Footprints Left in Hong Kong

Download or read book Footprints Left in Hong Kong written by Iain Leighton and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-08 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iain Leighton's first book describes British expatriate life in Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s, based on his memories. There are over 30 chapters, covering subjects like the British military presence; the riots of 1966 and 1967; recreational clubs; British schools; typhoons; weekends in the New Territories; Chinese customs and superstitions and visits to beaches for picnics. Iain Leighton describes his memories from this time: "Dire poverty for the refugees affected me as a child, I was aware of acute poverty for the Chinese refugees when I was a boy. Despite the relatively small number of expats (circa 60,000), the atmosphere remained very British and colonial. Colonial expat families were well dressed and attending church and Sunday school was normal. People in their thousands took jobs as civil servants with the Hong Kong Government to get away from the U.K. The U.K. still had food rationing for about seven years post-1945. Hong Kong, on the other hand, never had food rationing. Salaries were higher than in the U.K.; living in Hong Kong was cheap compared to dismal, tired U.K. Hong Kong was a wonderful place to live and bring up your children."