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British Forces Overseas Hong Kong | |
---|---|
Active | 26 January 1841 –30 June 1997 |
Country | British Hong Kong |
Allegiance | Monarch |
Branch | |
Type | |
Role | Territorial Defence |
Size |
|
Garrison/HQ | Garrison – All installments HQ – Flagstaff House (Residence of the CBF) |
Anniversaries | Liberation Day |
Equipment | |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Commander-in-chief | Governor of Hong Kong |
Commanding Officer | Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) |
Inaugural holder of CBF | Major General George D'Aguilar |
Final holder of CBF | Major General Bryan Dutton |
Notable commanders |
British Forces Overseas Hong Kong | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 駐港英軍 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 驻港英军 | ||||||||||
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British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army,Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chief of the forces and the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong took charge of the daily deployment of the troops. Much of the British military left prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. [1] The present article focuses mainly on the British garrison in Hong Kong in the post Second World War era. For more information concerning the British garrison during the Second World War and earlier,see the Battle of Hong Kong.
Prior to and during the Second World War,the garrison was composed of British Army battalions and locally enlisted personnel (LEPs) who served as regular members in the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy or the Hong Kong Military Service Corps and their associate land units. The Hong Kong Infantry Brigade served as the main garrison formation. After the outbreak of the Second World War,the garrison was reinforced with British Indian Army and Canadian Army units. A second brigade,the Kowloon Infantry Brigade,was formed to assist in commanding the expanded force. The garrison was defeated during the Battle of Hong Kong,by the Empire of Japan.
After the Second World War and the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong,the British military reestablished a presence. As a result of the Chinese Civil War,the British Army raised the 40th Infantry Division and dispatched it to garrison Hong Kong. It later left for combat in the Korean War,and the defense of the territory was taken up by additional British forces who were rotated from Europe. The garrison was further supplemented by LEPs, [2] and Gurkhas. The latter came from Nepal,but formed part of the British Army. The size of the garrison during the Cold War fluctuated and ended up being based around one brigade.
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment,a military unit which was part of the Hong Kong Government,was trained and organised along the lines of a British Territorial Army unit. As such,it was supported by British Army regular personnel holding key positions. These British Army personnel,for their duration of service to the Royal Hong Kong Regiment,were seconded to the Hong Kong Government. In the post-WWII era,the majority of the regiment's members were local citizens of Chinese descent.
Before 1 July 1997,the British government had the political commitment to safeguard the territory against external and internal threats. Commonwealth forces were also deployed to station in the territory shortly before the Second World War. The greatest test was in 1941,when Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong,leading to the 44-month-long Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
Internal Security was the responsibility of the Hong Kong Government,in particular the Royal Hong Kong Police. It was supported by British Forces in Hong Kong should it be called upon to do so. During the Hong Kong 1967 riots,in which 51 people were killed,the British garrison supported the Royal Hong Kong Police in quelling the disturbance. Until 1995,the safety of much of the Sino-Hong Kong border was the responsibility of the British forces and as such contributed greatly to the interdiction of illegal immigrants (II). As the preparation of the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997,that responsibility was passed on to the Hong Kong Police.
The Royal Navy played a significant role in the support of the Royal Hong Kong Police in anti smuggling operation in Hong Kong waters,especially in the heyday of seaborne smuggling during the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Search and Rescue (SAR) was provided by all branches of the British Forces in Hong Kong may be called upon for aid to civil defence as well as search and rescue operations in times of emergency.
Prior to 1990–1991,British Forces (British Army) was responsible for patrolling and enforcing border control between Hong Kong and China. This role was passed on the Hong Kong Police Force years before the handover in 1997. Some HK nationals who served in the British military were deployed overseas,including Operation Granby. [3]
The territory has nevertheless maintained a Government Flying Service,formerly the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force,that is responsible for search and rescue operations,air ambulance services,and other air services for the Hong Kong Government. The GFS also took over some responsibilities from the Royal Air Force and the Army Air Corps. [4] The Hong Kong Police Force also has a highly trained and equipped counter terrorism unit,the Special Duties Unit,trained by United Kingdom's SAS and SBS,and a Marine Police force. These forces have been heavily armed since before the handover in 1997,and are within the portfolio of the Secretary for Security (which,before 1973,was named Secretary for Defence).
The Fire Service Department also took over some diving rescue responsibilities from the British Forces Overseas. [5]
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) was disbanded in 1995 prior to the handover in 1997. It was funded by and was a branch of the Hong Kong Government,yet under command of the Commander British Forces.
The Governor of Hong Kong, being a representative of the British sovereign, was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in the colony. The Governor was advised by the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) on all military actions. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBF was normally a career Major General or Lieutenant General from the British Army. Until 1966, the CBF was an ex-officio member of the Legislative Council. [6]
Throughout the years of British rule in Hong Kong, a variety of British Army units spent various periods of time in the colony as resident units. In latter stages of the post-war period, British army units were sent to Hong Kong on a rotational basis for a period of three years. The following list contains resident units only and those which stayed in Hong Kong for short durations for re-supply or acclimatisation during the Korean War, Opium War, Boxer Rebellion and the Malayan Emergency are not included in the list. The majority of infantry battalions were Ghurkas who were permanently based in Hong Kong after Indian partition.
Major formations of the British Army in Hong Kong included:
Royal Engineers and Queen's Gurkha Engineers
Royal Signals and Queen's Gurkha Signals
A list of British Army installations in Hong Kong:
The Royal Navy and Royal Marines was stationed in Hong Kong right from the beginning of the establishment of Hong Kong as a British Colony. For the most part, the Royal Naval base was located in Hong Kong Island at HMS Tamar. The Prince of Wales Building was added later in the 1970s. Before the handover, the naval base was moved to Stonecutters Island next to the Government docks.
RN and RFA ships visited or posted to Hong Kong prior to the Second World War:
RN ships and land units in Hong Kong during the Second World War:
Auxiliary Patrol Vessels in Hong Kong during the Second World War:
RN formations and units in Hong Kong (Post-Second World War):
RN and RFA ships visited or posted to Hong Kong after the Second World War:
Royal Marines:
A list of naval facilities used or built by the RN in Hong Kong:
A list of facilities used or built by the RN in Hong Kong:
The Royal Air Force was the smallest contingent of the British Forces and was stationed in both Kai Tak Airport as well as the airfield in the New Territories known as Sek Kong.
No. 28 (AC) Squadron [8] and the larger Royal Air Force infrastructure located to RAF Sek Kong in the late 1970s leaving Royal Air Force logistics elements to maintain operations at Kai Tak, e.g. RAF movers and suppliers remained to maintain the logistical link between RAF Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The squadron flew up to 8 Westland Wessex HC Mk 2 helicopters from RAF Sek Kong. Tasks included support of the civil power, support of the British Forces and search and rescue.
About 20 years later, RAF personnel returned from Sek Kong to Kai Tak, mounting operations from that airport in the months prior to the 1997 handover.
In addition, the Hong Kong Government also maintained an "airforce". This airforce as per the land unit of RHKR (V), was an arm of the Hong Kong Government, supported by RAF personnel seconded to serve in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force.
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force 1970–1993 – handed over to GFS
Royal Air Force units which visited or were stationed in Hong Kong included:
Sources indicate that 444 Signals Unit (SU) formed officially within No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF, Strike Command with effect from 16 August 1971, and was established as a lodger unit at Stanley Fort, Hong Kong. The primary role of 444 SU was to act as a ground station for the Skynet satellite communications system, responsibility for operating the Skynet system having been vested in the RAF in the late 1960s, under the Rationalisation of Inter Services Telecommunications (RISTACOM) agreement. It would appear that the equipment operated by 444 SU had been located previously at RAF Bahrain (HMS Jufair).
On 1 May 1972, No. 90 (Signals) Group was transferred from RAF Strike Command to RAF Maintenance Command and as a consequence 444 SU became a Maintenance Command unit on this date. On 31 August 1973, both 90 (Signals) Group and Maintenance Command were disbanded, to be replaced on the following day by the new RAF Support Command. All of the units and locations previously controlled by the disbanded formations were transferred to Support Command with effect from 1 September 1973 and 444 SU therefore became a Support Command unit. This was to prove short-lived, however, for on 1 November 1973, 444 SU and the unit responsible for maintaining the Skynet ground station at RAF Gan – 6 SU – were both transferred to the command of the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Near East Air Force (NEAF). At this time 444 SU and 6 SU formed part of the Defence Communications Network (DCN) and the DCN elements of both units came under the functional control of the Controller DCN, Ministry of Defence.
On 1 August 1975, administrative and engineering responsibility for all of the units of RAF Hong Kong, including 444 SU, were transferred from NEAF to RAF Strike Command – functional control of these units being retained by the Vice Chief of the Air Staff via Commander RAF Hong Kong. Subsequently, with the disbandment of HQ NEAF on 31 March 1976, control of RAF Hong Kong and its component units were transferred in total to Strike Command. On 28 March 1976, RAF Gan closed and 6 SU disbanded formally on the same date, the latter's satellite communications equipment being transferred to 444 SU.
444SU was hosted at Stanley Fort by the British Army.
Sources indicate that 444 SU disbanded on the 31 December 1977.
A list of RAF Stations in Hong Kong:
A list of Royal Air Force operations facilities:
Search and rescue operations conducted by the RAF and Royal Navy were later transferred to the Government Flying Service (GFS).
Hong Kong became an important port of call for many naval ships passing through the Far East. Besides Lan Kwai Fong, Royal Navy sailors had their own entertainment facility called the "China Fleet Club". [10]
A timeline of the China Fleet Club:
Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that served for the East India Company. The brigade includes infantry, engineering, signal, logistic and training and support units. They are known for their khukuri, a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade, and have a reputation for being fierce and brave soldiers.
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications and information systems essential to all operations. Royal Signals units provide the full telecommunications infrastructure for the Army wherever they operate in the world. The Corps has its own engineers, logistics experts and systems operators to run radio and area networks in the field. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems, providing command support to commanders and their headquarters, and conducting electronic warfare against enemy communications.
The Army Air Corps (AAC) is the aviation arm of the British Army, first formed in 1942 during the Second World War by grouping the various airborne units of the British Army. Today, there are eight regiments of the AAC, as well as two independent flights and two independent squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations around the world. Regiments and flights are located in the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Canada. Some AAC squadrons provide the air assault elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, through Joint Aviation Command.
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed Network Enabled Capability. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Territorial Army, formed in 1901 from veterans of the Second Boer War. In the First World War it served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign but reverted to the mounted role in the Senussi campaign, at Salonika and in Palestine. It ended the war as a machine gun unit on the Western Front. In the interwar years it was reduced to a battery in a composite Royal Horse Artillery unit in London, but in the period of rearmament before the Second World War it was expanded into a full regiment of light anti-aircraft artillery. It served in this role during The Blitz and later in the Tunisian and Italian campaigns. Postwar it became an armoured regiment. It amalgamated with the Inns of Court Regiment to form the Inns of Court & City Yeomanry in 1961. The lineage is maintained by 68 (Inns of Court & City Yeomanry) Signal Squadron, part of 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment.
The 11th Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is transitioning to the tactical recce-strike role. The brigade was formerly the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, providing training and guidance for foreign militaries.
The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence since before the First World War, except for a short break in the late 1970s. It was an Airborne Brigade from the early 1980s until amalgamating with 24th Airmobile Brigade, in 1999, to form 16 Air Assault Brigade.
The Hong Kong Garrison was a British and Commonwealth force that protected Hong Kong. In December 1941 during the Battle of Hong Kong in the Second World War, the Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong and after a brief but violent series of engagements the garrison surrendered. The garrison continued until 1989.
HQ Northern Ireland was the formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve formation, 38 (Irish) Brigade, in 2009.
The Berlin Infantry Brigade was a British Army brigade-sized garrison based in West Berlin during the Cold War. After the end of World War II, under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Allied forces occupied West Berlin. This occupation lasted throughout the Cold War. The French Army also had units in Berlin, called the French Forces in Berlin and the US Army's unit in Berlin was the Berlin Brigade.
In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.
This is an order of battle listing the British Commonwealth forces involved in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.
This is the order of battle for Operation Granby, the name given to the British Armed Forces deployment to the Middle East after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and subsequent operations during the 1991 Gulf War.
The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the British Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.
The Battle of Hong Kong was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II.
The GurkhaAllied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion, or simply the GurkhaARRC Support Battalion is a combat support unit of the British Army, and one of only three units permanently assigned to NATO. For administrative purposes, the Gurkha ARRC Support Battalion falls under the oversight of the Royal Logistic Corps, though employs members from many other cap badges.
Future Soldier is a reform of the British Army resulting from the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy published in March 2021. The aim of the reform is to create a more lethal, agile and expeditionary force, able to fight and win wars and to operate in the grey-zone between peace and war. Future Soldier was published on 25 November 2021 and deals with the organizational changes of the British Army, with changes to personnel and equipment were set out in the Defence in a Competitive Age paper published on 22 March 2021.