The British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chief of the forces and the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong took charge of the daily deployment of the troops. Much of the British military left prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The present article focuses mainly on the British garrison in Hong Kong in the post Second World War era. For more information concerning the British garrison during the Second World War and earlier, see the Battle of Hong Kong.
Overview Prior to and during the Second World War, the garrison was composed of British Army battalions and locally enlisted personnel (LEPs) who served as regular members in the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy or the Hong Kong Military Service Corps and their associate land units. The Hong Kong Infantry Brigade served as the main garrison formation. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the garrison was reinforced with British Indian Army and Canadian Army units. A second brigade, the Kowloon Infantry Brigade, was formed to assist in commanding the expanded force. The garrison was defeated during the Battle of Hong Kong, by the Empire of Japan.
After the Second World War and the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the British military reestablished a presence. As a result of the Chinese Civil War, the British Army raised the 40th Infantry Division and dispatched it to garrison Hong Kong. It later left for combat in the Korean War, and the defense of the territory was taken up by additional British forces who were rotated from Europe. The garrison was further supplemented by LEPs, and Gurkhas. The latter came from Nepal, but formed part of the British Army. The size of the garrison during the Cold War fluctuated and ended up being based around one brigade.
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (RHKR) was a locally raised Crown regiment established under the Royal Hong Kong Regiment Ordinance (Cap. 199). It was administered by the Government of Hong Kong on behalf of the Sovereign, with its funding drawn from Crown revenues rather than from a local militia budget. The regiment assisted in the defence of Hong Kong, maintaining internal security and providing disaster relief when required.
Formed in 1854 and granted the “Royal” title in 1951, the regiment established an affiliation with the Royal Armoured Corps in the early 1960s and was formally incorporated into its order of battle under subsidiary regulations (L.N. 190 of 1970). It was placed under the operational command of the Commander British Forces Hong Kong. Officers were commissioned by the Governor, in the name of the Sovereign, and all members were subject to the Army Act 1955 and Queen’s Regulations. Several regular British Army officers were seconded to key positions to support training and command, and the regiment's organisation followed the model of the United Kingdom's Territorial Army. Although funded and administered locally, the regiment was legally part of the British Crown Forces and not a colonial militia. It was disbanded in 1995 prior to the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.
Responsibilities Before 1 July 1997, the British government had the political commitment to safeguard the territory against external and internal threats. Commonwealth forces were also deployed to station in the territory shortly before the Second World War. The greatest test was in 1941, when Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong, leading to the 44-month-long Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
Internal security was the responsibility of the Hong Kong Government, in particular the Royal Hong Kong Police. It was supported by British Forces in Hong Kong should it be called upon to do so. During the Hong Kong 1967 riots, in which 51 people were killed, the British garrison supported the Royal Hong Kong Police in quelling the disturbance. Until 1995, the safety of much of the Sino-Hong Kong border was the responsibility of the British forces and as such contributed greatly to the interdiction of illegal immigrants (II). As the preparation of the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, that responsibility was passed on to the Hong Kong Police.
The Royal Navy played a significant role in the support of the Royal Hong Kong Police in anti smuggling operation in Hong Kong waters, especially in the heyday of seaborne smuggling during the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Search and Rescue (SAR) was provided by all branches of the British Forces in Hong Kong may be called upon for aid to civil defence as well as search and rescue operations in times of emergency.
Prior to 1990–1991, British Forces (British Army) was responsible for patrolling and enforcing border control between Hong Kong and China. This role was passed on the Hong Kong Police Force years before the handover in 1997. Some HK nationals who served in the British military were deployed overseas, including Operation Granby.
The territory has nevertheless maintained a Government Flying Service, formerly the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, that is responsible for search and rescue operations, air ambulance services, and other air services for the Hong Kong Government. The GFS also took over some responsibilities from the Royal Air Force and the Army Air Corps. The Hong Kong Police Force also has a highly trained and equipped counter terrorism unit, the Special Duties Unit, trained by United Kingdom's SAS and SBS, and a Marine Police force. These forces have been heavily armed since before the handover in 1997, and are within the portfolio of the Secretary for Security (which, before 1973, was named Secretary for Defence).
The Fire Service Department also took over some diving rescue responsibilities from the British Forces Overseas.
Structure in 1989
Command structure
The Governor of Hong Kong, being a representative of the British sovereign, was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in the colony. The Governor was advised by the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) on all military actions. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBF was normally a career Major General or Lieutenant General from the British Army. Until 1966, the CBF was an ex-officio member of the Legislative Council.
Throughout the years of British rule in Hong Kong, a variety of British Army units spent various periods of time in the colony as resident units. In latter stages of the post-war period, British army units were sent to Hong Kong on a rotational basis for a period of three years. The following list contains resident units only and those which stayed in Hong Kong for short durations for re-supply or acclimatisation during the Korean War, Opium War, Boxer Rebellion and the Malayan Emergency are not included in the list. The majority of infantry battalions were Ghurkas who were permanently based in Hong Kong after Indian partition.
British Army formations Major formations of the British Army in Hong Kong included:
Second World War Headquarters, China Command (1939) – covered British military interests in: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tientsin. Hong Kong Infantry Brigade (This was the primary British garrison in Hong Kong prior to and during the Second World War) Kowloon Infantry Brigade (This brigade was formed in 1941 after the garrison was reinforced) C Force – Canadian Army's reinforcement under British Command during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941.
Cold War 40th Division (reformed in 1949, dispatched to Korea in 1950) 26th Gurkha Infantry Brigade (1948–1950) 27th Infantry Brigade (circa 1949) 28th Infantry Brigade (arrived in Hong Kong in 1949) 51st Infantry Brigade (established circa 1950, disbanded 1976) 48th Gurkha Infantry Brigade (1957–1976; renamed Gurkha Field Force 1976–97; returned to old title 1987-ca.1992)
British Army units Royal Armoured Corps
C Squadron, The Royal Scots Greys (2 Dragoons), 19-09-1962–not known. 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1957–1960)(C Sqn 1974–1976) 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (1949–1950) 7th Royal Tank Regiment (1952–1954) 4th Hussars (1950) 7th Hussars (1954–1957) 16th/5th Lancers (A Sqn 1963–1964) (C Sqn 1973–1975) 14th/20th King's Hussars (1970–73) 17th/21st Lancers (Dec 1959–1960; C Sqn 1961–1962) B Squadron, Life Guards (1967)
Infantry
28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot (circa late 1870s) 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot (circa 1878) 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (1881–1883; 1947–1948) 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry (1892–1894) 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (1908–09) 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (1914) 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (1917–18) 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (1923–26) 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (1926–28) 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (1926–1930) 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (1927–1928) 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (1949–1951, May to August 1965) 1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers (1930–1934; 1963–1966) 1st Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1932–36) 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (1937–38) 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (1937–1941; 1949–1950; 1951–1952) 1st Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) (1948 Stanley Fort; 1949, New Territories); 1965, Gun Club Hill Barracks) 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) (1938–41) 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (1947) 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry (1949–1951) 1st Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (1949–1950, Fan Ling) 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) (1949–50; 1951–52; 1979) 1st Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment, (1949–1951, Norwegian Farm Camp) 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, (1949–1951) 1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment (1950–52) 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1951–1952; 1960–1962) 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (1951–1954) 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment (1952–1954) 1st Battalion, The Welch Regiment (1952–1954; 1966–1968) 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment (1952–1953, Norwegian Farm Camp) 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (1954–1956, Beas Stable Camp) 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment (1954–1957) 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment (1954–1957, Dodswell Ridge Camp) 1st Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment (1954–1957) 1st Battalion, The Green Howards (1956–1959) 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment (1957–1958, amalgamated with The South Lancashire Regiment in HK to form The Lancashire Regiment.) 1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (1958, amalgamated with The East Lancashire Regiment in HK to form The Lancashire Regiment.) 1st Battalion, Lancashire Regiment (1958–1961, formed in HK in 1958 with the amalgamation of The South Lancashire Regiment and The East Lancashire Regiment.) 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1960–1962) 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment (1962–1964) 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (1963–1965) 3rd Battalion, Green Jackets (The Rifle Brigade) (February to June 1965, 4 month acclimatisation before Jungle Warfare School training in Malaya.) 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment (1965–1966, Gun Club Hill Barracks) 1st Battalion, Royal Hampshire Regiment (1966; 1974–1976) 2nd Battalion, Queen's Regiment (January to October, 1967, Gun Club Hill Barracks) 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (1967–69) 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) (1968–70) 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (1969–1972) 1st Battalion, Irish Guards (1970–72) 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards (1975–1976, Stanley Fort) 1st Battalion, Light Infantry (1975–77) 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets (1977–80) 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (January to May 1980, 4 month emergency tour)