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The Roll of Honour
Prior to World War II, a Roll of Honour of police officers killed in the execution of their duties, was on display in the then Police Headquarters, at Central Police Station, Hollywood Road. This memorial was lost during the war.
It was decided that a new Roll of Honour would be created to record the names of officers who died in action during the invasion and battle for Hong Kong, from December 8 to 25, 1941, and also those who were executed or who died as internees or prisoners of war during the period from December 25, 1941 to August 31, 1945, and those who died in the execution of their duty since September 1, 1945.
The opportunity was taken to include the names of 11 Hong Kong Police officers, who volunteered for military service, and had died in Europe during World War I. A marble tablet with the names of these officers, installed at the then-Police Recreation Club in Happy Valley, had survived the Japanese occupation and it is now on display in the Hong Kong Police Museum.
After some discussion, Mr Raoul Bigazzi, a well-known monumental mason and sculptor, was commissioned to produce two bronze tablets, one to commemorate the World War I and World War II deaths, and a separate tablet for those officers who had died in the execution of their duty since September 1, 1945.
Prior to the completion of Arsenal House in 2004, a decision was made to locate the Roll of Honour memorial in the third floor lobby of this building. The two original bronze tablets were retained, and a third Chinese language tablet was commissioned, which now stands in the centre of the memorial.
The memorial now includes three books. The first book lists the 233 officers killed in the execution of their duty prior to June 30, 1997 (other than World War I and II). The second book lists the 11 officers who died during World War I, and 111 officers who died during World War II. The third book lists 14 officers who have died in the execution of their duty since July 1, 1997.
