The British Military Hospital was a hospital in
Hong Kong for the use of the
British garrison. It was located at 10–12 Borrett Road from 1907 to 1967. It was built between 1903 and 1906, and officially opened on 1 July 1907.
Often referred to simply as the Bowen Road Hospital, the first generation hospital was a 150-bed hospital constructed of red brick. It consisted of two blocks, each of 3 storeys, configured with wards and a central administrative block. It had commanding views of
Victoria Harbour.
During the
Japanese occupation, a portion of the hospital was used for the care of
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
. It continued in use until 1967, when it was turned over to the colonial government. The facility was moved to a site in
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
.
Bowen Road
Post de-commissioning
Between 1967 and 1972, it became the temporary location for the new
Island School, which had obtained a five-year lease from the Government. The east wing is now home to the (Jewish International) Carmel School, and the
Canadian International School occupied the west wing of the building from 1994 to 1999, after which it moved to new premises in
Aberdeen.
Former hospital buildings on the adjacent site on Borrett Road, vacated in 1969, were used by the
Chinese International School during the 1980s. The 10 Borrett Road site became the first home to the West Island School, from 1991 to 1994.
In the 1986 Mid-Levels plan, the site was zoned to become open space. In May 2001, the
Town Planning Board
The Town Planning Board () is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government tasked with developing urban planning, urban plans with an aim to ensuring the "health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community through the process of ...
re-zoned it to "government, community and institutional use" on the recommendation of the Planning Department and the
Antiquities and Monuments Office, allowing the buildings to be preserved.
[Susan Schwartz]
Old soldier saved
, ''The Standard'', 5 May 2001 The Main Block and the Annex Block of the Old British Military Hospital are
Grade I historic buildings since 2009.
Current occupants of the building include:
* Carmel School
* Chung Ying Theatre Company
* Small World Christian Kindergarten
* Watchdog Early Education Centre
King's Park
In 1967, a new 15-storey British Military Hospital was opened on
Wylie Road
Wylie Road () is a road in Ho Man Tin and King's Park, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It runs south–north from Gascoigne Road to Waterloo Road and was named after the British missionary Alexander Wylie.
Notable places
*British Military Hospital
*
*Tun ...
in the
King's Park area, on a site to the east of the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It replaced the Bowen Road campus. It provided medical treatment for servicemen, their dependants, and returning soldiers from
Vietnam. The site was also home to the Officers Mess and Other Ranks Mess, as well as accommodation for servicemen's families in three blocks: Millbank House, Worcester Heights and Canterbury Court.
When the British armed forces suffered a 15% reduction between 1975 and 1978, the Government proposed to use the hospital as an overspill for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which was in undercapacity. It would buy bedspace and treatment from the hospital, but the high cost was criticised as unreasonable and lacking in transparency.
Within the
Joint Liaison Group, there was a consensus to demolish it. It was officially closed on 30 June 1996 as the British Garrison scaled down from more than 10,000 personnel to about 3,000 due to the approach of 1997.
Post de-commissioning
Between 1996 and 1999, the hospital was turned over to the
Philippine Consulate-General as a refuge for dismissed
domestic workers, for a token lease of HK$1.
['' AFP'']
$5.6b military hospital to house unemployed Filipino maids
, ''The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
'', 20 September 1996
The site had an estimated market value of
HK$5.6 billion in 1995.
[ The site is now a private housing estate, .][Eli Lau]
Firms buy Parc Palais flats for $66m
, ''The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
'', 10 September 2004
References
External links
BMH Bowen Road Hong Kong
{{Hospitals in Hong Kong
British military hospitals
Defunct hospitals in Hong Kong
Military of Hong Kong under British rule
Hospitals established in 1907
1907 establishments in Hong Kong
Hospitals disestablished in 1996
Island School
1996 disestablishments in Hong Kong