Today we went on an expedition to Golden Hill (the one on the left) to try and trace the route four companies of the Japanese 230th Regiment took to attack "D" Company of the Royal Scots 2nd Battalion.
Golden Hill is the peak on the left. D Coy was to man the entire ridge.
The 230th began their climb near today's Kwai Hing MTR station. Assuming that D Coy held the Golden Hill peak, we took the northern path, figuring that the attacking Japanese would feel more confident if they were closer to the 228th. Images from https://digital.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/1941hkbattle/en/map.php
The northern path takes us through Shek Lei Hang Village. In 1941, these were irrigated fields for villages like Lei Muk Shue further down the slope. Shek Lei village doesn't appear until 1957 and Shek Lei Hang not until 1963, and even then it's just fields marching up the hill.
Once again, it's not a proper expedition if you don't find a piece of inexplicable footwear.
About two hundred metres above sea level, we came across a piece of flat land marked on the GeoInfo map as a "picnic site". Since natural flat land does not exist in Hong Kong, perhaps this was originally a farmer's field during the squatter age. God bless HK retirees!
The flat area had shelter and a firepit. Perfect place for an overnight camp (bring your own water supply).
"urine target practice" we assume
At the top of Golden Hill, we found an interesting marker stone from 1902 (right?). If this is the 16th, I wonder where the others are? Also, someone really wants us to know that this is Golden Hill and not Silver Hill ...
The top of the hill is a fire lookout, with this nice little office/sleeping hut. It appears to be all automated now, but if the AFCD has a paid summer duty programme for retirees ...
We were hoping to find some evidence of the day-long battle between the 230th and D Coy, but closest we got were these metal stubs between the saddle of Golden Hill and the TV transmitter peak further south. Barbed wire defences, or No Trespassing for the transmitter?
We now decided to try and retrace the retreat route following the stream down to the filter beds of the reservoir. We found another Retiree Shelter with the AFCD's pine tree badge picked out in quartz shards, so that was cool. "Golden Hill Garden" provided a relaxing respite.
Several of these "rest gardens" have been constructed near the streams. We imagine they must offer welcome shady relief in summer. Some of them appear to be marked on the GeoInfo map as "P" (for "Picnic"?).
One wonders how this tree originally grew
One of the many mountain waterfalls that feed into the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir. The water was icy cold.
Shek Lei Pui Reservoir was constructed in 1925, drowning Shek Li Pui Village. The 1924 maps on hkmaps.hk/mapviewer.html gives a good view of the change.
There's something about locally quarried granite blocks that are so much more aesthetically appealing than poured concrete. We feel a bit awed by how much money and effort went into Hong Kong's infrastructure development during the colonial era.
All right, so we spent the day retracing the steps of the Royal Scots and didn't find anything related to the one-day siege of Golden Hill. We found something, though. Can you guess what's here?
Yep, it's a Japanese tunnel!
The tunnel is quite long and branches off to the left and right. We could see daylight on the left, so we went in the presumably safer direction. Like the tunnels on Smuggler's Ridge, these would have provided cover for an anticipated Allied invasion of Hong Kong from late 1944.
The tunnel network is quite extensive and easier to move around in compared to Smuggler's Ridge. We also found the remains of a brick wall similar to Mt Nicholson, so this isn't just a tunnel; it's a pillbox. Some parts have caved in so further exploration will have to wait.