THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES

221

Hong Kong for maintenance or recreation. Amongst the major warships which have visited Hong Kong during 1968 have been the aircraft carriers HMS Eagle and HMS Hermes, the Com- mando ship HMS Albion, and the assault ship HMS Intrepid, with their supporting frigates and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. HMS Tamar also recruits and trains Hong Kong Chinese Naval ratings for service in the Naval base and the Fleet, and is the agency for Chinese crews of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships world-wide.

Under command of Headquarters Land Forces, there are two Army formations, 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade, which has its headquarters at Sek Kong in the New Territories, and 51 Brigade which commands units both in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island, and which has its headquarters in Kowloon. Headquarters Land Forces is at Victoria Barracks on Hong Kong Island. Units which have been stationed in the Colony during 1968 include B Squadron the Life Guards, C Squadron the Queen's Own Hussars, 18th Light Regiment Royal Artillery, 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 1st Battalion the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1st Battalion the Welch Regiment; and, from the Brigade of Gurkhas, 1st Battalion 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1st and 2nd Battalions 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, and 1st Battalion 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, together with squadrons of Engineer, Signals and Transport units of the Brigade. In addition short tours of duty have been served in the Colony by C Squadron 15/19th the King's Royal Hussars, 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, and 2nd Battalion 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles.

The Royal Air Force Station, Kai Tak, is a separate enclave alongside the civil airport, and it makes use of the airport's runway and control services. The RAF has its own radar and signal facilities for long distance control of military aircraft approaching the Colony. These facilities are shared by the Director of Civil Aviation to help ensure the safety of civil aircraft operating within Hong Kong's flight information region. In April 1968, a squadron of RAF Whirlwind helicopters was added to the permanent garrison of the Colony and was given a number familiar to those who remember the Hunters which were stationed in Hong Kong until January 1967, No 28 Squadron. During 1968, the flow of RAF

Share This Page