DOZENS of large black metal trunks lined the hallway of the bandroom at Stanley Fort yesterday, as the Black Watch regimental band played for the last time in front of their battalion.
The band has served with the Black Watch for more than 200 years, and Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Andrew Ogilvy-Wedderburn spoke of the ''great sadness'' many felt to see it disbanded.
From May 1 the band becomes officially ''non-effective'' and the members will be flying back to Britain during the following weeks.
But they will be leaving behind the black trunks, and with them thousands of dollars worth of music.
Bandmaster Ian Peaple explained that the music was being given to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, as part of the ''Music for Millions'' campaign.
The idea, he said, was to introduce local children to Western music.