The British Military Hospital was a military hospital in Hong Kong for the use of the British garrison. It was located at 10–12 Borrett Road from 1907 to 1967, and in King's Park from 1967 to its closure in 1997. 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 three storeys, configured with wards and a central administrative block. It had commanding views of Victoria Harbour.Military Hospital, Bowen Road, Hong Kong Museum of History
During the Japanese occupation, a portion of the hospital was used for the care of prisoners of war. It continued in use until 1967, when it was turned over to the colonial government. The facility was moved to a site in Kowloon.
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.Memories of Island School , Geoffrey Speak, Island School It was also home to the German Swiss International School from 1973 until 1975, when the current GSIS building opened in Guildford Road.German Swiss International School The east wing is now home to the (Jewish International) Carmel School,Reuters, Carmel 'playgroup' confounds critics , The Standard, 21 April 1999 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.Simon Macklin, Demand pressures prestige school to look for fixed site, South China Morning Post, 8 September 1987 The 10 Borrett Road site became the first home to the West Island School, from 1991 to 1994.The History of West Island School, West Island School, Accessed 23 June 2007
In the 1986 Mid-Levels plan, the site was zoned to become open space. In May 2001, the Town Planning Board 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.Antiquities and Monuments Office: List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings in Building Assessment (as of 10 September 2013)
Current occupants of the building include:
Carmel School Chung Ying Theatre Company Small World Christian Kindergarten Watchdog Early Education Centre City Kids
King's Park In 1967, a new 15-storey British Military Hospital was opened on Wylie Road 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. Millbank House, Worcester Heights and Canterbury Court were also home to the Officers Mess and Other Ranks Mess, as well as accommodation for servicemen's families in three blocks.
When the British armed forces suffered a 15% reduction between 1975 and 1978,Kevin Sinclair, HK GARRISON SLASHED BY 15PC, South China Morning Post, 20 March 1975 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,$2 million plan to hire sick beds, The Standard, 7 March 1976 but the high cost was criticised as unreasonable and lacking in transparency.
Within the Joint Liaison Group, there was a consensus to demolish it.BMH must go, says Government, The Standard, 27 April 1988 It was officially closed on 30 June 1996Royal Army Medical Corps , History of the HK Military Services Corps, Accessed 13 June 2007 as the British Garrison scaled down from more than 10,000 personnel to about 3,000 due to the approach of 1997.Naomi Lee, Garrison hospital's bones fit to be picked , The Standard, 19 August 1995
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, 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, 10 September 2004
References
External links
BMH Bowen Road Hong Kong