Can you remember anything about the Hong Kong naturalist Geoffrey Herklots at Stanley particularly anything he said about the wildlife of Hong Kong and the 1942 Camp tiger?
Barbara Anslow replies:
Although I knew Dr Herklots well, I'm afraid I can't remember much about his lectures, although they were always interesting and very popular. My late sister Olive used to work for him in Food Control Dept. before the Japs attacked. Olive under his influence became very health conscious and insisted that my Mum and family all take vitamin pills daily!
Advertisement for the sale of 'Hong Kong Birds' by naturalist Geoffrey Alton Craig Herklots First edition published by South China Morning Post 1953 233 pages, 11 plates. This proved popular with several impressions of the first edition, and a second edition published in January 1967.
hong kong birds gac herklots the china mail page 7 11th june 1953, by eurasian_david
More biographical information and photo of the man in question here
Bill Ream in his wartime account Too Hot for Comfort, mentions that one of the group he was with on Stanley was Geoffrey Herklots of Hong Kong University, a botanist and biologist who had the invaluable faculty of keeping cheerful under all circumstances and who sketched birds and plants, later published.
For months, he kept a bamboo snake in a biscuit tin beside his bed, insisting it was harmless unless stepped on.
Before the war, Herklots had made “siege biscuits” for the Hong Kong Government—nutritious rations stored in sealed tins. Some reached the camp, though most vanished, perhaps taken by the Japanese.
He also provided a daily vitamin B solution, permitted by the Japanese, which sustained many through the internment. The Japanese allowed him a small ration of flour, and by using hops and scalded flour, Herklots made yeast that matured in two days, saving many lives despite its unpleasant taste. His “factory” was a wrecked ambulance, accessible only to him.
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Geoffrey Herklots
Richard asks:
Can you remember anything about the Hong Kong naturalist Geoffrey Herklots at Stanley particularly anything he said about the wildlife of Hong Kong and the 1942 Camp tiger?
Barbara Anslow replies:
Although I knew Dr Herklots well, I'm afraid I can't remember much about his lectures, although they were always interesting and very popular. My late sister Olive used to work for him in Food Control Dept. before the Japs attacked. Olive under his influence became very health conscious and insisted that my Mum and family all take vitamin pills daily!
Geoffrey Herklots
Malcolm Peaker has written a short piece about Herklots:
http://zoologyweblog.blogspot.hk/2015/09/hong-kong-70-years-ago-herklot…
Thanks to Brian for the link.
Advertisement for the sale…
Advertisement for the sale of 'Hong Kong Birds' by naturalist Geoffrey Alton Craig Herklots First edition published by South China Morning Post 1953 233 pages, 11 plates. This proved popular with several impressions of the first edition, and a second edition published in January 1967.
More biographical information and photo of the man in question here
In Stanley Camp
Bill Ream in his wartime account Too Hot for Comfort, mentions that one of the group he was with on Stanley was Geoffrey Herklots of Hong Kong University, a botanist and biologist who had the invaluable faculty of keeping cheerful under all circumstances and who sketched birds and plants, later published.
For months, he kept a bamboo snake in a biscuit tin beside his bed, insisting it was harmless unless stepped on.
Before the war, Herklots had made “siege biscuits” for the Hong Kong Government—nutritious rations stored in sealed tins. Some reached the camp, though most vanished, perhaps taken by the Japanese.
He also provided a daily vitamin B solution, permitted by the Japanese, which sustained many through the internment. The Japanese allowed him a small ration of flour, and by using hops and scalded flour, Herklots made yeast that matured in two days, saving many lives despite its unpleasant taste. His “factory” was a wrecked ambulance, accessible only to him.