When Captain William Caine of HM 26th. Regiment of Infantry was appointed Hong Kong's Chief Magistrate in 1841 the colony was a dangerous and lawless place.  Caine's police officers were soldiers who had been considered unfit for regular army duties.  The pay was low, conditions unhealthy and turnover rapid.  Caine recruited about 90 Europeans of whom only 47 were still in the force in 1845.  The Governor made several requests for experienced police officers to be recruited from Britain but officials in Whitehall decided it would be too expensive to recruit the whole force from England.  It was agreed that a Superintendent and two Inspectors could be recruited and the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police were consulted and chose three of their officers for the task:  Inspector Charles May and Sergeants Thomas Smithers and Hugh McGregor. The three officers resigned from the Met. on 7th. October 1844 and set sail on SS Oriental.  They arrived in Hong Kong on 15th. March 1845 and were duly advanced to the ranks of Superintendent and Inspectors.

The climate in Hong Kong is hot and humid during the summer months and loose cotton clothing proves the most comfortable to wear.  However, this was the era of the British Empire and loose cotton clothing was not for the British.   Thomas as an inspector had to wear a thick blue dress coat the same as in England !!!  The story of Thomas' time in Hong Kong is a story in itself and too long for these pages - at least at present.

This then was the start of the Hong Kong constabulary.  Through the years it maintained strong links with the Metropolitan Police and forged new links with other British constabularies.  After the riots in the 1960s the Hong Kong Police was honoured with the title of The Royal Hong Kong Police.  After the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 the title reverted to Hong Kong Police.

Many of the historical records of the Hong Kong Police were destroyed during the Japanese occupation.  This is regrettable but not disastrous for much information can be found at The National Archives within the files of the Colonial Office. 

For researching your Hong Kong Police ancestor please contact:

twiglet.thomas@tiscali.co.uk

Home/The Orient/Colonial Cemetery/The Project/Police/Met.Police/Hong Kong Police/UK/Terms

Last modified: 23/10/2005