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2. Before the war, the Navy accommodated its few shore based personnel in the old wooden "Tamar". This looked after the 200 odd men that had to be accounted for. In addition there was a fairly modern accommodation Block in the Dockyard that catered for crews of small ships undergoing refit in the Naval Yard. The very few ratings required to run the W/T station at Stonecutters were easily accommodated on that Island. The Officers for their part amounted to about fifty and of these some thirty lived out.
3. With a modern Fleet of large Battleships and Carriers arriving to liberate the port, over-crowding of all shore-side amenities was inevitable, particularly as most of the buildings had been stripped of furniture and, in many cases, of all remove- able wood. The old "Tamar" ship was lying sunk in the Harbour.
4. On the lower level in Victoria, considerable bomb damage to the sewage system was a major problem. The sewers in many cases had been added to from time to time, and in some cases no knowledge was available as to the runs of the pipes. Up the Peak, however, there was little general war damage with the exception of the houses and large buildings right on the summit, but there was a terrible amount of damage from looting. Most sanitary fittings had been smashed or removed, practically no cooking appliances were in place and, of course, no supplies of such commodities existed in Hong Kong. Further, the repairs were made more difficult by lack of wood, glass, paint and very nearly every detail of modern domestic economy.
5. In the early stages the weather was wet, but improved until by late September, it was perfect. This helped in large measure, particularly those men under canvas, or leaky roofs. But the hot days were not very good for the sewage troubles, nor for the many heaps of rubble from smashed buildings.
6. Great efforts were made to clear up, and to get the main services working once again, Gradually the lights came on in houses further and further up the Peak, and in fact this indication of recovery was a sort of nightly graph that one watched with considerable interest. Similarly water pipes had to be repaired, and pumping machinery refitted.
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7. As the numbers of Naval ratings ashore approached and passed the 1300 mark, more and more buildings had perforce to be taken for their accommodation. The China Fleet Club was requisitioned against the interest of the Fleet and used as a Barrack for some 400 men, the St. Francis Hotel housed a further 200, and then few were put into the old H.K. R.N.V.R. Headquarters. By agreement the General Officer Commanding handed over Wellington Barracks for Naval use. This building had been bombed and was in a bad way with many faults. However, at the end of a month men began to be billeted there.
As regards officers, the senior ones were accommodated in the Gloucester hotel and three other hotels were taken complete and used for officer accommodation. The reason for this was the fact that in place of the old peace time establishment of 50 officers and a number of Dockyard officers living for the most part in private houses, some 250 officers now had to be housed. This figure rose to over 300 with the advent of the Commander-in- Chief, British Pacific Fleet, from Sydney.
8. A number of officers were initially billeted in the Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon, but their number was reduced consider- ably, with the opening of the inter-service hostel.
9.
Accommodation for some 80 officers forming Commander in Chief's Staff had to be found and rehabilitated. Considerable work was involved, and many man-hours put into preparing the houses for occupation. At first the date of arrival was in doubt, but eventually the many tasks were completed just in time.
10. The general directive was to requisition only ex-enemy property which somewhat cut down the available buildings. However all difficulties were overcome. Furniture was acquired for the houses from Australia and in a small degree from the Custodian of Enemy Property. Cooking appliances came up from Brisbane, refrigerators came up one by one in various ships, and so it all took shape. All were satisfied with the result.
11. Now the effort is in reverse and every attempt is being made to de-requisition. Surplus officers are sent home or into other disposal pools, and men on shore are being reduced. The enormous increase in personnel is due in the main to the large number of communication ratings required to keep a Fleet of modern equipped ships up to date with information. A further