Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps

The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) (Chinese: 皇家香港軍團(義勇軍)), formed in May 1854, was the only locally raised military unit in British Hong Kong. It was a Crown regiment established by Royal Warrant under the Royal Hong Kong Regiment Ordinance. While funded and locally administered by the Government of Hong Kong, it remained under the command of the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong, and its officers held Queen’s Commissions. From the early 1960s, the Regiment was affiliated to the Royal Armoured Corps and, from 1970, was formally incorporated into its order of battle under subsidiary regulations (L.N. 190 of 1970). During the Imperial era, home defence units were raised in various British colonies to enable regular army units to be deployed elsewhere. These colonial forces were generally organised along British Army lines. The first locally raised militia in Hong Kong was the Hong Kong Volunteers, a forerunner of what became the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers). Members of this unit fought during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941, suffering 289 killed or missing in action. Although locally funded through the colonial government, the Regiment was established as a Crown military body under Royal Warrant and operated under the Army Act 1955 and Queen’s Regulations. It was not part of the United Kingdom’s Territorial Army but formed part of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces for the defence of the Colony. The Regiment was placed under the operational command of the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong and listed within the order of battle of the 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade. The Regiment met British military standards in organisation, training, and discipline. Many of its officers and NCOs attended courses with the Royal Armoured Corps in the United Kingdom, including armoured reconnaissance and driving & maintenance training. It operated Ferret scout cars, Land Rover reconnaissance variants, and standard British small arms identical to those used by RAC formations. Some members also served voluntarily on attachment to British Regular and Territorial Army units overseas. The Regiment was formally disbanded in 1995 prior to the transfer of sovereignty. Its final parade was held at the Gallipoli Lines, Fanling, reviewed by the Governor and the Commander British Forces, who described it as "a proud and honourable chapter of the British Army in Hong Kong." It should not be confused with the separate, short-lived Hong Kong Regiment (1892–1902), which was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army recruited in India.