| Description | John Montgomery (generally known as 'Jack' and also as 'Monte') was born in Manchester, England, in 1900. After war service with the King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) between 1918 and 1920, he joined the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) in 1924. John Montgomery married Phyllis Harrop in 1929. The couple later divorced. Montgomery resigned from the police force on 22 May 1938 and returned to England. Phyllis Harrop remained in China, later moving to Hong Kong where she worked as a social worker, and in 1943, having escaped from Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, published the book 'Hong Kong Incident'. A large collection consisting of: a wardrobe trunk, masonic regalia in a small suitcase, masonic medals, 11 freemasonry booklets, framed photograph of a group of masons in Shanghai, a pair of slippers, a chunky penknife, a sheathed oriental knife/dagger, cigarette case, keys and lanyard, Shanghai Municipal Police badge, Shanghai Municipal Police Warrant Card, a police whistle, Shanghai Municipal Council medals 1937, Shanghai Municipal Council driving licence, Shanghai Municipal Council Firearms Licence, bus pass, Minhong Yacht Club booklet, 2 maps of China, 1930s map of Shanghai (with bomb sites marked, 1937), a volume of 200 photographs entitled 'Sino-Japanese Hostilities Shanghai 1937' published and sold by Ah Fong (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM04), three more photograph albums, loose photographs and negatives, an album of shipping labels, a book: 'The "Sino-Japanese Disturbances" Souvenir Album. Shanghai. 1932', a book: 'Five Months of War' (Published by the North-China Daily News, 1938), a newspaper.
DM2836/1: Photograph album (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM01).
DM2836/2: Photograph album (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM02).
DM2836/3: Photograph album (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM03).
DM2836/4: A volume of 200 photographs entitled 'The Sino-Japanese Hostilities 1937, Shanghai', published and sold by Ah Fong, 819 Nanking Road, Shanghai. Also a separate printed 'Index' to the photographs, which were taken in Shanghai, between August and November 1937. The photographs are attributed to two photographers identified only as: "S.S." and S.C.S. (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM04).
DM2836/5: Loose photographs (Historical Photographs of China ref: JM-s) and other papers.
DM2836/6: 'The "Sino-Japanese Disturbances" Souvenir Album. Shanghai. 1932'. A book by Ryozo Tanaka, with a green silk cover, in a slipcase, published in Tokyo, 1932. The book includes maps and 48 pages of photographic plates.
DM2836/7: '5 Months of War'. A book containing photographic plates, being photographs by North-China Daily News photographers and many other sources, and cartoons by Sapajou. Maps. Revised edition with new photographs and cartoons, published by the North-China Daily News & Herald, Limited, 1938.
DM2836/8: Objects, maps, shipping labels, newspaper, papers, freemasony medals and booklets etc.
DM2836/9: A framed photograph by G. Belkin of members of the St George's Masonic Lodge, Shanghai, May 1938, with regalia. On the frame there is a silver label: ‘ST GEORGES NO.4595 E.C. / SHANGHAI. CHINA. / MAY. 1938.’ On the mount is an inscription in ink: ‘Bro. Senior Warden - Bro. J. Montgomery / Fraternal Wishes. / L. C. Smith / W.M.’ John Montgomery is in the front row, third from the left.
DM2836/10: A small leather suitcase, labelled J.M., containing masonic regalia: Mason's Aprons and a Masonic Sash.
The photographs in the John Montgomery Collection have been digitised. The digital images are on the Historical Photographs of China web site: https://www.hpcbristol.net/collections/montgomery-john. Historical Photographs of China ref: JM. |