THE ARMEd servicES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
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In keeping with long-standing tradition, the Royal Navy provides much help to villagers in rural areas, particularly on the Sai Kung and Tolo Peninsulas and nearby islands. This has included assistance in refurbishing generators and electric cables to restore power and light in Yim Tin Tsai and Leung Sham Wan. In recognition of its efforts, the Hong Kong Squadron was awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Peace in July, 1977. Other tasks have included the renovation of rain shelters, underwater inspec- tions and beach cleaning. Social and welfare activities have included medical and dental assistance, sea training days for boys from the Hong Kong Sea School, and helping the St John Ambulance Brigade and the Red Cross with medical and dental treatment.
The Army provides the bulk of the forces in Hong Kong, under the direct command of the Commander British Forces. Operational units are concentrated into one forma- tion - the Gurkha Field Force - and logistic units are grouped as support troops under the command of the Deputy Commander British Forces.
Units stationed in Hong Kong during 1977 were: 1st Battalion the Light Infantry; 1st Battalion of the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles; 2nd Battalion of the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles; the 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles; and the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles.
The primary task of the Army in Hong Kong is to operate in support of the Hong Kong Government, in particular the Royal Hong Kong Police. In the border area and the outlying islands, the Army, in conjunction with the police, has been closely associated with government efforts to prevent illegal immigration. Patrols are carried out regularly in the more inaccessible areas of the New Territories and outlying islands. Apart from its military activities, the Army also has provided support in the form of emergency fire-fighting units for hill and forest fires, and support and assistance in anti-drought measures.
Community relations projects undertaken by Army units included two three-week youth leadership camps based at Erskine Camp on the Sai Kung Peninsula for 240 youngsters, and many weekend activities aimed at showing young people in urban areas the potential enjoyment of outdoor life. The Army's sporting facilities are shared extensively with local youth and residents' organisations.
No. 28 Squadron, based at RAF Kai Tak, is equipped with eight Wessex helicopters, primarily for the rapid movement of troops and supplies. It also provides a standby aircraft for search and rescue in Hong Kong and nearby waters and, together with the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, carries out a medical evacuation service for both military personnel and civilians from outlying areas to the main hospitals in Kowloon. The helicopters also help with local civil engineering projects by lifting into position heavy items of equipment that would be difficult to handle by other means.
On March 31, 1978, after more than 50 years at Kai Tak, the Royal Air Force will hand over the station to the Hong Kong Government and move to its new base at Sek Kong. RAF aircraft of No. 28 Squadron operated regularly from Sek Kong in the 1950s and 1960s; thus the squadron is now returning to its former base, although the roles of the present-day Wessex are, of course, very different from those of the earlier De Havilland Vampires, Venoms and Hawker Hunters. RAF Sek Kong will be co-located with the headquarters and main depot of the Gurkha Field Force, where it will be in an ideal position to operate in its primary role with the Army.