RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 Sheilah Hamilton - The District Watch Force ... 199 NOTES AND QUERIES Hong Kong (From the Notes of a Russian Traveller), translation of an article written by Iosif Antonovich Goshkevich in 1871.... 229 Hong Kong, translation from a book chapter written by Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov in 1853 237 ...... 247 R.G. Horsnell - The Story of Stanley Fort 257 R.G. Horsnell - The Story of Gun Club Hill Barracks ..... 265 B.C. Fawcett - First World War Labour Corps Cemeteries in Flanders 281 Keith Stevens - The American Soldier of Fortune Frederick Townsend Ward: Honoured and Revered by the Chinese with a Memorial Temple 285 Ronald Bishop Smith - Sir Ralph Moor and the 'Benin' Cannon of the British Museum and the Royal Armouries 293 Photographs from the Hong Kong 1906 Typhoon contributed by Victoria Brown 297 Dan Waters - Arnold Graham, 1905 - 1996. 305 Translated letter from the Bishop of the Philippines to the King of Spain dated 1584 contributed by Robin M. Bridge.............. 315 Geoffrey W. Roper - The Drunken Dragon Dance and the Tam Kong (Tam Kung) Festival: Notes on the RAS HK Visit to Macau, May 1997 .. 323 Robert Nield - Bits of Broken China: The RAS Visit to North-east China in Search of Colonial Remnants, 1999 329 viii ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 Gillian Bickley, Ph.D., B.A. (Hons.), Cert. Ed., M.Litt., F.R.S.A., is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, Hong Kong Baptist University. She has previously held posts in Hong Kong at the University of Hong Kong, Longman Far East, the British Council, St. Stephen's Girls' College, and the Hong Kong Examinations Authority. She has taught at the University of Lagos, Nigeria and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has lived in Hong Kong for 23 years. Paul Bolding, works as a financial journalist at the news and information organisation Reuters in London. He has been with Reuters since 1974. He lived in Hong Kong from 1993 to 1997 and has travelled widely in Asia. Mr Bolding has previously worked in Europe and the Middle East including Brussels, Berlin and Nicosia. He has a special interest in the silk route and is a co-author of the Insight Guide to Turkey. B.C. Fawcett, was born in the Far East where his father served with the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. He also joined the bank and served from 1961 to 1978, being based in Hong Kong from 1971 to 1978. During that time he was also a volunteer with the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, now the Government Flying Services. He is a life member of the HKBRAS. Richard J. Garrett, M.A.(Cantab), C.Eng., F.I.C.E., F.I.Struct.E., F.H.K.I.E., is a director of an international firm of Consulting Engineers and based in Hong Kong since 1973. He has been a collector of antique arms and a member of the Arms and Armour Society of the U.K. for over 30 years. He has published a number of articles on the subject of early firearms. Sheilah E. Hamilton, B.Sc., M.Soc.Sc., Ph.D., is a long-time resident of Hong Kong and former forensic scientist with the Hong Kong Government from 1968 to 1988. Her passion for Hong Kong history began in 1992 and areas of interest include historical fires, forensic issues and security. R.G. Horsnell, is a Chief Property Services Manager with the Architectural Services Department, Hong Kong Government, and a ... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 199 THE DISTRICT WATCH FORCE SHEILAH HAMILTON In general the Force now appears to the Police to be an unwelcome anachronism, to the Chinese population to perpetuate a valued tradition, and to all civil servants not serving in the Secretariat of Chinese Affairs (as well as some who are) as an imperfectly comprehended mystery. In the 1960s the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Mr John C. McDouall, described the District Watch Force in the above terms. This telling statement by the Government official in charge of the District Watch between 1957 and 1966 illustrates the opposing views held about the 'Force' by various sections of Hong Kong society. Indeed, the solo use of the word 'Force,' without its more familiar qualification, 'Hong Kong Police', would have been an anathema to many members of the Hong Kong Police Force whose officers considered that they, and only they, represented the true 'Force.' This 'them and us' notion neatly illustrates the problems faced by the District Watch Force throughout its long history. In 1971 the sociologist Henry Lethbridge contributed a paper about the District Watch Committee to the Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and, seven years later, it was reproduced as a chapter in his book Hong Kong: Stability and Change.2 Although these early works included the District Watchmen and their duties, their main thrust was the political significance of the District Watch Committee rather than a commentary on the work of the lowly Watchmen and, in the years that followed, the contribution of this band of local private security personnel has received little attention. This paper examines the birth and development of the District Watch Force, a group of Chinese men who may be regarded as comprising the first organised body of Chinese private security personnel employed in Hong Kong. More specifically, it explores the interaction between the Hong Kong Government and the District Watch Force.3 The District Watch Force existed, in fact if not in name, for more than a century between 1866 and 1970. During this period it ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n ... we do the general view was (see volume I of HKBRAS Journal)". not go out into the highways and byways to recruit members..." As a well-qualified member of staff at the University of Hong Kong said to me during the past year, 'In the 1960s, it was not easy to join the HKBRAS. It was quite exclusive. Meetings were usually held in the Hong Kong Club.' Since the Hand Over of Hong Kong, from Britain to China, we have had a recruitment drive. This has paid off. It was necessary largely because of the appreciable drop in numbers with many members leaving the Territory. With about 73 per cent of our members being aged between 40 and 60, we were pleased, during 2000/2001, to see a few of our younger members playing active parts. I have special pleasure in thanking Moody Tang, Josephine Wong, and Crystal Tang for their assistance. Our Society needs more younger people taking part to leaven the membership. Continuing, it gives me great pleasure to report that our long-serving Vice President, Dr Elizabeth Sinn, was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star in the Hong Kong SAR 2000 Honours List for her work in the field of Heritage. We like to believe consideration was also given to her related work as a long-time office bearer of our Branch where her contribution has been considerable: Congratulations Elizabeth! I also have great pleasure in congratulating one of our members for 'pushing back the frontiers of knowledge.' She is Dr Sheilah Hamilton. As a mature student, she received her doctoral degree from the University of Hong Kong. Very well done! During the course of the year, we were delighted to receive a letter from Dr Marjorie Topley who played a leading part in the re-establishment of our Branch in 1960. We have also kept in touch with Dr James Hayes and Mr David Gilkes. All three served as presidents. All three are now Honorary Members. On a sadder note, we are sorry to record the passing, at 82, of Lord Murray MacLehose who held the distinctions of being not only the longest-serving governor but also one of Hong Kong's greatest achievers. He was our HKBRAS Patron from 1971 to 1982 and, later, we were proud to bestow honorary membership upon him. In a letter to our Branch, Lady MacLehose wrote: "The many generous tributes to XV ================================================================================