The Ient Family: Family History

War Diary of Chief Signal Officer China Command, Hong Kong 1941

After my mother died in 1999 (my father, Albert Ient having died in 1988), I saw for the first time copies of two diaries which my father had been given by the Royal Signals. The diaries were written by Lieutenant Colonel Levett, OBE, Chief Signal Officer, China Command. He commanded the Hong Kong Signal Regiment from 1938. These have given me considerable detail about the Battle for Hong Kong.

Index:
The Diaries
Record of Casualties
Outnumbered 4:1
Maintaining Communications
Sgt Albert Ient's Experiences
Western Brigade Group
Hong Kong Command Complements the Royal Signals

The Diaries

The first is a diary of events, starting on 7 December 1941 and finishing on 10 February in Shamshuipo PoW camp. The events during the Battle for Hong Kong are described. He also tries to accurately record the casualties and the state of the men under his command.

The second is a diary starting in the PoW camp and finishing in 1945. In this diary, he tries to record the location, status and casualties of all prisoners in Hong Kong (he remained in Hong Kong throughout the war) as well as the outstanding events and details of food rations issued to the PoWs.

In order to complete the story of my father's (Sgt Albert Ient's) life in the Far East, I found it essential to include some references to these diaries.

Record of Casualties

The suffix to both of these documents summarises the casualties of the Royal Signals from the outbreak of hostilities to 1945. These are:

Outnumbered 4:1

Obviously this military company was only a small group in the British forces (made up of British, Indian, Canadian, HK Defence Force & Royal Navy & RAF), which numbered some 14,000, but they themselves were outnumbered nearly 4:1 in comparison to the Japanese forces, whose strength was over 52,000.

Maintaining Communications

Lieutenant Colonel Eustace Levett's principal task was to prepare and put into operation plans covering trunk and radio communications for the defence of Hong Kong. This must have been the work that my dad was engaged in on the island before the outbreak of war.

The invasion of the island commenced on 8 December 1941. Levett reports in some detail the actions in the battle and the fierce fighting that followed for the Royal Signals Company to keep communications lines open. However, at about 15:30 hours on 25 December, Levett received instructions from the GOC to order the Hong Kong Signal Company to display the white flag at the entrance to their barracks and to lay down their arms. This order was passed on by telephone to his men. Later, Levett addressed the men of the company. He said:

'It is, I consider, a matter of pride and to the greatest possible credit of the Hong Kong Signal Company that communications worked as long and as efficiently as was humanly possible... During the mainland retirement on 11/12 and 12/13, they worked in their entirety right up to the end, and undoubtedly, by permitting detailed instructions to be given to the commanders direct, saved many lives. On the island, despite difficulties due to enemy action, shortages of field cable due to loss of dumps, and fatigue of men due to continuous bombardment, the essential communications were working up to within three hours of the order for capitulation, and even then most of the GOC's direct concentrator circuits were through, enabling him to give his instructions direct to commanders.'

The diary covers the communications problems encountered by Levett and the Signal Company during the 18 days of fierce fighting, heavy shelling and bombing, and their continuous struggle to repair damaged communication routes and maintain wireless communication.

Sgt Albert Ient's Experiences

It is impossible to say exactly where my dad fits into the action on a day-to-day basis, but we do know from what he told me that he was captured at Mount Austen in an area called 'The Peak', which was about 1,000 yards west of Magazine Gap. Passages from the diary which refer specifically to this area have, therefore, been selected in the hope that they correctly portray some of what my dad experienced (see Albert Ient's biography).

Lt Colonel Levett's diary details work carried out by two brigades covering different parts of the island. Mount Austen and The Peak were covered by the Western Brigade Group. I assume therefore that Dad was a member of this group.

Western Brigade Group

20^th – An attempt was made to break through the surrounding enemy, some succeeded… The main route between Victoria Gap and Magazine Gap suffered severely, especially in the former area. Magazine Gap area, though continually shelled, fortunately suffered less and little damage was done to the cables, though subsidiary routes suffered… Victoria Peak, … Mt Austen Barracks and Peak Mansions were heavily shelled and bombed, several breaks occurred and frequent bombing raids in that area made repairs difficult.

24^th – By the afternoon of the 24^th, the situation along the route VICTORIA GAP – WANCHAI GAP was extremely serious. The main route had been cut in many places and communications to batteries and OPs were being maintained by field cable, of which there was now a very great shortage, the main cable dump at the Ridge now being in enemy hands.

25^th – It seemed likely that retirement from Wanchai Gap was probable as the enemy were occupying Mt Nicholson and Mt Cameron. Arrangements were therefore made for exchanges to be established at Magazine and Victoria Gaps and for battery positions and OPs and any necessary infantry HQ to be linked up to whichever exchange was the nearer… This communication was through by early morning on the 25^th, but was again cut by enemy action. By noon, it had become practically impossible to keep the route though, and at 1 o'clock, under the orders of the West Brigade commander (who was then at No. 500 The Peak, about 1,000 yards west of Magazine Gap), attempts to do so were abandoned… The final order to surrender came before any further steps could be taken to repair the route. This would, in any case, have been difficult owing to the shortage of cable, as at 1 o'clock a stick of bombs had been dropped near Brigade HQ and the undergrowth around was on fire, burning the field cable laid out on the ground.

Hong Kong Command Complements the Royal Signals

A senior staff officer is reported to have commented to Levett at the end of the battle, 'Signals at any rate did their stuff, and you should be proud of your fellows.'