Resisting the invaders

"The brigade had limited military success against the Japanese during the occupation," said Chan Sui-jeung, whose book about the Hong Kong Kowloon Brigade has been widely cited.

"The reason they chose guerrilla tactics in Hong Kong is that any head-to-head battle with the Japanese army would be certain to end in defeat. The Japanese had better weapons. Guerrilla warfare was the best way to contain them," said Chan.

Chan's book also told the story of Captain Ronald Homes of the British Army Aid Group. Homes had been sent to Hong Kong during the early stage of the occupation to carry out secret investigations - primarily, how to rescue British captives from the Japanese. When he visited the brigade in Sai Kung, he found its members were poorly armed. Their weapons were primarily guns that had been left lying in the field after the Battle of Hong Kong. Nonetheless, the guerrilla forces in Sai Kung alone numbered about 1,000 by 1942 and probably continued growing after that, though the men were short of armaments.