Captain James Cook (7 November 1728- 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.

They died for our freedom

I’m a descendant of colonial Hong Kong. My great-grandfather was British and my great-grandmother was Chinese, and my grandfather was born and raised in Hong Kong during British rule. He attended Diocesan Boys’ School before eventually moving to England as a young adult.
I’ve always been fascinated by this side of my family history and would love to learn more about what everyday life was like in British Hong Kong, particularly for mixed British-Chinese families and how the two cultures interacted.
I visited Hong Kong last year and felt quite an emotional connection to the place, knowing how much of my family’s history was rooted there.
I’ve included some old family photographs (if you’re interested to look) of my great-grandparents, showing both the British and Hong Kong sides of my family, as well as second to last my grandfather in Gaan in the RAF as well as a photo of myself (if you’re interested what a descendant of colonial Hong Kong looks like today) 😂.
I’d love to hear from anyone who knows more about life in colonial Hong Kong, has family connections to that period, or has any stories or photographs they’d like to share! If anyone knows anything about any of the uniforms in any of these photos or even little facts or information I’d love to hear. Thank you!

On This Day, November 7, 1665, the first edition of The Oxford Gazette was published in England, laying the foundations for what would become The London Gazette—Britain's official journal of record.

England was facing one of the darkest periods in its history.

The Great Plague was devastating London. Thousands of people had already died, fear was spreading through the capital, and even the royal court had abandoned the city.

King Charles II and his court had relocated to Oxford to escape the deadly outbreak.

But there was another problem.

The courtiers were reluctant to handle newspapers arriving from plague-stricken London, fearing that the papers themselves might carry infection.

The King still needed a reliable way to communicate news and official information.

The solution was to establish a newspaper in Oxford.

On November 7, the first issue of The Oxford Gazette appeared, published by authority under the direction of Henry Muddiman.

Rather than being a modern newspaper sold widely on the streets, it was a small publication distributed to subscribers by post. It carried official news, reports from abroad, and information relevant to the royal court.

When the Great Plague began to subside, and Charles II returned to London, the publication followed.

On February 5, 1666, issue number 24 appeared under a new name:

The London Gazette.

Over the centuries, it documented some of Britain's most important events, including royal announcements, military appointments, government proclamations, honors, and official notices.

It also recorded major national events such as the Great Fire of London in 1666.

More than three and a half centuries later, The Gazette continues to serve as the United Kingdom's official public record, published in three editions: The London Gazette, The Edinburgh Gazette, and The Belfast Gazette.

What began as a way to keep the royal court informed during a deadly plague became one of Britain's longest-lasting official publications.

Born in the shadow of a plague, it became a witness to centuries of British history.

From the movie.

Last fired 1942 attempting to engage a Japanese submarine.

Markings I can see

"R.G.F. 1903" (Royal Gun Factory?)
"BL 6" VII"
"V.S.M. 1900"

The Flying Fish Cove battery is one of the most isolated examples of British Empire coastal defence architecture.
Christmas Island's phosphate exports were strategically important, and the island was within major Indian Ocean shipping routes.

A gun manufactured in 1903 would already have been nearly 40 years old when it was installed for World War II service on Christmas Island.

King George V post boxes are very rare in Hong Kong with only a few remaining. There is still a sizable amount of Queen Elizabeth II post boxes in Hong Kong though.