Near the start of this blog, on April 24th, 2021, I posted a photo of a painting which had hung on our living room wall from the late 1960s. It was believed to be my great grandfather William Leyland Hunter. It seems to me that is who were told it was, and over the years we just accepted it. The painting was passed around; from my mother to me when she passed away, then to my daughter Donna Michelle, then her daughter Brianna and eventually back to me. As I began to dig into it, I wondered where it came from? Who exactly had given it to my mother? Another thing that bothered me was that the man appeared to be older than what my GGF would have been as he’d died at the age of 50. He also died broke so I wondered how a painting would have been commissioned! At least one of his brothers, from the same time period, had a photo, so why would he be different?

So, recently, with the aid of my daughter, I tackled my storage locker and uncovered some very interesting items. One was a letter to my grandfather Tobias Hunter, written in 1966 making reference to a painting of “John Hunter” As I had suspected at one point, the painting was not of William Leyland Hunter, but actually his father, John Hunter, who was a partner at Binyon’s Tea in Manchester, England. John Hunter was certainly more affluent and he lived until the age of 67, which more accurately matched the age of the gentleman depicted in the painting. John died at Ulverston, Lancashire in May of 1882. With this recently discovered written testimony, the mystery of the painting has been solved. There is more to this story but I’ll save it for a later post.

Again, thanks to Andy, who discovered this video on-line. I’ve done a little creative editing of the video to insert an original black and white photo from my family album. It’s added just near the end of the film. I’m inserting a link to the video which I have on my Google drive, but I’ll add in the finished sketch here too. Sadly I’ve still not been able to find out who this artist is, but I will continue to seek him out and hopefully, at some point, I’ll be able to purchase a copy of his amazing work!

Link to video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1olr1R9d13-tnDXL8N1pl_eX3xQWDL36Q/view?usp=sharing

Last fall I was doing some research into the Columbia Circle housing development in Shanghai where my grandfather and family lived from about 1930 until 1945. I discovered that the family of the sci-fi author J G Ballard also lived there. Ballard wrote the book “Empire of the Sun” which was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg.

This took me to an on-line Ballard fan club, and a few posts later I was contacted by a man who told me he lived across the street from our family home on Amherst Road ( now Xinhua Road ) in Shanghai. His name is Andy and he wrote that he could see our house as he was typing his email to me. It was night, but he said that if I liked, he’d go across and take some photos the following morning.

As promised, when I checked my mail the following day, the photos were there. Along with the pictures, Andy also sent a hand drawn map showing the locations the photos were taken from.

Over the next few months Andy and I kept in touch. Then one day he told me that the Xinhua neighborhood was doing a Heritage Event and that he’d noticed that they’d used a graphic of our Columbia Circle house as their theme. He asked me for my address and offered to send me some of the promotional items; a small notebook, some face masks, etc. These item arrived via DHL in a matter of a few days.

Christian Science in Shanghai

On Sunday, November 4, 1934, the First Church of Christ Scientist, Shanghai held services in this new church building, located at the corner of Avenue and Kiaochow roads. This is the first Christian Science church to be erected in China, and the opening service will be one of dedication, the edifice being finished and ready for occupancy, free from all debt.

The cornerstone for this building was laid on March 22, 1934, and this structure is the material embodiment of the aims and hopes of a small group of people who, for the past twenty years, have met for the holding of Christian Science services. It is built according to the designs of the firm of Elliott Hazzard, Architects, and the style adhered to in the curved facade is derived from the classic Roman. Brick, covered with plaster, was used in its construction, and the exterior is similar in appearance to buff limestone. Above the entrance doorway, in bronze letters, are the words “First Church of Christ Scientist,” and wrought-iron lanterns of artistic design flank the central doorway.In conforming to the shape of this building site, the semi-circular or fan-shaped plan seemed the only possible solution. This necessity, however, proved a desirable opportunity, as the arrangement ensuing is especially well adapted to Christian Science services, permitting a convenient seating arrangement with respect to the Readers’ desk.

The interior finish throughout of this building, while modern and artistic in every respect, has been kept simple and restrained, with the idea of preserving an atmosphere of quiet repose and dignity. It must be conceded that the entire edifice, within and without, is an admirable achievement in decorative and classic design, combined with most attractive though subdued furnishings, a notable and outstanding addition to the fast-growing collection of Shanghai’s fine buildings.

In 1914, the first public Christian Science Reading Room was opened and since that time a Reading Room has been constantly maintained, the present one being located at Room 8b, Central Arcade, 49 Nanking Road. The first free public lecture on Christian Science was given in 1915.

In the year 1928 this Society had attained a membership sufficient to become organized as First Church of Christ Scientists, Shanghai, and thus it is known today. Services were held in the Masonic Hall on the Bund until that building was demolished, after which they were held at the Royal Asiatic Society’s building on Museum Road ( today’s Huqiu Road)

When the American Masonic Temple was built on Route Dufour ( today’s Urumqi Road S. ) they arranged to hold their services there, and have been in that location ever since. The First Church of Christ Scientist of Boston, Mass, and for many years resident in the home of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, will lecture in Shanghai, in this new church edifice, on Sunday evening, December 2, 1934, at 9:15pm.

(The North-China Herald November 7, 1934)

The Gomersall connection continued….

I decided to look a little further and I found a “William Charles Gomersall” who had just started China Engineers Ltd in Shanghai. He became a leading industrialist and was instrumental in the local cotton and woolen mill trade. Like Tobias, and George Hunter, he also believed in the future of Shanghai and stayed after the Japanese occupation. I think it’s likely the families knew each. He was also a devoted Christian Scientist, joining in 1915 and becoming an associate member, then full member. Rising within the church hierarchy he was appointed to the position of chairman in 1941.  During the war William Gomersall was interned with his wife and three daughters but stayed on to rebuild China Engineers after the liberation. He was one of the last to leave Shanghai following the communist takeover, wrongly believing he could still make a contribution. As a follow-up I checked my copy of Greg Leck’s “Captives of Empire” and found that Elizabeth Gomersall, was interned at Lincoln Road Camp with my maternal grandfather Tobias Hunter. She was William Gomersall’s mother and was seventy three at the time ( 1901 Census she was 29 and Charles was 5 ) William and his family were interned at Lunghwa Camp, along with my grandfather’s Geddes Trading accountant, Fred Artindale and his family. There’s no doubt that the families knew one another, both before and after the war.

William Charles Gomersall, though born in England, was Eurasian. His father was Wong, Fung How and his mother, Elizabeth Gomersall. He was adopted by his mother’s parents, Richard and Amelia ( nee Read ) Gomersall and raised and educated in the UK.

So how does any of this make any difference to me? I suppose in the grand scheme of things, not very much, but because Christian Science has played a rather major role in my life, knowing when and why my family became involved seems important to me. The time-frame is becoming narrower the more I learn. It seems clear that in 1928 we were not CS. A question remains; did we know the Gomersalls before that homeward passage, or did a friendship begin aboard the SS Saarbrucken and continue once everyone was home in Shanghai. Its obvious that the friendship had grown to the point that instead of going home after six weeks aboard ship, everyone went to the Gomersall’s residence, and the party continued.

Clearly, William Charles Gomersall was a CS at his point and had risen in their ranks. I would assume his mother was also CS. His father had passed away by then.

A question of faith….the Gomersall connection

From 1924 until 1928, my mother and her sister were sent to boarding school in Bournemouth, England. They made the passage to England by ship, accompanied by their parents. After settling in and doing some sightseeing as a family, their parents returned home to Shanghai. The girls would never see their mother again, but I’ll elaborate on that later.

My mother was 13 and her sister was 12 so it was their first time away from home and “away” it really was; about 12,000 miles. It took six weeks aboard ship, sailing down the China coast, through Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean into the Red Sea. They transited the Suez Canal and crossed the Mediterranean Sea, past Gibraltar and into the Atlantic. The last leg was northward along the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France and finally, to London.

I know almost nothing of their first three years at school, other than the few stories I’d heard of their escapades while staying with schoolmates during vacations. Fortunately, at the start of their final year, 1928, they purchased a journal and over the Christmas holidays and New Year, they made their first entries. It was a joint venture, with both girls taking turns writing in the book. Reading this diary gave me a window into their lives that I’d never have known had they not kept it.

Just a quick note before returning to the subject of the “Gomersall Connection” and that is to say, that throughout the year, both girls appear to have been firmly ensconced in the Anglican or Church of England religion and often mentioned attending church, sometimes more than once in a day. They seemed to have taken confirmation classes at school, passed, and took part in the rituals at completion. The occasion is noted in the diary entry of March 21st, 1928. They were confirmed by the Bishop of Winchester, at Saint Michael’s Church. The Bishop joined them for tea after the service. I might also mention that their father was married at and Anglican Church in Hong Kong so if any religion can be associated with our family at this point, Anglican would be my guess. This was about to change.

About this time, my grandfather was on his way, overland by train from Shanghai, via Berlin. He intended to spend time in England and tour Europe with the girls at the end of the school year, before they all returned home to China.

In the interest of brevity I’ll skip forward to September 8th when they all boarded the NDL “SS Saarbrucken” at Rotterdam, on their homebound passage. Also aboard the ship was a “Mrs Gomersall” who according to journal entries, joined them at many dinners aboard ship as well as on shore excursions in several ports along the way.

On the 27th of October, they arrived back in Shanghai. This is the last entry about the passage.

Got up early and went on deck. Last morning on board.
Had got into the river already. Water yellow and muddy.
Had breakfast, then packed.
Watched entrance to Shanghai from top deck. Band playing.
River Whangpoo like Thames. Busy etc.

Came aside wharf at 12 p.m. Saw Mr Letton-Samson waiting for us.
Said goodbye to stewardess, Captain, Purser etc. Went to customs.
Left in own car for Gomersall’s in Hankow Road. Nice flat. Good food.
After dinner went for dance with Mr Wolf and Schreeck to Majestic Hotel.
Car broke down. Walked. Dancing fine.
Returned 1:30 a.m. Fog.
Dead tired.

N.H.

A question of faith….continued

Since my previous post on the subject, I’ve done more research and by chance received some information from some fellow Facebook Group members. One of my original questions involved how and when my family became involved in “Christian Science” While I have not considered myself a “follower” of the CS ideology, I have on many occasions defended it based on my own family’s beliefs in it. Christian Science is often mistaken for like-named religious orders such as Scientology, Science of Mind and even Jehovah Witnesses. I was quick to label these as whacky, crack-pot cults, nothing like the religion that my own family followed. At best, I was viewing CS through rose colored glasses! At worst, I’ve come to understand how much of it took root in my psyche as a child and the damage its caused.

I’ve hesitated to broach the subject of religion in any of my on-line posting as I don’t wish to cast aspersions on anyone’s beliefs. That’s not my intent. I simply want to know more about CS and mostly, how and why my family became involved. At this point I’m leaning towards Shanghai in the late 1920s. The “why” is still a mystery. More on this to follow…..

Maybe they’re family; continued from May 8 post.

Below is one of my favorite mystery photos. Of the four people pictured, I know just one. The man on the left is my grandfather, Tobias Hunter. I’ve posted this picture many times before, on Facebook pages and any website I can find that might take a crack at it. 

I originally posted it on Facebook Groups; “Hong Kong Past-The Early Years” and “Family and Friends from Shanghai and Hong Kong” and probably a couple of others. I began this particular search in 2018 in the hopes of identifying the people besides my grandfather who is on the far left in the picture.

We established the year and make of the car as a 1933 Austin A10 Touring Sedan and and that the location was likely Hong Kong. This we derived from the terrain shown as well as the Hong Kong Auto Club badge on the front bumper bar of the car. The next quest was to find the building, but it seemed to no longer exist. Many members guessed and I checked out every possibility, all to no avail, until about a week ago. A group member Donald Gudgin posted a couple of photos that were taken when he was serving in the Royal Engineers, #56 Field Squadron, Tai Lam back in 1956. This base was located near Ting Kau Beach along Castle Peak Road, New Territories. He sent me a crop from a Google Earth screen shot and amazingly, the location matched one that I had “pinned” several years ago, marking two properties associated with my grandfather. They were located at 333 and 335 Castle Peak Road.

This is what he wrote:

When I saw your photo I thought that looks like our camp building. I was there in 1956 Tai Lam Camp 56 Field Squadron RE Castle Peak Rd. The first photo is from inside the second floor. The second photo taken from the other direction. The third taken the same way as yours. ( Sorry they are not very clear ) All I know about the building was taken over by the Japanese in 1941 and then by the British army in 1945. We moved out in 1957. It was then demolished. I may be wrong but the building looks very similar.

The photo below shows the view from the upper floor balcony with the distinctive “X” patterned railings

This is my capture from Google Earth showing where the two properties that my grandfather had an interest in, were located.

So, a connection is there and now my search for the identity of the other people becomes more centered. I will attempt to delve into the property records next to see if anything shows up.

Below is a Lot map from the Hong Kong Land Registry that shows the location and present parcel numbers for the property in question on Castle Peak Road. The overall section is DD399 and the piece numbered 333 is now represented by DD399 177. The piece that was at one point #335 is now DD399 437. The plot map is pictured below.

I’ve done a search under these numbers and neither produces a connection to my grandfather however there’s a possibility that there were multiple subsections of these lots. The letter below is one of several between my grandfather and B J Wong of P C Woo & Co in 1949 that establishes his relationship to the property.

A coincidence I just noticed is the pattern of the railing is three bars then three Xs and then three bars again ( III-XXX-III ) 3-30-3 The address of the house was “333” Castle Peak Road! I realize that the true Roman numerals would be CCCXXXIII but that wouldn’t look as good.

Artindale

When my family moved to Shanghai after WW1, and my grandfather became a partner in Geddes Trading, the accountant for the firm was Fred Artindale. His family roots were Eurasian, having a European grandfather and an Asian grandmother. It’s possible our families knew each other during their time in Hong Kong. As far as I know Fred was born in Shanghai but his roots may have been in Hong Kong or even Macau. He and his wife Bertha, along with their daughters were all interned in Shanghai during WW2 as were Fred’s parents.

A few years ago I made the acquaintance of Desmond Power who was a Tientsin boy and wrote several books on his life and times in China. “Little Foreign Devil” was one of them. He was in his early 90s then and sadly has passed away since but on the few occasions where we were able to get together, he was very helpful. As he had been interned in Shanghai, I was eager to learn if he might have known any of my family, so I enlarged and printed some old photos to show him. The first photo I showed him was a group with my family and the Artindales, taken in the 1950s in California. Right away he said “I know him! That’s Fred Artindale. We played in a band together at Lunghwa Camp!” Desmond was fluent in Chinese and consulted on Greg Leck’s book, “Captives of Empire” which must be the definitive “Historical record” of the Japanese prisoner camps in China. Desmond also left me many books, and the most useful, “Desk Hong for Shanghai, 1937” This book is a treasure!

Fred and his family also ended up in California after the war. He was a maker and repairer of violins and other stringed instruments. He had his business in downtown Los Angeles and I remember as a child riding the streetcar and going to his shop. It was upstairs in one of the older buildings and the door had frosted glass with his name on it, like in the TV detective shows. In the mid 1950s Fred moved his family up to San Luis Obispo, where he continued his craft as well as performing with the local orchestras.

More about faith

Since my previous post on the subject, I’ve done more research and by chance received some information from a fellow poster from another site. One of my original questions involved “how and when my family became involved in “Christian Science” My initial thinking was that it took place in Hong Kong about the time my mother was born ( 1911 ) as the church had established itself there around that date. One thought was that my grandparents had turned away from whatever religion they adhered to ( if any ) because they had lost their first born daughter ( Phoebe Mildred, 1910 ) at just a week old, and that possibly the church they belonged to didn’t show ample support during what must have been a very difficult period. Well, it seem this was not the case.

My grandfather married at St Andrew’s Church, at Kowloon in 1909 and his brother George also married at an Anglican Church, in Leeds England the same year. Their sister May Hunter, married at St John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong, in 1903. My mother, Iris Maud ( bn 1911 ) and her sister Nora Eileen ( bn 1912 ) were both born in Kowloon and baptised at St Andrew’s Church. My grandfather moved his family to Shanghai about 1919 to partner in Geddes Trading with his brother in law Thomas Cock ( his sister’s husband ) So, up until the Shanghai move, I’m assuming CS was not the religious affiliation of any of them.

My mother and her sister were sent to school in Bournemouth England in 1924 and remained there until 1928. Their aunt May and their four cousins, Edna, Alwyn, Inez, and Eunice were already in England. The younger two girls also attended Bournemouth School for Girls and Alwyn went to the boys school there. As to religion, I recalled the following entry in their diary which was made in their final year:

March 28, 1928 Wednesday (88-278) First Quarter 11.54 a.m. This morning Iris made a Dundee cake for daddy. We hope it will not be stale by Tuesday. Auntie May and Uncle Tom said goodbye to us at about 2 o’clock and brought us a parcel from Auntie Joe. There were two lovely and embroidered petticoats for us. We then went to our last confirmation class and Mr. Moore gave us each a book called “Communion and Offering”

So it seems reasonable to assume that CS has not taken hold of our family at this juncture. School ended, and in early September, they set said aboard the SS Saarbrucken from Rotterdam to Shanghai, arriving at noon on October 27th, 1928.

Almost exactly three years later, on October 10th, 1931, my mother married Tom Beesley at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Shanghai. There is no sign of CS on either side at this point.

By the time I was born in 1945, we were CS so the window of opportunity opened prior to that. One possibility is during the war years and my grandfather’s internment in Shanghai, but my mother and her sister were in the USA from 1941 on, so the window opening gets narrower yet….1931-1941? I must now go back through old letters to see if there is any mention of CS among local family members in the US or UK.

*As a side note to all this, Alwyn Leland Jr, the grandson of May and Tom Cock, is quite a devout Catholic.