Hong Kong Cemetery, formerly Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery and before that Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery, is one of the early Christian

cemeteries in Hong Kong A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

dating to its colonial era beginning in 1845. It is located beside the

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

at Happy Valley, along with the

Jewish Cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

, Hindu Cemetery, Parsee Cemetery, St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery and the Muslim Cemetery. Hong Kong Cemetery is a public cemetery managed by the

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government, reporting to the Environment and Ecology Bureau. It is responsible for food hygiene and environmental hygiene. It replaced part of the role of ...

. Hong Kong Cemetery contains 79 scattered Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 62 from the Second World War, which are maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. The Protestant Cemetery is built as a series of terraces ascending a hillside. The older graves tend to be at the bottom of the hill; those from the 1930s and 1940s are generally at the top. On a number of occasions, remains in the Protestant Cemetery have been disinterred to make way for road developments, and have been placed in niches in an ossuary, which continues to be used for contemporary cremations. The niches provide basic information on each individual.

Types of graves

Some sections of the Protestant Cemetery tended to be reserved for particular groups of deceased, e.g., army, navy, Hong Kong Police. There are two main categories of graves that can be found in Hong Kong Cemetery:

Military graves

Military grave WW1 in the Hong Kong Cemetery

As the name states, this category of graves for British military dead, spanned from the late 19th century until the early 1960s (when the Government of Hong Kong established another

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

near

Sai Wan Sai Wan, also known as Western district, or simply Western, is an area in Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong that corresponds to Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui, Belcher Bay and Kennedy Town. It formed part of the City of Victoria. West Point, a for ...

for military dead in 1965). At the beginning of the colonial era, the British garrison force had the same problem as those in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

: weather. Some of the members of the force could not adapt to the tropical weather of Hong Kong and died owing to tropical disease, while others fell during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

– mainly in 1900. At the time being, it is the major cemetery for military dead along with

Stanley Military Cemetery Stanley Military Cemetery is a cemetery located near St. Stephen's Beach in Stanley, Hong Kong. Along with the larger Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery, it is one of two military cemeteries of the early colonial era, used for the burials ...

. There are about 100 military graves of World War I – 79 of them are in Hong Kong Cemetery, mainly the soldiers who died in Hong Kong and Kowloon Military Hospital, which received the sick and wounded from the German-leased territory of

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

, on the

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

peninsula in north-east China.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Evidence shows that most of them are naval personnel. Grave HKV in the Hong Kong Cemetery

Before the Japanese Battle of Hong Kong, invasion of Hong Kong in 1941, Britain had sent two battalions from the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

and

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

s to Hong Kong for garrison duty. This cemetery provides evidence of the presence of these two battalions. There are in all 62 military graves of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Commonwealth service personnel – mainly from the year 1941 – maintained by the

. The British force in Hong Kong used the cemetery as their burial ground until 1965. One notable military burial is Driver Joseph Hughes, a recipient of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

. There are also two monuments erected by the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in memory of their fallen comrades, which were later moved to the

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is a museum in Hong Kong, located in a former coastal defence fort overlooking the Lei Yue Mun channel, near Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. The fort was built by the British in 1887, intended to def ...

Civilian graves

The civilian burials in the cemetery are diverse and exemplify the social structure at the early stage of the colonial era. It is widely understood that the cemetery is for the burial of the privileged group of the society, mostly British. Notable people of that era buried in the cemetery include Sir

Robert Ho Tung Sir Robert Ho Tung Bosman, (22 December 1862 – 26 April 1956), also known as Sir Robert Ho Tung, was a businessman and philanthropist in British Hong Kong. Known as "the grand old man of Hong Kong" (), he was knighted in 1915 (Knight Bache ...

and his first wife,

Sir Paul Chater Sir Catchick Paul Chater ( hy, Փոլ Չաթեր; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was ...

and Sir

Kai Ho Sir Kai Ho, CMG, JP, MRCS (; 21 March 1859 – 21 July 1914), better known as Sir Kai Ho Kai, born Ho Shan-kai (), was a Hong Kong barrister, physician and essayist in Colonial Hong Kong. He played a key role in the relationship between ...

. Most Christian missionaries to Hong Kong are also buried here, a notable example being Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, a German Missionary who helped to establish Lutheran churches in Hong Kong, who is considered the first Lutheran missionary to China. Another notable missionary interred here is

Henrietta Hall Shuck Henrietta Hall Shuck (28 October 1817 – 27 November 1844) was the first American female missionary to China and the first Western woman to live in Hong Kong. Early and family life Henrietta was born in Kilmarnock, Virginia to Colonel Addiso ...

, the first American female missionary to China. There are also a number of Chinese burials, all of them Christians, some of them were involved in the late Qing revolution and uprisings led by Sun Yat-sen, including

Yeung Ku-wan Yeung Ku-wan (19 December 1861 – 11 January 1901) was a Chinese revolutionary of the late Qing dynasty. In 1890, Yeung started the Furen Literary Society in British Hong Kong to spread ideas of revolution against the Qing dynasty and to est ...

, who was assassinated by the Qing Government in Hong Kong. A number of Japanese were buried in the cemetery, mostly those who resided in Hong Kong during the early colonial era. Some of them were Christian, but most were followers of

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

. The Japanese custom of burning incense during memorial rites led to complaints from some Westerners. As a result, a special Japanese section of the graveyard was designated.

Burials

Notable burials at Hong Kong Cemetery include: *

Henry Fletcher Hance Henry Fletcher Hance (4 Aug 1827 – 22 June 1886) was a British diplomat who devoted his spare time to the study of Chinese plants. Born in Brompton, London, his first appointment was to Hong Kong in 1844. In May 1852 in Exeter he married his f ...

(1827-1886), British diplomat and botanist * Prof Robert Kirk

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1905-1962), Scottish pathologist and parasitologist *

Wong Tape Benjamin Wong Tape OBE JP (; 26 December 1875 – 16 June 1967) was a merchant in New Zealand and Hong Kong. Born to Chinese immigrants in Dunedin, he received his education at schools in Hong Kong and Dunedin. He became known in Otago and South ...

(1875–1967), Chinese merchant in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand and member of the Urban Council, Hong Kong *

Samuel Cornell Plant Samuel Cornell Plant (8 August 1866 – 26 February 1921) was a British sailor who is best known as the first to command a merchant steamer plying on the Upper Yangtze River in 1900. The Upper Yangtze is the section of river stretching through g ...

(1866 - 1921), first to command a merchant steamer plying on the Upper Yangtze River, First Senior River Inspector for Upper YangtzePeter Simpson, "Hell and High Water," ''South China Morning Post Magazine'', October 2, 2011, p. 24-30.

In popular culture

A scene in John le Carré's novel ''

The Honourable Schoolboy ''The Honourable Schoolboy'' (1977) is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré. George Smiley must reconstruct an intelligence service in order to run a successful offensive espionage operation to save the service from being dismantled by ...

'' takes place in the nearby racetrack as well as the cemetery. The cemetery is a popular place for filming movies and TV shows. The UK folk artist

Johnny Flynn John Patrick Vivian Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'', and portrayed David Bowie in the film '' Stardust''. Flynn i ...

released a song in 2008 about the cemetery, found on the album ''

A Larum ''A Larum'' is the debut album of London-based folk rock musician Johnny Flynn, released in the UK on May 26, 2008 and in the US on July 29, 2008. On the album, Flynn is backed by his band the Sussex Wit. Background The title of the album ...

''.

Gallery

File:Joseph Hughes grave in the Hong Kong Cemetery.JPG, Grave of Driver Joseph Hughes GC, who won the George Cross due to his warning of bombs to his fellows in Hong Kong Cemetery. File:Hotung grave.JPG, Graves of Sir

and his first wife Margaret Mak Sau Ying in Hong Kong Cemetery. File:Chinese grave in the Hong Kong Cemetery.JPG, An example of Chinese grave in Hong Kong Cemetery. File:Hung Chu Fu in the Hong Kong Cemetery.JPG, Grave of Hung Chuen Fook, one of the figures of Xinhai Revolution. He is a descendant of Hóng Xiùquán, the major figure of

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

. File:Japanese grave in the Hong Kong Cemetery.JPG, A traditional Japanese grave in Hong Kong Cemetery5. File:Royal scot before ww2 in the Hong Kong Cemetery.JPG, Graves of the members of Royal Scots, one of garrison battalions at Hong Kong before the Japanese invasion on Hong Kong, in Hong Kong Cemetery. File:Samuel_Cornell_Plant_Headstone_Hong_Kong_Cemetery.jpg, Grave of

and wife Alice. Plant commanded the first regular steam service on Upper Yangtze.

References

External links

*
Former Protestant Cemetery in Hong Kong, now known as the Hong Kong Cemetery

* ttp://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/cc/introduction.html Information on opening hours at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Government of Hong Kong SAR
Lists of civilian burials

NPR Story by Louisa Lim on Patricia Lim (her mother) and the Chronicling the Cemetery, Aired on ''Morning Edition'' Aug. 21, 2012
* * http://www.hkmemory.hk/collections/hong_kong_cemetery/about/index.html *http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/28/world/asia/hong-kong-cemetery/index.html *https://gwulo.com/hong-kong-cemetery#17~22.27157~114.17956~Map_by_GovHK-Markers~100 {{Coord, 22.2702, 114.1816, display=title World War II cemeteries Cemeteries in Hong Kong Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Hong Kong Happy Valley, Hong Kong