Numbers in the image refer to the photos in this trip.

This memorial stone along with the valve tower, bellmouth overflow, the gorge dam, and the steel bridge are listed as historic buildings. The reservoir was at once time called the Jubilee Reservoir in honour of King George V and the1935 Silver Jubilee. The memorial states "Government of Hong Kong" and follows with, "This reservoir was begun in 1933 and finished in 1937. Its capacity is three thousand million gallons. The height of the main dam is 280 feet. It was designed by Messrs. Binnie, Deacon & Gourley and constructed under G.B. Gifford Hull M.M. Inst. C.E. resident engineer. Nisi Dominus Frustra"

View of the dam from the redoubt side of the dam. A discrepancy between the British assessment made in 1958 and a Japanese (Cheung Sha) Report in 1971 is over how the Japanese crossed the dam. Relying on Colonel Doi’s testimony, it was thought that the Japanese crossed the Shing Mun Valley below the dam. A detailed Japanese report states that they crossed along the top of the dam and mentions details such as encountering a '1m3' box to suggest it was authentic. This is the accepted view of what happened. Why wasn't the dam made impassable?

Something I'd never noticed before is the damage on the surface that looks like bullet or shrapnel marks. In the still taken from the prewar propaganda movie probably filmed from what appears to be PB 402 the new stone used to build the dam is gleaming.

Taken on the path along the hills leading to Needle Hill and part of the Maclehose Trail, this look to the redoubt from the attackers' side. Kwai Fong and part of Kwai Hing built up areas in the back would not have been present in 1941 as this was Gin Drinkers Bay. What little built up area there would have been would only have been 1 or 2 stories high.

Smugglers Ridge on the left sweeps down to the redoubt. Roughly midway between the two pylons is the OP. In 1941 the hillsides were bare and an observer would have had a clear view of the positions on the redoubt.

The trench connecting Shaftesbury Avenue and Regent Street shows how much mud has accumulated over the years. The trench is very shallow and entry to the tunnel requires you to crouch. The movie footage linked to in the article shows ghostly images of the past as scores of men run out to their positions on the firing step. In the movie you can see the feet of one of them waiting for the film producer to give the order to go. The stills from the movie shows how deep the trenches used to be.

View into the Regent Street tunnel. In the old movie footage the troops would have been queued up here ready to run out.

Towards the Regent Street V trench.

Looking out of Regent Street to the V trench.

Not apparent now, but this trench would have overlooked PB 401, the Oxford Street trench leading to it, and the Piccadilly trenches. This would have been a key point in the redoubt.

From the V trench on Regent Street you re-enter the tunnel network, with this taking you down a series of steps to Oxford Street.

Another blind corner - tunnel fighting would be terrifying and every air vent represents a grenade ingress point.

Another blind corner on the long descent to Oxford Street.

Moving around is easy once you know the location of the PBs. The choice here is 400 or 401.

The same Oxford-Regent Street junction facing north to PB 401.

The Oxford Street entrance / exit point. This is a pit rather than a trench.

PB 401 held out until 07:30, long after the redoubt had fallen. Like the OP, this area and the tunnel sustained significant battle damage which can be seen today. British artillery fire destroyed the PB and the Japanese perhaps respecting the bravery of the defenders dug the survivors out.

Minor blast damage close to PB 401.

Grenade blast damage under the air vent near PB 401.

Modern Japanese graffiti near PB 401b.

PB 401a is adjacent to PB 401b but there's very little left of it.

Overgrown ruins of PB 401a, just a few meters away from PB 401b.

The tunnel to PB 403 is long, dark and eery.

Piccadilly steps leading to PB 403. To the right is the caved in 'Regent Palace Hotel'.

The small Haymarket trench soon leads to a tunnel to Pillbox 403.

I was unaware of this trench in Haymarket. It has a channel built into to allow for water to flow. Ahead is the continuation of Haymarket and leads to PB 403.

The end of Haymarket takes you through this brick arch to the ruins of Pillbox 403.

At the top of the stairs from the Shaftsbury Avenue - Regent Street trench there is another trench.

This looks like a small pit rather than a trench.

Further along is this ruined section. I don't know where these lead to and they are not on the maps I have used.

Another view of the battle damage sustained in the OP.

Looking back out to the OP with the planning/command room to the right..

Since my 2012 photos there has been much graffiti. Why deface a historic location?

Looking back towards the OP and its entrance, the command area, officers quarters, and these toilets to the right. There is no plumbing so I assume that a bucket was the receptacle. The sign in the picture reminds the visitor 'no using'.

Smashed kitchen stoves.

The kichen and stairs up to the OP running from the left.

The kitchen is to the right. Behind me is the kitchen trench shown in other photos. This tunnel is Charing Cross and is blocked with mud. It leads to the entrance opposite Shaftesbury Avenue.

A clear picture of Needle Hill from the OP.

This shows the general actions on the night that the redoubt fell.

Numbers in the image refer to the photos in this trip.

Getting to the Shing Mun Redoubt is easy. A bus or taxi to the Pineapple Dam will also drop you off to a visitor centre, informative enough for someone who knows nothing about the Battle for Hong Kong nor the Gin Drinkers Line, and indeed the anchor of that line being the Shing Mun Redoubt. A short walk will take you to the toilets and BBQ pits and the stage 6 of the Maclehose Trail. From here it's a short climb up the steps before you come across the first signs of the Redoubt.

One of the most common photos of the Redoubt. This lies next to the Maclehose Trail and is passed by every walker.

A bit of squaddie humour here; go up the tunnel to get to the Observation Post (O.P.) and the 'Strand Palace Hotel'. I assume the joke is due to the presence of the kitchen. It's remarkable to see what someone saw in 1941 and who would have had very different thoughts as he read it knowing that the Japanese were approaching from somewhere. The Shaftsbury Avenue section of this tunnel leads up to the end of this network of tunnels. At the top of these steps is an exit to another trench section. Continuing on back into the tunnels will be an exit from the tunnel network, and a short way away is the entrance to the Charing Cross tunnel (now blocked) which leads to the kitchens (Strand Palace Hotel). From here is also an external section to the artillery observation post (OP).

An important relic of the Shing Mun Redoubt is this marking etched into the wall. These are the Japanese characters for “Occupied by Tōichi Chūtai” (Company). This engraving by either his team or Lt. Wakabayashi Tōich himselfi celebrates the successful capture of the tunnel on the night of 9 December 1941 by the men of the Japanese 228th Infantry Regiment.

A better view showing the exist at the above ground crossing to the now blocked Charing Cross tunnel that leads to the kitchens. This and the above ground route both lead to the Command Post.

From the exit of Shaftsbury Avenue we can see the steps that lead to the Command Post. Just to the right and opposite is the entry to the blocked Charing Cross. This leads to the kitchen and is significant if you read the accounts of the battle and some of the puzzling questions that it raises.

This was photographed last time but it's one of the highlights of the Redoubt. During the battle the OP was a key location as troops were trapped inside and eventually this entry was blown in. The fragmentation inside here tells of the desperate nature of the fighting as men were trapped with little hope of escape.

The kitchen "hotel" area with circular stove.

Back to the trench at the end of (now) blocked Charing Cross and the kitchens leading up to the OP. There's been quite a bit of vegetation growth since my last visit. Looking at the other trenches though, this could be a lot more overgrown than it is so some kind volunteers are maintaining at least part of this important relic.

There is a photo of the junction from my last visit in 2012. Notice the posters under the pillbox directions to 401 and 400 have rotted in the humid atmosphere.

PB 400 covers the south east corner of the Redoubt.

This 3D views gives an understanding of the layout of the redoubt in context of the terrain. Now it can be seen that PB 401, PB 400, and PB 402 are on spurs with dead ground between them. External trenches are designed to cover each other and the pillboxes. Smuggler's Ridge runs from the OP to the east / south-east and was occupied by D Coy of the Rajputs, commanded by Captain Newton. Japanese troops stationed in the Gorge Valley ready to take the ridge were devastated by D Coy and an artillery barrage that was called in. A Japanese assault from the redoubt along the ridge was easily repulsed. (Thanks to Google imagery for this terrain imagery)

Numbers in the image refer to the photos in this trip.

The Gin Drinkers Line had as it's anchor the strong point known as the Shing Mun Redoubt which comprised a number of pillboxes linked by a tunnel network. If you are walking the Maclehose Trail from east to west, as you come around a bend you see this appear on the path. It's the OP and is the highest point in the redoubt, but still a bit lower than Smugglers Ridge above. It was used as the Command Post and Artillery Observation Post. At the time it was just referred to as the 'OP'.

This great view of the OP shows the damage sustained during the battle. From the accounts of the battle, there was a trapdoor on the roof that could be opened from the both sides. I don't know if both of these openings were the 'trapdoor', or whether it was one of them. The Japanese tried top open the trapdoor and drop in grenades while avoiding the covering fire coming from within. Evidence of grenade explosions can be seen inside.

The roof is smooth and looks undamaged. The two main entrances are by the sign at the end, and about 45 degrees on the right. The outside of the trapdoor(s) can be seen on the left. Straight ahead is north, and is the Upper Shing Mun Reservoir. North north-east is the approximately direction of the dam and PBs 401, although these would not have been visible back in 1941 even on the bare slopes.

Inside the OP through the trapdoor, the main entrances left and straight ahead can be seen. On the left there is evidence of an explosion as an attempt was made to blow in the door. The Japanese eventually blew in the shutters through which this photo is taken and tossed in grenades through a gap. After the breach the OP became indefensible and Capt Jones surrendered the position.

Looking through the steel shutters / trapdoor and one of the main entrances, we can see significant fragmentation damage presumably from the damage caused by the shutters being blown through and the grenades that followed. Two Indian soldiers had been sheltering nearby when the shutters were blown and were killed.

With the OP immediately behind, ahead is the long set of steps down to the kitchens. The rooms to the left are the control rooms, officers' quarters, and toilet area which must have been just a bucket. Fragmentation damage can be seen on the roof around the air vent - presumably grenades were tossed down.

This long flight of steps leads to the kitchens. There used to be a metal door at the bottom. When this was blown in and with the trapdoor in the OP also blown in, Captain Jones chose to surrender the position.

After visiting a number of pillboxes you will see common features. Often you will see hooks for beds that would come down from the wall, but on show in this photo is the water storage area. The steps on the right lead up tp the OP.

The stoves are evidence of this being the kitchen, or as was nicknamed, the 'Strand Palace Hotel'.

Outside the kitchen is this trench. Was this where the Japanese entered the OP network (this was just the OP and stairs down to the kitchen and the Charing Cross tunnel)? Or was it Charing Cross from Shaftesbury Avenue?

The tunnel outside the kitchen looks north to south west. In this photo we are looking approximately north. The conical hill at the top of the photo is Needle Hill and is the hill from which Colonel Doi, commander of the 228th Infantry Regiment observed the redoubt on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th December. It appeared that the British were drying clothes and concluded that the defenders were not at high readiness. Taking a risk and sensing an opportunity, he planned the attack that night.

The trench outside the kitchen again, this time looking roughly south west at Kwai Chung and Kwai Hing. Much of this would have been Gin Drinkers Bay in 1941, with other companies of the Royal Scots dispersed below.

It can be quite disorientating inside the tunnels. In this photo I'm on Oxford Street having come down the steps on Shaftsbury Avenue. PB 401 and PB 400 are on opposite sides of the redoubt but PB 400 is relatively close from here. However, not actually knowing the layout of the network I've elected to go left.

This short 'V' shaped trench connects two parts of the Regent Street Tunnel. Every opening introduces vulnerability so why is it here? According to the map this trench points towards an entrance leading into Oxford Street so perhaps the trench here is to provide cover to the entrance. With so much vegetation it's not possible to easily test this theory by looking over the edge.

The other Regent Street tunnel and the 'V' shape trench can be clearly seen. Like with the other trenches, decades of silt have reduced the depth of the trenches to about half. The entrance to the other tunnel is much reduced and is a test of the explorer's dedication to exploration.

Through Oxford Street there is this route out of the tunnel network. Hooks can be seen on the walls presumably for troop housekeeping. Following the tunnel leads to another line of trenches to reconnect with the continuation of the Oxford Street tunnel, and ultimately the pillboxes PB 401a and PB 401b.

This leads into directly into Oxford Street and must have been a vulnerable point although in 1941 there may have been other positions that covered this. It's hard to see now due to amount of vegetation that is now here - back in 1941 the area was barren. The hooks at the side here are for attaching a covering to provide cover for the area.

There is an extended trench section on Oxford Street. Much more overgrown than other sections of trench, due to the more remote location of this section.

Due to the length of this trench, this is the only section that has bends in the trench in order to shield the defenders from shrapnel or bullets travelling down the line.

At the entrance to the tunnel leading to PB 401 and looking back along the trench I've just come from.

As the trench re-enters the tunnel system, this entry point indicates the pillbox, PB 401. In fact at the end of the tunnel are two pillboxes, PB 401a and PB 401b.

Maps show PB 401b as looking down the Shing Mun Valley which this is. PB 401a is sited a short distance away facing the opposite direction or towards the dam. I haven't been able to find PB 401a due to the area being very overgrown and will try and look for it another time.

Piccadilly leads to the northern tip of the Shing Mun Redoubt. This broken section of trench was due to artillery called on the position by the British inside the the redoubt who realised that the enemy were already in and around the position.

Although it's exposed now, back in 1941 the tunnels were covered by a thick layer of soil, obviously for added protection but also for concealment. Giving away the location are the air ventilation shafts protruding out of the soil which can be seen in this photo. These were actually large enough to allow a man to enter and grenades to be thrown down. The entire area would was also have been bare of large vegetation. Footage of the time shows bare slopes covered mainly in only grass and with clear views around.

I don't think that this was here in 1941 but the monkeys probably were. This is a popular location as it's perfect start/end point for walk around the reservoir, joining the Maclehose Trail or simply just for exploring the Redoubt. A bus stop isn't far from here but queues can get long. If that's the case just continue walking past, down the Shing Mun Road until you hit the main road and double decker bus will probably soon come by. No matter which bus it is, it will more than likely take you to the MTR. It's an approach that has never failed!

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