everything, including all the ambulances and equipment. At that meeting it was decided that Government should under- take to furnish adequate medical services in the New Territories, and that the As- sociation should concentrate on first aid instruction, and the Brigade on reorganiz. ing its ambulance and nursing units. Unfortunately, Mr. E. M. Raymond died soon afterwards, leaving the burden of rehabilitation to his successor, Mr. A. el Arculli.
Mr. Arculli had to start almost from scratch, but with the co-operation of all officers. members and patrons of the Brigade and some well wishers, he was able to recondition the Headquarters build ing, the floors of which had been entirely stripped, leaving practically only its four walls. Mr. Aw Boon Haw
once again came to the rescue by donating and main taining one ambulance on Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Chamber of Com- merce donated an ambulance for Kow- loon, the cost of maintaining which was borne by the St. John organisation.
During Mr. Macintosh's administration, The site slopes steeply and con- the Brigade's strength was brought up to tains some fine trees. The Albany 1,418. The Brigade was completely re- nullah, which runs through the organized to consist of a District Head- site, is being culverted and this area quarters and two territorial sub-districts, of the site will be filled to the level namely Hong Kong Island sub-district of Macdonnell Road to form a car and Mainland sub-district.
park. Every effort is being made its stationery was standardised; first aid possible, so as to provide shade in The Brigade uniform was standardised; to preserve as many of the trees as
standardised and improved; the parking area and to avoid the equipment were overcrowded appearance which has become all too common in Macdon- nell Road in recent years.
kits were
standardised issues of adjusted in divisions; a set of local regula- tions were provided in English and Chinese and individually issued; and the system of Brigade reexaminations and competitions was overhauled and ration- a'ised. The Mainland was provided with a headquarters for the first time.
was replaced by a new one generously donated by Sir Robert Ho Tung.
The Kowloon ambulance
Mr. MacIntosh retired from the Brigade on his departure from the Colony in August, 1953. and Mr. Kenneth Fung Ping Fan was appointed as his successor. The present strength of the Brigade is 1,521, with 1,002 men in 26 Ambulance divisions, 472 women in 13 Nursing divis- ions and 47 girls in two Cadet Nursing divisions. In order to meet the growing demand for public duties, the strength of each division had been increased from 42 to 50 members; this increase should soon be reflected in the total membership figures.
The building will contain lecturing and training facilities in the main block. and the Association and Brigade offices, an officers' mess and a flat for the Secretary in a side wing.
In the main block there will be five self-contained lecture rooms of varying sizes and a hall seating 600
for lectures and other functions. The foyer and the gallery of the main hall can be closed off so that they can be used separately, making seven lecture rooms in all.
The sloping site has made it pos- sible to provide a garden at a higher level on the Garden Road side of the building. Generous storage space is provided in the basement at the back of the lower ground level.
During Mr. Arculli's term as Commis- sioner, the Brigade not only recovered its pre-war strength, but actually progressed far beyond it. An outstanding achieve ment was the founding of the Penetration Squad, which gives free medical and dental service (including vaccinations and inoculations) to farmer and fisher folk in the outlying districts and islands of the New Territories where no medical facili- ties are available. Every Sunday, a team
In 1954, the Brigade lost a very gener consisting of a surgeon, a dentist, a nurs-
ous supporter through the lamented death ing officer
donnell Road. of the Brigade, and three of Mr. Aw Boon Haw. nurses go out on a police launch to a different place and give their services to the local populace. This is a venture not only unique in Hong Kong, but unprece- dented in any other Brigade in the Com-
monwealth.
their
Access to the building is from Mac-
and is so The Brigade is
arranged that visitors can alight from
A colonnade runs cars under cover. the whole length of the Macdonnell Road frontage so that visitors may wait for their cars under cover after a function held in wet weather. A similar colonnade runs round three sides of the building on the upper ground level and opens onto the gar- den mentioned above.
fortunate in that Mrs. Aw Boon Haw and her family have signified their desire to continue supporting the Brigade. So keen is Mrs. Aw in regard to the Brigade that she was the first to respond to the appeal for funds for a Central Headquar- ters building by making the munificent donation of $300,000 in memory of her beloved husband.
Mr. Arculli retired at the end of 1951 He was succeeded by Mr. D. W. MacIn- tosh, who was the first Chairman of the St. John Council for Hong Kong, which The new building will be at the was formally constituted at Government junction of Garden Road and Mac- House by His Excellency the Governor, donnell Road. opposite the Y.W.C.A Sir Alexander Grantham, on October on the site once occupied by the Gar- 24th, 1949.
dens Department.
The reinforced concrete frame structure adheres to a single grid. which is expressed both externally and internally in the main block.
AUSTRIAN & CONTINENTAL ENGINEERS, LIMITED.
707, EDINBURGH HOUSE
TELEPHONE: 31183
We have in stock:
"MAW"
"VOEST"
Portable Diesel Air Com- pressors 113 and 210 c.f.m.
Stone Crushers
We can supply at short delivery:----
"MAW" Stationary Air Compressors
"BOHLER" Pressure Tools
"BOHLER" Spare Jaws for Stone
Crushers of all types
Capacity 18 and 22 cu. yds/hr.
"VOEST"
Diesel Dump Trucks,
"SPOERK" Stone Crushers
Capacity 27 cu. yds/hr.
capacity 2 cub. yards, load appr. 4 tons
45
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.