of the very high price of electricity in Hongkong.
There were some grumbles as the Battalion's last duties had been the Garrison Battalion in Ulster where they received extra pay. However soldiers tend to think that their last posting was the best! Certainly they had very little to grumble about and the facilities were good.
Buses were also run into Victoria and Kowloon. Some families were
acccommodated in Kowloon where the accommodation was said to be better
than at Stanley and these had to commute every day which must have been
somewhat of a strain. However new quarters were being built at Stanley
and in some 2 years time all the soldiers and their families will be
accommodated in or near the barracks.
Royal Air Force
The Committee then visited Royal Air Force Headquarters at Sek Kong. The RAF had moved from Kai Tak, the commercial airport some years ago. As they no longer had fixed wing aircraft only part of the runway was used. New quarters, administrative offices and maintenance facilities
had been built and appeared to be very satisfactory.
They provided
No. 28 Squadron provided 36 helicopters, mostly Wessex.
support to the 3 Gurkha Battalions in the New Territories and also had
responsibilities for internal security and in a limited war.
The officers' quarters were some 2 miles from the airfield and they
therefore had to have cars. The main grumble here was the 3-fold increase
in car tax imposed this year by the Hongkong Government which had not yet been reflected in any increase in pay.
They served a 2 year tour in Hongkong (in general the RAF served 3 year
tours) as they did in Northern Ireland. They had about 300 flying hours a
f month and the Squadron consisted on 13 pilots. In addition the airfield
was the base of the Hongkong Volunteer Force who flew Dauphine helicopters.
The Brigade of Gurkhas
Hongkong now provided the training depot for the Brigade of Gurkhas and
accommodated the Gurkha Field Force consisting of 3 Battalions, the 4th
Battalion being in Brunei and a fifth Battalion in the UK. In addition
there was en Engineer Regiment with 2 Field Squadrons and a Support
Squadron. The headquarters and Signals Squadron had over 500 men and there
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