JAMES SHEA or U. H. SHE
(1913 HK - 1989 HK)
(Radio Operator)
(CNAC 1941/2 - 1947)

December 28, 2016 Mr Moore, Let me introduce myself, my name is Ephrem Shea and I live in Hong Kong. My grandma just passed away and my father is busy going through the family albums and materials for the funeraI I have been tasked to search the internet for information regarding the CNAC and came across your organization. My grandfather, James Shea was with the CNAC during the War. My grandfather never told me any of the stories so I do not think I have anything to share with you in writing but I do have some photos if you are interested in seeing. (see below) December 29, 2016 Dear Tom It was only after I pressed send last night that I realize I forgot to mention that my grandfather had also passed away. My grandfather was born in Hong Kong 1913 and passed away in 1989. He was known as James Shea in Hong Kong (my great grandfather was half Irish) but might have used his chinese name "U. H. She" during his time at the CNAC. He was a radio operator at CNAC during the War. This is the story I heard from my father who in turn heard it from my grandpa a long time ago. My grandpa was working for the Hong Kong Post Office before the occupation and was called up before the invasion as radio operator for the colonial armed forces. When he was being transported to the Wong Nai Chung Gap line, the line broke but he somehow escaped captivity. He then sailed to Macau with my grandma and my aunt to seek shelter with his sister's family. He worked again as radio operator on a steamship transport to ferry supplies to and from Macau but the ship hit a mine and only three of the crew including the captain and my grandpa survived (I have a signed photo of the three survivors after they were rescued). It was around that time that he got the job at CNAC and the whole family was relocated to Kunming. He came back to Hong Kong almost right after the war. My father was born in 1947 in Hong Kong. He and a colleague of his at the CNAC both joined the Cable and Wireless Company in Hong Kong. My father also remember hearing story from my grandpa about how his good friend and colleague an CNAC operator named Chow or Chau died when his flight did not make it over the Hump. Our family had stayed in close touch with his widow and surviving children (the son is my grandpa's godson) for a long time after. In addition to photos, there are also letters and documents in my family's possession. I attached herein more photos including a photo of the CNAC operations manual etc. As to scanning the photos, I need some time to consult a professional about removing them from the albums and scanning them, after all those are very fragile. I will let you know how it goes with digitizing the materials and sending them to you. Please do add me to your contact list. Ephrem January 7, 2017 Tom, That's very nice. Thank you. I had a chat with my dad and it seems I might have made a mistake about Mr Chow/Chau who my dad says has survived the War. It was another of my grandpa's friend who died. As to my grandpa, my dad says he most likely joined CNAC in or around 1941-1942 in Macau because CNAC moved the whole family from Macau to Kunming around that time. After the war, he went to CNAC Shanghai office and was reassigned to Xiamen until early 1947 to build a radio station. My grandpa put in a transfer back to Hong Kong when he learned that my grandma was pregnant with my dad. The whole family moved back to Hong Kong in 1947 and my dad was born in late 1947. It was only when the current Chinese Government took over CNAC in or around 1949 that my grandpa left CNAC. My dad and I are planning to organize the family history including my grandma's side but that may take a while and I am going out of town next week and it will be Chinese New Year by the time I get back. My grandma's father was a famous Chinese musician who went to New York to perform in the 30s and has his own chinese wiki page. We just learned about the wiki page which is missing all the family info and my grandma was the last surviving child. Her father died during the War and of her two brothers, one died and one went missing during the War. Ephrem The following five photos are from James Shea's grandson, Ephrem Shea. Thank you very much Ephrem. James Shea Is that James Shea in front? HELP - Do you know the others? I think this is a C-46 or C-47 But who are the people? HELP!!! CNAC DC-4, which crashed on Basalt Island 21 Dec 1948. "Written" by Capt. O. S. Glenn If you can share any information about Joe Shen or would like to be added to the CNAC e-mail distribution list, please let the CNAC Web Editor, Tom Moore, know. Thanks!