George Hogg (adventurer)
George Hogg (1914 - 1945) an adventurer from England, also graduate of Oxford University in economics, he was a headmaster for a short time in a school called Shandan Bailie School where most of the student were war orphans or from refugee families.
Life in China
George Hogg was known as a heroic adventurer during the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War whom he lead pupils from his school in a 700 mile journey through dangerous mountain routes away from the impending Japanese secret police in Shandan area during 1944.
George Hogg came to China in 1937, as one of his holiday stop after his graduation from university in England. After being stuck in the middle of the upcoming war between the Chinese and Japanese and witnessed the brutality from the Imperial Japanese Army. George decided to help the Chinese civilians and stayed in China without his parents knowledge.
During his stay in China from 1937-1944, George met and encountered various people and incident that change his perception of life, no longer under the comfortable middle class family life back in England.
George died from an infected foot injury from an accident after their escape the mountain route, during the time of his death his pupils tried to keep him alive. When his death was unavoidable, they all sang school nursery rhymes until he finally passed away.
He also befriended Communist general Nie Rongzhen during his stay in Shanxi and participated guerrilla raids against the Japanese with the 8th Route Army.
Popular Culture
His life and adventure have been portrayed in the feature film The Children of Huang Shi (2008) starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as George Hogg and Chow Yun Fat as the intelligence agent Chen Hansheng.
His life has been chronicled in a book written by James MacManus entitled Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg published by the HarperCollins publishing house..