Historical Photographs of China

All Collections

Montgomery, John Collection

John Montgomery (1900-1974), who was generally known as Jack, and also as Monte, was born in Manchester, England. 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. The John Montgomery Collection is held in Special Collections, University of Bristol Library, ref DM2836. Only a selection from this collection is currently online. HPC refs: JM-s, JM01, JM02, JM03, JM04.

Street food cooks with customers eating at trestle tables

Street food cooks with customers eating at trestle tables

Busy street alongside a creek

Busy street alongside a creek

Police searching people at a street barricade in heavy rain, Shanghai

Police searching people at a street barricade in heavy rain, Shanghai

Blockhouse and barbed wire barricade across tram tracks, Shanghai

Blockhouse and barbed wire barricade across tram tracks, Shanghai

Japanese marines with bayonets patrol a Shanghai street

Japanese marines with bayonets patrol a Shanghai street

Workers' militia marching in Shanghai, 27 March 1927

Workers' militia marching in Shanghai, 27 March 1927

Stern of a Fuzhou pole junk, with painted phoenix partly obscured by its tender

Stern of a Fuzhou pole junk, with painted phoenix partly obscured by its tender

Sihang Warehouse (四行仓库), flying Chinese flag, seen from Thibet Road bridge, Shanghai

Sihang Warehouse (四行仓库), flying Chinese flag, seen from Thibet Road bridge, Shanghai

Bomb damaged art deco building, Shanghai, 1937

Bomb damaged art deco building, Shanghai, 1937

Torpedoed and partially sunk military launch, Shanghai Bund, 1937

Torpedoed and partially sunk military launch, Shanghai Bund, 1937

Soochow Creek and part of the Continental Bank Godown, Shanghai, October 1937

Soochow Creek and part of the Continental Bank Godown, Shanghai, October 1937

Chinese Nationalist flag flying on Sihang Godown (四行仓库), Shanghai, 29 October 1937

Chinese Nationalist flag flying on Sihang Godown (四行仓库), Shanghai, 29 October 1937

The Continental Godown on fire after capture by Japanese, Shanghai, 30 October 1937

The Continental Godown on fire after capture by Japanese, Shanghai, 30 October 1937

Four biplanes seen through overhead tram and electricity wires, Shanghai

Four biplanes seen through overhead tram and electricity wires, Shanghai

Bomb damaged Greater Shanghai Municipality Civic Centre, Jiangwan, Shanghai, September 1937

Bomb damaged Greater Shanghai Municipality Civic Centre, Jiangwan, Shanghai, September 1937

A boy scout photographing war damage at Greater Shanghai Municipality Civic Centre, Jiangwan, Shanghai

A boy scout photographing war damage at Greater Shanghai Municipality Civic Centre, Jiangwan, Shanghai

Sandbagged and shuttered P & O Banking Corporation, The Bund, Shanghai, 1937

Sandbagged and shuttered P & O Banking Corporation, The Bund, Shanghai, 1937

Coffins at Xujiahui, Shanghai, 1937

Coffins at Xujiahui, Shanghai, 1937

British soldiers and officers, Recreation Ground, Shanghai, 1937

British soldiers and officers, Recreation Ground, Shanghai, 1937