Hong Kong Military Service Corps
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Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) (Chinese: 香港軍事服務團) was a British army unit and part of the British garrison in Hong Kong (see British Forces Overseas Hong Kong). Throughout the history of Hong Kong, it has been the only regular British army unit raised in the territory made up almost entirely of Locally Enlisted Personnel (LEP).
The unit was raised in the 1950s/60s with Hong Kong citizens of Chinese descent who have served in the various artillery and coastal defence units during the Battle of Hong Kong in the Second World War. For this reason, members of the HKMSC were frequently nicknamed locally as sui lei pao bing 水雷砲兵 (water mine or coastal artillery soldiers). The unit was disbanded in the early 1990s due to the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997.
The unit's headquarters and training depot were located at Stonecutters Island. Divided into several squadrons, the unit was commanded by a British career officer (a Lieutenant Colonel) with the assistance of a British or Chinese Regimental Sergeant Major. For most of its existence, the unit has been crucial in providing the British garrison in Hong Kong with support personnel such as drivers, dog-handlers, intelligence operators, interpreters, cooks, clerks, guards, military police officers etc.
During the 1990s the HKMSC provided personnel to a number of overseas United Nations peacekeeping operations. The unit maintained no battle honour prior to its disbandment.
[edit] See also
- List of Hong Kong-related topics
- The Band of The Hong Kong Military Service Corps
