19 THE ARMED SERVICES
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THE first 'soldier to soldier, garrison to garrison' contacts between the British Forces and Hong Kong's future People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison happened in 1996. In May, the Commander British Forces, Major-General Bryan Dutton, was invited to the PLA headquarters at Shenzhen to call upon his opposite number, Major-General Liu Zhenwu.
The Commander British Forces (CBF) is in overall command of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force elements based in Hong Kong. Major-General Dutton will hold this post until the handover of sovereignty in June 1997. It was the first time the CBF in Hong Kong has made an official visit to China since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Major-General Liu made a three-day return visit to the British Forces in Hong Kong in July at the invitation of Major-General Dutton. He came to the territory again in mid-August on a defence investigation visit organised under the auspices of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group. Such contacts enhance the Chinese garrison's understanding of Hong Kong and the environment in which they will operate, and aid the smooth transfer of defence responsibilities.
The year also witnessed a large-scale drawdown of the British Forces in the territory and the closure of several bases. The last Gurkha infantry battalion to serve in Hong Kong, the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1RGR), which was based at Malaya Lines, Shek Kong, handed over its duties in October and returned to the UK in November where it deployed as part of 5 Airborne Brigade. 1RGR was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bijaykumar Rawat, the first Gurkha to command a British Gurkha infantry battalion. Gurkha troops have been deployed in Hong Kong since 1955. (The place-name Shek Kong was previously transliterated as Sek Kong).
The Gurkhas were replaced by the 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) which will serve an overlapping five-month unaccompanied tour with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). The Staffordshire Regiment's tour is particularly appropriate since one of its forebear units, the 98th Regiment of Foot, was among the first to serve in Hong Kong, from June 1842 to July 1846.
The Hong Kong Military Service Corps, a training and administrative unit for locally-enlisted soldiers, and based at Stonecutters Island, disbanded in December. As the second-largest military organisation (500 men) within the remaining garrison, its soldiers served in a variety of roles and trades including drivers, mechanics, guards, dog handlers, medical orderlies, cooks and military policemen.