Hong Kong, 1918. A tranquil place compared to war-torn Europe. But on
the morning of the 22nd January, a running battle through the streets of
Wanchai ended in "The Siege of Gresson Street". Five policemen lay dead,
so shocking Hong Kong that over half the population turned out to watch
their funeral procession. One of the dead, Inspector Mortimor
O'Sullivan, came from Newmarket: a small town nestled deep in rural
Ireland. He, along with a dozen and more relatives, had sailed out to
Hong Kong to join the Police Force. Using family records and memories
alongside extensive research in Hong Kong, Ireland and London, Patricia
O'Sullivan tells the story of these policemen and the criminals they
dealt with. This book also gives a rare glimpse into the day-to-day life
of working-class Europeans at the time, as it follows the Newmarket men,
their wives and families, from their first arrival in 1864 through to
1941 and beyond.