Hong Kong World War II Experience

On the morning of the Pearl Harbor attacks, the U.S. was not alone in feeling the might of the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces. As the American fleet was bombarded thousands of kilometres away, across the Pacific, Hong Kong found itself confronted with an invading force. The Gin Drinkers Line was a British military defensive line against the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, part of the Pacific War. It passed through Kam Shan, the Shing Mun Reservoir, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, and Tate's Cairn, ending at Port Shelter in Sai Kung District. Its total length was 18 kilometres. Its key points were the stretch between Beacon Hill and Sha Tin Pass, and Shing Mun.

Part 1: Students will enjoy a guided exploration and learn the history of the Gin Drinker’s Line defences near Shing Mun Reservoir. Students will navigate the labyrinth of tunnels and search for the various entrances, passages, and exits which were drawn from street names in Central London, such as “Oxford Street”, “Regent Street”, “Charing Cross”, “Haymarket”, “Piccadilly”, and “Shaftesbury Avenue”, which are inscribed over entrances and exits.

The group will make their way along the gently undulating 4.3km of the Maclehose Trail (Stage 6), into Monkey Mountain in Kam Shan Country Park, where the students will be collected by bus to transit to Stanley.

Part 2: The group will enjoy a restful lunch at St Stephen's Beach in Stanley, providing a perfect opportunity to reflect on their experience in the morning. Following lunch, the group will visit the Stanley Military Cemetery. The cemetery was used for burials from the beginning of the British colonial period. Soldiers of the Hong Kong garrison and their family members were buried here from 1841 until 1866. After that, there were no further burials at Stanley until World War II (1939-1945). The cemetery itself was the scene of fighting in December 1941 when the last stand was made by British and Allied forces against the invading forces. Hong Kong finally surrendered on Christmas Day, 1941. Students will learn about the significance of Stanley’s defensive line, the battles that took place there and the life stories of some of the fallen who are laid to rest at the cemetery.