KM Fardell, HMS Minotaur & the Royal Navy China Station Weihaiwei, 1913-1914

Posted: December 6th, 2023 | 1 Comment »

The photograph album of Kenneth Mathieson Fardell, sailing with HMS Minotaur of the China Station, 1913-1914 contained 213 coloured and black and white photographs and at the rear of the album an attached envelope inscribed ‘AH Fong Photographer P, 369 Nanking Road, Shanghai and Wei-hai-wei’ and also handwritten ‘Lieut K. M. Fardell’, with images including Weihaiwei, Nagasaki, Canton, Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Ceylon, Aden, Port Said and Malta. Fardell spent a lot of time in the China Station’s anchorage of Weihaiwei too. Fardell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30th November,1913 and was awarded the Goodenough Medal for 1913-1914, being the Sub-Lieutenant who achieved the highest gunnery examination for the year and who also achieved a first-class certificate in seamanship. Fardell was commended for his handling of enciphered messages at Tsingtao in 1914 – obviously a tense time given the German occupation of the ity before it was taken by British and Japanese troops.

Ah Fong had studios in Shanghai, on Nanking Road (Nanjing East Road) and in Weihaiwei – I’m assuming Fardell’s pictures were developed in Weihaiwei while Minotaur was based there.

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