ENG-1963 — Page 375

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Local Forces and Civil Defence Services

THE Colony's auxiliary defence services consist of the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force, the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police and the Essential Services Corps. The Auxiliary Police, created during 1957 by a merger of the Hong Kong Police Reserve and the Special Constabulary, is dealt with in chapter 13. The Essential Services Corps, although legally an entity, is split for administrative and practical purposes into four autonomous services: the units of the Essential Services Corps proper, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Civil Aid Service, and the Auxiliary Fire Service.

All these services are paid for almost entirely from funds voted each year by the Legislative Council. Except for small administra- tive and training staffs they are manned entirely by volunteers, residents of Hong Kong, who attend training classes and exercises in the evenings or at the week-ends and, in the case of certain services, attend more extended training at annual camps which last up to 15 days. Service in the auxiliary defence units is a considerable commitment not only for the individuals concerned but also for their employers, the majority of whom have been most co-operative in releasing members of their staff for these duties, even at considerable inconvenience.

Training obligations vary from service to service. The maximum is in those units whose members must every year attend at least 60 hours of instructional parades, six full-days' training and a training period at camp. The commitment is scaled down else- where to the needs of the particular unit. An allowance to cover out-of-pocket expenses is granted for attendance at instructional parades, while for a full-day's training and for attending camp, officers and members receive a higher daily rate of pay and, where meals cannot be provided, a ration allowance.

The Royal Hong Kong Defence Force. The principal units of the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force are the Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve, the Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) and

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