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should have taken Zhoushan Island rather than, to quote Palmerston's scathing words, 'the barren rock' of Hong Kong which would have undoubtedly altered the course of history and British relations with China in the 20th century.
The Westmoreland Regiment," part of a larger British expeditionary force, therefore returned to Zhoushan Island after the Treaty had been signed and remained on until 1844. A monument was raised in Dinghai dedicated to the few from the ranks who had been killed in action and the many who during the occupation had died of diseases so prevalent there. An annex to a report written probably in the 1880s provides us with the wording on the monument as well as a second annex describes the wording on a separate monument dedicated to Captain Colin Campbell of the Westmoreland Regiment who died at Zhoushan on the 29th May 1842 of a wound received in action at Zhapu [Chapu].vii
The wording on the main monument read:
Sacred
to The Memory of
11 Sergeants, 13 Corporals, 4 Drummers,
and 403 Privates
of H.M. 55th Regt
who were killed in action
or died from disease
while serving in China
from the 14th July 1841
to the 22nd February 1844