54144/45.
16th May, 1945.
に
130
My deer French,
As you know, we have for some time pust been anxious to get the Hong Kong Planning Unit on to a military footing. The rapid developments both in Europe and the Far Fost recently suggest that a Civil Affairs / dministration may be required in Hong Kong much earlier than we had become resigned to expect and that, accordingly, the militarisation of the Unit seems to us now to be matter for early decision.
We have been told on all hunds that the out- standing need for Civil Affairs Units is that they should acquire the greɛtest possible knowledge of Army and War Office procedure, and that the experience of the M..U. was that they did not really.begin to acquire the rudiments of this essential part of their training until they were militurised.
The Borneo party hed the sume exverience. AS you know, there was something of a scramble at the end to get that unit on to a military footing and then they had to leave this country before they had hod an opportunity of finding their feet as e properly organised military body.
We are most anxious to evold this in the case of Hong Kong, especially as there is no guarantee in their case that there will be opportunities of rectifying the omission after leaving England.
Our experience is that there are endless difficulties in the way of building up the unit on a
civilian
Brigadier F.G. French.
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