Hong Kong’s fallen Indian, Nepalese soldiers honoured at Remembrance Sunday event at restored cemetery
- As many as 90 volunteers lent their efforts to restoration of site overlooking Happy Valley Racecourse where several military graves are located
- Organisers hope the cemetery can serve as a symbol of ethnic minority community’s historic contributions to the city
A once-forgotten cemetery in Happy Valley on Sunday played host to a commemoration of the sacrifice of Indian and Nepalese soldiers from Hong Kong in the first and second world wars.
Members of the Indian community, the Indian consulate and the chairman of the Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission came together on Remembrance Sunday to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. They expressed hope the newly restored cemetery would serve as a symbol of the contributions made by the city’s ethnic minority communities.
Bagpipes rang out in the small cemetery behind the Hindu temple overlooking Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse as about 30 members of the Indian community gathered in front of a white granite obelisk honouring the eight Hindu and Sikh soldiers who fought for the British Empire in the first world war.
Two Nepalese soldiers who fought in the Royal Engineers regiment, and the wife of a soldier from the Royal Gurkha Rifles, had also been laid to rest at the site alongside 30 civilian graves.
On Sunday, a two-minute silence was observed, then wreaths of red poppy flowers, the symbol of remembrance, were placed at the foot of the memorial.
