Policing Hong Kong An Irish History: Irishmen in the Hong Kong Police

Hong Kong, 1918. A tranquil place compared to war-torn Europe. But on the morning of the 22 January, a running battle through the streets of Wanchai ended in The Siege of Gresson Street. Five policemen lay dead, so shocking Hong Kong that over half the population turned out to watch their funeral procession. One of the dead, Inspector Mortimor OSullivan, came from Newmarket: a small town nestled deep in rural Ireland. He, along with a dozen and more relatives, had sailed out to Hong Kong to join the Police Force. Using family records and memories alongside extensive research in Hong Kong, Ireland and London, Patricia OSullivan tells the story of these policemen and the criminals they dealt with. The book also gives a rare glimpse into the day-to-day life of working-class Europeans at the time, as it follows the Newmarket men, their wives and families, from their first arrival in 1864 through to 1941 and beyond.