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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
on Garden Road. The officers who had buried the Colours had subsequently died in captivity, leaving no record of where the Colours could be found. The remnants of the old Colours were paraded on the Annual Review of the Defence Force in March 1958 and were afterwards laid up in St. John's Cathedral.
For their gallantry in battle and subsequent escapes from Japanese prison-camps in Hong Kong, decorations were conferred upon fifteen members of the Corps; eighteen members were men- tioned in despatches.
After the war the Corps was reconstituted on 1st March 1949 as the Hong Kong Defence Force. Two years later, the title 'Royal' was awarded to the Force by His late Majesty King George VI in recognition of the part played by its forerunner in the defence of Hong Kong.
In March 1957 the award of the Battle Honour 'Hong Kong' by Her Majesty the Queen to the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force was announced. The Honour, which was awarded in recog- nition of the part played by the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps in the defence of Hong Kong in 1941, is now emblazoned on the Regimental Colour.
The Essential Services Corps proper consists of a number of units, each responsible for maintaining an essential service such as the supply of electricity, water, communications, etc. Each unit is staffed primarily by those already employed in such service augmented as necessary by others. Since in an emergency most members would continue to perform duties in which they are already expert, the Corps requires less training than the Defence Force. The Corps is now several thousands strong. Training during the year has been devoted mainly to driving instruction and revolver practice.
The Auxiliary Fire Service, an autonomous unit of the Essential Services Corps, is designed to augment the Fire Brigade when necessary. It is a well trained, keen and efficient body some hundreds strong, which is regularly called upon to assist the Fire Brigade in fighting serious fires. Members of this unit man and operate their own appliances.
The Auxiliary Medical Service is organized to provide first aid and hospital treatment for the population of the Colony in an