CO129-455 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1919 [7-9] — Page 226

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GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 18th August, 1919.

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Enclosure 1.

My Lord,

With reference to Your Lordship's Despatch

marked Confidential of the 27th March, I have the honour to inform you that from a porusal of the raports furnished to this Goverment by the Military Authorities on the occasion of certain Prisoners of War being removed from the S. S. "China" by His Majesty's Auxiliary Cruiser "Laurentic", it became clear that Dr. August Gaston is no other than a person who styled himself at that time August Bach.

2.

I would refer Your Lordship, before pro- -cooding further, to Sir Henry May's Confidential Despatches of the 21st March and 5th April, 1916, in the latter of which was enclosed a copy of petition addressed to the General Officer Commanding by August Bach. For easy reference I now enclose a further copy of this petition.

3.

The identity appears to be established beyond all doubt by a comparison of this petition with the affidavit enclosed in Your Lordship's Despatch under reference. Both Dr. August Gaston and August Broh were born in Strasbourg in June, 1870, both studied in Strasbourg, both came to Chint (1896 or 1898) and were in Peking in 1914. Both left China with their son (aged 14 or 16) and both were captured on the

S. 8. "Ching“.

12 LIGHT HONOURABLE

VISCOUNT MILNER, &c.,

G.C.B.,

&o...

4.