Current projects include:
Hong Kong Irregulars (working title): A study of all irregular units (BAAG, SOE, Z Force, MI6, the Hong Kong Column of the Chindits, Military Mission 204, Force 136, etc.) in which ex-HK Garrison personnel were enisted. The main focus is on the escapees and invaders from Hong Kong, and their contribution to these units in action. As BAAG (the largest and most important of these units by far) has never been seriously studied previously (Edwin Ride's work acknowledged), this project is expected to take at least four years.
The Repulse Bay (working title): A study, researched in great depth though presented in novel form, of the siege of the Repulse Bay Hotel. Currently 50,000 words. This is based on tracking down all publshed and unpublished accounts of the siege, plus interviews with six of those who were present. In the vehicle of an Agatha Christie-like tale of a blighted country-house gathering, it has a rather different 'feel' to the more formal histories I have so far completed.
Hong Kong's Gold (working title): A study, based on the memoirs of Edith Badger placed into the context of my studies of the non-Chinese residents of the time, of the hiding of Hong Kong's gold from the Japanese in 1941. Currently 50,000 words. This is a challenging work as it depends almost entirely on a single account of the events - an account that I largely discredited before finding (by pure chance) a single poorly-filed 'Top Secret' document that went a great deal towards confirming it.
A Dictionary of Hong Kong's Wartime Biography:
Also, a number of articles which may end up in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society or similar academic journals. Those currently in production include:
- A study of all medals and awards in Hong Kong, 1941-45
- An analysis of POW diaries
- An account and reckoning of Hong Kong's civilian Chinese deaths 1941-45
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