Stephen Still Bears the Scars of World War II

In 1935, when HSBC’s third Hong Kong headquarters opened, British sculptor William Wheathly Wagstaff was commissioned to create two bronze lion statues. Inspired by, but not identical to, the original lions guarding HSBC’s Shanghai branch since 1923, the new lions symbolized strength and protection.

The roaring lion was named Stephen, after Alexander Gordon Stephen, the HSBC chief manager when the original lions were cast, while the quiescent lion was named Stitt, after Gordon Holmes Stitt, the then-manager of Shanghai.

Just six years after their installation in Hong Kong, Japanese forces crossed the Sham Chun River on December 8, 1941, beginning the Battle of Hong Kong. Although brief—lasting only eighteen days—the battle was fiercely brutal, with heavy fire across the city. The area now known as Central saw intense fighting around Statue Square, culminating in the British surrender on Christmas Day, 1941, known locally as Black Christmas.

Today, Stephen still bears the scars of the heavy shelling that targeted Hong Kong Island around HSBC headquarters. Shrapnel damage is visible on its hind legs and the back of its head, standing as a testament to the fighting.