06 emmanuel church clifts forces games rm 3

Five of the six soldiers are members of the Lincolnshire Regiment,stationed in HK from 1933 to 1935.

Thank you to Stuart Braga for the pic and 1314 for that very useful bit of info to help us date it.  Dr and Mrs Lechmere Clift (1st and 3rd from the left, front row) came to settle in HK during the 1930s and set up in 4 ground floor shop rooms in Nathan Road, three of which were a medical centre, a chapel where church services were held, and a book room (as mentioned in the sign to include games, reading, and refreshments).  The set-up seems very similar to what the Toc H movement was doing for service men and women at that time.  Their premises typically contained a canteen, a reading and writing room, a chapel, and accommodation.  Toc H Hong Kong began at the end of the War in 1945.

In Jill Doggett's account, this facility is referred to as the Soldiers' Welcome, and when Mildred Dibden met Winifred Lechmere Clift in an unexpected encounter in England in 1935/36, it was described as 'recently opened.'  

There is a fine picture of the cap badge (a Sphinx) on the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment site.

An article in the Cairns Post dated 24 September 1936 contains information in a letter sent from Dr Henry Lechmere Clift to a friend in Cairns, Australia upon Dr Clift's return to China to continue his humanitarian work. 

The letter describes the cosmopolitan city of Hong Kong, work of the Medical Mission and attendance of the Regiments at the Sunday worship services. The Lincolnshire Regiment and Miss Mildred Dibden are given a mention.

The "odd man out" of the six soldiers is, I think, wearing a cap bearing the badge of the Royal Corps of Signals. It's central emblem is Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, or "Jimmy" if you are a Signaler.

Ref. https://www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk/cap-badge-history/ 

Correct reference should be ' The Lincolnshire Regiment', the 'Royal' title was awarded post-war.

Thanks and amended.