The main contributor to the Collection is Dr. Deric Daniel Waters, who has been interested in Hong Kong history since he arrived Hong Kong in the mid-1950s. He knew a few lighthouse keepers during the days when lighthouses were manned, but he only really studied them seriously when the lighthouses had become automated in the 1990s.

In addition to a few visits to the Waglan Lighthouse with the members of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, as an active former member of the Antiquities Advisory Board, he inspected all the Hong Kong’s lighthouses which are out-of-bounds to the general public.

We also wish to special thank Mr. Charles Slater, the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch for their contributions to this collection.

Biography of Dr. Waters

Dr Deric Daniel Waters (well-known as Dan Waters) was born in Norwich, England in 1920.

He fought in the Second World War as a Desert Rat with the Eight Army in the famous combat in North African deserts and later fought with the American Fifth Army in Salerno and Anzio, Italy. He was mentioned in Despatches and wounded three times. After hostilities ceased he rejoined the family building business established by his great-grandfather in 1853. Much of the work was related to the restoration of ancient buildings such as churches. He later became the managing director of the company and taught building science at Norwich City College at the same time.

Dr Deric Daniel Waters joined the Colonial Office of Britain and set sail to Hong Kong in 1954. He taught building technology and the related subjects in the Hong Kong Technical College that has since become The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was made the Principal of the Morrison Hill Technical Institute in 1969 and transferred to the Government Education Department Headquarters in 1972 for planning and administration. He went on leave pending retirement from the Government in 1980.

During the 1980s up to the present, he has written many papers for the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch including the stories about CSM John Osborn VC, "Hong Kong Hongs with Long Histories and British Connections", "Foreigners and Fung Shui", "Chinese Funerals",etc. He has also published his works through other mediums.

Publications of Dr. Deric Daniel Water

Waters,D.D.(1995). Faces of Hong Kong: An Old Hand's Reflections. Singapore: Prentice Hall.

Waters,D.D.(2005). One Couple Two Cultures: 81 Western-Chinese Couples Talk About Love and Marriage. Hong Kong: MCCM Creations Hong Kong.(2005)

Waters,D.D.(1992). The Economics and Financing of Hong Kong Education. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

Waters,D.D.(1982). "The Technical Institutes in Hong Kong 1969 to 1980: A Study of Their Development."  Loughborough: University of Loughborough.

Waters,D.D. & Methold,K.(1977). Understanding Technical English. Hong Kong: Longman.