Devil's Peak
20 July 2014
When the New Territories were leased to Britain in 1898, the British military chose Devil’s Peak on the northern side of Lyemun Strait as a site for a defensive position.
The peak was selected as the site for the headquarters of Eastern Fire Command, and a redoubt was subsequently constructed.
Due to changes in the defence plan, all the guns at Devil’s Peak were moved to Cape D’Aguilar and Stanley to reinforce the defence there in 1936. Meanwhile, the Eastern Fire Command was also moved to Stanley. As a result of these removals and relocations there were no fixed armaments at Devil’s Peak by the second half of the 1930s.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in December 1941, the western sector of the Gin Drinkers Line was captured by the Japanese. The surviving members of the garrison in Kowloon were ordered by Major-General Maltby to evacuate to Hong Kong Island. Together with a battery of the Hongkong and Singapore Royal Artillery, the Pajputs then defending in Devil’s Peak assisted in this evacuation. This they di
Shing Mun Redoubt
6 April 2018
Shing Mun Redoubt, a 12-acre underground citadel built in the 1930s on the northern part of Smuggler's Ridge. A network of tunnels, observation posts and pillboxes, the redoubt was meant to guard the most vulnerable land route into Kowloon. The tunnels are named after London place names, some are ruined but a lot are in great condition after 80 years.
Pinewood Battery
28 December 2015
307 metres above sea level, Pinewood Battery is the highest of all the coastal defence batteries in Hong Kong and is very high by comparison with coastal defence batteries located in other parts of the world.
It was built in 1901-1905 to ward off a perceived threat from Russia and France. Costing a total of £9,579 at the time, it was meant to defend against western
The government was worried about the high cost of maintaining Hong Kong’s coastal defences and, the two guns at the battery were removed in 1913.
With the development of air power during World War I, it was decided that Hong Kong needed an anti-aircraft defense, and Pinewood Battery was drafted back into use in the mid 1920s with the installation of two three-inch Mark 1 anti-aircraft guns. Several buildings and shelters were added to the complex at the same time.
A week after their attack on Hong Kong, the Japanese directed extensive airborne operations towards the Island. On 15 December 1941, positions and military installations on the western side of Hong Kong Island were raided by the 23rd Army Air Group.
The Pinewood Battery, manned by soldiers from the 17th Anti-Aircraft Battery of the 5th Regiment of the Royal Artillery, was air-raided several times
On Christmas Day, 1941, Governor Mark Young surrendered to the invading Japanese. Pinewood Battery fell into disuse.
Chung Hom Kok Battery
11 August 2019
Built around 1938 as part of the reorganization and modernization of Hong Kong’s armaments.
Mount Davis Battery
29 September 2018
High on the western extremity of Hong Kong Island, Mount Davis was the site for a battery built in the early 1900s. Compared with Lyemun, where the eastern approach to Victoria Harhour was 500 yards, the western sea lane was much wider - 3,600 yards - which was the reason why such heavy artillery fire was needed to safeguard it.
Construction of the Mount Davis Battery comprising five 9.2 inch guns was completed in 1912. Shortly afterwards, the military selected a site near the summit of Mount Davis to accommodate the headquarters of the Western Fire Command, which was responsible for artillery positions on the western side of the Island. During the mid-1930s, two of the 9.2-inch guns were moved to Stanley to strengthen th
After the outbreak of war in 1941, all three remaining guns saw action. The battery came under heavy and sustained attack from the Japanese. The plotting room, an anti-aircraft position, and a gun located on the upper level were destroyed during the attacks.
The Japanese attack on the 14th resulted in a number of deaths amongst the gun crew. Nevertheless, one shell which landed directly on the battery command post proved to be a dud and did not explode, saving the lives of approximately 60 soldiers taking shelter within it. On the 16th a combined force of 62 bombers from the Japanese army and navy took offensive against the battery. The remaining arma
Jubilee Battery
24 February 2019
Sai Wan Battery
5 January 2019
In 1895 a fort was constructed at Lei Yue Mun overlooking the eastern approach to Victoria Harbour. In 1898, the 89th Company of the Royal Garrison Artillery began to build a battery next to the fort to house two six-inch breech-loading Mark VI guns. Construction of the battery was completed in 1905. Only three years after construction the battery was considered surplu
In the 1920s two anti-aircraft 3-inch guns were installed.
On 18 December 1941 Japanese troops landed on Hong Kong island and within 30 minutes they reached Sai Wan Battery. The attack resulted in six gunners being killed, 20 taken prisoner and 30 escaped. The Japanese continued to attack the next day, murdering captives and paramedics at a first aid post at Salesian Mission on Chai Wan Road.
Af
Sai Wan Battery was handed over to the Hong Kong Government in 1987.
Bokhara Battery
20 January 2019
The present site of the PCCW Cape D’ Aguilar HF Radio Transmitting Station, at the south-eastern end of D’Aguilar, was formerly a coast defence gun battery called Bokhara Battery built in the 1930s. The Battery, with two gun emplacements and a number of bunkers and searchlight positions, defended the southern part of Hong Kong Island together with Stanley Battery and
RAF Tai Mo Shan
22 Aug 2020
Abandoned Operations and Office block of "Project Cabbage Leaf", an RAF Tai Mo Shan radar station built in the 1950s, manned by the 117 Signals Unit.
Pottinger Peak Artillery Observation Post
7 November 2020
Pillbox 3
26 August 2017
Constructed for the defence of Hong Kong in the 1930s, not far from Hong Kong Cricket Club, just off Black's Link, this wartime relic can still be explored. Entrance is by a seemingly over-elaborate tunnel, there's no fittings or gun placements inside anymore and the walls have been decorated with juvenile graffiti.
Pillbox 21, Chung Hom Kok
11 August 2019
The old name for Chung Hom Bay was West Bay, and that is the name that is used for this pillbox in the wartime records.
Pillbox 22, Sha Shek Tan, Stanley
21 March 2019
Pillbox 35, Rocky Bay, Shek O
18 March 2018
Pillbox 35 Lyon Light emplacement, Rocky Bay, Shek O
18 March 2018
Central Ordnance Munitions Depot (aka Little Hong Kong), Deep Water Bay Drive, Shouson Hill
28 April 2018
The Central Ordinance Munitions Depot, or Little Hong Kong as it was known during the Second World War, was constructed by the British Royal Engineers in the late 1930s. This was a time when the political situation in Asia was decaying.
When the Battle of Hong Kong broke out in December 1941, th
Pillbox 6 and Lyon Light in Waterfall Bay
24 February 2019
Waterfall Bay is a small bay on the coast of Wah Fu Estate, Southern District, Hong Kong. The abandoned pillbox is located in the northwest of the small beach. The tall structure on the seaward side is the remains of the Lyon Light shelter.
In the 1930s, the British army began installing defence structures in preparation for possible attacks
East Brigade Headquarters
18 March 2018
These bunkers close to the junction of Shek O Road and Tai Tam Road were bombed during the assault on Hong Kong but were never attacked as the Allies withdrew to Stanley. There is an underground bunker here including a 'Fortress Plotting Room', equipped with 1 plotting table, 1 encoder, and 8 personnel. East Brigade under Brigadier Wallis was made up of the Ra
West Brigade Headquarters
31 October 2018
