A Forgotten Battle Taught One Man Everything About Humanity

Tony Banham’s study of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941 captures thousands of stories tied together by a shared tragedy.

Illustration: Lee Kyutae for Bloomberg

Holding back a boyish enthusiasm in his apartment overlooking Hong Kong’s financial district, Tony Banham sifts through relics of Japan’s invasion in 1941 and the occupation that followed.

He holds up a piece of Japanese shrapnel. “You don’t want to be hit by one of those. That will take off your arm or leg.”