The Gresson Street gunfight happened in Wan Chai 100 years ago this week. Why has it been forgotten for so long? Patricia O’Sullivan has spent a decade digging out the full story for her book, Policing Hong Kong – An Irish History. Now, Stuart Heaver has written a feature about the event.

A running gunfight was now played out in Queen’s Road East as the two escaping gang members took flight, firing over their shoulders as they were pursued by Inspector George Sim – who had been passing Gresson Street on a tram when he saw Ng Ling lying prone on the pavement – and four armed Sikh constables.

Ng Ming tried to make his escape via Ship Street, Schooner Street and the walls of the Italian convent. He was spotted by the wife of a dockyard policeman and prize fighter, Sergeant Kid Marriott. When Ng fired at Mrs Marriott, stand­ing on the doorstep of her house, her husband took aim through an upper window with his service-issue bolt-action rifle and shot the gang leader dead.

Read more in Post Magazine.

Patricia has also been telling the story of Hong Kong’s Irish policemen on Annemarie Evans’ Hong Kong Heritage radio programme – you can listen online.