CO129-591-10 Military Administration 16-1-1945 - 28-3-1946 — Page 157

COPY

Origewas

ស ឹ

(37)

55704/7/43

15724

29th October, 1943.

Dear Gater,

With reference to your letter of 16th September, 1943, and the informal meeting held in your office on 26th October, in connection with the planning units for British territories in Borneo and for Hong-Kong, I confirm the following points on which we reached agreement at the above-mentioned meeting, viz:-

1. That when as the result of opere tions Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei and Labuan were liberated from the enemy, Civil Affairs Officers would be required to take over the Civil Administration.

2.

That those Civil Affairs Officers should be provided from British sources even though the operations were conducted by the Americans.

3. That it would be necessary for the Civil Affairs Officers to be in uniform and that they must be in uniform some little time before the operations began,

4. That it was not necessary that they should be given commissions and put into uniform until nearer the time when they would be required. Probably it would suffice for them to be commissioned towards March when courses were likely to be held at the Training School at Wimbledon for Civil Affairs Officers for Malaya, Burma, etc. But the question should be brought up at the beginning of 1944 in case it was desirable that

In the commissioning should take place earlier. meantime the individuals concerned would remain as civilians on the Colonial Office books.

5/

SIR GEORGE GATER, K. C. B., C. M. G., D.S.O.