[Civilian] Jean Gittins
Description:
Born:
18 April 1908
Death:
Unkown
Pre-war:
Jean Gittins was born in Hong Kong, the daughter of Robert Ho Tung and Clara Ho Tung. She entered Diocesan Girls' School in 1917 and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong in 1927. Two years later, she married Billy Gittins. According to Jean's recollections, after the Munich Agreement in 1938, her husband foresaw that Hong Kong would not be spared from war and soon joined the Hong Kong Voluntary Defence Corps. He initially served as a Sapper in the Field Company Engineers and was later transferred to the 4th Coast Battery at Lei Yue Mun, where he served as a Sergeant responsible for operating searchlights. In January 1940, Jean became secretary to Dr. Gordon King, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, a position she held until the Japanese occupation. Seven months before the battle for Hong Kong began, she sent her children to Australia under the care of Mary King, Dr. King's wife.
Wartime:
On 8 December 1941, when the air raid siren sounded at 8 am, Jean had already returned to HKU. By noon, the Great Hall (now Luk Yau Tong) of the university's main building was converted into a relief hospital to receive casualties. On 10 December, her husband's birthday, Jean called the battery's communication center to speak with him. During the call, he mentioned the shortage of food supplies at the front. After the surrender, Jean briefly continued to assist with medical work at the university hospital, partly hoping to find her husband among the incoming wounded. On 20 February 1942, she voluntarily entered the Stanley Internment Camp for Western civilians. Inside the camp, facing food shortages, Jean built planters on the rooftop using bricks and angle iron, growing tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and green onions to supplement their diet.
Post-war:
After the war, Jean promptly travelled to Melbourne, Australia in October 1945 to reunite with her children and relatives who had gone there before the war. There, she learned that her husband had been sent to Japan and had died in March 1945. Jean dedicated herself to documenting her wartime experiences and feelings, later publishing personal biographies and memoirs about her internment in Stanley.
Further Reading:
Jean Gittins: "Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire", Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1982.
Born:
18 April 1908
Death:
Unkown
Pre-war:
Jean Gittins was born in Hong Kong, the daughter of Robert Ho Tung and Clara Ho Tung. She entered Diocesan Girls' School in 1917 and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong in 1927. Two years later, she married Billy Gittins. According to Jean's recollections, after the Munich Agreement in 1938, her husband foresaw that Hong Kong would not be spared from war and soon joined the Hong Kong Voluntary Defence Corps. He initially served as a Sapper in the Field Company Engineers and was later transferred to the 4th Coast Battery at Lei Yue Mun, where he served as a Sergeant responsible for operating searchlights. In January 1940, Jean became secretary to Dr. Gordon King, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, a position she held until the Japanese occupation. Seven months before the battle for Hong Kong began, she sent her children to Australia under the care of Mary King, Dr. King's wife.
Wartime:
On 8 December 1941, when the air raid siren sounded at 8 am, Jean had already returned to HKU. By noon, the Great Hall (now Luk Yau Tong) of the university's main building was converted into a relief hospital to receive casualties. On 10 December, her husband's birthday, Jean called the battery's communication center to speak with him. During the call, he mentioned the shortage of food supplies at the front. After the surrender, Jean briefly continued to assist with medical work at the university hospital, partly hoping to find her husband among the incoming wounded. On 20 February 1942, she voluntarily entered the Stanley Internment Camp for Western civilians. Inside the camp, facing food shortages, Jean built planters on the rooftop using bricks and angle iron, growing tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and green onions to supplement their diet.
Post-war:
After the war, Jean promptly travelled to Melbourne, Australia in October 1945 to reunite with her children and relatives who had gone there before the war. There, she learned that her husband had been sent to Japan and had died in March 1945. Jean dedicated herself to documenting her wartime experiences and feelings, later publishing personal biographies and memoirs about her internment in Stanley.
Further Reading:
Jean Gittins: "Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire", Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1982.
