Remembering the liberation of Hong Kong

On the 4th September 2022 the sacrifice of the fallen was remembered at CWGC Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong Island.

The commemorative event was organized by The Hong Kong Military Service Corps Association, a British-Hong Kong veteran association and takes place in Sai Wan every year. The ceremony was attended by embassy representatives of the UK, Canada, the US, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, the European Union and Singapore.

Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese forces for three years and eight months and with the Japanese surrender on 15th August 1945, Hong Kong was formally handed over to the Royal Navy soon after on August 30th.

Sai Wan War Cemetery contains the burials of nearly 1,500 Commonwealth casualties of World War Two, nearly 500 of which remain unidentified.

Most of those buried here died during the occupation of Hong Kong or as prisoners of war in the years that followed. The remains of Commonwealth servicemen who died as prisoners on mainland China, in Taiwan and in the Philippines were also brought here for burial after the war.

The Sai Wan Memorial stands in the cemetery and commemorates more than 2,000 Commonwealth war dead who died in the battle for Hong Kong and through out the region and who have no known grave. The cemetery also contains the Sai Wan Cremation Memorial, which bears the names of 144 World War Two casualties who were cremated in accordance with their faith, and Sai Wan (China) Memorial which bears the names of 72 casualties of both world wars who’s graves on mainland China could not be maintained.