The Hong Kong Chinese Regiment (HKCR) was a regiment that was raised by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

shortly before the Battle of Hong Kong during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

History

The idea of recruiting more local Hong Kong Chinese for the defence of the colony began as early as 1936, with the number of Chinese

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

s employed by the British increasing to 250. With the outbreak of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

in the following war, the British recruited 250 Hong Kong Chinese gunners to support British artillery units based in Hong Kong. By 1941, Chinese gunners and sappers were dispersed throughout the various units in Hong Kong. In November 1941, a month before the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

agreed to form the Hong Kong Chinese Regiment, a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

-sized military unit. Believing it was necessary to recruit a solid core of potential

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

, and train them up using experienced officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to the point where the regiment's first battalion could be built. The battalion was originally intended as a machine gun battalion similar to the 1st Middlesex Regiment, whose officers were providing the training cadre for the regiment. However, by the time the Battle of Hong Kong broke out, only a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

-sized group had completed training. The majority of the initial high-quality recruits (mainly from the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

) were passed medically by Dr. Scriven, and training was progressing well until interrupted by the Japanese attack. During the fighting, the HKCR was primarily used to guard military stores in

Deep Water Bay Deep Water Bay is a bay and residential area on the southern shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The bay is surrounded by Shouson Hill, Brick Hill, Violet Hill and Middle Island. As per Forbes (July 2015), with 19 of the city's rich ...

, and also saw action at the ridge that resulted in several casualties. After the surrender, several HKCR recruits escaped to China and joined up with the

British Army Aid Group The British Army Aid Group (B.A.A.G.) was a para-military organisation for British and Allied forces in southern China during the Second World War. The B.A.A.G. was officially classified in the British Army's order of battle as an MI9 unit ...

or the

Hong Kong Volunteer Company Hong Kong Volunteer Company () was a company of British-Chinese soldiers that escaped Japanese occupied Hong Kong, and served with the British in India and Burma during the Burma Campaign of World War II. History Following the surrender of H ...

shortly after. Others became

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held 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 prisoners of w ...

, but, like all POWs considered 'local Chinese' by the Japanese, they were released early, resulting in many of these highly motivated young men crossing the border. As a percentage, more HKCR men probably escaped, or evaded capture, and continued fighting than any other Hong Kong-based unit, thus proving the quality of the initial recruitment and selection.

References

{{reflist

External links

Hong Kong War Diary
British colonial regiments Hong Kong in World War II Military of Hong Kong under British rule Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II

History

See also

References

External links