ENG-1965 — Page 257

15

The Armed Services and Auxiliary Services

THE British regular forces in Hong Kong are under the overall control of the Commander-in-Chief, Far East. The commanders of the three services generally work under their respective service commanders in Singapore, but in some respects the Commander British Forces Hong Kong co-ordinates service activities in the Colony as well as commanding the land forces. The units of the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force are administered by the Hong Kong Government, but come under the command of the regular commander of the appropriate service for operations, and for training in their operational roles. The Army and Royal Navy both recruit a considerable number of local personnel. These serve in the Army within the Colony or, in the case of the Navy, aboard HM ships anywhere in the Far East.

The Naval shore base, HMS Tamar, provides full maintenance facilities and support for the coastal minesweepers based per- manently in the Colony and also assists ships of the Far East Fleet which visit Hong Kong regularly for maintenance, and for leave and recreation. Land Forces Headquarters in Hong Kong is in Victoria Barracks. There are two subordinate formations-48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade Group, which is located in the New Territories, and Hong Kong and Kowloon Garrison, which con- sists of both operational and administrative units in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. Royal Air Force Station Kai Tak is a separate enclave alongside the civil airport, and uses the same runway and control facilities to operate both resident and visiting RAF aircraft. Radar and signals facilities are provided by the RAF for distant control of civil and military aircraft approaching the Colony.

The assistance of the armed services is freely given whenever disasters or emergencies affect the Colony. During the year divers of the Royal Navy assisted in the recovery of bodies and wreckage from an aircraft which crashed near Kai Tak. An Army officer