The Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal Garrison Artillery (or Royal Garrison Artillery in short) was a British military unit comprised of Sikh and Muslim troops from Punjabi commanded by British officers. Originally formed in Hong Kong in 1841 as the China Gun Lascars, it was subsequently renamed the Hong Kong Asiatic Artillery in 1891. A Singapore Company of Asiatic Artillery was established that same year and assigned to man the coastal batteries at Pulau Blakang Mati (Island Behind Death), which was an important military base used by the British for the defence of the port of Singapore. Renamed the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1898, the unit later became involved in the suppression of the Singapore Indian Mutiny of 1915. In 1934, the unit underwent another name change to become the Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery, and was finally disbanded in 1946.In the early 20th century, private sampans and Army-contracted steam launches ferried military personnel and civilians between Pulau Blakang Mati and the Jardine Steps landing on the mainland of Singapore. By the 1930s, motorboats were also used to ply the route between the island and the mainland.
