War over!
Victory Day party
From the first boom of the guns in August 1914 until hostilities ceased in 1918, the Post covered the horrors of the Great War. Although Hong Kong was far from the battlefields, it was profoundly affected emotionally, if not economically.
Hong Kong's considerable German community was interned in barracks in Kowloon. Many British and Commonwealth men left their jobs, usually with support from their employers, to join the armed forces. Many never returned, dying with millions of others in the squalid misery of the trenches in Europe.
The paper greeted the war with cautious determination: 'If the enemy should come he will find the government and inhabitants fully prepared and in the mood to accord him the warmest of receptions.'
The government proclaimed martial law, called up volunteer units and police reservists and imposed controls on the sale of food.
When peace came in November 1918, Hong Kong celebrated. 'Victory Day', announced the Post. 'Enthusiastic observances, stirring speeches, a memorable day.' The night before, it said, Hong Kong had gone to bed 'supremely happy'.