

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History

King's Road Playground in 2012. The park covers parts of the old camp site. HK Bei Jiao North Point Tin Chiu Street King's Road Playground May-2012.JPG
King's Road Playground in 2012. The park covers parts of the old camp site.

Built by the Hong Kong government as a refugee camp before the war, it was severely damaged during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong Island on the night of December 18, 1941. It began life as a POW camp almost immediately after, as non-Chinese civilians from the area were interned there, as were the first men of West Brigade who were captured in the battles at the beachheads, Jardine's Lookout, and Wong Nai Chung Gap. After a few months, the Royal Naval prisoners were moved to Sham Shui Po POW Camp and North Point became purely Canadian. The Canadians themselves moved out to Sham Shui Po on September 26, 1942, at which point the camp was closed. Conditions at camp were overcrowded and unsanitary. The two main threats that the prisoners faced were disease and the lack of food, which proved fatal for many interned at the camp. [1]

Today part of the old camp site is the King's Road Playground, but there are no memorials of any kind.

See also

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References

  1. "Military History: Second World War: War Experiences: Prisoners of War". The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2007.

Further reading

Coordinates: 22°17′32″N114°12′11″E / 22.2923°N 114.2031°E / 22.2923; 114.2031