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Sai
Wan War Cemetery is situated on the east of the island
of Hong Kong near the area of Chai
Wan.
At the entrance to the cemetery there is a
memorial in memory of all those who
died in Hong Kong and have no known grave. From
this point there is a wonderful clear
view overlooking the island as
the long, narrow cemetery gradually
slopes downhill towards the sea.
On the War Memorial are the names of 2,000 servicemen
who either died in the battle on Hong Kong
or subsequently, due to years
of captivity, at the hands of the
Japanese. These 2,000 have no known
grave.
The
cemetery has 1,561 graves, of which
1,010 are British and of
these 285 have no known grave. There are
also 283 Canadian graves, some not
being named. These are the graves of
those who died fighting against the Japanese
in December 1941 or later as prisoners of war
through barbaric acts carried out by the
Japanese, starvation and general ill treatment.
Servicemen who died as prisoners
on the island of Formosa (now known
as Taiwan) were removed and re-buried in
Sai Wan War Cemetery in 1946.
The graves are marked with white
upright head stones depicting the regiment's
insignia and the cemetery is enclosed
within a boundary of flowering shrubs
and bushes with a flight of stone steps leading
down a centre aisle towards the Cross
of Sacrifice.
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Stanley War Cemetery is situated close to the small town of Stanley, south of Hong Kong Island. It is situated beside the road and the ground rises steeply upward from the road toward the Cross of Sacrifice, which can be reached by a flight of stone steps flanked either side by a steep grassy slope dotted with pretty flowering shrubs and small tropical ornamental trees.
