Police Band marches into 55th Anniversary

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To commemorate this momentous occasion, the band has published a postal cover for a set of commemorative stamps. The cover also details the band's history and developments, and carries some memorable photos of its local, Mainland and overseas performances. The cover was designed by courtesy of the Police Philatelic Club.

The Chairman of the Anniversary Organising Committee, Senior Force Welfare Officer of the Personnel Services and Staff Relations Branch, Mr Wong Wai-cheun, pointed out that it is the first time the Police Band is celebrating an anniversary, and that the commemorative postal cover is the first of its kind it has ever published.

"A limited edition of 1,000 copies of the deluxe version will be on sale at the Police Souvenir Gallery at PHQ starting on March 15. Amongst them, 100 copies will bear the Commissioner's autograph and will be sold at $2,000 each. The rest will cost $500. There will also be another limited edition of 1,000 copies of ordinary version selling at $88 each.

"The postal cover is a valuable gift for collectors. All the sale proceeds will go to the Force Welfare Fund, so don't miss the chance to support the Fund ! Come for a musical and relaxing evening with your families," said Mr Wong.

Force members can make their purchase in PSRC's main lobby as a series of celebration programmes starts at 2 pm on March 5. In the evening, the Police Band will give a marvellous performance at 5:15 pm at the Rugby Pitch, alongside the Guangdong Armed Police Band and the Auxiliary Police Band. Admission is free.

The Band will perform again at a dinner buffet at 7pm, which is priced at $98 for adults and $78 for children.

Developments and achievements

The forthcoming anniversary is an appropriate occasion to trace the Police Band's developments and achievements in the past 55 years. OffBeat, therefore, talked to Superintendent Philip Ng, Director of Music, and four bandsmen, two of them having retired, to find out how the band has developed from strength to strength.

SP Ng said the Police Band came into being in 1951 as the Police Silver Band comprising 21 officers who also performed policing duties. "As the band grew in size, it became increasingly difficult for these part-time musicians to reconcile their police duties with their rehearsals and engagements. Eventually a decision was taken that it should turn into a full-time band with full-time musicians, as it is today."

In 1954, the Police Pipe Band was formed to perform separately or alongside the Silver Band. The MacIntosh tartan, which the pipers now wear, was adopted in memory of a former Commissioner of Police, Mr Duncan William MacIntosh.

The Police Band now comprises both a Silver Band with 55 members and a Pipe Band with 29.

Seventy-eight-year-old Ku Kung-ching was one of the band's first generation musicians. He admitted he could hardly play any musical instrument when he joined the band in 1951.

"I could only read stave," he recalled, "Actually most of the bandsmen recruited in those days had no knowledge of musical instruments, just like me. What we had was enthusiasm for music."

The circumstance of Mr Ku being picked to play the clarinet was rather amusing. He recalled: "One day Mr Foster, the first Director of Music, asked all of us to show him our hands. Having looked at the sizes of our fingers and the shapes of our mouths, he then decided which one should play which instrument."

Another retired member of the band, Mr Ho Chun-yung, only knew how to play "Qinqin", a Chinese plucked string instrument, when he joined the band in 1960. "After joining the band, I was given intensive training everyday. Those senior bandsmen, including Mr Ku, were my mentors," noted Mr Ho.

Serving bandsman, Sergeant Ng King-cheong, pointed out that the Police Band had made big strides in its overall standard. "This is because starting from 1982, the band set a new requirement that a recruit should be proficient in at least one instrument.

"In the 1990s, it took a further step forward by adopting a multi-skills scheme, which encouraged all musicians to master more than one instrument. On top of this, some of them have obtained diplomas from the Royal Schools of Music, which are a recognition of standard and professionalism they have achieved," SGT Ng explained.

Unforgettable experiences

SGT Ng said the Police Band on average has 500 engagements each year, including Force and community functions, as well as tours outside Hong Kong. In particular, he has vivid memories of the band's three-month participation in the Royal Tournament in England in 1978 because it was during this trip that he first met his wife to be.

"It was when the band formed a Ribbon Dance Group for its performances in England that I met a girl in the Dance Group who later became my wife," he said with a blush.

Mr Ho also can hardly forget the moment of seeing Pope John Paul II at close range in the Vatican. "We performed before the Pope when we were invited by an airline company to celebrate its maiden flight to Rome in 1984. As I was in the back row of the band, the Pope was just right behind me. I was very excited to be so close to him," exclaimed Mr Ho.

In the past 54 years, the band was mainly a man's domain until last year when it recruited a female percussionist, Woman Police Constable Lau Sze-lok. Before joining the band, WPC Lau had worked in different units for six years.

"I played piano and percussion when I was a student, so I really want to have a try in the band. That's why I'm here," she explained.

Though being the sole female member, WPC Lau feels completely at home working with her male fellow musicians. Rather it was the male members who were a bit worried in the first place that she might not be accustomed to their way of getting things done. But by now, they get along with each other so well that they all call the Band their "big family".