Hong Kong during World War I
Nonetheless, the colony served as an important port in East Asia, including as the headquarters of the British China Station, and saw significant socioeconomical changes during the war.
[2][3] During the early stages of the war, enlistment for military service was low, as most British in Hong Kong at the time were professionals or businessmen.
[4] By the end of the war, almost a quarter (579 out of 2,157) of the British male population volunteered outside Hong Kong for military services.
While at port, HMS Triumph borrowed soldiers from one of the local garrison battalions to serve on board.
On 12 August, 1914, nervous gunners of the eastern batteries of Hong Kong Island fired on the Japanese freighter Shikoku Maru (四国丸), killing one sailor.
As the Japanese navy could easily dominate the East Asian waters, worries over a German attack on the colony lessened.
[2] In November, an Anglo-Japanese force, including HMS Triumph which had departed from Hong Kong, captured Kiautschou.
In December, the main body of the East Asia Squadron was destroyed in the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
Although by the end of 1914, the Cantonese regime found itself divided over internal politics, and was no longer deemed a serious threat, the possibility of a Chinese invasion was not discounted until the later stages of the war.
This helped propel the Hong Kong economy into a wartime boom and also allow extra war contribution to Britain.
Furthermore, at least 100 Chinese sailors in the British Merchant Navy were killed through military action, diseases or accidents.
[2] Two days before the war, on August 3, 1914, the German consul Arthur Voretzsch [de] received a telegram from Governor May stating that if war broke out, May would continue to allow Germans to continue their business operations in the colony, as long as they are under oath that they would not seek to damage British interests.
On 5 October, 1914, Kelly wrote to May: I look upon every German, man or woman, at large in the Colony, as a potential factor for evil, and possibly for prolonging the war.
There is little doubt they spread rumours and not unnaturally do what they can to incite the Chinese and Indians against us... Their presence renders it necessary to take more elaborate precautions in guarding all important places.
[10] In the meantime, it was reported in the British press that Germans had been privately celebrating the war and burning the Union Jack.
[14] Philipp Wittmann, a worker on the German shipping freighter SS Princess Alice that arrived in Hong Kong days after the declaration of war,[12] described the camp on the island as a "small, heavily fenced-off, barren space," one where the internees were constantly threatened by typhoons.
[15] On 6 October, the Legislative Council passed a bill that allowed German firms to conduct new business, subject to certain restrictions.
[10][13] German women, children, and those above military age were made to leave the colony for the Shanghai International Settlement or Manila.
On the next day, food rationings were cut short after London learnt of the treatment of British soldiers in German camps.
[13] In January 1916, all the internees were transferred aboard SS Empire to another internment camp in Holsworthy, Australia.
[4] After formal conclusion of the war in July 1919, Hong Kong celebrated with fireworks, motorcades and parades.
A week after the celebrations, following news of crops failure in Thailand, along with the restrictions of exports in Indochina and India and a surge in demand in Japan, a major rice riot broke out.
