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The money will go towards the production of a book on the history of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong which is being published to raise money for the Locally Enlisted Personnel Trust.
The Trust is the charitable foundation which has been set up by the British Garrison to provide funds for Hong Kong Chinese ex-British servicemen who find themselves in need of aid after 1997.
The firing of the Noon Day Gun is an abiding Hong Kong tradition which was initiated by one of Commodore Melson's predecessors as Senior Naval Officer in Hong Kong.
As a punishment, he ordered Jardines to fire a daily gun as a time-check for the ships in port after they had upset him by firing a salute to their own Taipan, who was entering the harbour aboard his yacht.
The Battle of Trafalgar, Britain's greatest naval victory, was fought on October 21, 1805, and ever since the Royal Navy has commemorated the event with an annual dinner, wherever in the world it may be serving.
The original Noon Day Gun was lost during the war and the one now used was a gift to Jardines from the Royal Navy.
It is a 3-pounder Hotchkiss manufactured before World War I, identical to the three saluting guns mounted for many years at the former Royal Navy base at HMS Tamar in Central (now the Prince of Wales Barracks).
The last known examples of their type, the three Royal Navy guns have been returned to Britain as museum picces, leaving the Jardines gun as the only known operational weapon of its kind anywhere in the world.
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HKMA to launch 10-year exchange fund notes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (Friday) announced the launch of 10-year exchange fund notes.
The inaugural issue of $500 million 10-year exchange fund notes will open for tender on October 28. Similar to the other notes issues, it will be tendered on a quarterly interval.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.