Hong Kong May 2007

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I was in Hong Kong over the weekend of 27th May 2007 which was the anniversary of the death of Sir Paul Chater.  A small requiem service and blessing was held at the grave of Sir Paul Chater, his brother Joseph and also Tigran Matthews Gregory respectively.  Tigran was a charitable benefactor to the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy in Kolkata during his life (1879-1962), and although a plaque is placed on the wall of the Nazareth church in Kolkata, Tigran is actually buried in the Hong Kong Cemetery, just a stones throw away from the grave of Sir Paul Chater.  The service was conducted by Very Rev. Father Oshagan Gulgulian, Pastor of the Armenian Church in India, and also the Manager of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy in Kolkata.  Members of the Armenian Church Committee also attended as well as members of the general public from Hong Kong.  The service and blessings were simple but moving and it was good to see the Church remembering Sir Paul at this time.  Below are some photographs of the service.

The grave of Sir Paul Chater being blessed

The grave of Joseph Chater being blessed

The grave of Tigran Gregory being blessed
The flowers in the wreaths included  the favourites of Sir Paul, dahlias (he named a lot of his racing ponies after the dahlia flower) and also chrysanthemums, flowers that he frequently won prizes with at the annual horticulture shows in Hong Kong when he was alive. A thoughtful touch by the church to make the wreaths more personal.