金鐘 - Gum Jung [1890- ]

per ...SCMP 4 May 1962

Supplied to War Department in 1890
Royal Engineers - originally
Hong Kong Submarine Mining Company
25th & 40th Fortress Companies, Royal Engineers

The Chinese Engineers had a legend that the black colored clock face was actually made of real gold ... which is why they called the Wellington Barracks “Gum Jung Ping Fong”

the clock survived  the bombing of 1941

Royal Navy for 15 years until 1962

Then back to the Royal Engineers in 1963

(transfer Overseen by Mr. R. H. Cutis,
Lieut. Commander L. R. Symons,
Mr. M. G. Jeffries)

Stephen writes that he found the answer to his question in object number 9706.2 of the archive at the Royal Engineers Museum:

A clock with a metal face.

It was dismantled from a tower at Perowne Barracks (originally installed at Wellington Barracks in 1890).

A Brass plaque reads:

'THE CLOCK ABOVE THIS PLAQUE WAS UNVEILED BY
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR REGINALD H HEWETSON KCB CBE DSO
COMMANDER OF BRITISH FORCES HONG KONG
ON 26TH FEBRUARY 1963
ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF
PEROWNE BARRACKS (TAI LAM)...' etc.

The Face has Roman numerals and is painted black and gold;

the other parts include hands, pendulum, hardwood frame, weights and mechanism.

The mechanism is a cast iron system of cogs built into two A-frames.

There is a barrel with a steel wire and a small face with 0-60 on one side.

The face has 'GILLETT & CO CROYDON LONDON' printed onto it.