Chronicle / 1940s
1940s — Hong Kong milestones
11 checked, dated milestones (1940 to 1948). Each entry carries the date, the fact and a primary official source; 11 of them also carry a hand-written English memory note or background paragraph.
中文原句、引用格式同背景聲明只有中文版：見香港大事記 · 1940 年代。 本頁唔會機翻任何中文內容；缺英文欄位嘅條目會照實標明。
1940 · 港島（銅鑼灣）
Vitasoy is established in 1940 by Dr. K. S. Lo through The Hong Kong Soya Bean Products Company, launching VITASOY, its first ready-to-drink soymilk.
Memory Launched in Causeway Bay as the "poor man's milk", Vitasoy became an iconic Hong Kong beverage brand.
Background In 1940 Dr. K. S. Lo established The Hong Kong Soya Bean Products Company and launched VITASOY, its first ready-to-drink soymilk, in Causeway Bay. Hong Kong society was then largely poor and milk was expensive and beyond the reach of many ordinary people, so soymilk made from lower-cost soybeans earned the name "poor man's milk" and offered an affordable source of protein. Vitasoy went on to become an iconic local non-alcoholic beverage brand, and its beginnings reflect the early development of Hong Kong's food industry around the war years.
Source Vitasoy: Our Roots（Vitasoy International Holdings Limited） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1941-12-08
Japanese forces attack Hong Kong, beginning the Battle of Hong Kong. British forces surrender 18 days later, and Hong Kong enters three years and eight months of Japanese occupation.
Memory The defenders included British, Indian, Canadian and local volunteer troops, fighting in the New Territories, at the Gin Drinkers Line and on the Island.
Background On 8 December 1941 Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong and the Battle of Hong Kong began. The defenders included British, Indian, Canadian and local volunteer troops, and the fighting took place mainly in the New Territories, at the Gin Drinkers Line and on the Island. Eighteen days later the British forces surrendered, and Hong Kong entered three years and eight months of Japanese occupation. The battle marked the start of Hong Kong's passage from British rule into the occupation years.
Source Government Records Service online exhibition: “Unyielding Spirit, Everlasting Valour” — 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance（Government Records Service, HKSAR Government） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1941-12-25
Governor Mark Young surrenders to Japanese forces, and Hong Kong falls — a date remembered as "Black Christmas".
Memory After surrender Yeung was taken prisoner; the occupation government was later headed by Governor Isogai Rensuke.
Background On 25 December 1941 Governor Mark Young surrendered to Japanese forces and Hong Kong formally fell, a date remembered as 'Black Christmas'. After the surrender Young was taken prisoner and held in a prisoner-of-war camp, and the occupation government was later headed by Governor Isogai Rensuke. With the surrender, British colonial government came to an end and Hong Kong passed under Japanese rule. The date marked the end of the Battle of Hong Kong and the beginning of three years and eight months of occupation.
Source Government Records Service online exhibition: “Unyielding Spirit, Everlasting Valour” — 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance（Government Records Service, HKSAR Government） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1942 · 寶雲道（灣仔區）
The Bowen Road footbridge, completed in 1942, is the oldest recorded footbridge in Hong Kong.
Memory The city's oldest footbridge, built in masonry along the Bowen Road hillside.
Background The Bowen Road footbridge was completed in 1942, built in masonry along the hillside above Wan Chai. According to the Highways Department, it is the oldest recorded pedestrian footbridge in Hong Kong. The bridge spans a valley to connect the Wan Chai area with the mid-levels, allowing residents to cross steep terrain on foot. Such hillside pedestrian structures show how pre-war Hong Kong engineers opened routes across the city's rugged landscape, and a growing population depended on such crossings. Footbridges and pedestrian tunnels remain common ways of moving around the city.
Source Highways Department: Footbridges and Subways（Highways Department） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1944
Allied forces launch multiple air raids on Hong Kong, targeting Japanese facilities and causing damage.
Memory Allied air raids repeatedly struck Japanese installations in Hong Kong, including the harbour and airfield.
Background In 1941 Japanese forces occupied Hong Kong, beginning three years and eight months of occupation. By 1944 Allied forces mounted repeated air raids on Hong Kong, targeting Japanese facilities such as the harbour and airfield and causing damage to the city. The raids reflected a turning of the tide as the Allies gained air superiority, and they meant Hong Kong suffered direct wartime destruction, deepening hardship for residents. They formed part of the wider Allied campaign across the region in the closing phase of the war.
Source Hong Kong Yearbook 2021, Chapter 22: History（Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1945-08-30
Rear Admiral Cecil Harcourt of the Royal Navy arrives in Hong Kong, marking the liberation of Hong Kong and the end of three years and eight months of Japanese occupation.
Memory Admiral Harcourt arrived with the Royal Navy to accept the Japanese surrender and set up a military administration until civil government resumed in 1946.
Background On 30 August 1945 Rear Admiral Cecil Harcourt of the Royal Navy arrived in Hong Kong, marking the liberation of Hong Kong and the end of three years and eight months of Japanese occupation. He arrived with the Royal Navy to accept the Japanese surrender and to set up a military administration, which ran until civil government resumed in 1946. In the early period after the liberation the military administration was responsible for restoring order and basic governance, the first step in Hong Kong's post-war reconstruction.
Source Hong Kong Yearbook 2021, Chapter 22: History（Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1945-09-16
Japanese forces formally sign the surrender document in Hong Kong; a military administration is established with Rear Admiral Harcourt as its head.
Memory The instrument of surrender was signed at Government House, formally ending the occupation, and a military administration was set up.
Background On 16 September 1945 Japanese forces formally signed the surrender document in Hong Kong, a military administration was established, and Rear Admiral Harcourt became its head. The instrument of surrender was signed at Government House, formally ending the occupation, and the military administration was set up immediately afterwards. This procedure was the formal step by which Hong Kong moved from occupation to post-war government, and the military administration then handled Hong Kong's affairs until civil government resumed. The surrender signing was the formal act that brought the occupation to a close and returned the territory to British administration.
Source Government Records Service online exhibition: “Unyielding Spirit, Everlasting Valour” — 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance（Government Records Service, HKSAR Government） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1946
The Labour Department becomes an independent department, responsible for labour affairs.
Memory Becoming a separate department, the Labour Department handles employment services and enforcement of labour law.
Background In 1946, the Labour Department became an independent department responsible for labour affairs. Once separate, it handled labour matters including employment services and the enforcement of labour legislation. The arrangement placed labour affairs under a dedicated department. Its work covers employment services, labour relations, occupational safety and the enforcement of labour law. As postwar Hong Kong's industry grew, the department gradually expanded the range of services it provided. It gave workers and employers a single office to approach on labour matters.
Source Labour Advisory Board report (2005)（Labour Department） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1946-05-01
The Civil Aviation Department is established to oversee Hong Kong’s aviation services.
Memory After the war the department passed from military to civil control, and Kai Tak's air traffic was run by a civilian body.
Background The Civil Aviation Department was established on 1 May 1946 to oversee Hong Kong's aviation services. After the end of the Second World War the airport was briefly under military administration; the department's creation marked the handover of aviation matters from military to civil control, and Kai Tak's air traffic control passed to a civilian body. This arrangement provided the administrative basis for the growth of civil aviation in postwar Hong Kong.
Source CAD: Kai Tak Airport 1925–1998（Civil Aviation Department） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1946-05-01
The Legislative Council resumes meetings, returning to normal operation after the war.
Memory The Legislative Council resumed after the war, restoring normal law-making as Hong Kong moved from military to civil government.
Background The Legislative Council resumed meetings in May 1946, restoring normal law-making. During the Japanese occupation Hong Kong was governed by Japan; after the occupation ended, a British military administration took over before civil government was progressively restored. The council's resumption was one of the institutional markers of that transition, meaning that local legislative work began again and the colonial government returned to handling its business through legislative procedures. With the council sitting once more, much of the territory's pre-war machinery of government was back in place.
Source Historical development of the Legislature（Legislative Council of the HKSAR） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1948
During the Chinese Civil War, large numbers of refugees arrive in Hong Kong, pushing the population from about 600,000 after the war to over 1.8 million.
Memory Many refugees settled in hillside squatter areas, giving rise to squatter settlements and later public housing policy.
Background Around 1948, during the Chinese Civil War, large numbers of refugees from China arrived in Hong Kong, and the population rose from about 600,000 after the war to over 1.8 million. Many refugees settled in squatter areas on hillsides, giving rise to squatter settlements and, later, public housing policy. This rapid increase placed heavy pressure on housing and social facilities in the territory, and it laid the ground for the public housing policies that followed. The date is recorded at year level.
Source Hong Kong Chronicles: Overview and Chronology (c. 5000 BC–2017, over 6,500 events)（Hong Kong Chronicles Institute） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
