Shanghai, 16 October 1914: 110 men climb aboard the Japanese ship, the SS Suwa Maru, making is maiden voyage from Yokohama to London. Under the command of Captain Alan Hilton-Johnson, they were heading to England to join Lord Kitchener’s ‘New Army’ of civilian volunteers. Many of them were former soldiers or marines, and under Hilton-Johnson’s supervision the contingent would receive the rudiments of a military training as they sailed.
This story forms the core of my book Getting Stuck in for Shanghai. Below is a list of the men, and some of the detail that I have been able to find out so far about them. I would be delighted to hear from you if you have more information: robert.bickers@bristol.ac.uk. Where there is no text in a field I have been unable to trace their military career.
My sources are lists published in the North China Herald at Shanghai, the Suwa Maru passenger list, individual service and pension records, the China War Book (a compendium of information about volunteers, published in Shanghai), and other records.
Some 35 places in the contingent were reserved for volunteers from the Shanghai Municipal Police. You can also find out more about that force in my book Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai (Penguin). The Chinese Maritime Customs Service, from which some of the Suwa Maru recruits deserted to join up, is introduced in this project website.
| Name | Occupation in Shanghai | Unit joined | … and what happened |
| William Douglas Amoss | British American Tobacco | Army Service Corps | Reported dead 1916, corrected. |
| Ebenezer Auld | Jardine, Matheson & Co. | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Killed in action, 17-12-1917, France |
| E.W.R. Ayres | Not listed on arrival sheet; China war Book: Discharged | ||
| Robert Baldwin | Garner, Quelch & Co | Inns of Court, OTC; 3rd Bn Hampshire Regt | |
| Herbert James Beach | Shanghai Municipal Police | 24th Bn Royal Fusiliers | Not listed as Police Contingent on arrival in London; not reinstated in Shanghai police after war service. Services terminated. |
| Charles Edward Beale | Shanghai Municipal Police | Royal Horse Artillery; transport battery | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Walter Bowden Betts | Shanghai Municipal Council, Electricity Dept | King Edward’s Horse; RFA | Died 12-5-21 |
| S. Bott | |||
| Kenneth Morison Bourne | Shanghai Municipal Police | South Lancs Regt | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Norman James Bournes | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| George William Bradish | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Killed in action, 1-7-1916. War service. |
| Arthur Kirkhill Brown | Standard Oil Co. | 10th Service Bn, Suffolk Regt; Chinese Labour Corps | |
| Charles Burnie | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | EOC. Terminated war service. to reserve 6 Apr 1919 |
| Francis A. Byrne | Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 10th Bn | Discharged, since died (Nov 1918) | |
| Allen MacArthur Cameron | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; Somerset Light Infantry | Invalided out, I think, from Somerset Light Infantry, Oct 1918 |
| Arthur John Castle | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Health Dept | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt; 7 Rifle Bgde; Devons | |
| Harold Mayne Catley | Clerk, Accountant | Army Service Corps; Labour Corps, Apr 1918 | Injured, hit and run, 11-3-1917 |
| Arthur Henry Chamberlain | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse B Squadron | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| James Alfred Cheeseman | Draper, Weeks? | King Edward’s Horse | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Frederick William Clifton | Reiss & Co; Weihaiwei Schoolboy | OTC; 3rd Lincolnshire Regt. | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Alfred John Patrick Coghlan | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse C Squadron | Discharged 23 Aug 1919; returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Cleveland Alexander Connor | Standard Oil Co. | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; 12 Worcestershire Regt; Chinese Labour Corps | Killed in action, 23-10-1918, France; Wounded, NCH, 2/12/16, p. 507 (Connor) |
| William Stanley Cook | Unemployed 1913 | King Edward’s Horse | Discharged 15 aug 1916 sickness |
| Walter Gordon Cope | Lane Crawford & Co, Hong Kong | 3rd Bn. Yorkshire Regt; RFC | Severely wounded, France; Killed in aircraft accident, 6-9-1918. |
| F.C. Corbett | Stockings and shoe maker | Navy, RND | Struck off en route |
| William Basil Cornaby | Jardine, Matheson & Co. | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt; Chinese Labour Corps | Wounded, leg, 1916, badly |
| John Henry Corre | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; Royal Fusiliers; Chinese Labour Corps | ||
| Thomas Graves Coyne | Shanghai Municipal Police | Army Service Corps, Butcher; Labour Corps | Dismissed, MG 17-12-1914. Returned to Shanghai Nov.1919 |
| Vaughan Day Kift Craddock | Jardine, Matheson & Co. | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Lt., invalided wounds, 1917. Returned to Shanghai |
| Herbert D. Cranston | Farnham Boyd & Co, apprentice engineer 1904, marine engineer 1910?; Shanghai boy | King Edward’s Horse | Wounded Vieille Chapelle 9, 10, 11 April 1918; Discharged 4 Apr 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| William Alexander Dalgarno | Atkinson & Dallas | King Edward’s Horse B Squadron | To reserve 13 Apr 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Theodore Louis Davies | ?? | No info China War Book | |
| John Charles Edward Douglas | Barrister | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Killed in action, 18-12-1915, France |
| John Dunbar | Navy? | ||
| Percy St. John Dunckley | Shanghai Municipal Council | King Edward’s Horse; 3rd Bn Gurhkas | March 1915 to France; Commission Dec 1915 |
| Ernest Richard Engley | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | Invalided, and returned to Shanghai June 1916; but left under medical certificate, October 1916. Joined Indian Army Remount Office in 1918. Returned to Shanghai after the war, died there in 1944. |
| Ernest Arthur Eva | Shanghai Municipal Police | Royal Engineers | Indian Expeditionary Force, 1915-16; Demobbed 4-10-1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Tubeville Rowley Evans | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept Clerk, 1913+ | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; 29th Punjabis | Stayed in Army of India |
| H.P. Evans | Chinese Maritime Customs | King Edward’s Horse; RFC | Discharged after 135 days unfit, returned to Shanghai customs, then RFC |
| Ernest Fearn | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt., Machine Gun Corps | Wounded; convalescent home Jul ’17. To Bristol after the war. |
| James Frederick Gabbutt | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | To reserve 5 April 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| George Eldridge Gilbert | Chinese Maritime Customs | Yorkshire Regt; Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regt) | Major. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Allynne Farmer Gimson | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept, Surveying asst | Royal Field Artillery | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Edward Lovell Gladwish | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | To reserve 5 Apr 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Samuel Tidball Glenn | Chinese Maritime Customs | Royal Engineers | Discharged 13 Sept 1915, as a US citizen; physically unfit; returned to US. |
| Thomas James Graham | Kailan Mining Administration | Royal Welch Fusiliers | Gallipoli; Invalided by end April 1916 (China War Book). Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Andrew Thomas Gray | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Department, District Inspector | Royal Engineers, attached 1st Indian Cavalry Corps | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Alfred Frederick Grimble | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Invalided, war wounds, 14-10-1916 |
| Richard K. Hadley | King Edward’s Horse | Discharged, 31 May 1919 | |
| Ralph Noel Heathcote | Cornes & Co, Kobe | 10th Bn. East Yorkshire Regt | Killed in action, 17-11-1916, France, Somme |
| Alan Hilton Hilton-Johnson | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Returned to Shanghai 1916. |
| E. Hope | Mustard & Co | N/A | Taken off sick at Hong Kong. Working in Shanghai afterwards |
| Thomas Howarth | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Invalided, war wounds, 1916 |
| Edward Hunt | Shanghai Municipal Police | Struck off en route. Dismissed, from Shanghai Police 17-12-1914; No info, China War Book | |
| J.A. Johnson | No info China War Book | ||
| William White Kay | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt; deserted for Gordon Highlanders (on discharge) | Prisoner of War: Returned to Shanghai after the war. |
| Bertie Standish Laurence | Wheelock & Co | Westminster Dragoons | Killed in action, 09-09-1915, Gallipoli |
| James E. Law | Reiss & Co | Gordon Highlanders | |
| Arnold A. Laws | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse, Transferred to Corps of Dragoons | Dismissed from Shanghai Police, 17-12-1914; wounded by April 1916 (China War Book) |
| John W. Litt | Shanghai Municipal Police | RFA; Labour Corps | Struck off en route. Served Egypt |
| Archibald Longman | Shanghai Municipal Police | Royal Field Artillery, “D” Bty. 94th Bde | Killed in action, 2-10-1916, Somme. Dismissed from Shanghai Police, 17-12-1914 |
| Jim F. Lovell | Shanghai Municipal Police | 45th Bedfordshire Regt; 12 Bn Suffolk Regt | Wounded Somme. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Thomas Bernard Maguire | Shanghai Club Steward | Army Service Corps; Labour Corps | |
| William Farrell Martinson | Chinese Maritime Customs | King Edward’s Horse, transferred 13th Essex Regiment | Stayed in army after war |
| Donald McInnes | Shanghai Municipal Police | 3rd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Richard Henry Mugford | Chinese Maritime Customs | King Edward’s Horse; | |
| A.R. Murphy | Shanghai Municipal Council, Electricity Dept, Collector | Royal Field Artillery | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Lewis George Murray Kidd | Jardine, Matheson & Co. | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; 9th East Kents | Officer, 3 wounds, 5 years service. Returned to China after the war |
| Cecil Albert Nelson | British Cigarette Company | 4th Reserve Bn., Cheshire Regt | Discharged 20-6-1916; sick, dysentry, enteric (Amy Turner letter) |
| Arthur Gordon Nugent | Shanghai Municipal Council, Secretariat, Assistant | 9th Buffs | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Michael O’Regan | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | Discharged 10 June 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war, briefly |
| M.S. O’Sullivan | King Edward’s Horse | Invalided by Nov 1916 | |
| Thomas Henry Odey | Shanghai Municipal Police | Army Service Corps, Motor Transport Corps | Died. Balkans, 29-8-1918. Bronchial pneumonia |
| Robert A. Orr | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Invalided, war wounds, 10-2-1917, clerical work Manchester |
| Sidney Arthur Palk | Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co | 19 Lancashire Fusiliers | Deaf in one ear |
| David Palmer | CMSNCo engineer | 3rd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | Wounded, transferred to RNVR |
| Charles G. Phillips | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Percy Oswald Pickburn | Chinese Maritime Customs | 8th Yorks; Royal Engineers | Returned to Shanghai after the war, left 1921 |
| Arthur Piercy | Jardine, Matheson & Co. | Cheshire Regt | Returned to China after the war |
| Edward Ernest Pilbeam | Shanghai Municipal Police | King Edward’s Horse | Discharged 13 April 1919. Returned to Shanghai after the war, until 1923 |
| George Herbert Plumtree | Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co | RAMC, 1/4 NGH | |
| Herbert Edward Pollard | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept | Royal Engineers | Killed in action, 26-06-1917, France |
| John Charlot Porter | British Cigarette Company | King Edward’s Horse; Machine Gun Corps | Killed in action, 24-07-1917, Belgium |
| Frank Reuter | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | lost a leg, wounded Mametz Wood |
| Jack Reynolds | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt.; to Chinese Labour Corps | Resigned. War service |
| Frank Cecil Roberts | British American Tobacco | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Harry Summers Robertson | Wm Little & Co | 12th Battn, Highland LI; Chinese Labour Corps | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| John Ross | Shanghai Municipal Police | Seaforth Highlanders; Cycle Corps; Kings African Rifles | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Albert Rothery | Shanghai Waterworks | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Walter James Russell | Shanghai Municipal Police | Army Ordnance Corps | Mesopotamia |
| Roy F. Scott | APC | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt; 7th Devonshire | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Alexander Scougall | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept, District Inspector | RMLI | Killed in action, 03-05-1915, Gallipoli |
| Alfred Allen Vincent Scudamore | Shanghai Municipal Police | KOYLI | Invalided, WW1 wounds |
| John Clifford Shakeshaft | George McBain | 16th Lancers 8th Reserve Cavalry; RFC; RAF | Thought to be dead, but not so, RAF, Flt Sgt |
| Martin Hubert Shorto | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept | Royal Engineers; S. Lancs Regt | Killed in action, 27-07-1917, Belgium |
| William R. Sim | Shanghai Tug & Lighter Co | King Edward’s Horse | Captured, escaped, rejoined. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Alfred Richard Singer | Royal Engineers; Machine Gun Corps | Returned to Shanghai after the war | |
| Percy Kenneth Sizer | Japan | King Edward’s Horse | Killed in action, 24-03-1917, France |
| Harold Bruce Smeeton | Kenya Police: what is he doing in Shanghai? | 9th Bn Sherwood Forresters | Wounded. To Kenya after the war |
| Charles J. Smith | Shanghai Municipal Council, Electricity Dept, Clerical Asst. | 15th Royal Fusiliers | Struck off en route |
| Frank Crofts Stubbings | Shanghai Municipal Police | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | 30-07-1916: Wounded, had a ‘bad time’; discharged 22-9-17. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Herbert Such | W. Hewett & Co | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Wounded, jaw shot. |
| Rossiter William Tear | Shanghai Municipal Police | No record of joining army. Married 1916 Hampthisre | Struck off en route; No Info China War Book |
| J.W. Thompson | Shanghai family | King Edward’s Horse | |
| Edward William Trotman | Chinese Maritime Customs | Royal Field Artillery, then RAF | |
| Geofrey Aubie Turner | Ilbert & Co | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | badly wounded. Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Frederick Osborn Ricks Turner | Shanghai Municipal Council, Public Works Dept, Asst. District Inspector | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Reported wounded Loos; Died in St Albans, 09-06-1916 |
| Joseph Twigg-Balmer | Chinese Maritime Customs | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Deserted 3-8-1915 |
| Charles Edward Tyreman | Draughtsman | N/A | Not listed on arrival sheet; Not at war 1916, living in Shanghai |
| Thomas Stanley Dudley Wade | British American Tobacco | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. Transfers to Transfers to Chinese Labour Corps, in service until Feb 1920, retains Lt rank, in service until Feb 1920, retains Lt rank. | Returned to Shanghai after the war |
| Alfred Wagstaff | Manager, Inshallah Dairy Farm; Shanghai Municipal Council Public Health Dept | 25th Bn Royal Fusiliers | British East Africa |
| W.E. Williams | Musician | Struck off en route; joined up | |
| Edwin Henry Thomas Wilson | Chinese Maritime Customs | 10th Bn. 19th Yorkshire Regt. | Demobilised 1919 as Sergeant, did not return to Shanghai |
Robert Bickers 