MILITARY (Contd.)
It must not be thought that the Hong Kong Regiment was raised locally. The Troops arrived in Hong Kong on the P. and O. liner Bombay on May 7, 1892. Their appearance created quite a flutter of excitement in Kowloon and many members of the local Indian community came down to welcome them.
Commenting on their appearance, the Hong Kong Telegraph said that a finer body of men than these defenders of Hong Kong would be hard to find. Although enrolled only a short time, they were of a class of whom it might accurately be said, that a soldierly bearing was natural to them.
The regiment wore the brown khaki uniform which at that time had been universally adopted in India for all branches of the Service when on the march. A small yellow Pathan cap with an ample puggaree formed a picturesque head-dress and the loose jacket and trousers gave free play to the light limbs and graceful carriage of these fine-looking soldiers.
When it arrived in Hong Kong, the regiment was composed of about four hundred soldiers, transferred from other regiments, and the balance were raw recruits who were formed into two companies of Pathans, five companies of Punjabis, and one company of Hindustanis. The regiment had a complement of eleven officers and 1,041 men.
The Pathans came from the country west of the River Indus and closely resembled the Afghans in physique, religion, manner, and customs. The Punjabis came from the east of the Indus, while the Hindustanis were drawn from Oudh and the north-west provinces.
The British officers were Colonel E. G. Barrow, Capt. Faithful, Capt. Retallick, Capt. Dawson, Lieut. Woolcock (Adjutant), Lieut. R. Ray (Quartermaster), Lieuts. E. L. G. Berger and E. C. Rowcroft.
The medical requirements of the regiment were attended to by Surgeon-Capt. Borradails and Mr. L. H. Clarke (Apothecary).
A little unpleasantness followed the arrival of the Hong-Kong Regiment. The behaviour of the troops drew this sharp comment from the Hong Kong Telegraph: "We regret to have to draw the attention of the officers of the new regiment to the conduct of their men turned loose on this side of the harbour. They seem unable to discriminate between respectable females and prostitutes, and a case has been brought before us in which a European lady was most grossly insulted."
The Hong Kong Regiment was stationed here until 1902, when on October 12, it was disbanded. The Colours of the Regiment were presented to St. John's Cathedral and were hung above the pulpit until a few months ago, when repairs to the roof necessitated their removal.
It was then found that they had deteriorated, and it was arranged that they should in future be kept in a glass case just inside the Cathedral.
Military and naval authorities in Hong Kong are worrying about the defence of the Colony to-day. They have been worrying about the same subject since 1841.
I find in the old records that early in 1854, the Governor and the Senior Naval and Military Officers discussed measures necessary for the defence of the Colony. It was thought that Russia had designs on this island outpost, and an attack by a Russian fleet was awaited with no little concern.
According to the Friend of China, the authorities decided that the Hercules should be moored across the harbour, and ten spare...
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