10/11/24
The horror of war is ever present as the devastating conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to take a terrible toll. Harrowing images of death and destruction ensure we cannot forget. But the volatile state of the world makes Remembrance Sunday all the more poignant.
Ceremonies at the Cenotaph in Hong Kong and around the world today will not only remember those who fought and died in the two world wars.
They serve as a timely reminder of the need for global reconciliation and peace.
Remembrance Day was first marked on November 11, 1919, after World War I, to honour those who died in a conflict that claimed tens of millions of lives.
It was seen as the war to end all wars. Lessons have still not been learned.
But as we reflect on the past, there are stories that give us hope. This year saw the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings when almost 160,000 Allied troops invaded France, pushing back the occupying Nazi forces. It was the beginning of the end of World War II.
The anniversary on June 6 was marked by a moving ceremony in Normandy attended by many world leaders and veterans of the operation.
This year, too, a little known but extraordinary story about the involvement of Chinese naval officers in D-Day attracted international attention. It was a tale that began in Hong Kong.
A diary dated 1944, written by one of those 24 officers, Lam Ping-yu, was discovered by chance in a soon-to-be demolished flat in Sai Ying Pun in 2015. It is the only known primary source recording the participation of Chinese officers in D-Day.
A report about the finding in the South China Morning Post caught the eye of a young history student, Angus Hui Chung-yin. He contacted one of the local history enthusiasts who had rescued the diary and began to research the story.
Hui later teamed up with co-curator John Mak Hiu-fai to launch an exhibition featuring the diary, which can be seen at the Chinese University of Hong Kong until December 25. It has won support from universities and museums in Hong Kong and overseas as well as foreign consulates. The exhibition is due to move on to the UK and France.
The diary and accompanying research is of great historical value. Lam enlisted in republican China’s navy in 1930 and was selected for training in the UK. The Chinese officers made an epic journey to Britain in 1943, via India and Egypt.
In Mumbai, ironically, they saw the sea for the first time, said Mak at a Foreign Correspondents’ Club event last month.
They studied at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, learning English etiquette and undergoing military training before being sent on their first mission – the D-Day landings.
Lam’s diary gives a dramatic account of their experience on British battleship HMS Ramillies, which included shelling a Nazi fort and narrowly escaping a torpedo attack. In typical British style, they were fortified by servings of sausages and afternoon tea.
He later took part in the relief of Hong Kong, following Japan’s surrender, recording that the city, an “old haunt” of his, was unrecognisable after years of occupation.
Lam settled in Hong Kong after the war, working as a merchant seaman before moving to Brazil.
The Hongkongers responsible for bringing this remarkable story to light and ensuring it is known around the world deserve credit. It will resonate at a time of global tension and conflict.
The co-curators of the exhibition hope it will remind people of the value of cooperation between East and West at a time of crisis. The world would certainly benefit from such collaboration today.
Lam’s objective when joining the Chinese Navy was to help rejuvenate it and protect China from foreign invasion. But he had a further aim – to help maintain world peace. That goal remains as important and elusive now as it did then.