CO129-551-9 Acquisition of land for Air Ministry at Kai Tak 17-2-1936 - 9-1-1937 — Page 28

28

required sometime or other to be added to the

aerodrome. When, therefore, in 1935, the Governor

was assured by the Senior Air officer in Hong Kong

that the land should now be added to the aerodrome

as essential to meet the requirements of the new

Royal Air Force squadrons which were being posted

to Hong Kong, he could only have supposed that the

cost of this essential work, which was immediately

undertaken, would be shared by the Air Ministry,

just as the original cost of constructing the

aerodrome itself had been shared as a joint

service and civil enterprise. The Colonial Office

would be quite ready to enter into a conference on

the general question of the terms on which land

could be acquired by the Royal Air Force in Hong

Kong, but this particular question of the commitment

in respect of the expense already defrayed from

Colonial Government funds in respect of the Kai Tak

extension was altogether a separate issue.

extension would be the joint property of the

Colonial and Home Governments, just as the aerodrome

itself was.

with

The

That

It was finally agreed that Mr. Bridges,

subject to approval of higher authority here, with

wolny be

the Colonial Office would be represented at a

meeting with the Treasury and Service Departments

on the 13th of January for the purpose of discussing

the general question of the terms on which land is

made available for the use of the Royal Air Force

in Hong Kong. It was further agreed that as a

quite separate matter, I, or some other Colonial

Office representative could, before or after this

meeting, informally discuss with Mr. Bridges and

the