[Civilian] Wong Foon Lin
Description:
Born:
Unknown
Death:
2 August 1983, Hong Kong
Pre-war:
There is little information available about Ada Wong Foon Lin's early life. According to Munsang College records, in 1921 she graduated from Fairlea Girls' School and was a Christian. After completing primary and secondary school at Fairlea, she worked at the Fairlea kindergarten and primary school. In 1927, she joined Munsang College, then located at Kai Tak Bund, serving as head of the primary and kindergarten sections. In 1936, she married Shea Kwong Tong, the religious education teacher at Munsang College, so students sometimes jokingly called their union the “Shea-Wong marriage” (a pun on their surnames, “Shea” and “Wong,” which sound like "lay back" in Cantonese).
Wartime:
During the Japanese occupation, Munsang College’s new campus on Grampian Road was taken over by the Japanese army as a barracks, and the Kai Tak Bund campus was demolished due to the expansion of Kai Tak Airdrome. To sustain the livelihood and education of staff and students, with the help of a Japanese pastor (possibly Kakutō Sameshima, the Hong Kong Christian Association president sympathetic to locals), Wong Foon Lin and several Munsang teachers rented space at the Baptist Church on what is now Strling Road in Kowloon City to open Munsang Primary School. A student who enrolled in 1943 recalled: “I remember Principal Wong and her husband, Mr. Shea, were devout Christians. Mr. She taught the Bible. Besides frequently proclaiming the Lord’s love in the hall and classrooms, the couple were also the best examples of Christian conduct in daily life.” Although in August 1945 Munsang College was ordered to merge with Yeuk Chi Secondary School, this did not materialize because Japan surrendered.
Post-war:
After the war, the couple took part in the restoration of Munsang College at the Grampian Road campus, and she served as principal of Munsang College until 1952. The couple later lived in Kowloon City and subsequently emigrated to the United States.
Born:
Unknown
Death:
2 August 1983, Hong Kong
Pre-war:
There is little information available about Ada Wong Foon Lin's early life. According to Munsang College records, in 1921 she graduated from Fairlea Girls' School and was a Christian. After completing primary and secondary school at Fairlea, she worked at the Fairlea kindergarten and primary school. In 1927, she joined Munsang College, then located at Kai Tak Bund, serving as head of the primary and kindergarten sections. In 1936, she married Shea Kwong Tong, the religious education teacher at Munsang College, so students sometimes jokingly called their union the “Shea-Wong marriage” (a pun on their surnames, “Shea” and “Wong,” which sound like "lay back" in Cantonese).
Wartime:
During the Japanese occupation, Munsang College’s new campus on Grampian Road was taken over by the Japanese army as a barracks, and the Kai Tak Bund campus was demolished due to the expansion of Kai Tak Airdrome. To sustain the livelihood and education of staff and students, with the help of a Japanese pastor (possibly Kakutō Sameshima, the Hong Kong Christian Association president sympathetic to locals), Wong Foon Lin and several Munsang teachers rented space at the Baptist Church on what is now Strling Road in Kowloon City to open Munsang Primary School. A student who enrolled in 1943 recalled: “I remember Principal Wong and her husband, Mr. Shea, were devout Christians. Mr. She taught the Bible. Besides frequently proclaiming the Lord’s love in the hall and classrooms, the couple were also the best examples of Christian conduct in daily life.” Although in August 1945 Munsang College was ordered to merge with Yeuk Chi Secondary School, this did not materialize because Japan surrendered.
Post-war:
After the war, the couple took part in the restoration of Munsang College at the Grampian Road campus, and she served as principal of Munsang College until 1952. The couple later lived in Kowloon City and subsequently emigrated to the United States.
