At 0445 on 8 December 1941, a broadcast from Tokyo was intercepted instructing Japanese nationals abroad that war was imminent. At 0700, Tokyo Radio announced to the world that Japan was at war with Great Britain and America.
At 0800 the same morning, twelve bombers escorted by about twenty-four fighters attacked the Colony of Hong Kong, bombing the Kai Tak airport. At the same time, Japanese soldiers crossed into Hong Kong from the border with China. Following military engagements throughout the Colony, the British Forces formally surrendered on Christmas Day 1941.
The Lodges in the Far East closed their doors for the duration.
On 15 August 1945, following losses in the Pacific and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese accepted the Potsdam Declaration and the Emperor announced that hostilities had come to an end.
On 18 August, Hong Kong prisoners of war were freed, and the Colony was officially liberated on 30 August by the British Navy under the command of Admiral Harcourt. The formal Japanese surrender was signed on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay, Japan.
There were a number of Freemasons interned in the prisoner of war camps at Shamshuipo and Stanley Camps in Hong Kong while others became Masons shortly after the occupation. These brethren carried on with their Masonic traditions and we are proud and happy to know that some of these distinguished Masons are still active among us.
Testimony to the courage of the Hong Kong brethren who made the supreme sacrifice for others remains on the plaque in the entrance hall of Zetland Hall.