Commemoration
Remembrance in Hong Kong
The cenotaph
The Cenotaph in Central, Hong Kong, was built in 1923 to commemorate those who died in the First World War, later extended to honor the fallen of the Second World War and the Battle of Hong Kong (1941). Modelled on London’s Whitehall Cenotaph, it bears inscriptions in English and Chinese, symbolizing remembrance across cultures. Declared a monument in 2013, it remains the focal point of annual Remembrance Sunday ceremonies, where officials, veterans, and the public gather to pay tribute.
The military war cemeteries
Hong Kong has two principal Commonwealth war cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
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Sai Wan War Cemetery (Chai Wan): Established in 1946, it holds over 1,500 burials from World War II and includes the Sai Wan Memorial, which commemorates more than 2,000 servicemen with no known grave. It is the focal point of Hong Kong’s annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony.
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Stanley Military Cemetery (Stanley): Contains around 700 burials, including soldiers killed in the Battle of Hong Kong (December 1941) and prisoners of war who died during Japanese occupation. It also includes civilian graves, reflecting the shared suffering of military and non-military personnel.
Together, these cemeteries honour the sacrifices of British, Canadian, Indian, Australian, and other Allied servicemen, preserving Hong Kong’s role in World War II history.
Hong Kong's D-day heroes project
The Hong Kong’s D-Day Heroes Project highlights the forgotten role of Chinese servicemen in the 1944 Normandy landings, especially naval officer Lam Ping-yu, whose diary is the only known record of Chinese participation in D-Day. Discovered in Hong Kong in 2015, the diary inspired exhibitions in Hong Kong, London, and Normandy, as well as educational programs involving local schools. The project
restores visibility to Hong Kong’s wartime contributions, connects East and West through remembrance, and engages young people in preserving history.
Lost and Found in Hong Kong: The Unsung Chinese Heroes at
D-Day project
D-Day Hong Kong recovers a piece of the record that was very nearly lost. Twenty-four Chinese naval officers were attached to the Normandy invasion fleet in 1944, and the diary of the most senior of them, Lieutenant Lam Ping-yu, is the only known primary source for Chinese participation in D-Day. It was found in 2015 in a Shek Tong Tsui tenement awaiting demolition. The exhibition it produced , Lost and Found in Hong Kong: The Unsung Chinese Heroes at D-Day, has shown here and in London, and travels to Normandy in 2026, with an education programme running alongside it in local schools.
The Branch underwrote this work. It is Commemoration as we understand it:the record of service in Hong Kong, kept whole.
The library
The Library
The Branch holds one of the most extensive Second World War archives in Hong Kong, kept at the WWII Veterans' Association Clubhouse in Causeway Bay. It runs to hundreds of books, documents and service records covering the defence of the city, the occupation, the camps, and the men who served here, British, Canadian, Indian, Gurkha and locally enlisted. Much of it exists nowhere else. It was assembled over decades by people who understood that a record unkept is a record lost, and it is the working evidence behind the Commemoration described elsewhere on this site.
The archive is not a public collection. The material is fragile, in places unique, and held in trust rather than on display, so access is managed and limited to those with a specific academic or literary purpose — scholars, students, researchers and writers. Where the work requires it, we will do what we can to help. Access is by appointment only: write to enquiry@rbl.hk setting out what you are working on and what you need to consult.
Contact
Phone: (852) 2544 6270
Fax: (852) 2543 4287
Emergency: (852) 9523 3098
Email: enquiry@rbl.hk
Website: www.rbl.hk
Postal Address: Hong Kong G.P.O Box 4747