Hong Kong

The British colony of Hong Kong was attacked by the Japanese on the same day as Pearl Harbor - December 8, 1941 - and the battle continued until the 25th when the local garrison was forced to surrender.

Among the allied forces involved in the fighting was a militia of volunteers - the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps (HKVDC) - which had about 2000 thousand men and between them two companies, the 5th and 6th Coy's, constituted essentially by volunteers of Portuguese or Portuguese-descendants origins.

HKVDC was founded in 1854 and initially had only 90 Europeans of various nationalities, including Portuguese. It reached its peak at the end of the 1930s with around 2000 volunteers, mostly English, German, French and also two hundred and a half Portuguese.

To learn more about this volunteers, the battle and what happened afterwards, you can log on to the Hong Kong War Diary website, organized by Tony Banham.

After the surrender many volunteers had died or been captured, including women who were prominent in the nursing and communications corps. Held in prison camps, taken on marches, ordered into forced labor, victims of abuse and multiple illnesses, many did not survive Japanese incarceration .

In this section of the website “Portugal 1939-1945” we will try to bring you the stories of these Portuguese and Portuguese descendants.

This research work was conducted by António Fragoeiro.

Castilho, Thomas Manuel

Private Hong Kong Volunteers Defense Corps Unit – 6 Coy HKVDC Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 21/ 12/ 1913 Death date – 04/12/1976 Father – Francisco Apolónio Castilho Mother – Eldmira Castilho Thomas Manuel Castilho was a … Read more

Fire | Hong Kong | Portuguese at War

Guterres, Joaquim Jeronymo

Lieutenant Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps Unit/ Unidade – Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 30/09/1909 Death date – 27/07/1942 Father – Luís E. Guterres Mother – Constança R. Jorge Joaquim Guterres was a lieutenant in … Read more

Fire | Hong Kong | Portuguese at War

Prata, Alfredo José Maria

Private Hong Kong Volunteers Defense Corps Unit – 6 Coy HKVDC Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 31/10/1920 Death date – Father – Pedro Francisco da Cruz Prata Mother – Maria José Gomes Prata Alberto Remédios was a voluntary … Read more

Fire | Hong Kong | Portuguese at War

Remédios, Alberto Luiz Vieira

Private Hong Kong Volunteers Defense Corps (HKVDC) Unit – 6 Coy HKVDC Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 14/12/ 1907 Death date – Father – Augusto Vieira Remédios Mother – Maria Vieira Remédios Alberto Remédios was voluntary … Read more

Fire | Hong Kong | Portuguese at War

Roza, Álvaro António da

Private Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps Unit – Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 07/11/1915 Death date – Father – Philip da Roza Mother – Sylvia Gomes da Roza Alberto Remédios was voluntary soldier in the “Hong … Read more

Fire | Hong Kong | Portuguese at War

Ribeiro, António Eduardo Vieira

Private Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps Unit – Birth place – Hong Kong Birth date – 25/10/1920 Death date – Father – Fernando Alfredo Vieira Ribeiro Mother – Maria Roberts Ribeiro António Ribeiro was a voluntary soldier in the “Hong Kong Volunteers … Read more