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South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's MTR Corporation opens the Island line in 1985 — from the SCMP archive
This article was first published on June 1, 1985. Advertisement by Francis Li and Louis Liu Massive roll-up as new line opens Huge crowds rolled up to try out the Mass Transit Railway Island line which went into operation without a hitch on Friday (May 31, 1985). An MTR Corporation spokesman said on Friday night more than 136,000 people travelled on the line between Chai Wan and Admiralty stations in the first five hours after it opened for commuters at 2pm. Rostered station staff helped by volunteer MTR workers turned out in force to help passengers, many of whom were first-time MTR commuters. Advertisement The Causeway Bay station was so busy that many commuters said they had to queue for nearly 20 minutes for a ticket, well before the evening rush hours.
South China Morning Post
23-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Fire breaks out at Hong Kong government headquarters, 30 evacuated
A fire broke out at the Hong Kong government headquarters on Friday, prompting the evacuation of 30 workers, according to police. Insiders told the Post that the fire, which took place at the Chief Executive's Policy Unit office in the west wing of the compound, had been extinguished. 'It is suspected that a cable caught fire,' police said, noting that about 30 people were evacuated. The fire did not cause any injuries or fatalities, the force added. The smoke report at Tamar in Admiralty was sent to police at around 12.15pm. Fire extinguishers were deployed to the scene.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'He swam out to the Russian vessel and was never seen alive again': The Cold War spy mystery of the 'vanishing frogman'
'He swam out to the Russian vessel and was never seen alive again': The Cold War spy mystery of the 'vanishing frogman' 1 day ago Share Save Myles Burke Share Save Getty Images (Credit: Getty Images) In 1956, Royal Navy Commander "Buster" Crabb disappeared in murky circumstances during a visit to the UK by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. In 2006, the BBC's Michael Buchanan read the newly declassified files that detailed Crabb's unofficial secret mission – and how the government tried to cover it up. It was on 9 May 1956, 68 years ago this week, that UK Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden finally succumbed to press pressure and international embarrassment, and ordered an enquiry into the mysterious disappearance of Royal Navy diver Commander Lionel "Buster" Crabb. The decorated frogman had vanished during a goodwill visit to the UK by the Soviet leadership at the height of Cold War tensions. When word leaked that Crabb had gone missing, The Admiralty, the government department responsible for the Navy, issued a vague statement that the diver had been testing underwater equipment at Stokes Bay on the Hampshire coast and was presumed drowned. WATCH: 'Crabb's handless and headless torso was discovered a year later'. But the story fell apart when the visiting Russians accused their hosts of espionage. The Soviets claimed that they had seen a frogman near the Ordzhonikidze – the ship that had brought the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev to the UK – while it was docked in Portsmouth Harbour. Despite questions being asked repeatedly in Parliament, Eden refused to say more, claiming: "It would not be in the public interest to disclose the circumstances in which Commander Crabb is presumed to have met his death." The government's stonewalling merely heightened suspicions that Crabb had been on a covert spy mission. Fourteen months after Crabb vanished, a headless, handless body in a diving suit was found by fishermen in Chichester Harbour on the south coast of England. Its lack of fingerprints and teeth made the mutilated body difficult to identify, but a later inquest ruled that it was Crabb. The whole episode publicly embarrassed Eden and wrecked his attempts to develop a more friendly relationship with a post-Stalin Soviet Union. When he disappeared in 1956, Crabb was well known for his daring underwater exploits. Nicknamed "Buster", after the US Olympic swimmer and actor Buster Crabbe, who had risen to fame in the 1930s, he was an expert in underwater bomb disposal. His bravery during World War Two had earned him the George Medal for removing Italian limpet mines from British warships at Malta, and an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his mine clearance work at Livorno in Italy. His wartime amphibious adventures would later be fictionalised in a 1958 film, The Silent Enemy, with Crabb being played by Laurence Harvey. And even after he was officially demobbed in 1947, he continued diving for the military in various capacities, including investigating sunken submarines. An unofficial mission For decades following the frogman's disappearance, the UK government staunchly maintained its silence on the incident. It would only be from 2006 onwards, when due to Freedom of Information requests by the BBC, and classified documents being made public under the 50-year rule, that the murky circumstances of Crabb's ill-fated final dive began to emerge. The declassified files showed that, from the start, the UK's security services were keen to use the opportunity of Khruschev's visit to gather intelligence on their Cold War opponents. They suggested hiding microphones in Claridge's hotel, which the Soviet leadership intended to use as their headquarters during their stay. But the prime minister expressly ruled out the idea and made "clear that adventures of a similar nature were forbidden". Despite this, MI6 recruited Crabb to undertake an "unofficial enterprise" to investigate the Russian ship Ordzhonikidze. The exact nature of his mission is still unclear, but the ex-MI5 officer Peter Wright suggested in his book Spycatcher (1987) that it was to examine and photograph the ship's advanced propeller design. In History In History is a series which uses the BBC's unique audio and video archive to explore historical events that still resonate today. Subscribe to the accompanying weekly newsletter. Two days before the mission, Crabb and another MI6 agent, who went by the name Bernard Smith, checked into the Sally Port hotel in Portsmouth. On the evening of 17 April 1956, Crabb met with a military colleague in a local pub. This colleague, whose name was deleted from the file, was a Royal Navy lieutenant commander who agreed to help Crabb get into Portsmouth Harbour for his final dive. In 2006, the BBC's Michael Buchanan got the chance to examine the previously classified sworn statement by "the last man to see Crabb alive". "He says he was approached by the commander a couple of days before his final dive and asked 'if I would be prepared to assist him, entirely unofficially and in a strictly private capacity, in connection with a dive he was taking a day or two later'. He goes on to say under no account was this man to contact any responsible naval authority," said Buchanan. Just before 07:00 on 19 April, the unnamed lieutenant commander went with Crabb to Portsmouth Harbour, and helped him dress and check his equipment. Crabb then swam out to the Russian vessel, and was never seen alive again. The Royal Navy made no attempt to look for the missing frogman for fear of alerting the Ordzhonikidze's crew. "The documents further reveal that no search and rescue efforts were made for Crabb as it was not a bonafide operation," said Buchanan. "And they detailed the extensive efforts made by [the Admiralty] to ensure they weren't implicated in a botched mission they knew nothing about." The intelligence services surmised that Crabb must have either been captured by the Soviets, been destroyed by Russian "countermeasures", or suffered a "natural mishap". Smith, the MI6 agent, removed Crabb's belongings and checked out of the Sally Port hotel. A few days later, the police removed the pages with their details from the Sally Port's register, which only served to fuel suspicions of a covert mission. Under pressure from MI6 and the government, the Admiralty hastily concocted the spurious story that Crabb had gone missing during a test in Stokes Bay. The sniper and the underwater fight Records of meetings show the panic at the highest levels of government. Officials feared that if a body was found, the Soviets could use Crabb's death for propaganda purposes. National Archives' Howard Davis told the BBC in 2006 that the file "makes it perfectly clear that this wasn't an Admiralty operation; they had nothing to do with it and we see them trying to construct a story that they can plausibly tell to face the inevitable questions from the press". But despite the release of some of the government's classified documents, exactly what happened to the diver that day in 1956 is still unknown. In 1990, Joseph Zwerkin, a former Soviet naval intelligence agent, claimed that a Soviet sniper on the Ordzhonikidze's deck had spotted the diver in the water and shot him. In 2007, a 74-year-old former Russian frogman, Eduard Koltsov, claimed that he slashed Crabb's throat in an underwater fight after catching him attaching a mine to Ordzhonikidze. It has also been suggested that as Crabb was an associate of Sir Anthony Blunt, who was unmasked as a Soviet spy in 1979, he could even have defected. Nicholas Elliott, a former senior MI6 agent who was rumoured to be involved in Crabb's final dive, believed that the 47-year-old diver, who was known for his fondness for whiskey and cigarettes, had succumbed to oxygen poisoning or a heart attack as a result of his exertions while underwater. It may be some time before more details of Crabb's fate come to light. While some papers concerning the affair have been released into the public domain, others have had their classified status extended by the government and are not scheduled for release until 2057. -- For more stories and never-before-published radio scripts to your inbox, sign up to the In History newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week.
Press and Journal
03-05-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
VE Day: How we marked it in Aberdeen 80 years ago, through smiles and tears
People across the north and north-east of Scotland awoke with a smile on their face on the morning of May 8, 1945. As the Press and Journal reported the news of how Germany had surrendered and the Prime Minister Winston Churchill was poised to address the nation at 3pm, the feeling of exhilaration and relief was overwhelming. However, our headline – which simply read V-Day – reflected the reality that the conflict still wasn't over in many parts of the world and particularly the Far East. A small paragraph on the front page of the edition pointed out: 'The war lasted 2,094 days – 526 days longer than World War I'. But the paper also reported that allied diplomats were continuing their efforts to broker a peace deal with the Japanese, which dragged on until the end of the summer. Understandably, that didn't cast a veil over the celebrations which were held everywhere from Aberdeen and Inverness to Oban and Orkney and across the Mearns, the Western Isles and the Highlands, whether in large communities or tiny hamlets. In Aberdeen, there were street parties throughout the city, while thousands of people flocked to Union Street and the Castlegate. As the late Aberdeen veteran Eric Johnston, who fought on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, recalled: 'There never was a day where so many strangers walked together, sang together, and where everybody shook hands and enjoyed the fact we had won a war which was a just war. 'Many people went to church in the morning and, although it was a Tuesday, the hymns and prayers rang out. I heard from my friends that it was the same all across Scotland. 'Of course, the pubs were open and plenty of folk enjoyed a beer and a dram, but my main memory of that day was of people coming together as one big community.' The festivities were grander in some places than others. With strict rationing still in place, not everywhere could stretch to staging big events, yet there was no shortage of wood for the bonfires which burned effigies of Adolf Hitler as the day progressed. The trams which ran in Aberdeen often resembled something from a Hollywood musical with passengers breaking into spontaneous renditions of songs ranging from The Northern Lights to the National Anthem and We'll Meet Again. VE Day was a public holiday, as indeed was May 9, but, behind the scenes, there were positive developments for those who lived around the coast and, in many cases, had become wearily accustomed to life under blackout regulations. As the P&J reported: 'The Secretary of the Admiralty has announced that lighting restrictions in the coastal areas are no longer necessary for defence purposes and they are now removed for the whole country. 'The news will be hailed with delight in Aberdeen and other north-east areas where the blackout has been in force since the beginning of the war.' It wasn't just adults who were allowed to let their hair down and join the party. Youngsters were given time off to join in the celebrations and enjoyed their real-life experiences as much as their comic strip counterpart, Oor Wullie, who was depicted in rambunctious flag-waving form in The Sunday Post fun section. As the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives related: 'At last, in May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies in Europe and Victory in Europe Day was marked at school with two days of holiday. 'At Inverey School, the headteacher wrote: 'Two days holiday was granted to celebrate the cessation of hostilities. The children made their own bonfire and lit it at night'. 'At Rhynie School, a small committee was appointed to make arrangements for the children. A religious service was held at 2.30pm and, thereafter, the children marched to the Gordon Arms Hotel where they were entertained to tea and games. 'During a fair spell, sports were also held in the pleasure park and money prizes given. The proceedings were brought to a close by the lighting of a bonfire in the evening.' Ena Strachan was one of the pupils who joined her mother, Edie, for the VE revelry. But as she said: 'Some of us were luckier than others, because our family were all together. We felt sorry for the boys and girls whose dads had been killed or were still fighting.' Further along the coast in Moray, it wasn't only Scots who were involved in the festivities. A group of Norwegian and Danish refugees, who had flocked to the Moray Firth when their homelands fell under enemy occupation, settled in Buckie and made such an impact on their new surroundings the town became known as Little Norway. These men and women helped establish a Norwegian Consulate during the conflict, while a Sjomannskirken – a seaman's church – opened in the Main Street in 1942 and King Haakon VII visited Scotland and met his compatriots the following summer. Professor Peter Reid, of Robert Gordon University, investigated the many ties which were forged between the refugees and the locals. He said: 'People from both countries celebrated on May 8 back in 1945 and the links between them have never been forgotten. 'My grandmother married one of the Danish exiles and they went to live in Esbjerg after the war. 'I also noticed that, in Buckie cemetery, there is the grave of a little six-year-old Norwegian girl, Aud Oline Ramstad and, because she was buried near to my own family's graves, I look after it too, tidying it, repairing it, and planting flowers.' Some had mixed emotions. And there's a letter which sums up all the feelings of one north-east couple who were married, but forced to live apart, while Britons celebrated. The correspondence was sent by Mary Ann (Molly) McKenzie from her Aberdeen home on VE Day itself to her husband, Charlie McKenzie, a captain in the Royal Artillery, who was in charge of a group of Russian prisoners of war in Holland. Her words are laced with happiness, but also a sense of frustration that the pair could not be together to enjoy the occasion. And that was allied to a tinge of apprehension lest any harm befell the man she called her 'darling', her 'sweet' and her 'dearest'. The late couple's daughter, Rhona Hunt, spoke about how the letter was precious in capturing the atmosphere as Aberdeen and other cities broke out the bunting. Molly wrote about the scenes she and her family witnessed in the Granite City, both on the streets and at a church service before they went home to listen to a BBC radio broadcast by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. She said: 'The whole town has gone gay with decorations and flags. 'When we went off to church, it was grand to see all the flags fluttering and even the trams had flags on them, to say nothing of the children who were wearing a lot of red, white and blue. 'I have never seen so many people in Union Street. It was a moving mass between Market Street and the Castlegate. We took the tram to George Street and when we got to the church at 11, I offered my prayers and thankfulness for your safe deliverance. 'We went up to your mother's after we came back from the church and your Ma gave me a glass of stout and impressed on me it would do no harm. '[In the afternoon] we all gathered for the Prime Minister's speech at 3.00 and I wondered if you were listening to it. It was very impressive, it MUST have been for even Ma made us all stand up in a circle and sing God Save the King. 'We had a bottle of port and we had a toast – first to Charlie, then to sister, Kay, and brother, Bill, and last to those who shall not return [from the war]. 'In my heart, my darling, I have the feeling it won't be very long before you are home. What a glorious feeling, my sweet, to know it is really over.' Amid the exultant scenes which marked VE Day, Scottish troops cherished the end of the war in Europe and the Gordon Highlanders were, as usual, a pivotal force. However, those who could attend ceremonies in Britain on May 8 were all too conscious that so many of their comrades had either fallen in the conflict or remained incarcerated in prisoner of war camps thousands of miles away. Ruth Cox, curator of the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen, explained how the regiment reacted as the world was changing around them. She said: 'Victory in Europe was marked by the Gordon Highlanders with celebrations and parades, with the sounds of pipe music and many dinners being held. 'The cessation of hostilities would have been welcome for the PoWs in Europe and North Africa who experienced a wide range of treatment at the hands of their captors. 'By and large, they were treated humanely, as stipulated by the Geneva Convention. 'But the same could not be said of those who were held in the Far East, who continued to suffer as prisoners of war until Japan surrendered in August, 1945. 'During the war, the Gordon Highlanders fought in a conflict that eventually ended in victory, but at the cost of the lives of 2,400 members of the regiment, scattered across three continents, who were killed in action or died of their wounds.' Ultimately, the peace which followed VE Day was a brief chance to toast the outcome. Yet, as an editorial in the Press and Journal on May 9 made clear, it was also a time to remember the immense sacrifices which had been necessary to ensure success. It urged the region to 'honour those who fought for democracy' which had been made by so many. And it spoke of the need for the country to pull together. Eighty years later, that's as relevant as it ever was.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
9 Mother's Day events at Hong Kong restaurants, from free-flow brunch to a bakery lesson
Hong Kong restaurants are pulling out all the stops for Mother's Day on May 11, 2025, crafting lavish menus to celebrate the occasion. Advertisement From elegant spreads at Salisterra, in Admiralty to Chiu Chow tasting menus at Pak Loh Chiu Chow – various locations – this year's offerings blend tradition with creativity. Expect delectable desserts, premium seafood dishes, and fabulous free-flow options. There are also mother-child cooking classes with a fantastic lunch afterwards. Whether it's a premium brunch or a nostalgic traditional Cantonese feast, Hong Kong's chefs are ensuring every mum feels cherished. Here's where to book for a meal as extraordinary as she is. 1. Salisterra Treat mum to one of the best views in Hong Kong at Salisterra alongside refreshing Mediterranean cuisine. Advertisement The three-course sharing brunch (HK$668) starts with four sharing plates – scallop crudo, zucchini hummus, turbot à la Provençale and meloso rice – served with sides such as mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and broccolini.
