REPORT ON GENERAL ADMINISTRATION BRANCH
FOR THE PERIOD, 7 September
-
27 November 45.
163
GENERAL.
1.
No clear cut definition of the duties of General
Administration Branch was obtained before leaving England,
but it was evident that its functions covered the adminis-
tration of Civil Affairs personnel in Hong Kong. Since
arrival in the Colony however, it has been necess
expand considerably this conception of its functions.
Quartering, Land Transport, the overall administration of
the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, the fixing of prices
for accommodation and meals, and the control of feeding of
essential service personnel have been undertaken. This has
thrown a considerable strain on the small number of the
Staff of the Branch, which was available during the majority
of the period under review. Recently however, the situation
has improved, and only the appointment of S.0.II Liaison,
remains to be filled.
PERSONNEL.
2.
One of the main difficulties of the Administration
as a whole, has been the shortage of personnel. Deficiency
in the Establishment due to the evident difficulty of filling
vacancies in U.K., has been accentuated by transportation
difficulties, and a large back log of personnel accumulated
in India particularly in Calcutta. Action by the
Commander in Chief, Hong Kong, to obtain priority in Air
Fassages for Civil Affairs personnel, resulted in a temporary
improvement, but eventually it was necessary to send two
Sunderlands from Hong Kong, to clear the back log. The
personnel situation however, is by no means rosy, when one
considers that there are still only 195 Civil Affairs per- sonnel in the Colony, out of the total European War