Event Type: Branch

Takes Place: 14th October 2025

Time: 7pm

Venue: Room 1.09, Park Building, King Henry I St, Portsmouth, PO1 2BZ

Description: In July 1940, George Bearman – electrical engineer at the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth – was on secondment to the Naval Dockyard in Hong Kong, when threats of invasion from the Japanese resulted in the evacuation of almost 3,500 women and children, among them George’s wife, Hilda, and two young sons. Letters between George and Hilda cover the 18 months as the colony slides towards war, against the backdrop of the home country at war, and worries about their home, family and friends based back in Portsmouth, and on through the years following the Japanese invasion of December 1941.

How to book: There’s no need to book a place; just turn up

Price: £4

Email: portsmouthhistorybranch@gmail.com

Organiser: Kate

Lecturer: Caroline Wigley

Region: South-East England

Branch: Portsmouth