La Salle College - World War II

World War II

La Salle College School Song

Verse I:

Boys of courage, boys of daring,

Full of manliness and will;

Spirits not for danger caring,

Hearts to conquer every ill.

Chorus:

We are sons of La Salle everyone,

And no matter where we go,

High aloft her flag we will hold,

And strive that her fame may grow.

Verse II:

There are famous schools in plenty,

With their heroes by the score,

And they flourish high and mighty,

But La Salle is something more.

(chorus)

Verse III:

From her lofty station pointing,

To the sky's majestic dome,

She would have us ever minding,

That above is our true home.

(chorus)

Verse IV:

Come whatever kind of weather.

Come the stormy days along,

When the Old Boys get together,

They will always sing this song.

(chorus)

Brother Aimar was the principal of the school for its first seven years. The students were offered matriculation examinations, the laboratories were constructed, four tennis courts and a full-sized football pitch were built, and the statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle that now stands in front of the College was erected. The number of students increased to 805 in 1935 and 1,060 in 1939.

In 1939, La Salle College was affected when World War II commenced in Europe. On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and the British War Department in Hong Kong designated the campus as an internment camp for German nationals arrested in Hong Kong that same day. Those interned included the German engineer Gerhard Neumann. The camp was run for approximately eight months, during which time the brothers organized classes in morning and afternoon sessions in the College Annex across the road (the building which was to become La Salle Primary School in 1957).

On 8 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, and the school building was again taken over by the British Military, this time as a relief hospital. After the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941, the Japanese took over the building. In February 1942, the brothers were expelled from the college and the school's operations was terminated until the September 1946. During the Japanese occupation, the college was believed to have been used as a military hospital until August 1945.