210
THE COUNTRY BOY WHO DIED FOR HONG KONG*
Largely, I suppose, because I experienced over four years of active service and action myself — in the deserts of North Africa and Italy in World War II — when I have seen the remains of fortifications and slit trenches on the hills of Hong Kong, I have often pondered on the battle, in 1941, for this "outpost of Empire".
When I joined the Hong Kong Government, in 1954, the war was still fresh in people's minds. Time has passed quickly, however, and there is a danger that brave deeds will disappear forever.
While the courage shown by Company Sergeant Major (CSM) John (Jack) Robert Osborn has been recorded, few people know much about him. Indeed it was not until 1982 that I learned he was born in the County of Norfolk, England, not far from my home town.
The Village of Foulden is an unspoiled, peaceful place, but at the turn of this century it was even more isolated.
For a number of years a group of anonymous, horse-drawn caravans made its way, every year, from the Fen Country to tiny Foulden. The gypsies, who occupied these "homes-on-wheels", earned their livings as dealers, and by making clothes-pegs and rock (a kind of confectionery). They also managed to obtain part-time work on the land, for instance at harvest time. While no villager got to know them well, the Osborn family always spent longer in Foulden than the other Romanies.
* Plate 11.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to many people, too numerous to name individually, for their assistance in the research and preparation of this article. This article was first published on 22nd December, 1985 in the Sunday Morning Post and is reprinted with the author's permission.
210
THE COUNTRY BOY WHO DIED FOR HONG KONG*
-
Largely, I suppose, because I experienced over four years of active service and action myself — in the deserts of North Africa and Italy in World War II when I have seen the remains of fortifications and slit trenches on the hills of Hong Kong, I have often pondered on the battle, in 1941, for this "outpost of Empire".
When I joined the Hong Kong Government, in 1954, the war was still fresh in people's minds. Time has passed quickly, however, and there is a danger that brave deeds will disappear forever.
While the courage shown by Company Sergeant Major (CSM) John (Jack) Robert Osborn has been recorded, few people know much about him. Indeed it was not until 1982 that I learned he was born in the County of Norfolk, England, not far from my home town.
The Village of Foulden is an unspoiled, peaceful place, but at the turn of this century it was even more isolated.
For a number of years a group of anonymous, horsedrawn caravans made its way, every year, from the Fen Country to tiny Foulden. The gypsies, who occupied these "homes-on-wheels”, earned their livings as dealers, and by making clothes-pegs and rock (a kind of confectionery). They also managed to obtain part- time work on the land, for instance at harvest time. While no villager got to know them well, the Osborn family always spent longer in Foulden than the other Romanies.
* Plate 11.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to many people, too numerous to name individually, for their assistance in the research and preparation of this article. This article was first published on 22nd December, 1985 in the Sunday Morning Post and is reprinted with the author's permission.
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