Burials in The 20th Century
There are 598 WWII burials (including non-British Allied soldiers and 2 from Hong Kong Police Force) in the cemetery. Of those burials, 175 of them are unidentified and 96 are civilians (which includes 4 children). Eric Moreton, a Methodist missionary who died of wounds (sustained while driving an ambulance in Wanchai during the fighting) at the Royal Naval Hospital on December 26, 1941 is also buried in the cemetery.
War dead from the period December 19–26, 1941 of the defence were buried at Spot 5-6 of the cemetery. Among them were a few Canadians who were sent to Hong Kong three weeks prior the invasion (the majority of the many Canadians who lost their lives at the time are interred at Sai Wan).
Another notable group of personnel that were buried or commemorated there are those served in the British Army Aid Group, which helped POWs in Hong Kong or other Japanese occupied zones to escape to China, and arranged military needs for resistance in those zones. Among them was Captain M.A. Ansari, who was originally in the 5/7th Rajput Regiment but from Ma Tau Chung POW Camp co-ordinated with the British Army Aid Group after the surrender. He was also a posthumous recipient of the George Cross.
There are some burials after the war, arranged at Spot 8.
On the other hand, there are 3 commemorations of casualties (one from Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp. and two from Chinese Labour Corps) of the First World War, buried elsewhere in the territory and whose graves are now lost.
The larger group of World War II military burial is at Sai Wan War Cemetery in Chai Wan.
Read more about this topic: Stanley Military Cemetery
Famous quotes containing the word burials:
“Cole’s Hill was the scene of the secret night burials of those who died during the first year of the settlement. Corn was planted over their graves so that the Indians should not know how many of their number had perished.”
—For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)