(1) Eugene Chen and 2-gun Cohen knew each other more than well en.wikipedia.org
"Cohen fought with the Canadian Railway Troops in Europe during World War I where part of his job involved supervising the Chinese Labour Corps. He also saw some fierce fighting at the Western Front, especially during the Third Battle of Ypres. After the war, he resettled in Canada. But the economy had declined and the days of the real estate boom were long over.[1] Cohen looked for something new to do, and in 1922 he headed to China to help close a railway deal for Sun Yat-sen with Northern Construction and JW Stewart Ltd. After disembarking in Shanghai, Cohen went to see George Sokolsky, the New-York born journalist who worked for Sun's English-language Shanghai Gazette. Sokolsky arranged an interview for him with Eugene Chen, Sun's English language secretary. Cohen was hired, and soon ensconced himself at Sun’s home at 29 Rue Molière in the city’s French Concession. He then got right to work."
(2) Here be a photo of the two together gwulo.com
Referring back to an exchange of correspondence I had in the past with Vancouver resident and Chinese aviation historian, Ms Patti Gully, I can add some additional comment regarding this intriguing 1923 image thoughtfully submitted by IDJ.
The photograph was taken on August 8, 1923 at the Canton airfield near White Cloud Mountain.
General M.A. Cohen, aviation promoter and A.D.C. to Dr Sun Yat-sen, is on the extreme left. The figure in the middle with the walking stick and black arm band and flanked by his personal assistants is the Minister of Aviation in the Canton Military Government, Eugene Chen (Chen Youren ???). On the right is the Air Bureau Chief, Hawaii-born Colonel Young Senyat (Yang Xianyi ???). Standing above on the plane are U.S. aircraft builder, Arthur Wilde on the left and U.K. aircraft engineer, Guy Colwell, on the right.
See also IDJ’s follow-up submission:
M.A. Cohen with Minister of Aviation, Eugene Chen (Chen Youren) dedicating the aircraft named ROSAMONDE | Gwulo
In his 1979 memoir, China Called Me, on page 35 Percy Chen recalls: “My father, Eugene Chen, had a few photographs showing Dr Sun Yat-sen standing near the wings of a small biplane, while Madame Sun was seated in the pilot’s seat. My father appeared in one of these photographs. He was at the time the Minister of Aviation. The total strength of the air force was three planes, with the other two crated and stored in Hong Kong. In the warehouse there they were listed as machinery.” |
