THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
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to meet the Japanese attack on the Colony on 8th December 1941, and fought with the regular forces against overwhelming odds until ordered to surrender on 25th December 1941. In 1956 their action was vividly recalled when part of the old Colours of the Corps, which had been buried in December 1941 to avoid capture by the Japanese, was discovered by workmen excavating a building site on Garden Road. The officers who had hidden the Colours had died in captivity, leaving no record of where they might be found. The remnants of the old Colours were paraded at the annual review of the Defence Force in March 1958, and were afterwards laid up in St John's Cathedral. Decorations were conferred on 15 members of the Corps for their gallantry in battle and for later escapes from Japanese prison camps in Hong Kong, while 18 were mentioned in despatches.
After the war the Corps was reconstituted on 1st March 1949, as the Hong Kong Defence Force. Two years later his late Majesty King George VI granted the title 'Royal' in recognition of the part played by the Force's forerunner, the Volunteer Defence Corps, in 1941. In March 1957 Her Majesty the Queen awarded the battle honour 'Hong Kong' to the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force, and this honour is now emblazoned on the Regimental Colour.
The Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve comprises some 40 officers and 160 men whose sea-going training is carried out in two inshore minesweepers. These ships, which are berthed in the Royal Naval Base, HMS Tamar, are on loan from the Royal Navy and are operated and maintained by the Hong Kong Government. There is also a small detachment of, the Hong Kong Women's Naval Reserve.
The Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) now have the dual roles of a reconnaissance regiment and an internal security unit. The regiment operates in support of the regular Army and the roles it has been given take advantage of the volunteers' detailed knowledge of the Colony and its people. They are thus able to make their own special contribution to the Army's tasks in Hong Kong. The regiment consists of a headquarters squadron, three reconnaissance squadrons and an assault company; there is also a home guard company and a detachment of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. The regiment is equipped with Landrovers, a number of Ferret scout cars and the latest weapons and radio sets.