Defending Hong Kong in WWII — The Jubilee Battery

It took me a while, with many confusing turns, before I found the Jubilee Battery. For there is only one ruins of the battery that is accessible by proper roadways. The Jubilee Battery’s Gun Emplacement 2 lies within the University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong on Victoria Road. During the latter half of the 1930s, the British determined that “if the defence on the mainland were overcome, and retirement to the Island of Hong Kong took place,” there was such need to build a battery on the northwestern coast of Hong Kong Island. The British then built the Jubilee Battery to serve this purpose. It replaced the former Mount Davis Practice Battery of the 1900s. Together with the long range Mount Davis Battery up on nearby Mount Davis, the Jubilee Battery was part of the Western Fire Command. Its specific role was for counter bombardment. The Jubilee Battery had engaged in a battle in the defence of Hong Kong against the Japanese invasion of 1941. The 26th Coast Battery, 12th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery was in command here. On 11th December, 1941, both the Jubilee Battery and Aberdeen Battery directed fire against the Japanese attempting to land on Lamma Island. As a result of this battle, this battery and the Mount Davis Battery sustained multiple bombing from the Japanese forces. Before Hong Kong’s surrender on 25th December, 1941, the officers blew up this facility, This would prevent its use by the enemy after. The Jubilee Battery acquired its name from the main road above, as it used to be Jubilee Road. The main road is now Victoria Road, but the name of the battery remains. #jubileebattery #worldwar2 #hongkonghistory #hongkongheritage #britishmilitary #militaryhistory #battery #warhistory #citydaytours#china