ENG-1967 — Page 283

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The Armed Services and Auxiliary Services

IN HONG KONG the British regular forces, which largely consist of army units, are under the overall control of the Commander-in- Chief, Far East. The commanders of the three services have an ultimate responsibility to their respective commanders in Singapore; however the Commander British Forces, Hong Kong, co-ordinates service activities in the Colony as well as commanding the land forces. The Royal Hong Kong Defence Force units are administered by the Hong Kong Government, but come under the command of the appropriate regular service commander for operations and training in operational roles. The army and Royal Navy recruit a considerable number of local personnel. Those in the army serve in the Colony and those in the navy on board HM ships anywhere in the Far East.

The naval shore base, HMS Tamar, provides facilities for ships of the Far East Fleet, which regularly visit Hong Kong for main- tenance, Teave and recreation. Full maintenance support is provided for HM ships temporarily detached to the Colony from the naval base at Singapore. As part of the United Kingdom's defence economy measures coastal minesweepers, formerly based in Hong Kong, were transferred in September to the Inshore Flotilla at Singapore. When necessary, Hong Kong will be provided with ships from this flotilla on a rotational basis. On April 1, the Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve was disbanded after 82 years of existence. The decision, taken with much regret by the Hong Kong Govern- ment, was due to the expense of replacing the two RNR mine- sweepers. The colours of the Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve were laid up in St John's Cathedral at a ceremony on March 12.

British Forces headquarters and Land Forces headquarters are in Victoria Barracks on Hong Kong Island. There are two sub- ordinate formations-48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade, in the New Territories, and the Hong Kong and Kowloon Garrison, which